Pastor Ben and his wife, Carol pastor a small church in Wankanya, just outside of Kikyusa. Virgil and Say Yes Board Member, Kevin Wilson, spoke in his church in 2012. We found Ben and Carol to be very hospitable and humble people. One can readily see their hearts are for the Lord and the people they serve.
Besides being a pastor, Ben is skilled at repairing bicycles, a common mode of transportation for many in the Luwero District. When we inquired how his business was going, we were told he was not able to grow the business much due to lack of inventory for parts. He wasn’t complaining – just stating the facts. Say Yes was able to send Ben and Carol $200 to increase the inventory for the bike business. We saw him in 2014 and learned the business had greatly increased with the help of those funds.
When we returned to Uganda in 2015 we visited with Ben and Carol to see the progress. He moved his shop to a more centrally located area for greater visibility. Because of increased income he is now able to pay the rent for his shop and house and has funds to pay any necessary medical bills. He is also able to help with the needs of his church, including the elderly, and paying school fees for children.
We were very impressed with Ben’s commitment and desire to improve things for his family and his church. And because of generous donors, Say Yes was, once again, able to give him more funds to increase the inventory even more.
A 2017 update to this wonderful story of progress: The owner of the space Ben was renting for his bike business wanted to start his own business using that very location. So Ben had to leave that location – he kept the bike business going as best he could from his own home. However, as it turns out, the owner was not successful in his venture and asked Ben if he wanted to come back. The only stipulation was that the owner wanted one year’s rent payment in advance, which Ben didn’t have. But God had different plans. Through a network of communication Say Yes found out about this need and was able to pay the year’s rent up front for Ben – $110! He is back in business and doing well once again! God is Good All The Time!
Ben working on a bike
Ben’s tools for his shop
Ben’s shop in 2016
Ben’s beautiful wife, Carol