David Kamanzi’s story is one of heart ache and hope. He was only 8 years old when his parents were imprisoned by the Ugandan dictator for preaching the gospel. As a result, he was left alone to fend for himself on the streets of Mbararra Uganda. Left alone and nowhere to live, he and another orphaned boy built a make-shift treehouse in a large mango tree. It was there by the grace of God and his own ingenuity that he survived until 10 years later when he was reunited with his family who he thought were dead for all those years. David’s heart is to defend and care for those who cannot take care of themselves. Having survived the trauma of living alone as a child he focuses on being a Dad to all the children in the home every day. As he often states, “men need to know how to be a father to the fatherless.”

Esther Kamanzi is a native Tutsi from Rwanda. Her story is one of horrible heart break and forgiveness that left her and her little sister alone to live in a refugee camp after their mother was brutally murdered during the Rwandan genocide in April 1994. Through the grace of God, a neighbor helped the siblings escape through the jungle only to arrive at the Ugandan border and enter a refugee encampment like all the other thousands who were running for their lives. The environment that she grew up in was difficult but even in those conditions, God had a plan for her life. As she grew into a young woman her heart was moved to help girls who were being physically and sexually abused. She has spent her life being motivated by compassion to be a “Mama” to hundreds of children, many who are adults but also to the children currently in the Home of Love and Dreams.