The gates of Adjumani Prison were breached – not for an escape, but for an unexpected invasion of hope. In a single afternoon, a trip meant to quietly serve refugees in Uganda’s Adjumani camp became a mission that carried Christian gospel radio into one of the hardest places in the region.
According to reports from Don McLaughlin, president of High Adventure Gospel Communication Ministries (HAGCM), missionaries from HAGCM had traveled to Uganda multiple times without ever directly entering its prisons – but this time, there was an open door. The team’s original plan was simple: deliver solar‑powered SonSet® radios to refugees in their northern settlements. Instead, a conversation between camp commander Titus and a local prison leader redirected many of the radios toward the region’s largest prison.
Titus carries the immense responsibility of helping maintain peace among refugees from 64 South Sudanese tribes – now joined by others fleeing fresh conflict in Sudan – while preserving harmony with Ugandan hosts who share their land with the settlement and prison. Hearing the desire to reach those in custody, he helped craft a plan to give every prisoner and guard a free radio tuned to HAGCM’s Christian station, Usalama FM 99.7, broadcasting Bible teaching from his secure compound.
Adjumani Prison is a 3,700‑acre prison farm holding about 800 prisoners and 100 guards from both the host community and the refugee population, with refugees in the majority. Men and women from long‑warring tribes are incarcerated there for offenses ranging from theft to murder, and refugee children live inside with their mothers, all against the backdrop of decades of conflict in Sudan and South Sudan.
Instead of being scattered through the refugee settlements, SonSet radios moved through prison gates into the hands of people who could never afford to buy one, breaching not only prison walls, but the hearts of guards and prisoners alike.
By Sandy Shortt, January 2026