Vanessa Lambie grew up in Uganda, a small, lush country in East Africa. As the eldest daughter of her mother—who was her father’s eighth wife—she was one of more than 40 children living on a sprawling family compound with her father and his wives, children, mother, and other relatives.
When Vanessa was 5, her mother left after years of abuse, and suddenly Vanessa was expected to care for her siblings and take on other adult responsibilities. “This was when my life started changing,” she says. She was sent from one relative to another; no one wanted to take care of her. Even worse, by the time she was 9, Vanessa had already been subjected to abuse that no child should face.
When she tried to speak up—to her grandmother, older siblings, women in the village, and her own father—she was silenced or punished. But “I was a very stubborn kid,” Vanessa recalls. “I was like, ‘I’m not shutting up.’”
Finally, a neighbor gave her 500 shillings and urged her to get in a taxi and find a police station. Ten-year-old Vanessa had never been away from home, but she took her backpack, climbed into an overcrowded van, and left. She rode until the driver reached his last stop and told her to get out.
Stranded and frightened in an unfamiliar place, she joined a group of children and ended up roaming the city and sleeping on the street with her new friends. Even in that uncertain situation, she says, “I was extremely happy that I was spending the night with these kids.”
So for weeks, maybe months, she slept in gutters and abandoned market stands. “As a child, you lose time,” she shares. But all the while, she kept looking for a police station.
One night, as she slept on a church pew, she had a dream that would, one day, set her story in motion. In this vision, she saw a plane, a family, and a book. The next morning, she stepped out of the church … and there, across the road, was the police station she had been searching for.
Inside, the police officers were stumped. “Girls never report such situations, so they had no idea what to do,” Vanessa explains. She was passed from one officer to another, repeating her painful account over and over, until a female officer finally listened and took action to gather evidence so they could make an arrest.
But with nowhere safe to go, Vanessa was placed in a jail cell for her protection. “I was happy for that because I had a place to sleep,” she shares. “I got food—prison food—but it was still good. I was so joyous. Finally, I had a place to stay.”
One day, while Vanessa sat on the floor of a child welfare office, an American couple walked in. They were Scott and Sarah Lambie, seeking to finalize their children’s adoption. Noticing the quiet girl in ragged clothes, Scott asked the probation officer, “What’s her story?”
When told that Vanessa had been living in a jail cell and had nowhere to go, Scott and Sarah immediately offered to take her home for a few nights.
Those few nights turned into months … and then years. Living with the Lambies and their five children, Vanessa experienced a world she had never imagined—learning English, eating new foods, watching television, and attending school. She excelled in academics, even scoring in the top tier on her national exams. Several years later, the Lambies adopted Vanessa and a new chapter began to unfold.
At age 16, she boarded an airplane headed to the United States and suddenly remembered her “crazy dream” of the plane, the family, and the book. She thought about the books she had studied and the big family taking her home on an airplane. “It all came together,” she recalls. “That was the first moment of, ‘Okay God, you have something great for me.’”
Life in the U.S. was full of wonder and adjustment. “It was crazy,” she says. “What a fun time.” Although she carried painful memories, she was determined to bury them: “When I was in high school, I thought to myself, ‘I’m going to enjoy my life, and I’m going to live this American dream, and I’m not going to touch any of my past.’”
"But the past had planted a purpose, and Vanessa felt a relentless tug, pulling her toward the girls living through the same abuse she had once endured. “I knew in my heart I was supposed to be helping,” she says."
So after graduating from Dripping Springs High School in 2020, she finally opened up to her dad about what she had been holding inside: “I want to share my story.”
The Lambies threw their support behind her, and within a year the people and pieces came together. Through community efforts and with God’s provision, Vanessa and her parents launched a nonprofit—Rescue One More—in 2021.
Rescue One More brings local leaders together to prevent and respond to sexual violence against children. The organization focuses on creating pathways to safety, justice, and healing while working to put an end to all forms of abuse. Vanessa’s story is at the heart of its mission.
The healing and change begin with its telling. Rescue One More visits schools, churches, and community gatherings to encourage open conversations and help children recognize abuse. “All of these people live in this community; they know what the problem is, but nobody likes to talk about it,” Vanessa says. “And when I showed up and started talking about it, they were shocked. It’s something that people just take to their graves.”
She believes that breaking the silence is the first step toward change. “The toughest thing to do is change a culture because there are all of these traditions and customs, and nobody wants to interrupt any of that,” Vanessa says. “But we can start when we show someone who’s been through it and is not killed, is not ashamed, is not embarrassed, and is brave to talk about it. I’m hoping that the girls who go through the program can also find their courage.”
Rescue One More carries out its mission through Community Action Teams (CATs), composed of local police officers, probation and social welfare officers, social workers, prosecutors, and healthcare providers who work together to prevent abuse and respond effectively to cases. The teams ensure survivors receive safe shelter, child-friendly police interviews, medical exams and treatment, emotional care, case management, and legal support.
What Rescue One More began in Vanessa’s community has now expanded to six CATs spread across three districts. The organization has trained dozens of Ugandan leaders to manage their own CATs and help launch new ones. “We hope to reach the whole of Uganda,” she says.
As Rescue One More has grown, so has Vanessa. She attended Calvary Chapel Bible College and now works full-time with troubled teenagers, where she forms bonds with young women from all walks of life. “It doesn’t matter where you come from; we’re all human and we all have experiences that can connect us,” she says.
She carries that message back to Africa: “I can say, ‘Hey girls, you’re not the only ones.’ For a survivor, sometimes that’s all they need to know—they are not alone.”
Having others to come alongside you is powerful. Vanessa credits the Kings Porch church community and her family for guiding her through the difficult healing process. “It was a hard road,” she confesses. “The healing journey was a messy one. I went through so much and they never gave up on me.”
Her family’s unwavering presence helped her find meaning in the life she fought to reclaim. “I survived something that is un-survivable, and I’m here, and there is a reason,” Vanessa shares. “I got an opportunity of a lifetime, and my only wish and my only goal in life is to give the opportunity to those people who are going through the same thing as me.”
That conviction anchors her: “I just know that I’m here on earth to do that. And that keeps me going. That’s what I can live for. That’s my purpose.”
She urges others to take part in that purpose, too. “It just takes a willing heart to make a difference,” she says. “You can encourage a kid all the way across the continents. We just need to do a little bit. It makes such a big difference.”
Vanessa’s hopes for the future are as big as her heart: a CAT in every Ugandan district, an end to abuse across Africa, and a global movement to protect every child. “Really, all I want to do is Rescue One More. I want it to outlive me for generations and generations.”
And at just 25 years old, Vanessa has time to do all this and more. Along with Rescue One More, she has a few more goals, including writing a book, getting a healthcare degree, pursuing public speaking, getting married, and—someday—having children.
And that will be another story.
RescueOneMore.com | @rescueonemore
The Drip Effect
The Dripping Springs community has been key to Rescue One More’s success. Through fundraising galas and the support of local churches, organizations, and individuals, the collective effort has made a real impact. “The community makes it work,” Vanessa says. “Alone, you can do something, but together—it’s such a huge difference. I’m extremely grateful for that. I love Dripping Springs.”
Every year, Rescue One More takes teams—including children, teenagers, families, and elders—from Dripping Springs to Uganda. For Vanessa, sharing this life-changing experience with her neighbors is one of the most rewarding parts of her mission. “When I take people from here to Africa, their lives are never the same, and I love that.”
The Impact
Since 2021, Rescue One More has made measurable change across Uganda:
833 children served
272 children rescued
548 suspects arrested
79,000+ people educated