Vocational Skills

And They’re Back (at School)!

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While everyone needed and enjoyed their holiday break, school’s back and we couldn’t be happier! Laughing, dancing, sewing machines whirring, kids playing, huge pots of steaming posho… We love our jobs!

Of course, we exist because of the problems teen girls face.

Yesterday, concerned neighbors notified Ronald and the team of the plight of the 15-year-old girl in the photo above. (We’ll call her Rachel.)

Rachel is a true orphan (meaning both parents are dead) who is under the guardianship of an auntie. The auntie sent her from the village to work as a maid in a house, where she was supposed to be paid 10,000 shillings a MONTH. (That’s $2.69 at the exchange rate while I’m typing this.) However, she has never been paid anything. She was being abused. Many times she was denied food. And last night the woman she works for kicked her out.

For now, she’s safe with us in the dorm. Today we are notifying the LC (Local Community leader) and trying to find her auntie in the village. The LC may get the police involved, but — let’s be honest — it’s doubtful that the police will do anything.

Because teen girls are the lowest in the culture.

We have a second case, identified by one of our teachers, of a 17-year-old girl who is being forced into sex work by her guardian who lost his job. Teacher Linda is working with the authorities for now, but if we need to bring her into the program as an emergency admission, we will.

This is what we do thanks to YOU.

It’s very easy to look at the world and see so much need that we feel paralyzed and numb. There’s no way that we, by ourselves, can fix it, so we try not to look.

But together, we CAN make a difference, each and every day, for girls like Rachel and the others in our program. That starts the slow process of culture change, and small culture changes ripple out to create a better life for teen girls in the slum and beyond.

Thank you for your support and encouragement – you make it all possible!

Blessings,

Jennings

PS Thank you for your donations to the mosquito net project for Wells of Hope after our last newsletter! The project is 54% funded and we just need $220 to get the first 100 mosquito nets to these impoverished children. If you want to contribute even one net ($4!) that would help us so much! Just click below!

YES I’ll buy nets!

Happy Last Day of 2022!

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Time’s ticking! Can you hear it?? It’s almost 2023!

We’re so excited for 2023 and all the exciting things coming for Touch the Slum. Here are just a couple:

Literacy 2.0 will be coming in January! We’ll be able to greatly expand the number of girls we can serve, bringing literacy to more families than ever.

The farm will be fully up and running, ready to supplement our growing food budget.

We will begin our third year and 6th term of Skills for Life in February, and hold our fourth graduation! (Those just get better and better!)

There’s still time to make a year-end donation today!

100% of your donations ALWAYS go to the program. Have questions about that? Hit Reply and fire away!

We thank you so much for your support and encouragement this year and can’t wait to share 2023 with you!

Webele nyo!

Jennings

PS Here’s the link – and please share with friends and family!

HERE’S MY YEAR-END DONATION!

End of the Year at Touch the Slum

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The girls get water bottles thanks to partners on DonorSee

When we homeschooled, I learned an important lesson: It’s almost impossible to do any “real” learning between Thanksgiving and Christmas! And I remember that as a child, too. While we all counted down to Christmas, it was really Thanksgiving (in the US) that was the start of the holiday distraction season.

Our girls are way more motivated to learn than we were!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with a feast, and tomorrow we’re having a Christmas lunch for all our students and residents. Then we start our Christmas break, which will go to January 9th. They’re already sad to go! (Don’t worry, the most vulnerable girls will be coming back daily for a meal.)

If you’re new here, you’ll soon find out that we believe in fun, celebration, and gratitude every bit as much as we believe in hard work, healing, and opportunity.

These next few weeks are important for everyone. We implemented a LOT of new programs in 2022: Literacy, Digital Literacy, Advanced Tailoring, Neema Development Entrepreneurship, the daycare, and the clinic.

Our staff has worked tirelessly to counsel, support, encourage, and teach. They’ve managed crisis situations, discovered abuse, provided love and support, and celebrated accomplishments. It’s not an easy job, but they are all from the Namuwongo community and committed to our mission.

None of this would have been possible without YOU, and all we can say is

Tweyanzizza nnyo, tweyanzeege — we are so grateful, thank you very much!

Blessings,

Jennings

PS If you haven’t visited our year end campaign page on DonorSee, head over there! It’s pretty cool, with a goal meter and all our projects! Click the box!

Year End at DonorSee

Update from Panama!

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I’m still in Panama until (earlyyyy) tomorrow morning. The weather has been great, the fundraiser was wonderful (donations still coming in), and yes, I’m looking forward to getting home. Because HOLY COW Christmas is right around the corner!

