My family and I traveled to Jinja, in 2015 on a mission trip, to serve an organization called Sole Hope. We made several lasting friendships while we were there, including other missionaries and local Ugandan people. 

I left Uganda a changed person. We all came home different. It's hard to put into words, unless you have experienced a trip like this, but to see God work in the people you're serving, as well as your own heart, is truly humbling. I knew I wanted to do something, anything, to help the people we traveled so far to serve, but I didn't know how. Ultimately it wasn't the right time. Fast forward to November 2020, I reached out to a few missionaries as well as some of the Ugandan friends that I had kept in touch with all of these years. I explained that I still had a strong desire to DO something there but wasn't sure what. 

My friend and Sonrisa co-founder, Mary Apio said that she has always dreamt of owning her own cooking school or restaurant! I said "YES! I can do that!" I have owned my own restaurant as well as a bakery! "Let's do it!" So the Zoom calls began! 

We both knew we wanted a purpose behind the mission. A ministry that would be legacy-changing for the local people. Mary has her own story of how she was forced into a child marriage at the age of 14, after being raped and impregnated. She was able to escape ten years later, with her life, but nothing else. No education, no means to support herself, no skills, no job, leaving her children behind. By the grace of God, Mary was able to go on to find a job and a home,  She asked her neighbor to borrow his old used rolling pin to make chapati (similar to a tortilla),  You'll notice our logo is the rolling pin. This is why. Mary's journey to healing and independence started with a used, borrowed rolling pin. 

The mission of the school is to provide a farm to table learning environment for other survivors of child marriage, as well as anyone else that would like to attend. Our hope is that each student would leave with a sense of hope, empowerment, skills to farm, cook, or serve in the hospitality industry, so they too, can support themselves and their families. 

Since we started the culinary school, we have added a blessing bread ministry, where loaves of challah bread  are given to needy families in the village. Once we started making regular visits to the village, we realized that the young girls are not being educated. The team at Sonrisa jumped into action immediately and started raising funds for scholarships to get these girls in school. 

I can't describe how God has moved all of the puzzle pieces, perfectly into place, to begin Sonrisa.