Family Groups

Worcester family at the 20-year reunion in July 2008

The heart of New Hope Uganda’s mission of setting the lonely in families and working to bring the Fatherhood of God to the fatherless can be seen in the Kasana Children’s Center’s  family groups. New Hope believes that the best way to “set the lonely in families” is to do just that. Each child living at NHU full-time is a valued member of one of our seven family groups. Each family group has family parents, both a father and a mother, as well as a group of “aunts” and “uncles” (staff) who help provide additional parenting, love, discipleship and mentoring. Our desired family group size of 12-16 has tended more towards 18-20 as we have tried to continue to meet the needs of children in our community. Because of this, the additional family associates- other NHU staff - provide much needed help.

By choice or necessity, most children’s ministries rely primarily on house mothers to guide orphaned children. New Hope’s commitment to provide a father for each child who lives with us is somewhat

Worcester family compound

unique. The emphasis on family is as well. All family associates (adult members of a family group), work to point the hearts of the children towards their family father and mother and ultimately to their Father in Heaven.

It is in their family group that a child can develop a sense of security, belonging and identity. By the grace of God, we desire to launch out godly, self-sufficient young adults with a God-centered, Biblical worldview who desire to give to others what they have experienced in physical and spiritual family.

The goal of each family group is to do the following:
- To provide safe, welcoming, nurturing family for each child.
- To meet the basic needs of each child: health, hygiene, clothing, food, shelter.
- That each child will become a true servant worshiper of God through:
- receiving salvation from God through faith
- experiencing relationship, discipleship, evangelism, and character training
– developing a discerning, God-centered, Biblical worldview.

- To empower children towards a life of self-sufficiency:
- developing good agricultural techniques (families grow up to 70% of their own food)
- developing entrepreneurial skills through “family businesses”
- developing individual responsibility
- developing a discerning, God-centered, Biblical worldview.

While our family groups have difficult issues like any family does, we strongly believe that God has set our children into these families and that the love and connections made with them will be used by the Spirit to start the process of replacing that which the orphaned or abandoned child has lost. Ultimately, it is the work of the Spirit that will transform the orphan heart into the heart of an accepted son or daughter.

Learn about sponsoring a family group