Mabel’s Story
Dear Friends of H3:
You may remember that in 2019, our H3 family sent out a request for prayer for a Ugandan team member who had moved to the U.A.E. and then gone mysteriously silent. We were all so worried about our friend Mabel, especially when one of our team members received this message:
I have been having problems with my family and school.
There was a time I felt like dying. Lots of problems at home, mom sick, my little cousins out of school, no money. So i went to the Arab countries to work so i can be able to help at home but it's not ok here. I work a lot and I'm getting weaker. So I'm thinking of just going back home and let God take us through it all.
Mabel's health deteriorated quickly and we realized that she was in a very dangerous situation when we received this message and heard that her passport and other personal documents were being held by her employer.
I'm praying that these people allow me to go back home. They treat me badly like a slave. I work a lot yet they pay me less. I feel sick but they dont want me to go back home. Life is not easy for me at all. But God will make a way.
Unfortunately, from the United States there is very little that we can do to help these kinds of situations. Even the American Embassy is not able to intervene in the case of a Ugandan. We were so relieved when we heard the news that Mabel had been released from a hospital to be allowed to return home. Team member Paul interviewed Mabel this month to hear the whole story:
A few markers to help you navigate the interview:
0:00 Mabel's introduction to H3 and her work with the clinics
7:00 Mabel's family slides into a situation of poverty and illness
13:00 Faced with joblessness and the loss of education, Mabel realizes that she must also find another place to live
18:00 Mabel makes her way to the U.A.E.
28:00 Hospitalized and alone in the U.A.E., Mabel is rescued and sent back to Uganda
While Mabel's story ended in rescue, many women in similar situations of desperation and poverty fall prey to schemes to get them out of the country, either as cheap expendable laborers or sex workers. Once in a foreign country, their passports are taken away and they are forced into isolation. Contact with friends and family is cut off. Their working conditions vary from unhealthy to abusive. Many women simply disappear.
If we can intervene in this situations before these women become so desperate, we can prevent that trafficking and exploitation from happening. Mabel is now working for H3 Uganda and handles patient follow-up and outreach. Our passion is to reach more women like her to give them attainable education, marketable job skills, and employment.
I was happy I’m going to start working with H3 because they know me. They’re like family, they’ve known me for years, and they love people. They would support me and they would be there for me, and I literally would have a family out there.
H3 supports Ugandan young women who are unable to otherwise find meaningful employment. H3 Uganda is developing and piloting an internship in which we provide a living wage for one young woman who in turn volunteers at a nonprofit, learning job skills and contributing meaningfully in her community. ($400 per month allows a young woman to stay off the streets and gain marketable work experience.)
Don't forget that we're asking for a friend! Although we haven't been able to travel to Uganda this year to put on a medical clinic, our Ugandan team is busy with growth and expansion. We are committed to support their work from here by raising American dollars. If you know of a friend who would be interested in finding out more about our mission work in Uganda, forward this newsletter on as a way of introduction. If you have a name of someone you would like us to contact, feel free to pass on that information by replying to this newsletter. Thanks for helping us spread the news!
What your dollars do in Uganda:
$3.50 = cost of care for one patient in an H3 clinic
$50 = feed a Ugandan family for over two weeks
$120 = one year of follow-up care for a patient
$400 = one month salary to support a young woman
$1500 = boarding school for a year