Sponsorship

Rainy Season in Uganda

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I’ve spent a lot of time with my Ugandan friends trying to explain the concept of seasons. (I haven’t been that successful!)

In Uganda, there are just rainy and dry seasons – two of each per year. We are coming to the last few weeks (we hope!) of this fall’s rainy season, which has been brutal.

  • At least 24 were killed in flooding in Eastern Uganda in August
  • Thousands were displaced by flooding and landslides in Western Uganda in September

Our own programs have been affected, as you can see from the picture above of Hopeland Primary School in Mbarara. Wells of Hope and the surrounding village in Rwakobo have had even more significant flooding. The work on the farmhouse was delayed significantly by rains.

You may not know it, but Kampala is about 3000 feet above sea level. I’ve only had one trip in 14 where I was hot — often I’m wearing jeans and a sweatshirt! And few windows have glass in them so the damp cold is hard to get away from when it never seems to stop raining.

We’ve had several girls struggle to control their asthma during this time, and about three times the usual number of respiratory illnesses. We’ve even had some cases of dysentery due to all the contaminated water girls have to walk through to get to class.

So… Did you know that you can sign up as a monthly sponsor of our Haven Clinic? It’s true! We are at 40% right now. There’s no minimum to be a sponsor, and it really helps us keep all our teen moms and teen girls healthy by paying Sherry’s salary and restocking the medications we use daily.

SPONSOR THE CLINIC!

Webele nyo!

Jennings

PS Bonus picture of Sylvia with her new baby boy (no name as of yet) coming home from the hospital to lots of love yesterday!

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Some New Features For Our Great Donors

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ackline is one of the teen moms living in the Suubi House with her daughter Jasmine. She’s just completed Skills for Life and will begin working and saving money towards moving out to independent living.

This is our goal: sustainable self-sufficiency.

But like most worthwhile things, it’s a process. Jackline came to us homeless and destitute. They were both sick. She had nothing and no one.

Over the past nearly-year, she has worked hard in her classes. She’s participated in counseling, mentoring, and peer groups. She’s learned to identify things that are worth working and fighting for, and also the things (and people!) to stay far away from.

During the course of that time, we’ve provided for all her needs. She and Jasmine have been housed, fed, clothed, their illnesses treated, school supplies provided. Our only expectation has been her commitment to her future.

Obviously, free to her isn’t free to us, and you have been amazingly generous and consistent in your support of Touch the Slum over the last 2 years.

Now DonorSee has 2 new features that have opened up to us to make it even easier for you to support us:

Sponsorship — we currently have 2 projects up that need monthly sponsors: the clinic and the residential program.

The clinic is 40% funded, so we need $300 per month more so that the basic costs of running the clinic are covered. You can click here to become a sponsor.

The residential program doesn’t have any sponsors yet, so you can be the first! We house up to 8 teen mothers and their children in the Ross and Suubi Houses plus 4 in the dorm, and provide them with all their needs during their stay. (We currently have 5 teen moms and one teen who will give birth in the coming month, and 5 previously homeless Skills for Life students in the dorm.) It costs us $1,000 per month to care for these children, and we’d love to have your support — in ANY amount! Click here to become a sponsor.

Monthly Donor — Many of you are monthly donors through DonorBox, and we still use DonorBox for unspecified monthly donations and for other campaigns. But now, you can also be a monthly donor on DonorSee! When you click to donate, you will be given the option of “monthly” or one time. If you choose monthly, your donation will go to the largest project we have on the platform at the time of your donation. (Currently, that is the farm!)

Becoming a monthly donor, through either DonorSee or DonorBox, really helps us have visibility for our budget. We love seeing projects funded and one-time donations come in (so please don’t stop!), but we also love knowing that we have a defined amount that will come in each and every month.

Whichever you choose, we are so humbled and grateful that you choose to give to Ten Eighteen and our Touch the Slum project. We can’t thank you enough!

Webele nyo!

Jennings

PS I’ve got several speaking engagements coming up in September and October. If you’d like to have me share about Uganda and our work at Touch the Slum at your group, just hit Reply and let me know!

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A Week of Fun!

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When I was a teen, school months seemed to drag on and on, and summer flew by. Other than getting to go back-to-school shopping with my grandmother, I didn’t find a whole lot to be excited about! (Especially since my bus came at 6:45 and we ate lunch at 10:30!)

I’m pretty sure I never looked like Justine does in this photo!

It’s hard to overstate the danger that teen girls face in the slum: starvation, rape, trafficking, sex work, pregnancy, lack of access to education. In short, they all feel hopeless and trapped in the cycle that they see all around them every day. Even their mothers will encourage them into sex work to “contribute to the family.”

We opened the Ross House to help address teenage pregnancy and its challenges. Skills for Life addresses hopelessness.

Culture is changed one life at a time. Our focus is holistic — we don’t just teach a skill, or just provide a meal, or just take in a homeless teen mom.

  • We teach literacy to those who can’t read, write, or do basic math.
  • We teach English speaking — believe it or not, English is the official language of Uganda. But it’s taught in schools. No school = no English.
  • We address trauma through counseling and peer groups.
  • We provide support through mentoring and teacher engagement.
  • We do home visits to identify family issues early.
  • We provide food and a safe space for girls to hang out, off of the streets.
  • And we teach skills for sustainable self-sufficiency.

We don’t do the easy, high-number, flashy stuff. We do the real, long, hard work to create change, for these girls and for their children and families.

In Uganda, women can’t inherit land. We are giving them a legacy that no one can keep them from passing on.

Thank you for your amazing support and encouragement. We couldn’t do it without you!

Webele nyo!

