Author name: Jen

HOW WE’RE USING YOUR DONATIONS

/ / , ,

As you know, we had a lot of donations in December. It was truly amazing! So we wanted to let you know how we’re using your money so far in 2022.

Right now – today – we have finished our daycare!

This has been a long-held dream for us. We’ve watched our teen moms go to class with babies on their backs or having to chase a toddler around during lessons, and it was (of course!) obvious what we needed. But we didn’t have the space or the budget. Until now!

Thanks to your donations, both directly and on DonorSee, we got the funds to create the daycare. Our soft opening is this weekend, and we will be open for “business” (it’s free!) on Monday. Our wonderful social worker Sarah, who has a baby of her own, is in charge.

The Literacy class had its last day of “soft launch” today, too. Monday is the official launch, and we’ve got 20 girls ready to learn basic reading, writing, English, and math.

Monday, the great photographer Bob Ditty is coming to spend the day doing a photo/video shoot. I had a Zoom meeting with him yesterday and can’t wait to see his images and videos. He usually works in rural areas of Uganda, so he’s very excited to take his work to the slum.

And then Tuesday, we start work on the clinic! Having a nurse and stocked clinic onsite will save us SO MUCH MONEY, not to mention catch the common illnesses like typhoid, malaria, and pneumonia early. The nurse will also conduct regular health and hygiene seminars, and visit our families in their homes. We are really excited to add this to our compound and community.

We have a DonorSee project up to help with the clinic. If you’re interested in helping us, click the button!

Thanks for all your support and encouragement – know that you are making a HUGE difference everyday!

I WANT TO HELP WITH THE CLINIC!

HOW WE’RE USING YOUR DONATIONS Read More »

THE LITERACY PROGRAM HAS LAUNCHED!

/ / ,

For two years now, LITERACY has been on our minds. I started using the phrase “holistic literacy” last year as a way to describe a literacy that encompassed the whole of life.

  • We provide several forms of literacy to our residential teen moms:
  • they learn a skill in Skills for Life
  • they learn parenting skills
  • they learn household skills like cooking and budgeting
  • they learn coping skills to recover from past trauma and deal with life in the slum

Skills for Life has been providing vocational skills – 40 girls learned a skill/trade in 2021.

But most of our girls have never been to school, or were only able to go for a couple of years. They can’t read, write, or do basic math.

Many of them don’t speak English at all, which excludes them from a lot of public life and job opportunities since it is the “1st language” of Uganda.

Girls who can read are computer illiterate because they have no access to the digital world. With more and more things going online, including government services, they are excluded, too.

That’s why we are SO excited that THIS WEEK our Basic Literacy Program has launched!

20 girls have started on a journey that will open up the world to them in ways they could never have imagined.

We are so grateful to Expat Money for raising the funds for this project and so proud and excited at what these girls will achieve.

Our computer lab project is up on DonorSee — it’s a big, ambitious project, but we believe it’s a vital part of our holistic literacy campaign. We won’t get shown to the wider DonorSee audience until we’ve reached 10% of our goal, so if you’d like to help us just click the button below.

THANK YOU for your continued support!

THE LITERACY PROGRAM HAS LAUNCHED! Read More »

Lots Happening in the First 3 Months of 2022!

/ / ,

We’ve got a LOT in the works right now, Friend!

To be honest, 2021 had a lot happening. And much of it happened on the fly — I’m proud of us for our rapid problem-solving super powers!

HERE’S WHAT’S COMING UP IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2022 — LOOK, A PLAN!

  • Literacy Program starts next week with 20 girls
  • Bob Ditty, international award winning photographer, is doing a photo/video shoot for us on January 31
  • Skills for Life started this week with 20 girls
  • The daycare will be opening January 29
  • A staffed, on-site clinic will open on February 14
  • The first Advanced Tailoring course will start March 7
  • We will begin our first round of Entrepreneurship Education by the end of March

WOW!

THIS IS ALL POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF YOU, AND WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT!

