One Church, One Container, Many Changed Lives
POSTED ON Aug 17, 2010 / UPDATED ON Jan 27, 2011
Children's handprints dot the outside of the shipping container bound for Uganda.
The enormous container was lifted onto a truck by a crane.
The children in our Uganda Children's Village and staff can't wait for the shipment to arrive.
They set a goal and they made it happen! In just three weeks members of Real Life Church in Valencia, California collected items for Children of the Nations (COTN) children and staff in Lira, Uganda and filled an entire 40-foot sea container. The container has set sail and is now on its way to Uganda with an estimated arrival of mid-October. Our children in our Village Partnership Program in Anai-Okii and our Uganda Children’s Village will be blessed with supplies that will last them for months, if not years.
The project was important not just to the recipients in Uganda, but for the community in Valencia. “Filling the sea container had a tremendous impact on our church and community,” says Brandon Beard, Life Groups Pastor at Real Life. “This project brought us together, and we know the items being shipped will have a long-term impact in the lives of the children.”
Through endless fundraising efforts, Real Life was able to gather $15,000 to cover the cost of the container and shipping. In total, over 14,000 items went into the shipment, including mattresses, playground equipment, school supplies, medical supplies, generators, and much more. Not only will our children in Anai-Okii be blessed with the supplies, but our staff will keep the giant sea container permanently, which they plan to use as a locked storage space for safekeeping.
To add a personal touch, members of Real Life decided to paint the container—a mural on one side and children’s handprints on the other. Dave Schertzer, COTN–USA Resource Director, was impressed. "When I saw the photos of the container with hand prints of all of their Sunday School children,” he said, “I pictured our children in Lira placing their hands within the hand prints.”
Real Life Church has been a major supporter of COTN’s ministry in Uganda since 2007. They have provided both hands-on and financial support—donating funds as well as mobilizing Venture Teams to participate in construction of our homes and school buildings. RLC was fundamental in making COTN’s Uganda Children’s Village a reality. “This project is not just a shipment—it is part of the love our larger family of COTN has for our children in Uganda,” says Dave Schertzer. “This container will be a lasting encouragement for our staff and children—that they have a group in Valencia praying for them each day."
Learn more about donating supplies to our countries!