When Ruth arrived at the Buloba Kinship Family home, the first thing she looked at was the door.
Not the bed prepared for her. Not the women who welcomed her. Not the other children. Just the door and whether it would stay open.
She was six years old.
Local Council authorities and the police brought her to us. She came with no suitcase, no papers, no extra clothes. Only her name and a grief too heavy for a little girl to carry.
Her mother had died. Her father had gone to South Sudan to look for work, hoping to provide for his family. He called once to say he was coming home.
He never arrived.
Somewhere on the road back, he was killed.
Ruth was too young to be told everything plainly, but children know when the world has changed. She knew that the people who were supposed to stay had disappeared and that nothing in life felt certain anymore.
So, she watched the door.
For a long time, Ruth hardly spoke. She ate when food was given to her. She slept when night came. She moved carefully, as if she had learned that life could change without warning.
Learning to Trust Again
At the Buloba Kinship Family home, we have seen this before. Children who have lost so much do not begin to trust all at once. Love must become consistent before it becomes believable.
So, we waited with her.
We gave her meals, a bed, school, and safety. We gave her the ordinary things that every child deserves and so many never receive. Slowly, Ruth began to change not because anyone forced her, but because day after day, she discovered that she was safe here.
Then one afternoon, something beautiful happened.
A younger child was struggling to read, stumbling over the same word again and again until tears began to fall. Ruth quietly sat beside her. No one asked her to. She simply began helping.
She pointed to the letters. She sounded them out slowly. She waited with patience beyond her years.
That was when we first saw it clearly: the little girl who had once come to us with nothing was already becoming someone who could give.
From Comforted to Comforter
Today, Ruth is sixteen years old and in secondary school.
She is thoughtful, steady, and determined. She studies seriously and dreams of becoming a teacher. When younger children need help, she is often the one who sits beside them. The child who once needed comfort now gives comfort. The child who once needed someone to stay is becoming someone others can lean on.
That is what love does.
That is what safety does.
That is what God can do through a place of refuge.
Written with Eddie, one of our field team members in Uganda.
Leave a Reply