THE CHRISTALIS STORY

"When I was young we used to take family trips to India and I would see the children in the slums, dirty, with no shoes, barely any clothes, and living in torn up tents. All I wanted at that moment was to give them my home, clothes, shoes, food, and toys! But it was more than the physical items that I wanted to give them, it was also the security, love, affection, encouragement, and support my parents gave us. I couldn't understand why I was living well and these children had nothing. What made me so special that I got to live comfortably and they didn't? In that moment I realized that it was all by the grace of God, just as my parents had told me constantly while I was growing up. At the time I thought I was too young to help them, so I told God that I would go back when I was old enough. 

I never forgot my promise, but I never truly acted on it either. One day my aunt asked me to go on an evangelism trip with her to Uganda. I didn't want to go, but I had just preached a sermon on evangelism and felt I had to. So I prayed, 'God if it is Your will for me to go, please work out my job, school, and the expenses.' Miraculously my new boss mistakenly approved my leave, my school approved of me taking a break, and my tax return was just enough for my ticket and expenses! 

I wanted to visit an orphanage while I was there, and God put us in a group that was looking for an orphanage as well! On our way to the orphanage we saw many kids without proper clothing, shoes, or supervision. When I looked into their eyes I saw the same children that I had seen in the slums of India many years earlier. I thought to myself, 'What's stopping me now?' I had an adult job with adult money. So I emailed my family and friends about the needs, and many were interested in helping the kids I found. I brought food to as many of these children as possible, and interviewed them and their parents about their needs. I solicited help from the local pastor, who brought me 250 kids in need. I thought maybe I could place the children in the orphanage that we found there, but we did not want to place them in a home where we didn't know how they would be treated. After a lot of prayer, my mom said she would help me start and orphanage. Just having that one person's support gave me the motivation I needed to start a home. 

I asked two local ladies that I had worked with at the evangelistic meetings to help me take care of the children in the home. They agreed, and when I left I gave the pastor we were working with $100 for the first month's rent for a home. Back in the U.S., my mom raised $2,000 from friends, family, and church members. During a night shift at the hospital, my mom was talking to our family friend, Evon David, about the projects we wanted to start. Evon volunteered to leave her life in the U.S. and move to Uganda to run our programs. Evon went in November of 2004, and in 2005 our doors opened. Through a series of miracles we now have our own home instead of a rental, and have 2 projects serving the beautiful children of Uganda.

- Shalini David, President & Co-Founder