Brendan's Story

Brendan Avila
Vice-President & Co-founder

Hello, my name is Brendan Avila, I am the co-founder and manager of Bugumiro Foundation Uganda. As I write this, I am filled with a sense of thanksgiving to God in allowing this moment to come about. My friend and fellow co-founder Eddie Wamala and I have discerned, worked, and waited patiently to formally establish this organization. My initial involvement with Bugumiro Foundation Uganda began with my friendship with Eddie. We were classmates at Franciscan University of Steubenville and became fast friends shortly after meeting. I remember what impressed me about him was his trust in God. Hearing him share his life from his humble beginnings in Uganda, his unlikely opportunities to travel globally and study in the United States, and finally his earnest desire to return home and serve deeply inspired my faith. I was especially impressed by how God’s hand was present in his life. Eddie told me about the orphanage building he began constructing back home and how he had plans to minister to families and children through it. As I said, all these things impacted me, but it wasn’t until visiting his home on a mission trip that my life changed.

The summer following graduation from Franciscan, Eddie led myself and four other classmates to Uganda to finish building the orphanage and ministering to the people of his village. As an American, I was immediately shocked by the lack of material goods people had, and the difficult way of life that resulted. I began to see first-hand the needs Eddie really wanted to address. Because of the harsh conditions, many people feel forced to make difficult decisions by looking to the most readily available and seemingly easiest way to solve them. Understandably, not all of these decisions are the best.

I was struck keenly by this when I had the chance to meet three children under Eddie’s care. Before pursuing a University education in the States, Eddie and his mother were moved to take care of these desperate poor and lonely children: Margaret, Andrew, Joan. When Eddie found them, it was Margaret, the oldest at 12 years, who was providing for her two younger siblings. She was accustomed to walking over 10 miles one way every day to beg on the streets of Kampala to get enough to cover the basic necessities for her siblings. Their own mother abandoned them by fleeing to Sudan shortly before. It was these children’s story that compelled Eddie to begin construction of the orphanage.

Every suffering person has a story and a deeper reason behind their pain. By helping these children, Eddie had a desire to help them “at the root.” The reason these children were abandoned extended beyond what could be identified in social trends or geographical analysis. Every social problem starts with an individual. To go to the root meant to start with individuals, hear their story, and bring them healing through the Gospel. In the case of the children, the answer wasn’t necessarily an orphanage, but it was a loving family who gave each one of them room to express themselves and know they are loved. Eddie wanted to give to others in pain what these children already experienced though his intervention: a loving family.

This was the vision he expressed to me in the organization of which we have recently founded. Being in Uganda seeing the work he wanted to build in the organization was very powerful for me, to say the least. God wants to pour out his love through families. It is through family life that children know they are secure and loved. It is through the family that we all develop our first and most formative image of God as a loving Father. I firmly believed then and believe now that God has called Eddie and I to begin this organization and ministry. I also believe that God has called me to support the organization as a representative and advocate from America. I believe God has yet to do great things, and I encourage all who feel called to help improve the lives of individual families through this ministry.