Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.
— Matthew 25:40

Called to Africa

WorldHope.us Co-Founder and President Bill Tadevich felt called by God to share the gospel in Africa. In 2008, he went on a discovery trip with the intention of launching a metal fabrication & welding vocational school with the mission to teach young adults a valuable skill.
Bill met with the Ugandan government and US Embassy to share his vision and see if there was any traction. Because Uganda is agrarian and most commerce is done by physically taking products miles to the market, Bill and Pat Brady (a current WorldHope.us board member) designed a cart that could be pushed or attached to a bike to more efficiently take produce to the market. This project would create jobs and be a something that could be sold into the community. They launched the school next to another vocational school which taught masonry, carpentry, and sewing.
​In 2011 when Bill and his dad Larry were visiting the vocational school, the project manager (current WorldHope.us board member Denis Ndyabawe) asked if he wanted to visit an orphanage located further out in the bush - about 2.5 hours west in Burora, Uganda. Having done youth ministry for years, Bill and Larry agreed to take the trip…and it was worth the journey!
Before their first trip to Burora in 2011, Bill asked the pastor in charge of the orphanage project what they needed the most. The pastor said they were running out of food and had 50 children to feed. Bill, Larry, and the team brought bags of cornmeal and beans to help feed the children.
The children were being housed in a dual-purpose mud-walled building with a dirt floor, there were no doors or windows and therefore no security or protection from the weather, animals, or bugs. The children did not have blankets. It became immediately obvious that this was where God had lead Bill when he called him to Africa.
Bill handed the vocational school over to a neighboring school and pivoted his focus to the children in the remote village of Burora.