Amid the hustle and bustle in Uganda, you will find hundreds of little ones in the east African city playing and dancing at Happy Times Childcare Initiatives. While you cannot deny their joy, the packed orphanage is a stark reminder of the desperate need to help the abandoned and abused.
"There's an incredible number of children without families,” shares Laurie Coombs. “Their stories are beyond anything that you can even imagine."
The Coombs family knows many of the children and they even adopted one little girl - baby Joy. It was an arduous road for Laurie and Travis Coombs, as well as their biological daughters, who were committed to praying her home.
"Their hearts are as invested as ours are,” says Travis about his daughters. “When we were struggling through the long adoption process their commitment to the adoption kept us going a lot of times."
"We brought her home and I just had this intense feeling in my heart that there's more to this, there's definitely more to this," Laurie adds.
That's when the need presented itself. After learning Happy Times was barely sustaining the children's lives, the couple launched a Reno-based non-profit ministry called A New Song International. The 501(c)3 is designed to financially help Happy Times grow a sustainable infrastructure to feed the children, educate them and provide medical care.
"We were able to hire an on-staff nurse, so she's there 24 hours a day and she cares for the children," the Coombs say.
The non-profit also want to create a 50-acre irrigated farm to not only feed the children, but sell the remaining goods for profit to keep the lights on. They are currently harvesting the first crops of beans and maize; bananas, mangoes, cassava, matooke and sweet potatoes will be harvested soon.
You can help, too. Laurie brings back to the United States hand-made, paper-beaded Ugandan necklaces to sell. They will begin appearing in stores around town. All the proceeds benefit A New Song International. You can also sponsor a child monthly or make a one-time donation. Some folks have even offered to host fundraisers to raise money for this international effort.
To learn more, visit https://www.anewsongintl.org/.
