Sometimes looking back causes sorrow and regret, sometimes shame and guilt. But for pregnancy resources centers that help girls and women overcome those feelings, looking back can also cause praise to God, and thanksgiving for what He has done.
In Kampala, Uganda, The Remnant Generation (TRG) ministry just looked back on seven years of service. And what they saw was cause for celebration.
Their ministry’s three-part mission is, “To reach, rescue, restore & empower survivors of sexual abuse and teen moms to thrive according to God’s plan for their lives,” according to the website.
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The founders are Annabelle Nakabiri Ssebakijje and her husband, Isaac Mukisa Ssebakijje.
Annabelle Nakabiri Ssebakijje
As someone who had experienced sexual abuse and forced child marriage, Annabelle set out to show the love of Christ to teenage girls who have survived sexual abuse.
Heartbeat International’s valuable services
In a recent email interview Annabelle described the role Heartbeat International plays in supporting the work of TRG as a strong partnership that has given TRG more exposure and brought about even more partnerships.
Heartbeat has also provided the LOVE Approach model of counseling, Annabelle said, “[which] still guides our social workers” in daily “counseling and healing sessions with the girls who have been sexually abused.”
Heartbeat’s staffing manual helps TRG maintain highly professional staff, according to Annabelle.
“The management team has been empowered to lead a Christian ministry and run the organization into steady growth for the past seven years,” she said.
Seven days of gratitude and celebration
TRG celebrated what it termed, Miracles of What the Lord Has Done, during those seven years with seven social media posts entitled, Celebrating Lives Saved, Lives Rescued and Restored, Hope Renewed – Equipping to Thrive, Fathers and Men Rising to Protect the Girl Child, Hope City, The Power of Partnerships, and The School of Purpose.
Five core programs
Five core programs help girls thrive and become the women God created them to be. These include Rescue and Child Safe Guarding, Restoration, Thrive, Jewels of Honour and Fatherhood.
Through Rescue and Child Safe Guarding girls and teen mothers are removed from sexually abusive situations and given safe housing, legal protection and recourse, and emergency medical care.
The Restoration program also provides housing for teen mothers and their babies, as well as pre- and post-natal care, healing therapy for survivors of sexual abuse, and spiritual nurturing.
“We start and end our day with devotions where we share the word of God, Annabelle said. “[The] girls are very welcoming to the gospel.”
Education is at the heart of the Re-Purpose program. Girls learn life skills and receive vocational and business enterprise training to help them and their babies thrive throughout life.
The Thrive program seeks to reunite girls and their babies with kin or with a loving foster family where the girl and baby are protected from further abuse, and where medical support continues.
Jewels of Honor is intended to rescue girls from sexual slavery and the trauma it causes.
And the Fatherhood Program seeks to bring about a nation-wide change in helping boys and men realize their role as protectors of girls. Men are encouraged to be good fathers through mentoring and the Fatherhood Ambassadors program.
Seeking new partnerships
TRG would like to form more partnerships, especially with the new project for boys and men.
“We need men and Christian Male – Led initiatives and organizations to partner with,” Annabelle stated.
They would also like more education sponsors for the girls, and for their babies as they grow and become school aged.
Their partnerships with hospitals, and foster families who take in the teenage mothers and their babies, have saved many lives.
But Annabelle would like to do more.
“We need a moving health van to help us extend these services to the communities and girls where they are,” she said, as well as “reception centers in communities [that] extend holistic health and psycho-social support to the girls.”
TRG also needs storytellers.
“We need partnerships with media companies that can tell our story through video and written stories that can be shared with the world,” said Annabelle. “We have amazing success stories and lots of good practice – and we would like to share it!”
When asked how readers could support the ministry, Annabelle responded, “Giving a financial gift to sponsor a child, towards general operations, [or] support to a specific program,” along with telling “others about us so that our network of friends and ‘gladgivers’ can grow. We also need volunteers to come work with us.”
Hosting Annabelle as a speaker is another way to help. She travels to raise support, tell the story of TRG and raise “friends for the ministry.”
Current need for prayer
TRG prays for more funds to reach out-of-the-way areas of Uganda that have many pregnant and exploited girls. Annabelle asks for prayer for the safety of the girls and babies in their shelters and for their lives to be transformed. The staff also need prayer, said Annabelle, “for strength and courage, for health and sustenance.”
She says they need prayer for the “legal system to become more responsive to avail justice to victims,” as well as for “the hearts of Fathers to return to their children – and children’s hearts to their fathers.”
A new goal for year 8
Their goal is to serve 5,000 girls and their babies this year. Meanwhile their office property is up for sale, and they have identified an ideal new property.
“We have 3 months (until March 29) to raise $171,429,” Annabelle reports.
Isaiah 61
A continuing goal for TRG according to their website is to keep sharing “the redeeming gospel of Jesus Christ. We believe that true transformation, healing, and restoration come from God.”
Tweet This: We will keep sharing “the redeeming gospel of Jesus Christ. We believe that true transformation, healing, and restoration come from God.
As TRG serves survivors and teen mothers they daily imitate Christ in acting out the words of TRG’s theme verses from Isaiah 61 (excerpted), “to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound … instead of shame you shall have double honour, and instead of confusion, they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore, in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs.”
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages Pregnancy Help News.
