Halfway House

RETURNING TO NORMAL – AND GROWING!

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First, let me apologize for not blogging in so long! I honestly had no idea it had been 6 weeks… I have sent out a good number of short email updates during that time (less than one per week), so please feel free to subscribe there to not miss anything!

Jenifer and daughter Liz at the Ross House

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH THE LOCKDOWN?

While schools are still closed for at least another 2 weeks, the country has been gradually opening in a “partial” lockdown scenario. There are still a 7:00pm curfew, capacity limits, and other SOPs in place, but life in the slum (where few authorities wanted to go even during the most strict part of the lockdown) is getting back to normal.

Skills for Life Term 2 is in week three, with the classes having been divided between Advanced and Regular on Monday to better facilitate everyone’s learning. We have 20 girls working very hard to take advantage of this opportunity!

On the dark side, mass evictions – halted for a short time during the lockdown – have begun again. Of course people in the informal economy can’t pay… they used their business capital for food, and have no way to earn back that capital to restart a business, nor to pay the landlord. Landlords are businesspeople too, I know, but it would be easier to have sympathy if slum landlords weren’t (as a general but not universal rule) well, the epitome of slum landlords. There was also a tax increase on landlords on July 1 from 10% to 30%, and of course they must pass that on. The end result is that we are seeing a huge number of homeless and pregnant girls.

WHAT WE’RE DOING

Our landlord – who is actually really great! – has been working on the buildings at the back of our compound during the lockdown. We spoke to him, and were able to secure not only a lot more space for our programs, but also a promise that he would only rent to women who he has thoroughly vetted. We didn’t want to move, but also didn’t want to expose girls who had undergone sexual trauma to strange me. (Men aren’t allowed in the Ross House at all.)

What that means:

  • We are moving the Ross House to a large apartment, which will allow us to double our capacity for teen moms. The apartment has a bathroom and kitchen.
  • We are taking the whole lower section of the new building, which adds 5 rooms plus a kitchen and bathroom. We will convert one room into a dormitory for S4L girls who have become homeless and have no family; one room will be the new Advanced Tailoring class; and one room will be a classroom where the S4L girls can learn basic reading and math. We’ll see how we grow with the other two!

We were able to secure this space for not-quite-double our existing rent, which is amazing given the increased tax the landlord is paying to the government. We are so thankful!

MORE TO COME!

We are so excited how far we’ve come in the last 10 months, and excited to see where we are in 2022. If you’d like to partner with us to give teen girls and moms the skills to be self-sufficient, we’d love to have you join the Ten Eighteen family!

YES, I WANT T HELP!

RETURNING TO NORMAL – AND GROWING! Read More »

IS THE NEXT STEP AFTER HALFWAY HOUSE QUARTERWAY HOUSE?

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THIS IS GLORIA. TODAY, SHE BECAME HOMELESS.

Gloria is 16. Her son Imran is 6 months old. Before she got pregnant, Gloria was using drugs and alcohol, and trading sex for basic necessities like sanitary pads. She lived in a one-room home with 5-6 other girls, who have all now had babies, where the rent was paid by one or other of the girls’ boyfriends.

UNTIL IT WASN’T. NOW THEY’VE ALL BEEN EVICTED, AND GLORIA HAS NO FAMILY, AND NOWHERE TO GO.

Since January, Gloria has been participating in Guardian Angel and Skills for Life programs. She has been in the morning hairdressing class, working extremely hard. She has practiced during breaks and days off, coming in to learn not only hairdressing but also basic reading and writing in Luganda and a little English. She was the subject of our first documentary-style film.

When Ronald messaged me, we were able to have an immediate video meeting – man, do I love modern technology!

These are the daily challenges of working in a slum that has a HUGE population of teen moms who are largely uneducated and unemployed. And let’s be honest, it’s tough.

It’s tough to turn away girls in need. We get multiple calls a week from authorities and other organizations about teen moms in crisis. It’s just HARD. But we could have a house the size of a city block and still have to turn people away…

We do as much as we can and make sure to really invest in each girl we CAN take, making them a part of our family.

So we did the only thing we could do: we moved Gloria into the Ross House.

