Not just any community nurse!
He calls her Mummy Praise.
Like everybody, really.
But she is actually his sister. They share the same mother.
His father was a good man, a secondary teacher and university lecturer.
Tragically, he suddenly passed away when Trevor was still young.
Praise and Trevor's mother had become a widow for the third time...
Once again, she found herself destitute.
😭
Even though she did what she could to sustain her children, she needed help.
At that time, Praise had started looking after several street-children and was also pretty much raising Trevor, as their mother was busy trying to find work for long hours in an attempt to feed them.
Caring for so many children, while still so young herself and as poor as a church mouse, was indescribably difficult for Praise. She wanted to give up many times and was on the verge of sending the children back to the streets on several occasions.
How this ended up not happening is a story for another day.
By the time Praise had 10 children in her care, including Trevor, she was very desperate for help.
One time, while she was once again crying out to God in distress, Praise felt Him whisper to go to an internet café and look up 'youth having mission'.
As she did exactly that, she came across an organization called
And - unbelievably - she found out that they were working in Jinja, just 2 hours away from where she was living.
WOW! This was promising!
She called up the contact person on the website and believe it or not:
It was Sam Kisolo, a leader not only in YWAM but also of a foster care network comprised of several other YWAM families. He and his wife Irene had already embraced many orphaned children into their family.
Praise immediately made arrangements to meet him.
She hired a van for the trip. As they were half way there, Praise received a call that Sam wasn't able to meet with her after all that day, as he'd had a death in the family.
Her hopes crushed, disappointment was overwhelming Praise as she heavy-heartedly asked the driver to turn around.
After several more frustrating and failed attempts to get together, they finally met months later.
Praise told Sam and Irene her story and asked if she could be taken under the wings of their foster care network as a satellite family, to receive the support she was urgently needing.
Praise and Trevor right around that time.
AND ...
... here comes the fateful - or shall we say - God-orchestrated twist to Praise's story:
This was the very time when I (Isabel) visited Uganda for the first time - December 2010.
Through YWAM, I had connected with this foster care network, which is known as
It was the ministry which impressed me the most amongst all the orphan-care projects we had visited on our trip.
OKM's founder/leader, John Peachey, had come from the UK to meet with Richard and me
(my hubby had accompanied me on that first trip).
For a few days, besides visiting the extraordinary foster families, we shared many conversations of how I might be able to help their beautiful ministry.
It was the last day of our trip. We had arranged to drive back to the airport together.
But first, John had a board meeting with the Foster Parent Network.
As he came out of that meeting, on the 4-hour drive to the airport, he asked me if I could possibly help by fundraising for a certain young, single woman with 10 children who had just asked to be taken into their network of foster families.
Their hearts went out to her and they wanted to help her, but they had no funds to spare.
So this is where I could come in and raise funds for them.
Hmmmm, sounded interesting....
After I arrived home, OKM's social worker sent me photos of Praise and her children with each of their stories. And my heart was DEEPLY moved.
I WAS going to help!
Which I ended up doing - though differently than imagined at that time.
The Kisolo-family offered to take the 10 children off 24-year old Praise so that she could 'have a life' and pursue her ministry in music and to young people in Kampala, rather than have the burden of raising these children.
And she did go back to Kampala - although, when I came back to Uganda - I found out that God had sovereignly brought 17 more children literally into her lap in the 9 months since entrusting the 10 to Uncle Sam and Mummy Irene.
Also a story for another day...
But back to Trevor:
Ever since he was very young, his mother called him doctor.
'My doctor, come here - do this' - etc...
It was funny and people were amused.
But it sure seems that his mother had foreseen ~ or spoken into existence? ~ his calling in life. Ever since he can remember, he wanted to become a doctor.
As I was reading the email from OKM's social worker in December 2010, Trevor stood out to me as a very well-behaved and academically gifted child, with ambitions to become a surgeon. 'I wonder if that'll happen', I remember thinking - not exactly full of faith ... 'That'll take a LOT of money.' 🙂🙈
In September 2011, after my first fund-raising trip (through the USA), I first met Praise and her children, who had by then been integrated into the large Kisolo-family.
I listened to Praise's compelling story next to a swimming pool at a hotel, while the 30+ children of the family enjoyed themselves in the water - a rare treat for them.
Here was Praise on that day, spontaneously surrounded by some of her children.
Fast-forward to now:
Trevor finished his secondary studies with flying colors, thanks to the support from OKM. He did a Discipleship Training School with YWAM in Tanzania and recently finished nursing studies with a full scholarship. Well done, Trevor!
He is a most delightful, thoughtful, smart, wise, kind and honorable young man with a huge heart for people, strong faith and godly values.
While he is still hoping and dreaming about continuing his studies to become a doctor, he is passionately serving people in our community at the moment by caring for their physical needs.
Meet Trevor, Maisha Africa's community nurse
~ future medical doctor ~
I was touched by what he shared with me recently about his work/ministry:
'It is really satisfying to treat people and see them recover. It's one of the best experiences I have gone through.'
By the way, Trevor's mother has always remained a part of his life, even when he was living with the Kisolo-family. He lives close to her now, loves her lots and speaks very highly of her.
And Praise?
She's still Mummy Praise
and big sister
and mentor
and now also his boss.