Double Hope for Orphans and Needy
About Double Hope
Julius and his wife Sarah grew up in Uganda and were serving in a church in Iganga when they felt a calling to meet the extreme need they saw around them. Families in the Idudi community have been ravaged by AIDS and lack of economic opportunity, leaving kids with little hope for a brighter future. In 2013 they started an orphanage in the nearby village of Idudi. Being high school teachers themselves, Julius and Sarah quickly grew Double Hope to become a school as well as orphanage.
Today, Double Hope is an orphanage for about 40 kids and a pre-k through 7th grade primary school to about 240 kids and a church serving the Idudi community. When a couple from Lighthouse Community Church of Des Moines, IA were able to adopt from Double Hope in 2015, the two churches began to form a strong relationship.
Empowering Education partnered with Lighthouse in Double Hope to begin sponsoring kids at Double Hope in 2019 in order to help Double Hope have the funds to provide the impoverished kids of Idudi with a quality education as well as supporting their physical, emotional, and spiritual growth in order to break the cycle of poverty in the area.
About Idudi
Idudi is a small village in the district of Iganga about 12 miles east of the larger city of Iganga and 85 miles east of the capital city of Kampala. Uganda is known as the “the Pearl of Africa,” and is home to Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake and the source of the Nile River. English is the official language but Luganda is the most common language among many languages spoken throughout the country. Political unrest and lack of employment opportunities have left Uganda with a poverty rate of 21% with an average income of about $150/month. Only about 53% of students (per World Bank) complete primary school (7TH grade) in Uganda.
The Iganga district is primarily agricultural with a large amount of sugar cane farms. The Iganga district also has the largest population of Muslims in all of Uganda at 34%. Christians and Muslims are able to live largely at peace with each other in the area. Julius and Sarah have very much embraced the diversity around them and have had many Muslims who have converted and joined their church.
