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Rehema - God has cared for her while her husband is on death row

By the time Abdul was arrested, Rehema was two months pregnant. This situation sent her into one of the biggest dilemmas in her life because at that material time she had two children, Shamim and Mustafa. And above all Abdul was the sole breadwinner; it was a big puzzle that she was set to address. She had no reliable source of income other than the little money she used earn from her only gift God had blessed her with which is plaiting of ladies hair.

With the help of the a lawyer she tried all ways of saving her husband from the Judge’s ruling that he should suffer by being hanged to death. This struggle siphoned a lot of money from her yet her income was so meager, but all this did not help because as we speak now her husband is waiting the hangman’s blow as a condemned prisoner.

Rehema could no longer afford the house they were living in before trouble befell her, and as a result She had to move house, several times in pursuit of cheaper ones she could afford. As all this was happening, her pregnancy was progressing, and the days for delivery grew near. She hated herself and also hated the unborn baby up to an extent of planning to deliver and abandon the baby with the landlady who happened to be a very kind and motherly woman with the hope that she could continue with the older children with ease, by this time Shamim was 3 years and Mustafa 2 years. This was her genuine plan and she was seeing no way out. She had no money to go for antenatal care but all along she was very healthy.

Hours turned into days and days turned into months, and eventually Time came for the baby to be born. She had no one around her apart from her two little children in their one room house, which served as a bedroom, sitting room and kitchen at the same time. Labor pains became intense in the night of the 9th of December 1996 and. on the 10th December 1996 at about 8.00 am, she delivered her baby without any assistance.
The neighbors heard the cry of a new born baby so they ran to try and rescue her only to hear from inside, Rehema telling them that she was very okay and the baby was fine too. She promised that she would open for them later to see the newborn baby. The neighbors were astonished!! Its really amazing how God helps the needy, for where humans cannot be of assistance he is ever there.
She delivered the baby by herself, did all that a midwife should have done, cleaned up herself and later opened the door for the neighbors to come and see the baby and there was Shaban!!!

On the 24th December 1996, using the little money which she had managed to get from plaiting ladies’ hair, Rehema took Shaban to meet his Dad in the prison. So Abdul was able to have a glimpse of his newborn son

By the time we visited Rehema in December 2005,Shaban had just made 9 years, while Mustafa is now 11 and Shamim is 12 years old. In the photo graph on your left Shaban in Green stands next to his Mom.Shaban made 10 years on the 10th December 2006,it coincided with the day on which we held 2006 Hiden treasure party.So we sang happy birth day for him and also he cut a cake.

Strangers who came to visit her telling her about the love of Jesus Christ touched her. Rehema is quite a cheerful lady who has been faithful to her husband who is on death row in Jinja Prison-condemn section. She has hope that with the help of God, one day her husband will be released from prison and she has remained faithful to him.

The children are in school although their performance is poor, because at times they do not study due to lack of funds. Rehema has been able to maintain the family through her meager income, which she earns by plaiting ladies’ hair just at the verandah of her one room where stays and a few relatives do assist her in one way or the other.
She is able to visit her husband once in a while; you can see smiles flowing down her face even when talking about him and even as she narrates her predicament. We thank the Lord who gives her strength from time to time.

We thank God for having allowed us during the hidden treasure season of 2005 and 2006 to meet this family, which has become part of us at Wells of Hope, we are no longer strangers but brothers and sisters. Continue to pray for them so that the lord continually provides for them and also gives them courage to move on.

Mama Shamim(Rehema) having been inspired by the care and love extended to her by Wells of Hope, has gone ahead to take care of two families of prisoners.
It all started when the cell mates of her husband sent her to visit their families. One family that she visited is in Mbale, on reaching there she found hen the mother of the two children of the prisoner who directed her had abandoned the kids and they were being looked after by their grand mother. On that particular day when she went to visit this family, she found when the grand mother of these children had been bed ridden and hospitalized in Mbale hospital (in Eastern Uganda).The children were by this time staying in a temporary building meant for goats at the neighbor’s place since their house where their grandmother had left them had been destroyed by the heavy rains. This happened in November 2006.She decided to bring these children from Mbale and she has since been looking /caring after them.In the Photography, the two children in Red are the ones that Mama Shamim has taken on as her own.

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