Giving

Real Talk

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Raise your hand if you get overwhelmed by all the bad news, prices at the grocery, important things falling off planes, and more happening throughout the Western world. (Me!)

I get that the daily dose of disaster is exhausting.

My goal with this weekly newsletter is to bring you stories of how your money is making a real, tangible, priceless difference to the teen moms and teen girls in our program. While I do make “asks”, I rarely ASK.

Today, I’m asking.

As of this writing on Wednesday, we haven’t had a single donation on DonorSee in 6 days. While January and February were slow, in March, til last week, had seen a distinct uptick in activity. This is a very normal and expected pattern after year end giving season. But I don’t think we’ve ever gone a week without a single donation on that platform.

Why should you donate to Ten Eighteen Uganda and our Touch the Slum program?

  • 100% of your donation goes to the work
  • We are able to run a residential program, Literacy program, Vocational Skills program, and community outreach that reaches over 100 daily and over 5,000 over the course of a year with under $125,000 in donations.
  • I have 15 years of experience working in the Namuwongo slum, and almost all of our staff are from this community, meaning we know the needs and know how to address them in ways appropriate to the culture.
  • We have been recognized by Plan International and added to their “recommended list” — one of only 2 for the District that is home to millions.
  • We were named the top Youth Led Organization in Kampala in 2023.

In short, we are small but mighty, and your donations allow us to transform lives and change a culture that does not value its girls.

Will you consider making a donation or becoming a monthly donor? Your support will ensure that our program can continue to serve the most needy in Namuwongo, and we promise that every dollar will go to changing lives for the better.

You can make a one-time donation or become a monthly donor at Donorbox by clicking the button below:

Donorbox

You can also donate to a specific project, become a sponsor of the clinic or residential program, or become a monthly donor on DonorSee by clicking this box:

DonorSee

If you can’t donate right now, that’s ok! Will you share this newsletter and our work with a friend or two? Your word-of-mouth referral means the world.

Mwebele nnyo,

Jennings

PS I just had a message from Ronald that we had an attempted break-in at the farm last night. The would-be thieves made a hole in the wall (!) but Derrick discouraged them from entering (with a machete). Apparently they were going after our boda. Ronald and our legal officer, Jimmy, went to the farm then met with the LC and local police, who say they will investigate. (We’ll see…) The cost for the transportation and materials to repair the hole is $55 – you can use the Donorbox button above to help defray this cost. Thanks!

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Tuesday is, well, Giving Tuesday!

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I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with family, friends, fun, and zero-calorie food! Jackline and the teen moms in the Ross and Suubi Houses celebrated too, just not with turkey. (There actually are turkeys in Uganda, but trust me, you wouldn’t want to eat them!)

Giving Tuesday is coming up and we’ve got a matching grant! This is the kickoff to Giving Season and a great time for you to make your year-end donation to Ten Eighteen – especially since your money will be doubled up to $5,000! You can also choose to become a monthly donor through DonorBox or a monthly sponsor for a project on DonorSee. (As I used to say when I had my bakery, I’ll take everything but wampum!)

2022 has been a HUGE year for Touch the Slum. Thanks to you we are now housing 12 teens and their children, we have 65-75 students at the compound daily, and we are growing all kinds of things at our farm. In our wildest dreams, we wouldn’t have thought that you would get us this far this fast.

Yesterday, what we were most thankful for was you.

Your support is truly astonishing!

Webele nyo,

Jennings

PS If you’re not already following us on Instagram, it’s a great way to see your support in action. We post videos every day! You don’t have to have the app or have an account – you can just visit on the web and check it out.

Tuesday is, well, Giving Tuesday! Read More »

November is a big month for Ten Eighteen!

It’s almost our FIRST ANNIVERSARY! We opened the Ross House a year ago, and my how we’ve grown!

What started out as an idea I got while walking on the beach contemplating the devastating effects on teen girls of the COVID19 lockdown is now a bursting-at-the-seams, thriving hub of activity! Every week we have

  • 5 teen moms in 2 residential settings
  • 1 homeless teen girl in a dormitory
  • 20 teen girls and moms in Skills for Life
  • 30-40 visitors for Saturday’s Turning Point
  • A dozen girls for Friday’s Teen Talk
  • 20 girls in Strong Mind Mentoring groups

We average 1800 meals a month in our Namuwongo project, and we’re growing all the time! Coming in our second year: a computer lab, literacy class, advanced tailoring class, a daycare for our teen moms, and an expanded residential and dormitory program.

Our partnership with DonorSee is allowing us to provide the needed supplies for the girls in Skills for Life, give micro-grants to teen moms to start a small business, handle medical emergencies, and grow our program. We have also been able to provide much needed food for our foster families in Mbarara. We expect the last two months of 2021 to be huge for us on the platform, and we’re so thankful to those of you who have checked us out over there!

At the end of the month, on the 30th, it’s Giving Tuesday. Like all nonprofits, our year end campaigns are really important to keep us healthy for the upcoming year. Please follow us on social media and sign up for our weekly newsletters — we’ll have all the Giving Tuesday and Year End Giving information for you!

November is a big month for Ten Eighteen! Read More »

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