Hanifa is 50 years old and she is the Office Attendant / Cleaner at Meeting Point International (MPI).

She has five children, she used to have a big family with 14 children and grandchildren living together, recently one of her sons moved away with his own 5 kids. Now, she lives with 3 of her children and 2 grandchildren. Her eldest daughter graduated last year, the second will graduate next year, and another child is in Primary 5 at Luigi Giussani School. Among her grandchildren, one attends Luigi Giussani Pre-Primary, and the youngest has not yet started school.

Before working at MPI, life was extremely difficult. Her children did not go to school, and there were days when they had no food to eat. With her job at MPI, everything began to change — she was finally able to buy food and send her children to school. Her children, who once felt desperate and believed they had no future, are now happy and hopeful; one of them has already graduated.

When Hanifa receives her salary, she pays rent and buys food for the family. In the past, when someone got sick, it was hard even to afford a single medicine. She used to live in Acholi Quarter, in Kireka, and didn’t know anything about MPI until one of her daughters fell ill. At the hospital, they asked for 20,000 shillings to test her for typhoid, but Hanifa didn’t have the money, so they couldn’t treat her. A friend came to check on her daughter at home, told her about Meeting Point, and encouraged her to go there for help.

Hanifa has known Meeting Point for eight years now.

She has been taking care of her family alone for seven years since separating from her husband.

At first, she asked if Muslims were accepted at Meeting Point, and they told her yes — there was no discrimination. Rose and the other women welcomed her warmly. After three months, her children were added to the sponsorship list. She and her family receive medical treatment through MPI. 

MPI also supports her grandchildren who live with her son in Acholi Quarter: four of them attend Luigi Giussani Pre-Primary and Primary School and one is enrolled in a private school. In addition, two of her brother’s children, who study at Luigi Giussani High School, are also supported by MPI. In total MPI supports 9 children in her family.

Before joining MPI, Hanifa couldn’t afford school fees. Her second daughter used to walk 7 km from Kireka to Kololo every day, often without lunch money, and would come home to an empty table. She was sad and used to ask her mother, “What will I do with my future?” Now, she is happy and studying, with real prospects ahead of her.

“If I start talking about everything that Meeting Point has done for me, I could speak until tomorrow,” Hanifa says.

Her eldest daughter graduated in Statistics last year, and Hanifa wanted to celebrate this achievement with the entire Meeting Point family. They ate, danced, and rejoiced together. Her daughter, who had been supported by MPI, shared her story in front of everyone to express her gratitude. Rose returned from Italy the day before the graduation, and Hanifa was overjoyed — she didn’t want her daughter to graduate without Rose there. The three of them went together to the university, and when her daughter’s name was read out, the joy they felt was indescribable. Hanifa thanks God for bringing Rose into her life.

“When you are part of MPI, you forget your suffering — you feel loved. No one has ever loved me as much as Rose and the Meeting Point.”

Before Meeting Point, Hanifa suffered deeply. She could barely eat or leave the house, couldn’t sleep, and felt hopeless. Meeting the group was, in her words, a rebirth.

Since then, Hanifa has traveled with Rose and MPI to Kenya, Rwanda, and Italy. She believes that God speaks in many ways, and one of them was bringing Rose into her life. Through Meeting Point, she discovered her own value.

When she works at MPI, she doesn’t feel like an employee — she feels like she’s working for her family.