Here’s an inspiring story of how one person is creating more colorful tomorrows for those in need.

Shelly Matthews
Up at the crack of dawn to spend nine hours, in Equator hot heat, building housing out of home-made African red clay; sleeping under heavy mosquito netting every night; seeing daily the devastation war has on a country and its people – not what most of us would call the ideal vacation! But for Shelley Matthews, an Account Executive from our Norfolk sales office, this was the perfect way for her to spend her hard-earned time off. Last November, Shelley spent seventeen days in Uganda, making a difference in the lives of countless women and children.

Shelley was inspired to take this journey when she heard the founder of the Watoto Childcare Ministries speak at her church. Shelley heard the cold statistics – there are 60 million orphaned children in Africa due to HIV/AIDS and war; and in Uganda alone, over 30,000 children have been abducted and forced to serve as child soldiers – and she was called to action! She immediately sponsored a thirteen year old boy, Isaac who lives at the Watoto Orphanage. His parents both died of HIV/AIDS when he was six. But she knew, for her, that was not enough. She needed to go.

Financed by her own savings and the generosity of friends and family, Shelley became part of a global team of twelve, with fellow volunteers from places such as Australia, Ireland, and Canada. They lived and worked together in extremely hot and primitive conditions. Exhausted at the end of every day, from both the physical labor of building a home and the emotional investment in the getting to know the kind and grateful people of the villages. And although Uganda is a war-torn nation, Shelley insisted she was never afraid…except for when she saw a 5 inch long roach!

When asked what was the best part of her time spent in Uganda, Shelley replied "No doubt, it was the time I got to spend loving the orphaned children!" She met so many children whose lives had been destroyed by war and disease, who were simply in need of love and affection. "You can see in their eyes that part of their soul has been destroyed," Shelley observed. Luckily she also saw firsthand the good the Watoto organization was doing for these orphans – providing them with not only the basic necessities, but also educating them and providing them with practical skills and values. She even got to meet Isaac, the boy she sponsors, and his sister.

Shelley firmly believes that we all can do something to exact change. "It doesn't take much," she says, "and you don’t have to take a trip around the world. If we all just did a little with love, we would see this world changed day by day, life by life."

To learn more about Watoto Child Care Ministries, visit them at www.watoto.com.

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