This year, 64 students walked across the stage at the Amazima Secondary School for graduation. One of these young men was Saazi, a student who has been part of Amazima’s program since the very beginning.
Saazi was two years old when he went to live with his grandmother, sharing a home with 10 other siblings and cousins. There was a lot of love between them, but life was challenging and marked by deep poverty. Their home was on the verge of collapse and half of it had already fallen, leaving them living in the open air.
The family farmed their own food, but while they waited for the harvest season, they had nothing to eat. They were lucky if they were able to eat one meal per day, going to bed hungry many nights. New clothes and medical care were unaffordable luxuries.
“At age six, my life took a dramatic turn when Auntie Katie visited our home,” Saazi recalls. Her kindness brought transformative change to my family, providing us with food, medicine, school fees, and most importantly, love.”
A New Beginning
Saazi recounts fondly the day that “Auntie Katie” came to visit his home. Amazima had just begun enrolling children from the community that did not have the opportunity to go to school, and the village leader had pointed out Saazi’s family as one in great need. Saazi remembers that he was very sick that day, and he wondered what this woman and her friend, a local social worker, were doing at his home.
It quickly became apparent to Saazi that knowing Auntie Katie and being a part of Amazima was going to bring great change to his life. The next day, Katie and the social worker returned with the medicine that Saazi and his siblings needed, as well as new clothes and bedding for them. They began to talk about what it would be like for Saazi and his siblings to go to school.
This was all new and exciting. Even Saazi’s older siblings had never been to school before, and they had often watched longingly as the other children in their village gathered up their books and put on their uniforms each morning. Life was about to change, for the better.
“Auntie Katie’s kindness and care during that time are etched in my memory forever,” Saazi recalls.
A Second Chance
“Joining Amazima Ministries was a miracle–a second chance from God,” Saazi recalls. “I was fortunate to be among the first few children enrolled in the Amazima program.”
For the first time in his life, Saazi and his 10 siblings began attending school. They would wake up in the morning eager to put on their brightly colored new uniforms and shiny black shoes. The two mile walk to school felt short because they were so excited to go, and they knew that once they got there they would have a hot cup of porridge waiting for them and lunch later in the day.
Once a week, the first 40 Amazima students would gather together in Katie’s home for a nice meal and a time of praise and worship. The children would return home with food for their families and were taken to hospitals when they needed medical treatment. “Life got so much better,” Saazi says with a smile.
“Joining Amazima Ministries was a miracle–a second chance from God,” Saazi recalls. “I was fortunate to be among the first few children enrolled in the Amazima program.”
Over the next several years, Amazima grew. Many new students were added and Saazi was thrilled to have so many new friends at Amazima. Staff were added too, social workers who became mentors to the students and their families, checking on them in their homes and making sure their needs were met. Wanting to ensure that students were getting the best education possible, while being intentionally mentored and taught about Jesus, Amazima later built the primary and secondary schools.
“Building schools was such a good idea because it helped Amazima to continue its vision of discipleship, intentional relationships and mentorship,” Saazi says. “We constantly had people in our lives with godly and upright character who modeled Christ to us on a daily basis.”
A Life Transformed
Saazi and his siblings came from a Muslim home and his entire family practiced Islam. Saazi recalls that the Amazima staff were always honoring and respectful of his home and his beliefs, but he kept hearing the Gospel over and over during his time at Amazima and in his interactions with the staff.
The Gospel was on display all around Saazi, in the way that his mentors cared for and checked on him, in the way that he and his family were treated with kindness and dignity even though they were materially so poor. Saazi even played drums on the worship team during chapel, being continually immersed in songs all about Jesus. He began to wonder what kind of love would compel these people to care for him this deeply and want to sing praises to Jesus.
“We constantly had people in our lives with godly and upright character who modeled Christ to us on a daily basis.”
Throughout his time at Amazima, Saazi recalls the way God was slowly drawing his heart to the Gospel. “There were times that I felt occasional pangs of conviction, but I quickly pushed them aside,” he says, “clinging to my skepticism that Christianity was nothing more than a myth, as I had been told all my life.”
Over time though, as Saazi continued to see the love of Christ on display, he could not deny his experience of the love of Christ. Saazi chose to give his life to Jesus in S1. “For someone like me, who struggled with doubts, the daily devotions at Amazima were a game changer,” he says. “I watched the mentors, teachers, and various leaders, and came to the conclusion that they practiced what they preached. All these people made me realize, ‘If this is Christianity, then I want that.’”
Saazi emphasizes that he didn’t come to believe in Jesus because of the free education and medical care he was provided. “I received those benefits while still a non-believer,” he says. “Instead, I encountered Christ at the exact moment He ordained, and that’s when everything changed.”
What’s Next
As a graduate, Saazi is now enrolled in Amazima’s Ramp program, which launched in early 2025 to equip students with life skills and purpose during the gap between high school and university. He is serving in a medical internship, while dreaming of all that’s to come in his future.
“I want to be known as someone who is humble and a proud follower of Christ,” Saazi says when talking about his future. He plans to pursue a degree in software engineering and aspires to be a responsible citizen of Uganda.
“I didn’t know what it looked like to have a husband and wife living together. Witnessing this at Amazima through my family mentors created a desire in my heart to be a good husband and father, because I saw that it is possible.”
“I want to be a good family man,” he says. “I didn’t know what it looked like to have a husband and wife living together. Witnessing this at Amazima through my family mentors created a desire in my heart to be a good husband and father, because I saw that it is possible.”
Saazi desires to make a steady income so he can invest in the young people he is mentoring through a dance group he started. “Currently, we perform at events to earn a living, but I envision taking it further so that it doubles as a discipleship program,” he says. “Investing in young people is what I mean when I mention ‘living for something,’ and I plan to pursue this vision even after university.”
Saazi was one of the very first students Amazima got to come alongside, and is now one of Amazima’s very first graduates. He has overcome so much to get to where he is today and we truly believe he is just getting started! His story is one of many about the life transformation and discipleship that takes place at Amazima. Because of our community of generous ministry partners, Saazi will get to go on to university as a confident young man of faith and chase all his dreams.
We cannot wait to see the Gospel impact that Saazi will continue to have on his community, his country and the world.