SO THAT BRINGS US TO THE “QUARTERWAY” HOUSE.

A couple of weeks ago, we realized that Sharon and Shadia, our two Ross House residents, had no family to go to when their stay was complete. Many (most?) of the teen girls in the programs don’t – they are either orphans, were kicked out when they got pregnant, were raped or abused by a man in their home who is not their father, or their family is in a village and unwelcoming. Our previous residents didn’t have this issue, though, so we hadn’t yet figured out the next step.

But by mid-June, we MUST have one! And now Gloria has come to the Ross House, and the need for “the next thing” (we’ll call it TNT) is even more urgent.

When we first realized we need a TNT, we began to plan. We have a lead on a 2-room place close to the Ross House/Guardian Angel/Skills for Life compound. It’s supposed to be available in May, so we are following up on that today.

We planned the HOW:

  • a resident social worker
  • a micro-savings program
  • continued financial/business literacy training
  • small contributions to the house to build the skill of budgeting

We applied for a grant to fund it – but with our accelerated schedule, the expenses will come before the money (if we’re blessed with a yes!).

BUT OF COURSE WE HAVE TO DO IT. THERE’S NOT EVEN ANY QUESTION…

Our goal isn’t a pleasant 3-4 month stay for a young, sick mom, and then to push her back out on the street to be in a worse state than before. Our goal is holistic.

  • Medical care for physical wellness
  • Psycho-social counseling for mental wellness
  • Sexual trauma counseling for emotional wellness
  • Vocational training for financial stability

The girls may not have a family — or a good family — to lean on, but they have us.

WE’RE ALL FAMILY NOW!

To help with the cost to establish the Suubi House , please make a one-time or recurring donation!

IS THE NEXT STEP AFTER HALFWAY HOUSE QUARTERWAY HOUSE? Read More »

TEEN MOM GOES FROM HOMELESS TO HAPPY AT THE ROSS HOUSE!

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We got a call from local authorities in early November about a girl who had just given birth who was living under the small roof of a video shanty. Esther and her baby were very sick.

We got her and her baby to a clinic, where she was diagnosed with a bad infection due to childbirth complications, and the baby was also ill. Both were treated, and we moved them temporarily into a small garage of a now-closed nonprofit who allowed us the space for a short time. Mama Santa visited and brought food several times a day, and made sure that Esther and the baby took their medications.

When we opened the Ross House in mid-November, Esther was one of our first residents.

She cried for an entire week.

After just a month, Esther had gained weight, gotten well, and was full of smiles.

She enrolled in our first Skills for Life, choosing hairdressing. She also learned a “small skill”, how to make samosas, and was given the tools she’d need to start a small business while she learned her “big skill” over four months.

Esther graduated from the Ross House at the end of January, having completed our Sexual Trauma Workbook and our basic financial and business literacy training. When she moved in with her sister nearby, she took a month of food with her for the household, as well as all she would need to run her samosa business in the morning and attend the hairdressing class in the afternoon.

While her brother-in-law eventually decided he didn’t want Esther and Ella living with them (we moved her in with a family from church), Esther continues to thrive. She is excelling in the advanced class, and working extremely hard on her skills and creativity.

ESTHER IS NOW ALMOST UNRECOGNIZABLE!

She’s the one on the left… To be honest, when Ronald sent me this photo, I didn’t realize who was in it!

This is real change, and thanks to S4L, lasting change.

The Ross House family expands with every graduate — and they remain our family, with access to medical care and food, continued counseling, and opportunities.

MAY 26, 2021 UPDATE

On Saturday, Esther taught a skills workshop on how to make and sell samosas to 15 young people!! She did an amazing job, earned some money, and gained a huge amount of confidence. AMAZING!!

THIS IS OUR WHY!

AND THIS IS YOUR IMPACT!

Thanks to you and donors like you, we are able to create dramatic, deep-rooted change that will affect not only girls like Esther, but their children, their extended families, and their community.

AND THAT’S TEN EIGHTEEN’S MISSION: TO CHANGE THE CULTURE OF EXTREME POVERTY FOR THE YOUTH OF UGANDA.

TEEN MOM GOES FROM HOMELESS TO HAPPY AT THE ROSS HOUSE! Read More »