Aidah, Babirye, Matron/cook
Aidah has 9 children from her first husband, who died in 2010.  Some of her children stay with us at the kids house.  She recently remarried and has one child from her new husband.  Aidah loves the children and loves to cook.  She is a hard worker and always has a smile.

Esther, Nansamba, Social Worker. Esther is married with 2 children and has a diploma in Social Work.  She grew up around some of our other staff members, Susan and Kenneth.  Esther is trustworthy and honest.  She is a good friend to all our girls and loves her work with the children.

Jesca Biribawa, Matron/cook
Jesca was our first staff member in 2008.  She has 5 children from her late husband.  He contracted cerebral malaria and would wander.  One day he did not come home.  Two of her children stay with us.  Jesca loves the Bible and reads every day.  She is always happy and loves to laugh with the children.

Kenneth Nsekera, Warden/Lead social worker
Kenneth loves the children and football (soccer).  He graduated from college with a degree in Social Work and Administration in 2015 from Kyambogo University in Kampala.  He was the first college graduate from his family and his home village.  Kenneth is a natural leader and trusted by all our children and staff.  He has a quick wit and usually has the children falling off their seats in laughter. He loves to organize football (soccer) games with the boys at a nearby field.  They have a lot of fun.

Lydia Namulemo, Matron/cook
Lydia has 5 children.  Four of them stay with us at the kids house.  She loves to work and cook.  Along with Jesca, Lydia lives at the children's house.  Lydia's husband works in town.  She is quiet and loves the children.

Moses Wakiroko, Daytime Watchman
Moses has worked for us since the beginning when Philip moved to Uganda in '07.  He is a hard worker and loves Jesus.  Moses preaches at a local prison nearby every Sunday.  His sister was the first believer in that part of Uganda in 1967.  Moses was put in prison several times by Idi Amin back in the early '70's for preaching the gospel.  Moses has 6 grown children and one still in school.

Elia Umo recently joined our staff as a social worker. He was rescued from the streets by Phil in 2008 when he as just a child.

under construction.

Simon Apedel, Social Worker.
Simon, is from an area nearby where most our children call home.  He has a degree in Social Work and Social Administration from Kyambogo University in 2015.  Simon is quiet and greatly respected by our boys.  He lives just a few hundred feet from the children's house.  Simon is trustworthy, straight forward and always has a kind word.

Susan Isabirye, Executive Director/Founder
Susan is 'Mom' to our children.  She sets the bar high for our staff to be faithful and dedicated.   Susan has the gift of administration - and - great respect and trust with the local business community.  Susan is a widow with 3 children of her own.  All our children run to meet Susan when she comes with big smiles.  She still loves to play dodge ball with the girls.

Stephen Maganda, Patron/Cook.
Stephen is one of our longest serving staff members.  He has work with us since 2009.  Stephen has 5 children.  He always has a smile and is ready to work when the need arises.  The boys love to get Stephen in football (soccer) or basketball games when he is not cooking.

Esperanza (Hope) Tellez is our secretary. She is a mother of two grown children and two grandchildren. She earned her Master's Degree in Healthcare Administration from Kaplan University in 2014. Hope first learned about ISA117 Ministries and HOPE children’s home through Sandy Marek. The love Sandy showed for the children peeked Hope's interest. She now sponsors a child at Hope and serves as a board member. She has a servants heart and looks forward to visiting Uganda in the near future.

Estella Hendrickson joined our board in 2020 but before joining she had sponsored several children for many years. She is the mother of 4 adult children, 6 grandkids and 3 great grandchildren. She was an LVN for 32 years and now enjoys retirement. She was blessed to visit HOPE children’s home for Christmas in 2019. She was so happy to be with the children in person and enjoyed doing crafts with them. She loves the children and the Ugandan culture and hopes to visit again in the future.

Sue Henson is our Assistant Treasurer. With a strong desire to provide water for women in Africa, she established her foundation, Waterfall in 2011. As a part of this ministry was led to help a children's home in Iganga, Uganda by providing a water well for their use. This led to a love for the children there and an involvement with Phil Jones, the founder of Hope and IS A 117 ministries. Travel to Uganda and the meeting of her sponsored children brought home the need to work with ISA117 as a board member. Her passion for this ministry has spread to her family members who also sponsor the children of HOPE. She is the mother of five children and grandmother of ten and loves serving others She has served on the Mission Board at her church in San Antonio for many years.

Luke Tarbutton is a veteran of the US Army where he served as a scout sniper for the 25th Infantry Division. He owns and operates his own firearm training academy called Shoot Perfect in Lufkin, Texas where he lives with his wife and two daughters. Luke serves as the security minister at his church and is heavily involved with local ministries in Lufkin. He is also the president of Flood Team Alpha, a search and rescue non-profit organization.

Sandy Marek is our treasurer. She is a retired educator of 32 years.  She first visited Uganda in 2004 as an evangelist and teacher to the villages on the mainland and islands in Lake Victoria.  She has traveled there over 20 times and continues to work in the villages and with the children at Hope Children’s Home.   She has watched the children grow over those years and developed many lasting relationships with the children and staff.   She says, “It’s such a blessing to pray for and love on these beautiful children of God.   I hope to continue our relationships for many years to come and then for eternity in heaven.”

Erika Grammer is our president. She and her husband, Thomas, first met Phil at their church near Memphis in 2014. His stories of the children and staff at the orphanage in Uganda touched their hearts deeply. When he returned in 2016, he shared new stories that grabbed their hearts even deeper. They began supporting a child from the orphanage and began to pray for other ways they could serve H.O.P.E./ISA117. They felt led to become a part of the board soon after. Thomas and Erika have three children (Kabel, Kora, and Kaylee), and they currently live in a small town near Memphis. Thomas is an electrician and business owner, and Erika homeschools the children and helps with the family business. Together, they minister to men, women, and couples in their local community--sharing hope in the healing and grace of God. They count themselves blessed to be a part of the work with ISA117, and they encourage those around them to pray for, sponsor, and support God's work in Iganga, Uganda.