In 2013 Josephine was living in an orphanage in Kajo Keji, South Sudan. She was a teenager, exhausted by a life that had left her powerless. Her broken wheelchair had condemned her to crawling on the ground, her legs and knees caked in mud. The only way Josephine could keep her dream of an education alive was to crawl to school and back every day.
Verses like the one below show God’s amazing mercy and compassion for every person on the planet, even the most marginalized:
He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S,
And He set the world on them. Samuel 2:8
While it is true that God is all powerful, it’s also true that He so often uses the ordinary people of the world to deliver His hope and healing—people like you and me!
In 2013 Josephine was living in an orphanage in Kajo Keji, South Sudan. She was a teenager, exhausted by a life that had left her powerless. Her broken wheelchair had condemned her to crawling on the ground, her legs and knees caked in mud. The only way Josephine could keep her dream of an education alive was to crawl to school and back every day.
Verses like the one below show God’s amazing mercy and compassion for every person on the planet, even the most marginalized:
He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S,
And He set the world on them. Samuel 2:8
While it is true that God is all powerful, it’s also true that He so often uses the ordinary people of the world to deliver His hope and healing—people like you and me!
Jill Vine serves with MAF in Uganda. The following is her story, told in her words...
When I first met Josephine in an orphanage in South Sudan. Despite all of her setbacks, she hadn’t yet given up. When I saw her situation, I knew I had to help.
I returned to my work for MAF Uganda. A few weeks and lots of phone calls later, MAF was able to fly me back to the orphanage in South Sudan. Our cargo? A brand new wheelchair, kindly donated by a man who was deeply moved by Josephine’s plight. I will never forget the look of joy on her face when I helped her into the wheelchair for the first time. Her smile was absolutely radiant! Josephine’s dream of an education had a chance of coming true.
And that’s precisely what your gifts and prayers do—they empower MAF to keep people’s dreams alive. By making a gift today, you will help us do the same for many more people around the world like Josephine.
I’d love to tell you that Josephine’s story ended happily when she climbed into her new wheelchair. Sadly, her life took another cruel turn. The brutal conflict that swept across South Sudan reached her town. In the chaos I lost touch with Josephine. With the help of many partner NGOs and humanitarian organisations, I searched for her—but with no idea where she was, who was with her, or what had happened, I wondered whether I’d ever see her again.
Weeks turned into months...until news finally reached me. Josephine was alive and living in a vast refugee camp in Uganda! I was delighted—until I heard the whole story. When the shooting broke out, everyone had to run. Two friends carried her to their car and drove her to the border of Uganda where she was registered as a refugee, along with millions of others in that same week. And in the desperate rush to leave South Sudan, her wheelchair had been left behind. Now she was not only disabled and an orphan, but suddenly also a refugee, facing starting her whole life over—without her wheelchair!
A bleak future would face most people in her situation—and her life would have remained bleak, had it not been for the kindness of the same donor who had given Josephine her first chair.
It may surprise you to know that this donor was not a big multi-national organisation or rich businessman. Rather, it was a man called Francis, who is also a paraplegic but who has a huge heart for importing wheelchairs for others in need! Once again, he came to Josephine’s aid with a replacement wheelchair, knowing that MAF would make another special flight and deliver it to the refugee camp.
When MAF’s plane landed, I caught a flash of God’s inestimable mercy and goodness. Overwhelmed to see Josephine safe and sound, I was relieved and delighted just to be able to hug her again!
Almost every day, our aircraft fly organisations into refugee settlements that help thousands in desperate need of food, medicine, counselling and—in Josephine’s case—education. I feel so grateful that one of our aircraft was able to help Josephine for a second time. The life-transforming support of MAF aircraft is powered by your prayers and gifts.
Isn’t it interesting that those who don’t have much, like Francis, are the ones who so often give the most?
Will you make a donation today of $55, $90 or even $125 to help to transform the future for thousands of men, women and children who have nothing but their dreams to cling onto right now? (All donations are tax deductible).