A friendship became a shared calling.

Born from friendship, prayer and a shared purpose.

Shining Light Uganda officially launched in January 2025. The idea was sparked by the friendship of Pauline Nyapendi and Reilly Thompson, which began during Reilly’s research internship in Gulu, Uganda, in 2024.

Brought together by unlikely circumstances, Pauline and Reilly were both living alone in the unfamiliar city of Gulu. Their friendship quickly became a source of comfort, prayer and endurance.

As they did life together, they could not ignore what was all around them: children wandering the streets, students dropping out of school, young people becoming involved in drugs and early sexual activity, and families facing malnutrition because they lacked even one meal a day. The need in the communities around them was heavy and constant.

During long conversations over shared meals and ministry, Pauline and Reilly realized they carried the same passion: to walk with the most vulnerable and provide both spiritual and physical care to people unable to meet their basic needs.

When Reilly returned to the United States, they immediately began building what would become Shining Light Uganda an organization dedicated to bringing real hope and sustainable change to Ugandan youth who lack access to basic resources, school fees and the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today, Shining Light Uganda is a faith-based nonprofit organization committed to empowering children and youth through a holistic approach. Our work includes discipleship, legal support, education, health, nutrition, menstrual health and psychosocial support. Guided by Christian values, we nurture holistic development, uphold human dignity and help foster a thriving community.

The context in which we serve.

Gulu District is still recovering from the effects of the more than 20-year Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency. The war displaced over 1.9 million people into overcrowded internally displaced persons camps, where families lost land, livelihoods, schools and clinics.

Although many of the young people we serve were born after or during the final years of the conflict, they continue to live with its long-term effects: broken families, deep poverty and weak access to basic services. Many children and youth are now being raised by single mothers who are struggling to rebuild with very little.

The effects can be seen in spiritual and identity struggles, unresolved trauma, food insecurity, interrupted education, poor access to healthcare and the vulnerability of children whose families cannot afford legal protection. This is the context in which Shining Light Uganda is responding.

In Gulu, we are working to restore what the war broke. We may not have much, but the little we have we give. We father them. We mother them. We put smiles on their faces. We believe the God who brings healing to broken places is working through His people to bring hope to Northern Uganda.