Shannon Fontaine
Katie Davis Majors, Mother and Philanthropist
A mission trip to Uganda during her senior year of high school would forever change Katie Davis Majors' life. After returning to the States to graduate, the Brentwood native deferred college for a year and headed back to Uganda to teach in an orphanage. A decade later, Majors, now 29, still calls Uganda home. In that time, she has also adopted 13 children, gotten married, given birth to a son, and recently published her second book, Daring to Hope. In it, she recounts the painful and beautiful stories of Ugandans who have come to her home to heal.
Age: 29
Just the 16 of us: What started out slowlyfunding local children's tuitionturned Majors into a mother when she adopted 13 children. When three sisters, whom Majors was sponsoring, were suddenly left with nowhere to go, she took them in. After fostering the siblings for two years, Majors began the formal adoption process when she was just 21.
This same scenario would play out again and again with each new child. "I would say, 'Okay. They can stay here for a little bit,' then, 'Okay. They can stay here a little bit longer,' then, 'Okay, okay, okay,'" Majors recalls, laughing. By 23, she had a family of 14. Soon after, she would meet her husband, Benji, also a missionary, and they would marry in 2015. Majors gave birth to their son, Noah, in 2016.
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Raising world changers: Earlier this year, through her nonprofit organization, Amazima Ministries, Majors opened The Amazima School. The Christ-centered secondary boarding school is a path toward success; Majors plans to add 72 new students each year until they reach capacity at 800 students. "I don't really think that I can do anything singlehandedly to change the landscape of Uganda," she says. "But I believe in the power of these children and raising up the next generation to be leaders and world changers in their own communities."
A sweet spot: With some of the older girls graduating high school and looking toward university, Majors says, "It's an exciting new season as a family. They're transitioning into adulthood." The oldest of her adopted children, who was only 12 when she first came home to Majors, is now 21, and the youngest, nine.
"It's such an amazing thing to raise up these compassionate, kind women. Our family is just in a really sweet spot."