I first became involved with VPI’s work in Papoli Uganda as a result of my friendship with Dr. Sylvia Campbell. Dr. Campbell cared enough to respond to an e-mail cry for help from a young girl with a heart defect. She lived in the village of Papoli, Uganda. This condition could not be treated locally. So, working one of her miracles, Sylvia was able to arrange for surgery and transportation to the States. The girl’s name is Martha Kawala. Martha’s uncle, Emmanuel Ofumbi, accompanied her on her journey to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa. I sat and waited with Emmanuel during Martha’s surgery. In between prayers I learned a great deal about Uganda. Ofumbi indicated to me that Uganda’s greatest need was for leadership due to the decimation wrought by the scourge of AIDs. He thought that the most direct route to providing for future leaders was education.Sylvia and I had talked about Martha’s future. We committed to seeing she would receive an education. Dr. Campbell had envisioned her studying in the States and perhaps entering the field of medicine. That was not to be but we did see to her education on her return to Uganda. Today she is a college graduate teaching in a local secondary school. Working with the Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church of Tampa, we have been able to provide scholarships for fifteen other children in the Ofumbi clan. Five of whom are college graduates today. A small part of the leadership goal is now in process.
Upon following visits to Uganda, we discovered that there were other needs to be met before a widespread educational impact was possible. Of these, clean drinking water was the most immediate. Over time, working with the Church, seven deep fresh water wells were drilled. Also housing, food and medical care emerged as priorities for a successful education program. We soon learned that we could not provide for one need without seeing the whole picture of needs. It was with this awareness that Village Partners International was born.
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