Collinsville Group Provides Hope, Healing To World's Children

Tess Maune, News On 6

COLLINSVILLE, Oklahoma -- A viral video is shedding light on atrocities in Uganda, where a militant leader is preying on children and turning them into sex slaves and child soldiers.

The video "Kony 2012" has 76 million hits in just over a week's time. But Oklahoma's own were fighting for a similar cause, long before that video went viral.

Tucked away just off main street in Collinsville, is a little office that's touching lives half a world away.

"You were just wrecked by what you saw and there were kids just everywhere," said Kelly Compton.

About three years ago, Kelley Compton and two others founded the organization known as Project Hope Worldwide.

Their mission is simple and their impact immeasurable: To provide hope, help and healing to some world's most defenseless children.

"The very worst place for a child to live is northern Uganda that was stated by the United Nations four years ago,"

That's when the group went into action. They built an orphanage from the ground up, providing a loving home, meals and an education for nearly 50 orphaned children.

Many of children are victims of violent war crimes, like little Dickens Ogwang, whose entire family was killed in a massacre 8 years ago.

"He was left for dead. They thought he was dead and by the grace of God he survived, and you can still see the scar around his head,"

A scar that serves as reminder of his past struggle. But more so, a sign of his strength and will to keep fighting and growing.

"Now he's one of our leaders of our orphanage. He's kind of like the big brother of all the orphans, and he's aspiring to be a doctor now.

Back at the home office in Oklahoma, pictures line the wall of children who are building a brighter future for themselves and their country.

"I think that's the one thing people need to know, is that it is a safe place, and they are healing and going back to normal lives and going on with their lives,"

All donations made to Project Hope Worldwide go back to the kids. They hope to eventually have more than 250 children living in their orphanage community.