Uniform Project Update

What a surprise and blessing it was to receive a large donation last October for the Sakamana students to receive a uniform!

Let me share this amazing story with you. Around September 2023, I chatted with one of my longtime friends. She and her daughters were interested in sending Christmas presents to the Sakamana students. Unfortunately, it was too late in the year to deliver Christmas goodies. For the most part, I didn’t give another thought to my friend’s good intentions. What I didn’t know was how God was working behind the scenes.

In April 2024, I received a message from this same friend asking me to give her a call. When she answered the phone, she was nearly breathless with excitement. “Rebecca, you’ll never believe this!” My dear friend went on to share how God had impressed upon her heart to help Sakamana. Although as a very busy wife and mom, she unbeknowingly brushed this thought to the side. Again, the Holy Spirit impressed upon her heart to help Sakamana. This dear friend said to the Lord, “If this is not just an emotion, if You really desire me to do something for Sakamana, please let Rebecca reach out to me in the next week.”

Now, I am not in daily contact with this dear friend, and of course, I was oblivious to her prayer. Every month, I send personal thank you’s to several donors to stay in touch with our support base. Reaching out to our partners personally is very important to me. The Lord put this dear friend and her husband on my heart as they were literally one of the first partners to sign up for monthly support to Sakamana.

And, Surprise! That week, this dear friend opened her mailbox to find a thank you note from me. She knew it was time to act!

We talked about different ways she could impact the Sakamana students with donations of school bags. There was plenty of time to assemble and send hundreds of school bags for the Sakamana students.

Not long after that, my friend again messaged to say that an anonymous donor from her church had donated enough money for the Sakamana students to receive a uniform! What an absolute shock and blessing.

Sakamana serves students attending over six schools. Currently, we have distributed close to 200 uniforms.

I’ve had multiple parents tell me how grateful they are for the uniform for their child. One mother even grabbed me in a big hug, jumping up and down, and exclaimed, “This uniform will last my daughter for the rest of her secondary school years.” Wow! It is incredibly humbling to think that one uniform will last a student for 4 to 5 years, and the level of gratefulness and enthusiasm this parent communicated was unmatched.

Not only is the uniform project impacting the students, but it also provides employment through tailoring. Some of the uniform designs cannot be purchased in town. It has been wonderful to support a local tailor as she flawlessly constructs uniforms for one of the primary schools.

Thank you to each and every partner that supports Sakamana whether it’s through prayer support or financial support, too. We couldn’t serve our Sakamana students without you!