I don’t have a picture (yet) from the party. It was crowded and loud and I couldn’t get to my phone (and didn’t have any pockets), plus I was schmoozing and eating tacos. Mikkel’s wife was taking video though, so I should have something soon and I’ll share.

The Expat Money community has raised about $4,000 for Literacy 2.0 so far, which is amazing!

I’m going to open the project up to everyone now, so let me tell you what Literacy 2.0 is all about.

In 2022, we took 60 girls from illiteracy to speaking, reading and writing English as well as doing basic math. This is HUGE, as illiteracy is endemic in the slum, and most especially for girls.

In 2023, we want to vastly increase the number of girls we can take through this program. If we can triple it, that’s our big goal – but we’ll grow it as much as funds allow. Every girl deserves Literacy, and we’ll continue working to make that possible.

You can donate now by clicking the button!

As always, 100% goes to the program. We thank you so much for all your support and encouragement — because of you, 2023 is looking like the best year yet!

YES to Literacy 2.0!

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16-year-old teen mom Jackie in Literacy class with her daughter

Blessings,

Jennings

PS Did you know we have a (small!) YouTube channel? Check it out here!

What’s Going on with Literacy These Days?

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Y’all, this photo made me laugh when I saw it on the bigger screen. Jennifer, in the middle, is that one kid… The one making a goofy face or holding up 2 finger-antennae behind someone’s head or just overall looking fed up with the process. Raise your hand if you’ve ever sent or received a Christmas card with “that one kid” in it! (I really need emojis right now!)

ANYWAY, these are some of the girls from the current Literacy class. Now, you may be wondering what coloring has to do with Literacy, aside from writing their names on the paper.

Let’s call it “anti-traditional” education, and I’ll illustrate it with a story.

In 2014 we did a week-long basketball camp for 40 kids in the slum. We had some great ideas, one of which was to get a long roll of white paper, tack it to the wall in a continuous piece, and let each child write or draw whatever they wanted in a space of their own. We had markers and crayons and finger paints and were really excited to see how it came out.

How it came out was 40 individual spaces that all looked almost identical to each other… Each one had an airplane, a teacup, a house, and a tree. Each airplane was drawn in an identical style. Same with the other subjects. IDENTICAL. The only differences were colors or medium or finesse due to age.

Frankly, it was really depressing. These kids didn’t all go to the same school. They weren’t related. They shouldn’t be drawing the same four things. Yet there it was.

That sums up Ugandan education: rote learning, with no creativity or individuality allowed.

But not at Touch the Slum!

We believe in creativity. We believe in problem-solving. We believe that each girl is an individual and should be able to express herself. Our girls actually have an advantage over girls who have been to traditional schools, because they were never indoctrinated into the cookie-cutter sameness that their peers were.

Launching the Literacy program this year has been one of the highlights of our work in Namuwongo. The joy it brings to these girls when they find out they can learn, they aren’t stupid, they do have value… It’s truly amazing.

Blessings,

Jennings

PS We have a project up for supplies for the Literacy class. We’d love your support to keep them going full steam ahead for the duration! Click below!

SUPPLIES!

PSS You can still get your free ticket to see me speak tomorrow at the Expat Money Summit!

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Exam Time (No All-nighters required!)

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What do you think of when you think of exams? For me, it’s pulling all-nighters and going to the local truck stop at 2am to get greasy carbs and hot (bad!) coffee to stay awake.

Fortunately for our students, that’s not required. (I don’t think truck stops are a thing in Uganda!)

For the Hairdressing mid-terms, the girls have to bring in their own “client” and create the style of their choice. Some girls are fast, and some are slower — that’s ok!

Our goal is competency, not speed. These exams give the teachers vital information to make sure that each student is getting the help they need to graduate and either get a job in a salon or start their own small business.

Tailoring is having mid-terms, too, for the same reason.

Competency.

We don’t issue report cards. We don’t have a GPA. Some of the girls have been through our Literacy program and some are unable to read and write.

It doesn’t matter.

What matters is that, when they graduate from Skills for Life, they can create a sustainable life for themselves and their families. If it takes longer to learn? We’ll be there. If they’re fast learners? We’ll challenge them.

Really, that’s how education should be!

We couldn’t do this without your support, and we are thankful for you every day (and every braid!) along the way.

Webele nyo!

Jennings

PS Did you know we have a Bonfire store with shirts and bags? Check it out below – maybe you’ll find some good Christmas gifts for family and friends. (Or you… just sayin’!)

CHECK THE MERCH!

PSS Don’t forget to grab your FREE ticket and hear me speak on the 11th!

jennings expat money show speaking ticket

Past the Halfway Mark in T3 Skills for Life!

