More than a decade after launching a ministry dedicated to creating opportunities for vulnerable children and communities in Uganda, I am returning to the day-to-day leadership of Divine Hearts Foundation as Founder and Executive Director. I return with gratitude, humility and a renewed sense of calling, shaped by several years of theological formation, ministry, communications leadership and service within The United Methodist Church.
My return comes at an important moment in the life of Divine Hearts Foundation. Founded in September, 2012, the Foundation has grown from a vision of serving vulnerable people into a Christian nonprofit committed to strengthening communities through education and child development, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), food and nutrition, vocational development, and other initiatives designed to help children, youth, women and families build more sustainable futures. Today, our approach is centered on strengthening communities and creating lasting change “One Community at a Time.” For me, Divine Hearts Foundation has always been more than an organization. It was born out of a calling—a conviction that God was inviting me to become part of something that could bring hope, opportunity and dignity to people and communities.
In January 2022, after nearly a decade of establishing and leading Divine Hearts Foundation, I stepped away from its day-to-day leadership to devote greater attention to my education, theological formation and ministry. I enrolled at Drew Theological School at Drew University to pursue a Master of Divinity. That season deepened my understanding of Christian leadership, theology, mission, justice and the relationship between the Church and the communities we are called to serve. Stepping away from the daily leadership of Divine Hearts did not mean stepping away from God’s call to serve. Instead, God led me into new places where I could learn, grow and experience ministry from different perspectives.
A Season of Learning, Ministry and Growth
While studying at Drew, I had the opportunity to serve at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. My time at Foundry allowed me to experience congregational ministry from within. I participated in worship, preaching, discipleship, church administration, community engagement, and other aspects of ministry that sustain the life and mission of a local congregation. I also served with Simpson-Hamline United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., an experience that further broadened my understanding of congregational ministry, administration and the ways local churches can respond faithfully to the needs of their communities.
Those experiences reinforced something I have believed since the earliest days of Divine Hearts Foundation: our Christian faith must become visible in how we love and serve others. Faith cannot remain only in what we say or believe. It should be expressed through compassion, justice, relationships, service, and genuine concern for our neighbors. My journey eventually led me from local-church ministry into wider denominational leadership when I became Director of Communications for the New England Conference of The United Methodist Church. In that role, I had the privilege of helping communicate the ministry and mission of the Church across the New England conference of the United methodist Church covering areas of Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire & Rhode Island.
Serving the Conference expanded my experience in strategic communications, storytelling, public engagement, collaboration, media relations, and communicating the mission of the Church to diverse audiences. It also gave me the opportunity to see how congregations, ministries, clergy, laity and community partners can work together across geographical and cultural boundaries.
At the same time, I continued my theological studies and ultimately completed my Master of Divinity at Drew University.
I am grateful for that season. The classroom formed me academically and theologically. The local church formed me through practical ministry. Conference leadership strengthened my experience in organizational leadership, communications, and connectional ministry. Each experience has contributed something important to the person and leader I am becoming.
My return to Divine Hearts Foundation is therefore not simply a return to a position I once held. I am returning with new experiences, new lessons, new relationships, and, most importantly, a renewed commitment to serve.
I return after spending several years studying theology and Christian leadership. I return after serving within local United Methodist congregations. I return after experiencing ministry at a wider denominational level. I return with greater experience in communications, organizational leadership, community engagement, and partnership building. But I am also returning to an organization that did not stop working simply because I stepped away.
While I pursued my education and continued serving in other ministry settings, Divine Hearts Foundation continued its mission. Our staff, Board members, volunteers, partners, churches, donors, supporters and communities continued carrying the vision forward. Therefore, I do not return believing that I am coming to rescue or restart Divine Hearts Foundation. I return to re-join a community of people who have faithfully carried out this mission together. I return ready to listen, I return ready to learn, I return ready to serve, And I return deeply grateful.
A New Chapter After More Than a Decade
My return also comes during an exciting period of rebranding, renewal, and strategic repositioning for Divine Hearts Foundation. More than a decade has passed since we began this journey. That gives us an opportunity not only to celebrate what God has enabled us to accomplish, but also to ask ourselves an important question:
What should the next decade of Divine Hearts Foundation look like?
