When the last become first, I experience the kingdom of God in rural Uganda.

By Tom Ngobi, Co-Manager of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Program

At Kibo, we spend a lot of time with people at their very lowest — literally.

My program, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), teaches communities how to improve their sanitation and hygiene by showing them how to build facilities like latrines, showers, dish racks, and hand-washing stations. That means that when we first enter a village, we are literally helping people sort through their filth and garbage. And we love it.

The best part is when our program helps people at the very bottom of the social ladder gain their voice and their neighbors’ respect. Sometimes, communities will tell us not to waste our time on people because “she is a weak widow” or “he is a lazy drunkard” or “they are nobodies.”

For example, there was a man in Nabikenge village. He had no authority, no positions in his village. One day, I went to visit him, and I stepped in his feces as I was walking toward his house. He felt horrible, but I responded with love and encouragement, and he ended up building the most incredible sanitation and hygiene facilities. Suddenly, everyone in the community was coming to him for advice. Even the government recognized his work!

Stories like this always astonish the people in the communities, but my coworkers and I are rarely surprised. In Mark 9, Luke 13, and Matthew 20, Jesus reminds his disciples that in the kingdom of God, the first are last, and the last are first. Whether in Jesus’ day or ours, it takes disciples a long time to understand what this means. But I’ve seen this principle come to life.

Here’s another example: After a triggering session — when we introduce the importance of sanitation and hygiene to a community — I am always amazed by the people who stand up to volunteer their time and energy at no pay to monitor the village’s progress. The people who volunteer are solely motivated by helping their neighbors have longer, better lives. And often, it is the people who are considered less-than in the community who volunteer themselves, especially women. Women are often oppressed in rural areas, but I love when women volunteer to lead their communities, because they are compassionate, effective, model leaders.

We believe that when the lowest people in a community are empowered and encouraged, we are helping people experience the kingdom of God. When people see the “big people” from town making ourselves small for our rural neighbors, they are experiencing the kingdom of God. When people see the last, most forgotten people in their villages thriving and succeeding, they are experiencing the kingdom of God. We believe empowering the last and humbling the first — including ourselves — is the best way to share the Gospel. That’s the Kibo Way.

This article was also published here by The Journey Church.