July 2020

In the nearly 5 months since the Covid19 crisis put Uganda into a complete lockdown, Ten Eighteen has been focused entirely on KEEPING PEOPLE ALIVE. By the end of June, we were feeding, providing charcoal, and hygiene items for nearly 525 people. In that time, we’ve sent nearly $20,000 to our partners.

To be honest, it’s been exhausting, with all that’s going on in the States as well… But what a blessing! Truly, when we talk about it, when we really see what God has allowed us to do during this unprecedented crisis, it blows my mind. We sure didn’t see that coming when we left in February!

So now…. Things are still not “normal,” but we’re easing our way back there. I think it’s important to remember that our philosophy is A HAND UP, NOT A HAND OUT. Additionally, our main mission is for education and food for those who are most impoverished. We’ve had lots of conversations with our partners at Guardian Angel Foundation and Hopeland/Wells of Hope, encouraging them (and reminding myself) that we have all been given a mission and ministry, and we need to get back to where our hearts and talents are.

As of now, the president has continued to keep schools closed. Supposedly, all homes will get a radio and all classes for all grades will be broadcast. (Yeah, we’re not holding our breaths!) However, the P7 students at Hopeland have critical testing coming up in December, which will determine if they can continue to Secondary school, so we have a team of teachers going house to house to do home tutoring for those students. We are also providing the scholastic materials necessary for this group of 20 students to continue their studies.

The president will made an address tomorrow. If schools are to remain closed, we would like to provide some home materials for the 230 P3-P6 students at Hopeland and Wells of Hope schools. The cost of this is about $600 per term, and not in our budget, but we are confident we can raise the support to allow these children to continue their education in these difficult times.

In the slums of Namuwongo, we are transitioning from giving away food to providing micro-business grants for our teen moms. The informal economy has slowly restarted, so it’s the perfect time for these energetic young moms to start on the road to self sufficiency. We are doing 4 grants at a time, with training and mentoring ongoing.

One thing that became apparent during this crisis is that there are many, many teen moms in the slums who are absolutely desperate. We were able to help some of them, but we are now planning for an even bigger plan: a halfway house called the Ross House, in honor of my grandmother, Ross Schlernitzauer, who died at the age of 106 in April. She spent her life volunteering, so I am thrilled to continue her legacy with this much needed home for teen moms. Stay tuned for more info as we get closer to our planned mid-November opening.

Finally, at the beginning of the crisis, we funded a lot of plants and seedlings for the babies home in Bukaleba. Now that the big rains have ended, that little farm is growing, and we are praying it will allow more self sufficiency for the babies and children at the home.

There’s a lot more going on, and a lot more to come — we are so so blessed to have you along with us, and so thankful for the donations that have come in during this very trying time. Please join our mailing list if you haven’t, so you get the latest updates. And remember, you can donate once, or set up a recurring donation. Any amount helps SO much, and 100% goes to the programs.

And our long awaited STORE is up! Please head over to shop — more items are on the way. 100% of the price of the items goes to to our programs.

Thanks for everything — y’all are amazing!

Jennings