2024 Lent prayer journey
Dear Friends,
Happy Valentine's Day and first day of Lent! In Uganda, our team has been busy getting the new school year off to a good start. For all of us, visiting the children after multiple weeks off for the long school holiday and finding them clean, healthy, nourished, and happily playing with their neighbors, is a sign of a job well done.
Leading up to the first week of school, we surprised our children and their caregivers in their homes. A team of over 100 of our teachers, health workers, administrators, center leaders, and child sponsors from the USA, visited every home of our RTRA students. In Uganda, people love visitors especially if it is your teacher, nurse, or sponsor. First, it was fascinating to see our team spend 10 days going from house to house across so many villages spread out in 4 districts. The team used Boda Bodas (motorcycle taxis), walked on foot, and some rode in the school van, until every one of our more than 1,500 children had been visited. The villages were filled with joy as each child saw a familiar face come to greet them and learn more about how their lives are improving because of RTRA programs.
We chose to canvas the villages door to door so that we could see the up-close transformation work happening in our children at the community and household level. While we had many moments celebrating transformation, we also witnessed a lot of struggle. Raise the Roof’s mission is to advocate for children and community development one household at a time. The way RTRA advocates for the children and communities is from the inside — from the very people suffering from injustices born out of decisions made by corrupt government bureaucrats, greedy relatives, land thieves, corruption in justice systems, human trafficking, labor exploitation, sexual violence, poverty, price gouging, denial to healthcare, educational malpractice, and more.
This Lent, we have an opportunity. Lent marks the 40-days before Easter. Historically, people give up certain enjoyable things for this season as a way of focusing their minds more on Jesus, the meaning of his suffering and unjust death, and seeking forgiveness for the ways we have not lived up to God's standards of love and community. Traditionally, people give up things for a season. Rather than give something up, why not embrace something new? Why not embrace the cry for justice? Why not journey with the RTRA children and staff as we pray for justice during this season of Lent?
Our students and staff are learning about justice. Each one of them has known an injustice at a personal level or communal level. We have invited them to share from their hearts about injustices they have experienced or witnessed. What you will see in our Lent Prayer Journey are stories that are very personal. Yes, they are heavy and show pain, but this is what many of the children and staff are praying about this Lent. They are not victims anymore, but survivors. Our healing is ongoing and you are part of it. We are on a long walk to justice. At RTRA, we believe that injustices should be brought to light and that as we add to our number of advocates, our voices will grow stronger and louder and transformation will become even greater.
The full RTRA Lent Prayer Journey is attached for you to follow along and write your own reflections. We have also created a RTRA Lent Prayer Journey Facebook Group and will be posting the prayers and photos during the 40 days. All are welcome to join, and we encourage you to print and share with your friends, family, and churches.
With Gratitude,
Marlene Ssebulime
