Katie Davis: Missionary in Uganda
Katie Davis
"People tell me I am brave. People tell me I am strong. People tell me good job. Well here is the truth of it. I am really not that brave, I am not really that strong, and I am not doing anything spectacular. I am just doing what God called me to do as a follower of Him. Feed His sheep, do unto the least of His people." These words from Katie Davis speak volumes of this young woman's heart for the people of Uganda. In December of 2006, 18 year-old Katie Davis from Brentwood, Tennessee, traveled to Uganda on a missions trip she did when she was on her school's winter break. She was immediately captivated with the people and the culture. Completely impacted and changed, she decided to go to Uganda and follow her heart and passion for the Lord.
Despite the criticism Davis received from even her family and friends in Nashville, TN, she followed her calling. She decided not to go to college and to pursue ministry full-time and in the summer of 2007, Katie returned to Uganda to teach Kindergarten at an orphanage. As she walked the children home, she was shocked to see the sheer number of school-aged children sitting idly on the side of the road or working in the fields. She learned there were very few government-run public schools in Uganda, and none in the area where she was working. Most schools in Uganda are privately run and therefore require school fees for attendance, making impoverished children unable to afford an education.
God laid it on Katie's hear to start a child sponsorship program, matching orphaned and vulnerable children who are unable to afford schooling with sponsors anywhere in the world. Sponsors pay $300 per year to send one child to school, providing school supplies, 3 hot meals each day, spiritual discipleship, medical care. Originally planning to have 40 children in the program, Katie had signed up 150 by January 2008. Today the program sponsors over 400 children.
Shortly thereafter, Katie established a 501(c)(3)
"People tell me I am brave. People tell me I am strong. People tell me good job. Well here is the truth of it. I am really not that brave, I am not really that strong, and I am not doing anything spectacular. I am just doing what God called me to do as a follower of Him. Feed His sheep, do unto the least of His people." These words from Katie Davis speak volumes of this young woman's heart for the people of Uganda. In December of 2006, 18 year-old Katie Davis from Brentwood, Tennessee, traveled to Uganda on a missions trip she did when she was on her school's winter break. She was immediately captivated with the people and the culture. Completely impacted and changed, she decided to go to Uganda and follow her heart and passion for the Lord.
Despite the criticism Davis received from even her family and friends in Nashville, TN, she followed her calling. She decided not to go to college and to pursue ministry full-time and in the summer of 2007, Katie returned to Uganda to teach Kindergarten at an orphanage. As she walked the children home, she was shocked to see the sheer number of school-aged children sitting idly on the side of the road or working in the fields. She learned there were very few government-run public schools in Uganda, and none in the area where she was working. Most schools in Uganda are privately run and therefore require school fees for attendance, making impoverished children unable to afford an education.
God laid it on Katie's hear to start a child sponsorship program, matching orphaned and vulnerable children who are unable to afford schooling with sponsors anywhere in the world. Sponsors pay $300 per year to send one child to school, providing school supplies, 3 hot meals each day, spiritual discipleship, medical care. Originally planning to have 40 children in the program, Katie had signed up 150 by January 2008. Today the program sponsors over 400 children.
Shortly thereafter, Katie established a 501(c)(3)