Founder’s Story
My name is Kabazzi Daniel Sebuchu, and I was born in the rural area of Uganda, in Mayuge District. My parents separated when I was just two months old, and my father remarried. It wasn’t until I was six years old that my father returned and took me to live with my stepmother. Unfortunately, I grew up in an environment where I was not a loved child and was often thought of last when it came to basic needs.
Despite the misery of my childhood, God has been good to me. I received an education, completed university, and graduated with a degree in Computer Science and Information Technology from a local university in Uganda.
For 16 years, my mother searched for me, but I was nowhere to be found. Finally, my father allowed me to spend a one-month high school holiday with her. During that time, I slept in a grass-thatched mud hut. My mother was unable to afford even the most basic necessities of life. It was incredibly difficult waking up each day to see so many needy families, children subjected to child labor, abandoned children, orphans, and kids wandering from nowhere to nowhere without hope. The helplessness I witnessed, especially among families like my mother’s, brought me to tears daily.
One night, I had a dream that felt so real it scared me. In this dream, I was standing before a huge crowd of children—feeding them, talking to them, encouraging them, and nurturing them. I heard God say to me, “I want you to be the Agent of Change for these children.” Little did I know that this was God calling me to be Smiling With Hope to the orphaned, abandoned, poor, needy, and helpless community.
I began asking myself questions, but God had answers for me:
- “I don’t have experience with running an orphanage or caring for children.”
God qualifies the chosen. - “Where will I get the funds to help all these kids and meet their needs?”
I will provide.
In February 2014, Smiling With Hope was born, starting in two mud-made, grass-thatched structures with the help of my local friends. Within just two weeks, over 50 children came seeking help, each with a unique story—abandoned, orphaned, poor, needy, and helpless.
Through miraculous ways, God began connecting me with international friends. With their help and the support of many networks, Smiling With Hope Orphanage and School now cares for over 200 children.
“Together we can change many lives.”