As I return to leadership, I believe we must become increasingly intentional about moving beyond isolated acts of assistance toward sustainable community development, stronger partnerships and locally driven solutions. Our work continues to center on children, youth, women, families and communities. Education and child development remain important. Clean water, sanitation, and hygiene remain important. Vocational education, innovation, entrepreneurship, and practical skills are becoming increasingly important as we seek to connect people with opportunities that can strengthen their economic futures. The question before us is not simply, “How many people can we help?”
We must also ask, “What opportunities can we help create so that individuals, families and communities can become stronger long after our immediate intervention has ended?” What is God calling us to do in this season? That distinction will help shape our next chapter.
Education can enable a child to imagine possibilities beyond today’s circumstances. Clean and safe water can contribute to healthier communities. Vocational education can equip young people with practical and employable skills. Entrepreneurship can help families create livelihoods. Partnerships can connect local leadership and knowledge with resources, expertise, and relationships from around the world. This renewed vision is captured in the words that now help express our identity:
Sharing God’s Love | Helping Others | Creating Opportunities.
To me, those words are more than a tagline.
Sharing God’s Love speaks to why we serve.
Helping Others speaks to our responsibility to respond when our neighbors are in need.
And Creating Opportunities speaks to the future we hope to help make possible.
From Charity to Sustainable Partnership
As I return, one of the areas I want us to strengthen is our approach to partnership and community ownership. The communities we serve should never simply be viewed as beneficiaries waiting for someone else to solve their problems. They are partners. They have knowledge, ideas, abilities, aspirations and leadership. Sustainable change requires us to listen to them and work alongside them.
That means listening to children and families. It means partnering with schools rather than simply delivering supplies. It means involving communities in the planning, management and sustainability of water projects. It means listening to young people before deciding what vocational opportunities they need. It means working alongside women as they pursue greater economic opportunities.
It also means expanding relationships with churches, businesses, foundations, educational institutions, professionals, volunteers and individuals who can contribute not only financial resources but also knowledge, skills, mentorship, networks and expertise.
My experience within The United Methodist Church has strengthened my appreciation for connectional ministry—the idea that we can accomplish more when people and institutions work together than when each of us works independently. I hope that principle will increasingly characterize Divine Hearts Foundation.
Returning With Gratitude
As I return to serve as Executive Director, one of the things closest to my heart is simply saying thank you. The story of Divine Hearts Foundation is not my story alone. It belongs to our Board of Directors, who have provided leadership and accountability. It belongs to our staff members who continued showing up and serving. It belongs to our Uganda team working closest to the communities we serve and those supporting our international coordinating work in the United States. It belongs to our churches and organizational partners. It belongs to every donor, sponsor, volunteer, subscriber and friend who continued believing in our mission even when I was not involved in its day-to-day leadership. Above all, it belongs to the communities themselves—to the children continuing their education, the families seeking better opportunities, the women and young people working toward economic independence, and communities striving to build healthier and more sustainable futures.
Thank you for carrying the vision. Thank you for believing in our work. Thank you for serving when no one was watching. And thank you for allowing me the privilege of returning to serve alongside you. There is something deeply meaningful to me about returning to Divine Hearts Foundation after completing my Master of Divinity.
The classroom gave me theological formation. The local church gave me practical ministry formation. Conference leadership strengthened my experience in organizational leadership and communications. And now those experiences converge again in the place where so much of my journey of service began. I am not returning because I believe I have all the answers. I am returning prepared to listen, learn, collaborate and lead alongside others.
There are still children whose education needs support. Communities still need reliable access to clean and safe water. Young people need pathways toward skills, employment, innovation and entrepreneurship. Women need opportunities to strengthen their economic independence. Churches and community organizations need partners willing to listen and work alongside them.
There is still much work before us. But there is also tremendous possibility. I believe we have an opportunity to build a model of Christian service in which compassion does not end with giving, but leads toward dignity, opportunity, empowerment and lasting community transformation. So, after this season of learning, ministry and formation, I am coming home to Divine Hearts Foundation.
I return grateful for where we have been. I am humbled by those who carried the work while I was away. I return encouraged by what God has already done. And I return hopeful about where God is leading us next.
As we rebrand, rebuild and reimagine Divine Hearts Foundation for the years ahead, my prayer is that we will honor the vision that started this journey while having the courage to embrace new approaches, new partnerships and new opportunities for service. And together, we will continue Sharing God’s Love | Helping Others | Creating Opportunities — One Community at a Time.
Benjamin Musasizi, MDiv
Founder & Executive Director
Divine Hearts Foundation