Lots Happening in the First 3 Months of 2022! Read More »

SKILLS FOR LIFE IN 2022

/ / , ,

School’s in session!

While some of the girls from Term 2, 2021 are finishing up their exam projects, another twenty are ready to take advantage of an opportunity they never expected: learning a trade.

Term 1 will begin with our third round of Hairdressing and Tailoring, with ten girls in each skill. In the next few weeks, we will be adding

  • Advanced Tailoring for a handful of talented Basic Tailoring graduates;
  • Basic Literacy for girls in our programs who want to learn to read and write in English and learn basic math;
  • Neema Development Basic Entrepreneurship to teach basic business principles to our girls;
  • and Videography.

Girls like 17 year old Jameoh, who have had little education and even less HOPE are being given OPPORTUNITY.

We can’t thank you enough for your commitment to these young women — and to changing their lives.

We have several projects up on DonorSee for class supplies – we’d love your help!

BUY SUPPLIES!

SKILLS FOR LIFE IN 2022 Read More »

DONORSEE AND OUR WORK

/ / ,

DonorSee listened, and their newest update means more of your money to our programs!

We have loved being on DonorSee, and have had over $8,000 in donations through the platform since September. It has allowed us to quickly respond to urgent needs as well as fund supplies for our students, a daycare, and more.

But the most common feedback from YOU was that 17% of your donation went to DonorSee, 3% to credit card fees, and only 80% to us directly. While your donations also helped us get traction with donors directly on the DonorSee platform at a 3-4 ratio, it was still a basic-math sticking point for a lot of you.

Well, DonorSee listened! This year, they started a Premium Membership for a limited number of partners, and we were invited! Now we pay a flat fee per month — $30 for the first 3 months and $100 after that — and all your donation comes to us (minus card processing). Since we “spent” $1303 on the 17% fee in just 4 months in 2021, this is a BIG deal for us!

With Term 1 of 2022 Skills for Life starting this week, several medical needs, and more up right now, we hope you’ll check it out and donate today! Every dollar counts, and goes to the programs.

Baby Liz received second degree burns this weekend after swatting a bowl of hot porridge out of mom Jenifer’s hand and onto herself. She was rushed to Nsambya Children’s Hospital where she is receiving daily treatment. She’s doing very well! We have a project up for her medical bill, if you’d like to help!

UPDATE: Liz was treated successfully and is fully healed! We are so grateful to our donors on DonorSee who gave to her medical bills!

DONORSEE AND OUR WORK Read More »

2021 HIGHLITES!

/ / , ,

What a difference a year makes!

When Ronald and I had our 2021 planning meeting at the end of 2020, we felt like we were really stretching on our 1-year goals for Touch the Slum, Skills for Life, and the very new Ross House programs.

And yet here we are, at the end of 2021, and we not only met all our goals for 2021, we met our goals through 2023!

Even with the (surprise) harsh total lockdown in June, we have gotten 40 girls through Skills for Life. We have not had a single drop-out!

  • The Ross and Suubi Houses are FULL — we have 6 teen moms in residence currently.
  • We will launch our fully funded (for a whole year, thanks to Expat Money) Basic Literacy Program on January 31, 2022 and we’ll take 60 girls through basic English reading, writing, and basic math.
  • We provided almost 94,000 meals in Namuwongo and Mbarara.
  • Nearly 40 projects have been funded since September on DonorSee.
  • The number of monthly donors more than doubled.
  • We have contracted for space that will more than double our capacity at the current Namuwongo compound. We hope to take full possession of this space by the first of January.
  • Over 1500 packages of sanitary pads have been given away to girls who can’t afford them.

…and much more!

Every single day, we touch the lives of teen girls in Uganda’s largest slum.

2021 HIGHLITES! Read More »

WHY IT MATTERS

/ / , ,

Friend, sometimes, we go outside our brief…

In our Namuwongo project, here are some things we don’t (usually) do that we did last week:

  • Take in pregnant teens
  • Provide food for people not in our program

It’s just a matter of budget – there is SO MUCH NEED among the 30,000 people that live in Namuwongo, and we are one small nonprofit. We have to say no MUCH more often than we can say yes.