Jennings

PS We always have a lot of great projects up on DonorSee. We now also have sponsorship opportunities, where you can support us monthly. Two are up right now, for the clinic and for the residential program. Click to check them out!

Sponsor the Haven Clinic

Sponsor the Residential Program

A Week of Fun! Read More »

LIFE UNDER TOTAL LOCKDOWN

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Brenda (not her real name), age 17

To say that things are bad in Uganda is a pretty serious understatement. People are already starving and facing eviction, and because of a new 20% tax on landlords starting July 1, they are being made to pay increased rents even while making no money.

ESCAPED

We had a very scary incident today. One of our girls, Brenda (not her real name), 17, answered a call from a man she didn’t know who offered her a housekeeping job. Brenda’s family is out of food and desperate, so she went to find out about the job.

The man locked her in a room and tried to rape her. His plan was to keep her imprisoned in the house, forcing her into sex and trafficking her to others.

Fortunately, Brenda fought her way out and escaped being raped. She was beaten up and covered with bruises, but because she wasn’t actually raped, the police just filed the statement along with the hundreds of others just like it that they’re getting.

HUNDREDS OF OTHERS. And we’re 10 days into a 42 day (minimum) lockdown.

We held an emergency meeting when they got back to the office. OF COURSE, Brenda is traumatized. And there are many more girls who are facing this and who maybe won’t be so lucky.

We have a total of 40 teen girls who have either completed Skills for Life or are on the waiting list and who had just had orientation for term 2 when the lockdown came. There are another 15-20 who are involved in other ways in our Namuwongo program. They are ALL extremely vulnerable.

SOLUTION: WILL YOU ADOPT A GIRL (AAG) FOR ONE MONTH?

For $50 we can feed a family of 5 (the average number in the slum) for a month. FOOD INSECURITY is the #1 driver of voluntary or forced prostitution for teen girls. Through the AAG program, we can remove that burden, we can protect these precious girls and get their families through the lockdown.

Posho, a staple in Uganda, is corn flour

We have also relaunched the Ndoto cooperative, which we ran in 2014 and 2015. Teen girls from our Skills for Life Term 1 who are at particular risk of trafficking, mental health issues, and/or homelessness will be working at Skills for Life to design and create products that we can sell once the lockdowns are over. These girls will make a salary on top of an AAG allowance of food for their family.

SUUBI HOUSE – WHERE HOPE LIVES

We finally got the keys for our transition house this week!! The painting is done, the beds and mattresses are in, and most of the necessities will be purchased this weekend. The power will get hooked up (eventually).

This means that Sharon and Shadia and their babies will be able to move from the Ross House soon, making room for us to take in emergency cases of teen moms in crisis. For the duration of the lockdown, the girls at the Suubi House will still eat and bathe at the Ross House, which is only a 5-minute walk away.

While we knew we needed this house before the lockdown, the current situation means that we will get many more cases of teen moms in crisis referred to us that ever before. Making space at the Ross House to bring in these precious girls and their babies is crucial!

YOU CAN HELP SAVE TEEN GIRLS TODAY!

100% OF YOUR DONATIONS GO TO THE PROGRAMS – WE TAKE NOTHING OUT OF IT. AND OUR AVERAGE TURN-AROUND FROM DONATION TO THE TARGET PROGRAM IS 5 DAYS. YOU CAN TRULY CHANGE A LIFE TODAY!

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WHY SPONSOR A CHILD?

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Jonah at the Arise Africa Babies Home is Mr. Personality

Child sponsorship has been around for decades, and there’s a good reason for that — IT WORKS! Children in developing countries often have limited access to education because their families can’t afford the fees. But education is the only possible route out of the dire poverty in which they live… Hence the problem!

IN UGANDA, MANY SCHOOLS SAY THEY HAVE “FREE TUITION” BUT THEN PILE ON FEES FOR MANY OTHER THINGS: UNIFORMS, EXAMS, ACTIVITIES, AND BOARDING FEES IF THE CHILD BOARDS AT THE SCHOOL. MOST EVEN REQUIRE THAT CHILDREN BRING ESSENTIALS TO BE GIVEN TO THE SCHOOL, SUCH AS BROOMS AND TOILET PAPER. THIS PUTS EDUCATION OUT OF REACH OF ABOUT HALF OF THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN THE COUNTRY.
HOW DOES SPONSORSHIP HELP?
First and foremost, your sponsorship fee lets the child know that he or she can continue in school, for each term, and for each year. Many children do go to school, but sporadically: one or two of the three terms a year, or skipping years altogether. Fees are due at the start of each term, so if the family doesn’t have the money, the child can’t go. There are many young people in their twenties who are still trying to finish their basic education.

In addition, your sponsorship helps:

  • Ensure that basic medical needs are met. Malaria medication can save a child’s life, but only if the child’s family or guardian can afford it.
  • Assists in the school’s expenses, such as teachers’ salaries, infrastructure, and boarding facilities.
  • Helps provide the child food.

WHAT DOES THE SPONSOR GET?
When you sponsor a child, you get the gift of making all the difference in the world to an impoverished child. Knowing someone cares enough to send money for them is huge to a child who has felt unloved, unwanted, and unseen.

We also facilitate communication between the child and his or her sponsor, and thanks to the internet, that’s done in near real-time. We can exchange letters and photos at the touch of a phone screen, so you’ll know if you’re child is ill, cheer them on when they’re in need of encouragement, and celebrate with them when they do well.

To change a child’s life today, go to our Sponsorship page, or click here to make an immediate donation and we’ll match you with a child.

Wells of Hope School, Rwakobo village, Lake Mburo National Park

WHY SPONSOR A CHILD? Read More »

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