Tiny Girl With a Big Heart & Big Dream

She would never talk about herself. Never promote herself. But without her big heart and dreams, I would have no motivation to keep writing these posts. We are both convinced that God brought us together, so we each enthusiastically accept our role in His divine appointment titled SOZO Dream Foundation. And it is impossible to write about the project without writing about the person. There would be no project were it not for this tiny person with a huge heart that embraces big dreams.

Rebecca is back in school for her most demanding hospital rotations and challenging exams as a fourth-year medical student. During her break before this term, she launched an effort to provide a school structure, desks, toilets (pit latrines, for those in Uganda) and a water well (a borehole, for those of you in Uganda!).

During her break, Rebecca discovered a one-acre plot with a “school” structure on it. It was a school for primary students. Because the nearest school was 10 kilometres away, it seemed the only option for educating the small children in the area known as Kabyanga. Though five classrooms were needed, the lack of building materials forced the entire student body to gather at the only end of the structure that gave shade from the hot sun and protection from the frequent rains.

Things change because the world has change agents in it. Rebecca is a change agent. Ignoring the temptation to think nothing could be done, Rebecca rallied some of her fellow students and friends and chose to bring hope to this community.

She grabbed a scripture from the Old Testament to stir up her team: “Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the Lord.

The goal of this project is not simply to provide physical assets for students and teachers but to bring glory to God. The hope and blessings coming to this community are from God, the Creator of Earth and the Redeemer of souls. The purpose of it all is to see God glorified and the lives of people changed: physical life and spiritual life.

It all began with the connection with the teachers and students. Rebecca’s passion for children is deeply rooted in her own existence as an orphan until she was in her twenties. Knowing that someone sees them and cares for them was unbelievable at first. But when the old structure was actually torn down and the new building began to take shape, hope began to take root.

It was hard for the community to believe that a group of young adults still in medical school could take on such an ambitious project. But God was the Originator of the vision, and He drafts the willing and able. Soon materials arrived by truck, and the basic structure of five separate classrooms, with a roof!, put smiles on the faces of Rebecca and her team. Walls followed. Hope was growing as excitement was building.

Not only was there a new structure, but each of the five classrooms had a door with a lock. And each was equipped with a chalkboard!

Parents, teachers, students and the entire community did a lot of head-shaking in disbelief as this school building seemed to pop up from nowhere. As Rebecca said, “from nothing to something.” And this is just the beginning.

Psalm 127:1: “Unless the Lord builds a house, those who build it labor in vain.”