25 Years of Abaana
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By Scott Baxter, CEO Abaana
It’s hard to believe Abaana has been serving children in Africa for a quarter of a century! Twenty five years ago, as a teenager, I felt that God had put it on my heart to help children in Africa, although I didn’t know how or what that would look like. After finishing my student days at Regent House School, I set off on a gap year working voluntarily for some charities who worked with children in Africa. This ended with the establishment of Abaana.
At the same time, I started my University degree, so I wasn’t sure where God was leading. However, after a year at Capernwray Bible School and receiving some advice from friends, family, and my pastors, I decided to work voluntarily for a year for Abaana and … we are still here, 25 years later!
One of the key things that I learnt when I went to Bible school was that God was passionate about injustice. Frequently across the Old Testament, you can read the evidence that when people were oppressed, God raised up prophets to bring justice.
In Isaiah 58, God was calling his people to loose the chains of injustice, to set the oppressed free, to share food with the hungry and to clothe the naked.
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see this in action. He preached the good news on the same stage as He healed the sick and fed the hungry. He walked alongside people, He cared for people and He wept with them in their distress.
In a time where we are facing some of the highest inflation I have seen in my lifetime, I am also aware that I am blessed that I get three meals a day, have free medical care, I have a nice house and a car. I am blessed compared to 90% of the world, and incomparably blessed compared to those living in extreme poverty in Africa.
Abaana exists to show these people that God loves them, through supporting communities in Uganda in education and community based projects and working with the local church.
In 2005, I remember so clearly sitting down at one of our first schools in Uganda, Matthew Cardwell Primary in Mpata, just after it was built. We had first visited the school a year before, and I recalled as we arrived in our 4x4, I thought I was approaching a cattle shed. When we got closer, I heard the children inside and you could see them peeking out through the walls.
I still remember feeling the burning injustice, as I thought about how I had gone to a brilliant primary school in Bangor (Kilmaine Primary). I could have listed what seemed like an infinite catalogue of the things I was blessed with, that these children didn’t have. So Abaana set about trying to help this one school. Over the next 12 months, we fundraised in churches and youth groups, mostly around Northern Ireland, and eventually raised enough funds to build them a new school.
And here I was, sitting in the new school, with hundreds of children running around the playground at lunchtime. As some of the children and staff greeted the visitors, there was a real sense of gratefulness and thankfulness to God.
As I sat and looked at each of the children and thought about the fundraising over the previous year, I wondered how many people from across Northern Ireland had contributed?
It was a humbling experience, as I was receiving the thanks that these people deserved. As I was presented with a chicken, I remember feeling that I wished I could bring each of those supporters out to Uganda to hear the “thank you” personally.
As we fast forward to the 25th year, we now partner with 17 communities across Uganda where schools have been built and have sponsored thousands of children through their education.
Ultimately, the work we do is not about the buildings we build or the items we buy. It’s about people and changing lives, sharing God’s love, and equipping them for the future.
Recently, I had the privilege of interviewing Caroline, one of the many children that are now exiting our Sponsorship Programme. Caroline was sitting in that ‘cattle shed’ the day we turned up at Mpata. She remembers the old building and also the new building being built in 2005. She has recently completed her Bachelor of Social Studies degree at University. Caroline is just one example of the thousands that we are currently supporting and who are going through this journey and that is because of people like you.
In 2024, we will be bringing another children’s choir drawn from across our various projects in Uganda to share about what God is doing in their villages. The past two tours have been truly amazing experiences, with the children growing in personal confidence, social skills and returning home fluent in English. Many of the children from the previous choirs have been involved in leadership roles in their schools.
Twenty five years have passed, but the work is not finished. We are so excited because we know that in the next 25 years, we can reach many more with God’s love.
If your church would be interested in finding out more about hosting the choir in 2024, please phone 02891 451918 or visit www.abaana.org/choir
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