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16-year-old Husinah is having a stellar year! She was in our first-ever Literacy Class, and just graduated a couple of weeks ago from Basic Tailoring. (If you didn’t see the video from that EPIC graduation, go check it out on Instagram!)

But she didn’t stop there — now she’s in Advanced Tailoring, and look what this gal is doing: TAKING NOTES.

She’s TAKING NOTES, y’all… She was totally illiterate at the start of 2022!

I don’t know about you, but I find that absolutely astonishing. And how did this happen?

YOU!

Some of you donated to the Expat Money Community’s fundraiser at the end of 2021 which paid for the Literacy Program to launch and run through this year. Some of you donated on DonorSee for supplies for Skills for Life. Some of you are monthly donors who help us keep the lights on and the electric sewing machines running all day.

When I first saw this picture, I looked at the usual things – Husinah’s pretty dress, her concentration, the machine. And all of the sudden it hit me what a monumental win this is, because it seems so normal.

This isn’t normal for the majority of girls in the Namuwongo slum. Our goal is to change the culture one girl at a time until it is. Thank you for joining hands with us to make it happen!

Webele nyo!

Jennings

PS We have a project up for supplies for this term’s Literacy class – they go through a lot of notebooks, crayons, pencils, pens, art supplies, and paper! If you can help, just click!

LITERACY CLASS SUPPLIES!

Another Graduation Is Happening Soon!

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Graduation photo time! Don’t they look great?!

Our Advanced Tailoring class made these caps and gowns, which are not only amazing, they save us the cost of renting them each graduation. And more importantly, they’re special. They’re uniquely ours, just like our philosophy that no girl should be excluded just because she’s never had the opportunity to go to school.

They’ve never done graduation photos.

They’ve never been celebrated or had anything to celebrate.

They’ve never done something that they and their families were proud of.

Until now!

Now, no matter if they’ve gone to school, no matter if they are teen moms, no matter if they’ve done things they wish they hadn’t in order to survive, they can be proud. They can party. They can dance and sing and ululate and laugh til they cry.

Because they did this. It’s all theirs. No one can take the accomplishment or knowledge from them.

That’s why we make it a really big deal! And YOU have helped us get these 35 girls here, you’ve helped us put on the past graduations, and you’ve supported the girls’ journeys from start to finish.

It’s really a team effort, and you’re the starting lineup — we can’t thank you enough!

Tweyanzizza nnyo, tweyanzeege! (We are so grateful, thank you very much!)

Blessings,

Jennings

PS To help put on the graduation shindig, just click the button. 100% goes to the graduation!

GRADUATION TIME!

We’ve Had a Great First Year on DonorSee!

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Meet Jenifer and her daughter Victoria. Jenifer originally came to the Touch the Slum office when she was pregnant and homeless, and we were a small 2-room place in the slum.

We referred her to an organization we work with that helps pregnant teens called Amani, who had room to take her in. Jenifer gave birth and for a little while after lived with friends.

But about a year and a half ago she became homeless again. And she came back to Touch the Slum — only now we had a program just for girls like her: the Ross House.

Jenifer moved into the Ross House with Victoria, got medical treatment and a good diet, and she began to blossom. She started Skills for Life in Tailoring and it was apparent from the start that she was gifted.

After graduating, she moved into the Suubi House and on to Advanced Tailoring. She’s just finished with that and will graduate on October 1. In the meantime, she’s done so well that both tailoring teachers have been getting her side gigs. She’s saved up a good nest egg!

And now she’s ready to move out into her own place! To begin an independent life that doesn’t rely on a friend who can take her in or a man who will give her food in exchange for sex. And she’s ready!

We couldn’t be more proud of her.

We have a project up to fund her exit package. When our teen moms are ready for independent living, we don’t just show them the door. We make sure they’ve worked and saved enough for several months rent. That their job or own small business is established and stable. Then we gift them a mattress and bedding, household goods, food, and personal supplies.

And our door is always open – Victoria can come to daycare, and they can both get treatment from Nurse Sherry in the clinic. Mama Santa will be happy to serve them up some delicious plates of food, too.

This is the goal. This is the why.

You can’t make lasting, sustainable change without going deep. You can’t change a life without changing the way they see the world, without giving hope that’s based on a truly sustainable path.

Jenifer is a rock star, and I can’t wait to see how far she’ll go!

Blessings,

Jennings

PS We have a project up on DonorSee for Jenifer’s exit package. I put it up yesterday afternoon and it’s already 40% funded! We’d love for you to bless her in her new life — as you’ve blessed her during her whole time at Touch the Slum. Just click! Webele nyo!

Jenifer’s Exit Gift!