Resty’s story–

When the coordinator of ECM’s Gayaza Sponsorship Project in Uganda visited her sister near Masaka, she had ECM’s training on child trafficking fresh on her mind. So when she learned that a village woman had just rescued a three-year-old child named Resty who was discarded in a sack, she was immediately interested. As she learned to do in her training, she began to ask more questions, to look deeper.

When she learned what had happened to the little girl, she knew she had to get involved. The baby had suffered horrific ritual abuse in a traditional shrine, including having her undeveloped canine teeth cut out of her jaw, undoubtedly for ritual purposes. Her head hung to one side and her neck looked rotten, signs that she had probably been tied up around the neck. Then she had nearly suffocated when stuffed alive into a bag and discarded. She was found nearly drowning in her own feces, and seemingly near death.

In God’s mercy, a kindly lady found the little girl and did everything possible to rescue her, cleaning her up and seeking medical treatment at a hospital in spite of the fact that the child seemed not to see, hear or make any sound, and that all her joints had stiffened, including her backbone. The foster mother named the little girl Hope Tereza, and cared for her valiantly in spite of the fact that she had two other children to care for, one of them also unable to speak, and that her hut leaked badly.

As the police began to search for the parents, two men showed up threatening the foster mother. It turned out that these men had kidnapped the child eighteen months previously and had used her as a sacrifice for rituals in a traditional shrine. The police then were able to locate the parents, who had nearly exhausted all their resources, even selling their land in their search for their missing child.

Resty’s joints are becoming less stiff with therapeutic massage, she seems to be seeing and hearing, and she is now able to smile. Please continue praying for her healing & development.

Resty may never again be normal (although we acknowledge God’s ability to heal). But even if she is never normal, God must have very special plans for her life. Who else could have sent a woman who had such a heart to help her, just when she was at the point of death?

Every Child Ministries is also helping other child victims of ritual abuse, some who have suffered such horrific abuse that out of respect for their privacy, we cannot mention the specifics of their case. Please pray for them!

Your gift today allows ECM to continue to bring hope to children through programs like the Initiative gainst Ritural Abuse and Murder.