Category: Christmas Projects

Christmas Dinners & Bundles 2024

Happy Advent Season!

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing. – Isaiah 9:1-2a

Where are the places in your heart and in your life that you need hope? Where do you need peace? Where do you need joy? Jesus is standing out side knocking on the door of your heart. You just have to let him in! He will cast out the despair, the distress, and the disappointment. If you let Him in, He will transform your heart and life. One way to let Jesus in is to make a good confession before Christmas. Another, is to go to Eucharistic Adoration or daily Mass. May your Advent be blessed by prayer, generosity, and reconciliation so that your heart may be prepared for the fullness of joy come Christmas.

This Christmas we seek to bless 25 families with Christmas dinners, 75 seniors with Christmas bundles, and sponsor 2 Christmas parties for children. A good Christmas for a faith filled Ugandan is attending Mass, eating meat along with tasty options of rice, matoke (banana), and potatoes, with soda and enjoying Christmas cake or cookies. With $25 we can feed a family of 5 or support 2 seniors. Would you help us bless all these families this year? Will you help break the tedium of poverty and help fill their hearts anew with love, hope and joy this Christmas? Give Today!

Thank you, Thank you for your generous hearts! We wish you a very Merry Christmas from all of us at eChange Endeavors, our partners and those we serve in Uganda. Love & blessings, Laura, Founder

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Thank you for your prayers and donations. Together we made a wonderful impact this year!

Thanks to your generous support we helped 13 students complete another year of high school, 2 students start university studying education and medicine, and a dozen primary children with boarding, food, clothing, mattresses, blankets, and medical aid.  

We helped YOUFRA train 24 young adults in shoe making, and provided counseling in two different villages for 25 young men and women, former war abductees. We also raised funds to build a chicken house for the Youth Centre in the new year!

We helped sponsor the Xaverian youth program in December that hosted 415 youth from the Kampala Dioceses at Chiro Camping site.

We helped Community Children’s Care and other families with medical issues and emergencies, including a brain injury and Hepatitis C that kept two fathers in their 30s alive.  These fathers are beginning to work and provide for their families once again.

Thank you for all the love and charity you have shown these families. We are helping to transform lives, families, the Church in Uganda and the country.

May you all have a blessed and beautiful 2023!!!​

Chicken House & Hope for the New Year!

YOUFRA Youth Centre in Lira provides support to former abductees–men and women, in the Lord’s Resistance Army and their children. They under went severe mental and physical hardships while in captivity. 17 years later they are still suffering from lack of education and employment opportunities, mental traumas, and stigmas in the community. Tragically these stigmas are also being passed down to the next generation. The Little Sister of St Fancis through the Young Franciscans of Uganda (YOUFRA) are working to help heal and reconcile the families. One key strategy is providing economic opportunities for the former abductees and educational opportunities for their children.

The Youth Centre is home or boarding to about 15 different children plus a few mothers and staff. To help improve diets and sustainability of the center we want to help them convert this old cow shed (see photos above) into a chicken house. The free range chickens will be more protected from cats and birds and they will be able to acquire laying chickens too. Both eggs and meat will compliment the vegetables and onions from the garden and their main crops (beans & corn), which will greatly improve their health. We are seeking $650 for the chicken house renovation and start-up. 

As well, we are seeking $550 for the children for mattresses, sheets, blankets, socks, under wear, soccer balls, jump ropes, puzzles, pack backs and a nice Christmas dinner. Plus extra clothes and shoes for Obed, the boy by himself in photo below, is 12 years old. He was brought to the center when he was 6 years old and left to be cared for by Sr Margaret, LSOSF. Besides a school uniform he possesses only the long sleeve shirt and trousers he is wearing, and one other t-shirt and shorts.  He needs basically anything and everything—fleece/sweater, trousers, shirts, shorts, tennis shoes, flipflops/sandals, personal care products, and reading materials.

We have the opportunity to bring renewed hope to these children and their families as we begin a new liturgical year and a new calendar year. Might you be willing to be a Magi to these children bringing your wisdom, prayers, and treasures?

Donate here!

Thank you. May God’s mercy, love and joy abound in your hearts and families this Christmas!!

Christmas Dinners & Bundles 2022

Our Christmas dinner initiative has been greatly enjoyed both our giving and receiving families, we have decided to do it again this year! We have set our goal of 50 Christmas dinners to reach poor families, children, elderly and disabled individuals. Might you give $25 today to help one family or two seniors have a blessed and joyful Christmas?

We connect with families through our partners Children’s Community Care, YOUFRA Youth Centre Lira, YOUFRA Disabilities group Soroti, the Xaverians, St Joseph College, and John Paul II Justice & Peace Youth Leaders.

Economic problems abound in Uganda on the tails of the pandemic, lockdowns, back to back bad harvests, inflation, now Ebola breakouts, and more business closures causing a ripple effect of despair and discouragement acrosss the country.  In this season of hope, you can spread God’s love and mercy with a small gift of $25 for one family.  

We want 50 families and more to experience the unexpected joy of Christmas this year.  Families with special needs children, as well as teachers, students, widows, orphans, and individuals with disabilities.

A good Christmas in Uganda is to attend Church followed by a dinner feast together that includes meat. Children look forward to this day all year long. Without our support this year shall be just another meal of beans and portio (corn meal).

Your gift of $25 will buy 1 chicken (or equivalent beef/goat), plus rice or potatoes, veggies, additional sides, sodas to share, and Christmas cake for a family of four to six. Bundles include rice, meat, sugar, oil and soap.

Will you help us bless 50 families with a Christmas Dinner gift?

We have already received contributions for 30 Christmas Dinners, we just need another 20 to meet our goal!  

Donate here!

May God bless you and your family this Christmas season for unto us the Christ child is born ever new in our hearts!