December 2024: Can a Simple Approach Solve a Complex Problem?

We know from the broad witness of Scripture that poverty has three main causes: personal choices, injustice, and calamity. In some cases, one of these causes is clearly at the forefront, and in others, a combination is at play. For children and young people experiencing poverty, they are most often the victims of injustice and calamity.

These are certainly the reasons why so many Ugandan youth are trapped in cycles of poverty and loss. There are structural problems in the country that lead to widespread economic instability and prevent access to education and healthcare, placing many Ugandans in daily contact with injustice and calamity. And in certain cases, the adults in the lives of our Ravens Youth have made personal choices that added to their troubles.

Each Ravens Youth and each youth on the Ravens Waitlist has been affected by large-scale systemic issues and serious personal misfortunes. Because the problems are so complex, we know that they’re not going away overnight.

So why do we think Ravens' simple work can make a difference?

To look at it one way, the work of Ravens Ministries is a drop in the bucket. What are 47 youth—or even a couple hundred—against the tally of millions who are struggling under system-wide problems? But Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed: from the smallest seed in the garden, the largest tree can grow—and life for many can be found in its branches (Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19).

That is why we believe in our work: shepherding one person from poverty and loss into stability, community, and a sustainable future is Kingdom work. And each of those “ones” will come together to create a multitude: the smallest investment grows to provide relief to many.

And we’re not the only ones who believe in our approach: According to a 2024 report from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, 44% of Uganda’s children suffer from multidimensional poverty. And according to that same report, one of the key policy recommendations is to “Support parents in low-income families to access employment and improve their skills, while facilitating young people’s transition into the workforce.”

That is exactly what we do! Ravens Ministries provides young adults with material and spiritual support to complete their education and find employment—restoring their hope, transforming their lives, and empowering them for their futures.

It’s the simple approach that has a “both-and” effect: we meet the immediate needs of one person at a time so that, one person at a time, we can see change, uplift, and renewal take hold across the whole country.

We have big hopes for 2025 and we want you to be a part of it all! Our goal is to increase Ravens Uganda’s annual budget to $250,000.

This would allow Ravens Ministries to consistently support 60 youth—a 28% increase in impact—and to continue to pay meaningful wages to their Ugandan staff.

In the near term, we want to take 10 youth off of the waitlist this coming January—that means raising $35,520 in new giving. There are 87 young adults on the Ravens Ministries waitlist and many have been on the waitlist for years.

Would you like to make a special end-of-year gift to help reach that goal?