Bringing Hope To The Families
Background/Context
My curiosity in medicine first started at age 15, watching Dustin Hoffman’s Outbreak, which features a precocious monkey that sparks an epidemic as an Ebola-like virus spreads throughout the U.S.. This spark of curiosity grew with Michael Crichton’s novels, and even more so when I became aware of organizations like Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - Doctors Without Borders - deploying healthcare providers into combat zones, under-resourced areas, and hot zones. When I finally decided to explore medicine as a career, infectious disease paired with a Master’s in Public Health called to me. I wanted to be that doctor deployed into high-risk, high-conflict, under-resourced areas. But, life took me into surgery instead.
With surgery, I soon realized that surgical humanitarian outreach was a vital need in many countries. The thought of working with MSF remained a major interest of mine throughout my medical school education and residency. Unfortunately, life had different plans for me and the excuses piled up: I didn’t have the money, it wasn’t the right time, I had a wife/baby/someone at home, I couldn’t commit to being in a need-based area for 6 or more months, and so on. The barriers mounted, the dream drifted, and my resignation confirmed that this aspiration would go unmet.
One day, as Tami and I were building our life together, she mentioned that she had longtime clients and friends, Will and Sandy Bredberg, who ran a charitable organization, ThinSpace: Africa. For the past 15 years, she had been wanting to join them in their humanitarian work in rural Uganda. Their host, Bringing Hope to the Family, is a visionary organization started in 2000 by Faith Kunihira Philo, serving the Kaihura village in Kyenjojo, Uganda. Faith started Bringing Hope after returning to her home and discovering there were plenty of needs but no solutions. Like a force of nature, she brought both solutions and hope back to the people of Kaihura, and now Kyenjojo district as a member of parliament, and the impact has been astounding.
Uganda: The Pearl of Africa
Before arriving in Kaihura, we had the chance to experience another side of Uganda: its forests, its wildlife, and a remarkable story of redemption. Uganda borders South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Kenya, all nations that have experienced, or are still experiencing, civil wars and unrest. Uganda itself endured its share of tyrants and warlords, most infamously Idi Amin and Joseph Kony. Dian Fossey had drawn global attention to the plight of the mountain gorillas in the Virunga forests. But over the last 40 years, Uganda has shifted. A period of peace has overtaken its violent and unstable past. The government invested in conservation efforts, maximizing revenue through tourism. Poachers once responsible for killing the endemic gorillas were trained instead to become skilled trackers, protectors, and guides. Change was afoot, and hope was at the center of it. The mountain gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest have flourished again because communities came together to protect them.
To see the gorillas in their natural habitat was a bucket list experience for Tami and me. The trip was long but beautiful. We checked off the requisite formalities: yellow fever vaccine, malaria pills, visas. We packed everything we needed for mountain trekking and village exploring. After more than 24 hours on planes, including a flyover of Queen Elizabeth Park where we saw herds of elephants, hippos, and water buffalo, we eventually made it to Kisoro. From there, we rattled and rolled in a Land Cruiser over bumpy roads to the Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge.
From the gorilla lodge, we took walking tours into the nearby town, spent time with the Batwa tribes, and observed the mountain gorillas for four hours. Our group included two silverbacks, two blackbacks, three females, and a seven-month-old baby. Their human qualities and complex social dynamics were both humbling and astonishing to witness up close. Sitting among this family as they tolerated our presence was an experience we will never forget. From senseless killing to education, conservation, and protection, the story of the gorillas became our first living embodiment of love and hope in this country.
Initial impressions
After our time in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, we made our way back to Entebbe to meet up with our team. Over the next nine hours, we experienced Uganda by van, stopping in villages to try roadside pineapples, sweet bananas, and my favorite, chapati. For miles, children waved vigorously, shouting “hello!” while many adults looked at us with a mix of curiosity and caution. The energy was frenetic but joyful. Heads and eyes looked up, not down at phones or devices. People were connected in communities, engaged with each other, and commuting in pairs or groups of two to four on motorbikes. Some might dismiss this as a lack of modernization or the comforts of technology, but what I saw were people being people with people, an echo of Ubuntu, that reminds us, “I am because we are.” It was reminiscent of a time when we once engaged face to face rather than through apps and screens.
Meeting the people
I’ll never forget what Faith and her team said to us when we arrived in Kaihura: “Welcome home!” Their warmth and kindness embraced us as we introduced ourselves and met new people. We were immediately invited into their homes, fed, and welcomed as part of their family. Will and Sandy have been coming for more than fifteen years, offering dental care at first and later sharing ministry through Christian teachings, so they truly were family. Small children ran up to us to touch our skin and give us high fives. “Mzungu” became a common word we heard, meaning “white people,” though I playfully reminded them that I have brown skin from my Mexican American heritage. There was no contempt or stigma in the word; it was spoken with wonder and endearment.
Faith’s village
When she began, Faith had a small home, some land, and a vision. Today, that vision has grown to meet needs as they arise: two primary schools serving pre-K through third grade on the lower campus and fourth through seventh grade on the upper campus, administrative buildings with dedicated departments and teams, a medical clinic, a newly constructed maternity ward, a children’s home for kids up to age three, separate boys’ and girls’ homes for orphans who have lost everything, a vocational home where young people are trained with skills for work and livelihood, and farmland that feeds the community, creates jobs, and provides resources. In such dire circumstances, the essential elements that never disappeared were hope and humanity. In just over twenty years, she has completely transformed this village, mobilizing resources to meet needs and continually inspire hope. Nobody is turned away. Nobody is left behind. When asked why, she said simply: the community needed solutions, and there were none. So she created them.
