Written by Jeremy Hawkins.
Mathias Mulumba is currently a student at Colorado Mesa University studying business management and entrepreneurship. He is also a father, a husband, a survivor, a fighter, a dreamer, an entrepreneur, a builder, a believer, and so much more. This is his story.
Long & Difficult Days
Mathias grew up poor in Uganda. His parents could not afford to feed him and his 7 siblings, let alone provide them with an education, so he went to live with a wealthy aunt around the age of nine. His aunt had multiple children who lived with her. Some were her own, others were in situations like Mathias’s. She treated most of them like family, but not Mathias. He felt more like a slave due to the emotional and physical abuse he suffered at her hands.
At his aunt’s home, Mathias’ job was to work in the greenhouse and with the cattle. He would wake up early in the morning, walk several miles to find grass to feed the cows, and bring it back for them. It was exhausting work and would often cause him to be late for school. This in turn brought about physical beating by his teachers. His days were long and difficult, to say the least.
Taking a Chance
After a few years, Mathias decided to run away. He would take his chances living on the streets. Mathias made a plan to leave one morning at the time he would normally be going to get the grass for the cattle, but he accidentally slept in. While asleep, he had a dream. A man showed him people who were struggling in life, many of which were children like himself. Then the man said something surprising. “The children belong to you!”
When he finally awoke, Mathias was relieved to find that it had only been a dream. He was also relieved to discover that his aunt was still asleep. Mathias feared she would beat him to death for sleeping in when she awoke and decided to go through with his plan of running away. He packed a small plastic bag with a blanket and bravely left her home, setting off for a new life alone. The memory of the dream went with him.
From the Streets to School
After three years of living on the streets of Kampala, Mathias met missionaries from Sweden who treated him with the kindness of parents. They sent him to a boarding school, providing him with a place to live and the opportunity to receive an education. They also helped him to begin to see life a little bit differently. Though he still had challenges, he now had someone who loved and supported him. He was able to put the horrors of his childhood behind him (except for the recurring dream about ‘his’ children) and do well for himself.
Finding His Mission
Fast forward several years and numerous fortuitous events, including the meeting of his wife while she was in Uganda on a mission trip. Mathias has now turned the dream that he once thought was a nightmare into his life’s mission. He and his wife have started an organization called Father to the Fatherless, a non-profit that is dedicated to providing support and guidance to children who have lost their fathers. They are now serving those countless children that Mathias dreamed about for so many years.
Father to the Fatherless
Father to the Fatherless is based in Grand Junction, Colorado, but serves the street children, orphans, and widows of Uganda. The organization has acquired multiple pieces of land and is using them to bring hope to the people who need it the most. This includes children who have been abandoned and young girls who are commonly seen as useless.
Father to the Fatherless is constructing medical clinics in areas where there are no hospitals, schools for children who cannot afford an education, and boreholes in communities that don’t have clean water. The organization is also creating jobs for people who have not been able to work. They can come and learn a trade at the new vocational school. Children and widows are being given the chance to not only dream, but to have their dreams become a reality.
Teaching a Man to Fish
Because of his personal experience, Mathias understands what the people he is serving actually need. And rather than trying to just provide for them, he is doing his best to help them provide for themselves. As the saying goes, “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day; if you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” Mathias and Father to the Fatherless are indeed teaching others to fish in order to help bless them for a lifetime.
Thoughts to Live By
There are a few thoughts that Mathias shared that I think are best said in his words. I find them very inspiring, especially considering the extreme physical and emotional afflictions he has faced in his life.
- Past hardships can help us find our way through challenges that arise. They are all footsteps on the path to where God wants us to be.
- It is better to choose to be positive, to choose to accept what we are currently experiencing rather than to say “Poor me.” We can use our challenges to be better and to help others.
- Every tear that you cry and every hardship you face is a tool that God gives you to prepare you for what may come tomorrow.
Forgiveness
Today, Mathias is in a good place emotionally. Although forgiveness can be difficult, he has a refreshing, inspiring perspective on it. Mathias believes that forgiveness is for the person who has been hurt or wronged, not the person who needs to be forgiven. He forgave his parents years ago and now stays in contact with them. All of his siblings are still in Uganda and he is trying to help as best as he can. He also tried to make peace with his aunt. Unfortunately, she passed before he was able to do so.
A Living Testament
Mathias is a man with such a kind, pure heart. He is a living testament to the things he believes and the things that he teaches and is a true example of the effects of God’s “refiner’s fire.” I admire how he has taken his many challenges in life and used them for good as he has turned his dreams into reality.
If you would like to help Mathias with his dream, please visit www.taata.org or www.father2thefatherless.org to learn how. In his words, “We don’t need a million dollars to start to make a difference – it starts with the heart.”
