Picture of Redemption

5/19- Saturday Morning

            This post is mostly informational about ministries of Cornerstone and works in Africa. I know it’s lengthy, but it is so interesting to me it was hard to leave out any details! Even if you don’t read the first part, skip down and read Maggie’s story. It is redemptive, and wonderful!

Cornerstone Leadership Academy

            We got back from “the ranch” today. The ranch is a large piece of land that Cornerstone ministry owns which they bought to be a dairy farm to raise funds for the ministry. It is located in the bush about two hours away from the busy city feel of Kampala. On the ranch property is a primary school, a secondary school, a leadership academy, and a hospitality institite. The leadership academy is called CLA (Cornerstone Leadership Academy). We were able to visit the academy on our first day at the ranch.    The founder of Cornerstone was teaching that day and explained to us that CLA is a two year program between high school and university, and they have one for boys and one for girls. It is a competitive program with about 500 applicants, of which only 25 boys and 25 girls are accepted each year. CLA takes students who have done well in school and seek to further their education. CLA teaches the boys to be trustworthy leaders and the girls, women of virtue. Currently, the boys academy was learning the qualities of a promise keeper. The program is academic, but also includes much character building. What is unique about CLA is the diversity of tribes and religions in one place. In Uganda there are multiple tribes, and they are very separated from other tribes. The largest campus groups currently, are the tribal groups. Cornerstone is trying to overcome this segregation. In addition, Uganda is a mix of Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, and Seventh Day Adventists. Instead of teaching a strictly Christian curriculum and automatically ostracizing anyone of any other religion, CLA is simply based on the life and teachings of Jesus; once again, bridging the gap.

            After hearing about CLA, we were able to eat with the boys of the school. Each of us were with a different small group, and the boys had many questions! Everything from Obama, to marriages, to schools, to tanning beds, to unlimited refills! We also had many questions for them, just about life in Uganda and the culture here. It was obvious that the boys are hardworking, dedicated and smart. They will truly be great leaders in their community! Through time with these boys, we were once again overwhelmed by Ugandan hospitality. People here are so welcoming and loving and have embraced us despite being strangers only here for a short time.

AHI & Maggie’s Story

            On the ranch property there is also the African Hospitality Institute, which is where we stayed. Near the ranch are a few small villages with whom AHI partners with. AHI was created by Maggie Josiah approximately seven years ago.

            Maggie was a victim of child abuse, prostitution, and pornography. This abuse lasted until she was 30 years old. The next ten years she spent in therapy. When she turned 40, she realized that yes, the first part of her story had been terrible, but she had a say in how it ended. So for the next ten years she promised to do everything in her power to change her story. When she turned 50 years old, she decided to further this change by moving to Africa. She commented that many victims of similar circumstances as her own die young: from suicide, drug overdose, or AIDS. She realized that was not the case with herself, and did not understand why she had received a second chance. The only way she could come to terms with this grace, was to give it away; which is what she now does.

            AHI is first, a guest house which often houses missionaries. The staff of AHI are graduates of the AHI program. The program is a two year training program which takes teenagers/young adults, who have fallen through the cracks in the education program, and gives them skills to work or even create a job. The program teaches the students how to cook, clean, and exceptionally work in the hospitality industry. Maggie explained to us that what she loved about the program was that it taught true independence. Instead of simply helping these kids, it teaches them how to help themselves. While in the program, the students also learn about finding a place to live, paying rent, and managing a budget. Many of the students are offered jobs by local hotels before they even graduate, because of the recent recognition of the caliber of students graduating from the program.

            I love that Maggie lives a story of redemption. I love what she is doing in the middle of nowhere, Africa. I love the uniqueness of her ministry. I love how real she is. She is simply Maggie, who has a story to share and a story to further write.