On our first day, we toured the facilities and met the children, the staff, and the community. What we witnessed was joy. What we felt was welcome. What I wondered was how. In the face of losing one or both parents, of families unable to care for them, of moving away from home into a foreign place from birth through adolescence, you would expect grief and dysregulation. But it wasn’t. The children maintained their youthful vigor. Villagers stayed grateful despite long treks to the medical clinic. Classrooms of fifty students were engaged and grateful to be taught by two teachers. Twenty babies, ages zero to three, played together on a square carpet while five caregivers took turns holding and loving them. This place was graced by something extraordinary, a humanity rarely seen in the hustling streets of urban America. There was respect, structure, and discipline, but it was held together by kindness, compassion, and love.
Witnessing the impact
In just a short time at the village, we learned so much. The continual sacrifice and selflessness of this community have made an indelible impact on countless young lives. In only two decades, Bringing Hope to the Family has become a lifeline for its people. A few snapshots of their impact:
3,000+ children and caretakers supported directly and indirectly each year.
Over 1,000 students enrolled across all levels of education, with alumni now serving as teachers, doctors, midwives, and lawyers.
198 children cared for in the Home Again Children’s Home, plus 88 more in foster families, each given safety, love, and education.
The medical center treats 15,000+ patients annually, delivers 156 babies a year, and provides the only two ambulances serving a district of 386,000 people.
187 clean water wells built, bringing safe drinking water to villages that once had none.
1,890 girls trained in life skills, including 11 young mothers reintegrated back into school.
505 vocational graduates equipped with practical skills, now working to sustain themselves and their families.
146 households received cows, 56 families goats, and 36 families beehives, empowering families through sustainable livelihoods.
A new 4,000 sq. ft. maternity ward completed, elevating the health center to regional level and ensuring safer childbirth for mothers.
11 out of 29 health staff are former BHTF children, now serving their own community as midwives, doctors, and clinicians — living proof of transformation.
These are just a few glimpses of the reach and transformation this organization has made possible. There are many more stories, numbers, and lives touched than I could capture here, but I would be glad to share more with anyone interested. If you’d like to see for yourself, you can click here.
Breaking my perspective
Affluence, privilege, technology, and modern advancement do not equal happiness or joy. Joy was always present in the smiles and activities of children who had been stripped of their shelter, their families, and their communities. Robbed of opportunity, yet finding sanctuary in the grace of these people’s hearts and generous spirit. There are no grief counselors, therapists, or specialists to console the myriad of children struggling with trauma. There are no SSRIs handed out by the dozens or recurring psychedelic therapies offered to groups. Their most powerful healing modality? Connection. They are connected to people, to purpose, to community. They are immediately integrated into a family that treats them with acceptance, kindness, generosity, respect, and love. Everyone in need is welcomed into the village. And as the saying goes, “it takes a village.” For me, that phrase had always felt like a platitude until I witnessed it in action. This write-up, these words, are a pale attempt to capture the beauty of what we experienced. But there was so much movement, so much gratitude, and so much inspiration that I felt compelled to share our experience in the hope that your lives and hearts might be touched too.
Living the transformation
Our time in Uganda catalyzed an internal shift that radiated outward. I was apprehensive about traveling nine hours in a car to a remote village with limited resources and uncertain how I could help. But what I realized was that maybe I was there to learn from them. To shed and shatter any preconceived notions or attachments to the comforts of modern living. There was no discomfort in living simply. We had beautifully prepared meals (the chapati was the best), stimulating conversations, inspirational encounters, heartwarming experiences with children and adults alike, a deep connection to our shared humanity, and a radical shift in perspective that left me thinking, feeling, and reflecting for days. The moment we left, we began making plans for the next year: how we could contribute, who we would invite to share this special place, and how we could stay connected to the lives that touched us as much as we touched theirs.
Spreading the love
If you feel inspired or moved, please consider reaching out to contribute to this incredible organization. They do not need or want pity, because they do not feel that for themselves. They are strong, resilient, and capable. They use every opportunity, stretch every resource, and think of each other before they think of themselves. To put this in perspective, I spent about $450 and helped save a young boy’s life, a child who would not otherwise have had access to advanced medical diagnostics or treatment. Most people do not bat an eye when buying a new set of headphones or a smartphone, yet those same expenses could literally save, educate, nourish, treat, or clothe multiple lives in need. There is a link below to donate, and I would strongly encourage you to follow your heart and give what you can. Any amount, and I mean any amount helps.
Bring the Hope
Unlike Greek mythology, where Prometheus had to steal the flame of the gods to give it to humanity — for which he was punished nonetheless — the flame of hope, inspiration, and love is given freely here. What I carried home was not just the memory of Uganda but the reminder that our greatest resource is each other. Despite differences in geography, resources, or culture, we are all people on this planet. Witnessing people, just like you and me, doing extraordinary things under extraordinary conditions reminds me that I can do a little more. Inspires me to try a little more. And convinces me that we are all capable of more. I would love for you to be a torchbearer, sharing and spreading the hope that radiates from places like this in the world. If you are interested in learning more, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
To Donate: Bringing Hope to the Family USA
With love and light,
John Moos, MD