By Nick Nahas
Valrico native Taylor Green is continuing his family’s commitment to service by helping people in need. He recently returned home from a mission trip to Africa helping provide information and resources to the impoverished people of Uganda. He spent 11 days in Africa doing work with both his mom and dad’s ministry groups, Kelly Green Global and God is Grace.
Green, 31, head trainer/manager for RobZ Fitness and former baseball player for Bloomingdale High School, spent some time teaching children aged 7-16 how to play baseball. He also went to high schools to teach the importance of abstinence, and also to raise awareness for HIV and AIDS. “They just wanted to know what you had to say, they were super respectful, they were very eager to know more about you and your family and where you are from,” he said. “Everybody wanted to have some sort of interaction with you.”
Kelly Green Global was founded by Green’s dad, Kelly, in 1979. According to their website, over the last 40 plus years, Kelly has visited over 1,500 churches and has made several international mission trips to help spread the word of the gospel. The Kelly Green Global mission statement says they model Jesus’ ministry, “caring for the sick, training leaders, and sharing the Gospel so that people can be introduced into God’s Kingdom.”
Kelly Green Global worked in unison with Green’s mom’s ministry, God is Grace. This organization teaches the women of Uganda a trade or how to start their own business because the majority of them have very little education, and traditionally, it falls on the shoulders of the women to work in order to provide for their families, Green said. They are taught how to sell their trades, such as clothing or necklaces. Sponsors from the U.S. give a fixed amount of money each month for 10 months to help these women get their businesses started after they graduate from the course.
Taylor said he and his mom, Beth, spent a couple of days with these women to hear their stories about how this organization has changed their lives. They collected clothes to bring for the women and their families, with the help of the Osprey Observer, as well as resources such as fabric to help them get started.
“Going to Africa and realizing that I don’t have to necessarily give money, I can just give myself, my time, my resources — just to be able to do that for people in need is very fulfilling,” Taylor said. “It was good for me to experience that.”
