Our Vision
The worst pain is seeing a child denied quality education because of a war they’ve never seen and parents they won’t ever see again.
I’m not too proud to admit, we got it wrong. In 2016, I founded Gen House with a mission to care for the fatherless after reminiscing on the loss of my own dad. However uniquely, I had always been moved to care for the vulnerable since I was a young, four-year-old, little girl. My mom can personally testify that I was steadfast on a mission to care for disadvantaged children in Africa then, rather than pick up the latest toy for my age group.
It wasn’t until I stepped foot on the continent that I learned this is bigger than orphans. In 2014, my alma mater Spelman College granted my first steps onto Uganda’s soil to wrap up my International Studies/ International Development degree as a study abroad. That single trip is where I met co-founder, Ocen Francis and learned of his double-orphaned childhood growing up in the former war here. I also studied under incredible African lecturers about the state of Northern Uganda’s development. From them, I learned that since the LRA War, Acholi people have suffered tremendously from subpar reconstruction to restore the wealth of life that was once here. Even more, I learned that orphaned and vulnerable children were a major effect of that insurgency but, they were only one of the many lasting pieces.
I couldn’t shake the feeling of belonging here since my trip in 2014. I couldn’t turn a blind eye to the poverty I saw and unyielding desire to go back and do something. Well, after walking the stage in 2015, I returned to Uganda to serve as a missionary at an orphanage here. That pivotal experience allowed me to witness the ins and outs of residential orphan care— the good, the not so good, and the very ugly.
Ultimately, I learned that the gift of residential care was a common solution to orphan crises everywhere. However, seven years later, I realized that it is not the best solution, and that national and international legislation are demanding for a better response to orphanhood. That response is keeping the children in families.
Globally, people are now praising the significant impact of children remaining in family care, and advocating for their support through education. In Northern Uganda, this is the greatest gift you can offer a vulnerable child so that they can know their families, understand society from an Acholi worldview, grow their minds through the blessing of education, and secure a way out of poverty through academia and employment.
When we planted a church in 2021 and began building heartfelt relationships in our very poor village, this lightbulb went off for me. Immediately, I knew we had to pivot from sole orphan care because it was clear: the devastation in our village and slow rebuilding of Acholiland were in far greater need than residential orphan care. In fact, the grave poverty that accompanies orphanhood and growing up in a post-war setting loudly hinted that education was the best way to drive children out of their vulnerable situations. Truly, orphans cannot regain their parents, but they can be granted an opportunity to flourish beyond the pain of losing their provision. Even more, our neighbors knew we planted ourselves in the village for to care for orphans; still, they desperately asked for a school.
So we’re committed to that now. We are filling in the voids of poverty that the LRA War left, including the pain of children growing up without parents to pay school fees. And instead of supporting from afar, we are rooting ourselves as good neighbors in the hardship of our community daily. Our eyes are open to their struggles and our ears are keen to their cries. And because we’ve been attentive— carefully noting their needs— we could easily shift our mission to practically building bridges of escape from their difficulties. Now, by providing access to quality and affordable education, orphaned and vulnerable children, struggling families, and desparate neighbors can all secure the bright future that they rightfully deserve.
How mindful of God to send us for this great mission!
Jordan Ocen
Founder and Executive Director of Gen House