This year, help us meet a $16,000 Giving Tuesday challenge and strengthen Meros Africa
You shape the leadership of missions by providing an opportunity for high school students to learn Community Health Ministry. On a humid Sunday morning in Uganda, four Fox Valley Lutheran High School students squeezed into a packed church near Mukono Uganda. For three hours they joined music, dancing, and a sermon on the “Day of the African Child,” calling the congregation to see children with the dignity, respect, and love they have in Christ.
They didn’t come to “do a project.”
They came to learn:
- How Ugandan churches, schools, and Christian health ministries care for youth
- How listening, data, and the gospel come together in real community health ministry
Throughout the year, these students completed the Meros Community Health Ministry Certificate—learning theology of health, mental health ministry, cultural awareness, and basic community research tools. They practiced interviews and participatory learning activities with leaders in Wisconsin, then used those same skills in Uganda engaging with over 250 youth.
They helped with an ongoing study to develop a faith-based youth sexual education program, administering surveys to teens and facilitating participatory learning activities. They listened as young people talked about relationships, sexuality, and the future in their own words.
One student reflected afterward:
“I learned how nice it felt to be welcomed warmly, so when I see someone who is new, I will welcome them warmly.”
Others described becoming more confident, more willing to try new things, more open to traveling and working in new cultures, and more interested in research and medicine as ways to serve Christ and neighbor.
Two-Way Impact: Uganda First, Students Always
Because Meros is committed to “community comes first,” the Uganda trip was not built around a U.S. project. Students simply stepped into work that Ugandan churches and Christian organizations already owned.
Their survey and group work generated faith-based health data now helping a Ugandan community design youth programs that support the mental and spiritual wellbeing of its teens.
Be Part of the Story
When you give to Meros, you are:
- Standing with church and community leaders who want to care for youth with wisdom and compassion
- Encouraging students who are discovering that research can be a calling
- Fueling a global movement that connects people more deeply to Jesus’ love through evidence-informed ministry
Give Now – Double My Gift: For a limited time, the impact from all gifts will be doubled – up to $16,000 – through a Challenge grant from generous friends of Meros.
With gratitude,
Jason, Executive Director
for the Meros Center