PI Gets a Boost from African Connection in North Texas

 Promise International has been reaching out to the needy children in Uganda since 1994.   A small group of concerned Christians from Trinity Episcopal Church in Carrollton, Texas, asked founder, Israel Mwesigwa, to allow them to participate in this charitable work.  Ten years later Israel heard about another small group of Christians working to provide help for needy children in his home country of Uganda.  He sought this group out and discovered that it was headed by a sweet retired couple in Euless, Texas.

Carol and Wayne Housewright had developed a team of Donors who worked to supply the needs of what was known then as, Mercy Orphanage.  Julie Carson, Promise International Board Member said, “Carol and Wayne are wonderful friends!  They know how to make friends.  And, they know how to be a friend.  That simple skill generated deep relationships among quite a number of people.  Those people began to bond to the needy children in Uganda.”  Most of these Donors are members of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas.

Israel offered to bring Mercy Orphanage under the Promise International umbrella in order to extend the purchase power of those Donor dollars given for the care of the children.  Israel went to Uganda to meet the founder of Mercy Orphanage, Jovia Kabuye.  As he began the process of confirming that Mercy was compliant with the local government, they discovered that the orphanage had to change its name because another facility in Uganda already was known as Mercy Orphanage.  In honor of the Christians who were supporting them, Jovia changed the name of the home to Gateway Mercy Ministries (GMM).

As a result of the merger of these two groups, Promise International was infused with new energy, new finances and new expertise by many of these new friends.  In fact, at one point almost half of the Board of Directors was populated by people who came to serve Promise International through friendship with Carol and Wayne Housewright.  Today, those “Housewright Friends” occupy posts on not only the Board of Director, but some also serve on other support Advisory Committees for Promise International.  These friends are not simply figure heads, because Promise International is almost completely operated by these working Volunteers.  These friends, along with help that came from other God given sources, have infused Promise International with increased energy.  This energy is propelling PI into higher levels of service to supply the needs of precious children in Uganda.