Meet our remarkable Senior, Falisto Lufatiye who lives at one of ROTOM’s Village Outreach Senior Care Centers. Not only does he have a beautiful smile, but he also has a groundbreaking story that help found our initial VOC.
Falisto was born in 1932 in Burundi, East Africa. He migrated from Burundi to Uganda to find work as a laborer on farms in 1969. He had 2 sons and 1 daughter whom he left in Burundi and ever since, he has not had contact with them. Falisto is afraid to go home to Burundi because he believes everyone he left there is now dead.
When he arrived in Uganda, he found work at a sugar factory where he worked for years. When he retired, he was given a retirement package. He used this money to buy a small piece of land where he built a small mud and wattle house. While he lived in his new house, he continued to work on people’s farms to earn a small living. Finding farm work was never guaranteed and Falisto’s life was never easy. Fortunately, in 2007 Falisto was recruited into the ROTOM Senior Friendship Program. During this time, he was having a land wrangle with his neighbor who claimed that Falisto had sold the land to him and that he needed to leave. Unfortunately Falisto ended up losing the land case and was on the verge of becoming homeless. That’s when ROTOM came in and rescued him.
After these unfortunate circumstances, Falisto’s ROTOM supporting friend heard about his story and wanted to build him a new house but there was no land for him to build on. By a miracle, ROTOM was able to purchase a piece of land for a house to be built for him. Then, in 2013, Falisto moved into this newly built house that was on ROTOM’s land. After many other miracles and divinely guided and provided gifts from sponsors like you, today ROTOM has built more houses on this piece of land to house seniors like Falisto threatened by homelessness! As so many are frail and no longer able to care for themselves.
This is a powerful story because this place has now become a ROTOM Village Outreach Center that offers many services to meet the needs of our frail ROTOM seniors. These services range from housing, food and income activities, community engagements, and others. What started as one man’s journey, became a story of many seniors with similar needs. This in essence opened ROTOM’s eyes to the needs of seniors like Falisto.
While at this center, Falisto continues to thrive and receive excellent care and support from ROTOM. He really enjoys farming and he is able to grow some food at the center which he shares with all the other half-dozen or more seniors currently housed there.
Even though Falisto has no known family, he has found a family of believers with ROTOM. The seniors’ he now lives with at the ROTOM VOC have become his brothers and sisters, and together they share a very special bond! The VOC provides a safe place where vulnerable seniors are welcomed and cared, and provided for through the love of Jesus Christ. This is possible because so many people like you choose to put your love into action!
We couldn’t do this without you! Your support in every day health care situations is vital to the long-term success of our health care program and to make our seniors’ lives worth living. A $150 gift will provide Felisto’s or others like him with one-month care needs. Give today to help a frail senior move into a specialized VOC care center.