But sometimes, you just can’t say no.

A few weeks ago, the LC (local community leader) called about a pregnant 15 year old girl. While it’s in our “one day” plan, we currently aren’t equipped to take in pregnant teens. But we brought Kalunji to the office for counseling, and she has come back and spent all day every day there. She gets 2 meals a day, she’s finally gotten prenatal care and vitamins, and she’s safe.

Last weekend, the team went with her to visit her home, where she lives with her jaja. What they found was an elderly woman near to starvation, in a home where they slept on the bare dirt floor.

When Ronald sent me the video, there was no question. OF COURSE. Buy food. Get charcoal, a mattress, bedding.

OF COURSE. Because sometimes, you just can’t say no.

I WANT TO HELP

WHY IT MATTERS Read More »

WHEN YOUR CHRISTMAS PARTY IS AT KFC

/ / ,

When Ronald said the girls had picked the place for their Christmas party, I just knew…

A few years ago, KFC opened their first store in Kampala. Zeke and I went there during our 2020 visit — it was good, and they were actually fast, which doesn’t usually happen in Ugandan restaurants.

So when Ronald said that the girls wanted to go out this year instead of having a Christmas feast at the Ross House, I felt the silent mantra start in my head: wait for it… wait for it…

Because I just knew what it was going to be! And sure enough – it’s chicken and chips at KFC time!

Y’all, this is a BIG DEAL for these girls. Most of them have never been to an actual restaurant outside the slums. This year, they got their first-ever pizza. And we’re doing this as a MOM-ONLY outing, arranging for the staff to watch the toddlers.

They are SO excited – we can’t wait to share their December 23rd outing with you! (It’s ok, you can laugh. I did!) We’re working on a DonorSee project to fund it, which I’ll share with you soon.

FOR NOW, JUST BASK IN THEIR SHEER DELIGHT OF CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS AT KFC!

WHEN YOUR CHRISTMAS PARTY IS AT KFC Read More »

GRADUATION DAY!

/ / , ,

Graduation Day!

Imagine… you grew up in your country’s largest slum, desperately poor, unable to go to school more than just a few terms.

Imagine… you’re a teen girl with a single mother, living with 6 siblings in one room.

Imagine… your country has a complete lockdown and there is no… nothing. There is especially NO HOPE.

Now imagine that you’ve gone through free vocational training to learn a skill that can allow you to get a job or start a small business. The 2021 lockdown delayed your graduation by 6 months…

BUT THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE!

IT WAS AMAZING!

The current Skills for Life tailoring class made the caps and tassels. (The gowns were a last-minute borrow!) The hairdressing class did everyone’s hair so they looked gorgeous. Families and friends came, speakers encouraged and praised them, they danced and ate and had cake — and couldn’t get those grins off of their faces.

THANK YOU!

Your ongoing support and graduation-specific donations made this day possible!

GRADUATION DAY! Read More »

ROSS AND THE ROSS HOUSE

/ / , ,

Ross and the Ross House

Today is my grandmother’s birthday. She would have been 108. Many of you know she lived to 106 (and a half!). We just had her memorial service earlier this month (November 2021).

Ross Schlernitzauer (pronounced just like it’s spelled!) was an amazing lady – a liver of life, a keeper of memories, a force to be reckoned with, and quietly generous. She passed her legacy of generosity to my mom, and it has had a huge impact on my life as well as my daughter’s.

Ten Eighteen’s US office is run 100% by volunteers. We have no administrative expenses, we don’t do any paid marketing, no one gets a salary, and we work from home. That means that your money goes TO THE WORK, always.

With donations through Donorbox or DonorSee, we use the funds within days to change lives among Uganda’s poorest youth. For all of us, it’s a labor of love that started with the grand lady we called Memommy.

DONATE TODAY!

ROSS AND THE ROSS HOUSE Read More »

Scroll to Top