eChange in Action – eChange Endeavors

2nd Annual High Tea for High Hopes

You are cordially invited for High Tea at Williams Place

Saturday, November 23, 2024, 3-5pm

Hosted by Michelle Waters Williams & Laura Frederick

R.S.V.P. appreciated by November 17, 2024

Join us for a lovely British High Tea to hear Laura Frederick, Founder of eChange Endeavors, share stories of the missionaries and families in Uganda we have touched by our support. She has twenty-eight years of experience working with the poor in East Africa and beyond. She began her journey as Jesuit International Volunteer in Belize from 1990-1992. Laura has been working in Uganda since 2000 and lived there between 2006 to 2011. She continues to collaborate with various missionary partners remotely and through visits.

We are seeking to raise $12,000 for our partner YOUFRA Youth Centre in Lira to renovate their solar power solution that provides lighting and security to the building. We are on a long-term development path with Sr. Margaret Awor, LSOSF and the team at the Centre. The next most important element is replacing their electricity, which failed in March of this year. Funds will also be used to begin repairing the walls and foundation in the kitchen and dinning area, replacing windows, and finish building out the plumbing, cupboards, counter tops, painting, and purchasing much needed appliances and furniture. Today the kitchen and dinning hall is an unfinished room (photos below). In a subsequent phase, we will refurbish the two main gathering halls with new windows and doors, add ceilings, lightening, trim and fresh paint.

With these renovations the YOUFRA Youth Centre will be able to host 50-150 young adults in their 20s, 30s, and 40s for workshops, trainings, and retreats. Having a place to take a break from home to gather, sing, pray, laugh, learn and connect with other young adults renews their hearts, minds and dreams. As well they are able to builds and array of skills. These opportunities are a rarity for youth! Retreats are focused on the Sacraments, spiritual formation, and strengthening families. Training covers topics such as farming, shoe making, baking, hair styling, team building, communication, reconciliation, financial management, and beyond. Will you join us and make a gift of $100 to $1,000 or more today? Donate!

A New Academic Year Has Begun!

Ocer Campion Jesuit College Literature Class

We begin a fresh year of academic study across Uganda as we step into the new. Ocer Campion Jesuit College in Gulu has 600 plus student with one-third on scholarship. St Joseph College, a Franciscan high school in Tororo has 150 students with nearly all students on partial or full scholarship. Most of their parents are farmers struggling to eke out a livelihood. Without your generous support these youth would be growing up without an education. As you know, Catholic education is key to helping children become fully who God desires them to be. Just $50 per month, or $200 per term, or $600 for the year helps ensure one more youth is able to reach his or her dreams. You can make a transformative difference in their lives and that of their families. Collectively we help bring a brighter and more faith filled future to all of Uganda. Will you help one of these students reach their dreams? Donate Today!

For our students in Lira attending public day school there are still many personal requirements that are out of reach for the parents including school uniforms, sturdy shoes, socks, books, paper, pencils, pens and markers, rulers, and lunches. We are seeking $100 per term for these children. Their parents are former abductees whose lives and education was interrupted when they were captured and dragged into the bush and forced to fight for the Lord’s Resistance Army. While the conflict is over 17 years now, the parents have yet to recover–emotionally, educationally, socially, and financially. Through the Young Franciscan (YOUFRA) Centre we are working diligently to help the parents redeem and reclaim their hope and dreams for families and a good future. The Centre offers counseling, spiritual development, and livelihood training for these parents. As well, the Centre staff is working diligently to ensure their children have access to quality education. Could you give something today to help these children have a good future? Could you help right an injustice done to their parents? Donate Today!

Obed & other children at YOUFRA Centre Lira Town

Christmas Dinners

Would you consider donating $25 to cover the cost of Christmas dinner for one family in Uganda?

Gerald Ogenrwot, Grandmother, Brother & Family

We had such a positive response to our Christmas dinner initiative last year by both the giving and receiving families, we have decided to do it again this year!

Life continues to be hard in Uganda. Schools were shut down again in June and still not yet been allowed to open again. This has left many at home with not enough to do. Teenage pregnancies have soared in the country. The weather went from too much rain in 2020 to too little rain in 2021 further destroying crops. The President and administration continue to shutdown markets and business activities, despite minimal cases and few deaths from COVID. Economic problems abound causing a ripple effect of despair and discouragement. 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 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.

To have 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).

Just $25 will buy 1 chicken (or equivalent beef/goat), plus rice, additional sides, sodas to share, and Christmas cake for a family of five to eight.

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

We have already received contributions for 10 Christmas Dinners!

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

“O give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his love endures for ever.”
Psalm 107:1

Mobility, What a Gift!

Have you ever lost your mobility, even for a short while? I have twice in my life and it sure has made me appreciate gaining it back, pain free! Gloria lost her ability to run, jump, ride a bicycle and squat easily when she was 11 years old due to a moped accident. Gloria was living with her Grandmother and three brothers at the time of the accident. Her father had died when she was 7 years old, after which she was pulled from school to help her mother at home. So she never had the opportunity to learn how to read and write. And a few later she lost her mother when the mud hut they called home collapsed on her. Following the accident there were no resources available to take Gloria to a hospital. She was left to simply “heal” on a mat at home. Her right hip became infected and what the accident didn’t destroy the infection ate away. Ever since that time her left hip has supported her ability to move around.

The lack of a good right hip and an over dependence her left hip caused it to deteriorate. In 2011, after years of pain, she had her first left hip replacement surgery. She became pain free for five years and it was glorious! In 2016, the pain came back requiring her to have a second surgery because the components and cement were not strong enough given her active labor intensive life. Once again life was good.

In 2017, she moved to Gulu, Uganda and began working in the new Jesuit Residency cooking meals and cleaning. Unfortunately, last year, 2019, the pain came back with a vengeance and has not subsided. At first, they were not able to do the needed follow-on surgery in Uganda. We have been seeking opportunities outside of the country without success. This year however, the hospital has acquired the necessary surgery equipment and will soon be receiving a visiting doctor that has the speciality expertise for her third surgery. Consequently, we are seeking $3000 to facilitate this additional hip surgery to get Gloria pain free again. Could you contribute this Lent to help Gloria regain her mobility pain free? Donate here! Thank you!!

Interview with Gloria before her second surgery.

Following Your Dream – Nancy’s Story

For the youth of Uganda it is time to begin a new academic year, but sadly not all students will be able to attend. Due to a lack of funds too many youth will remain sitting at home instead of studying with their peers.

Thanks to generous sponsors like you and me, one in three students at Ocer Campion Jesuit College (OCJC) are able to attend school today. Many more would like to join.

Nancy first dreamed of being able to go to high school. Now she is attending Ocer Campion Jesuit College and she dreams of becoming a judge to help make Uganda a more just country.

Nancy was born in the bush of Northern Uganda. During the war time she lost her father, leaving her mother deeply stressed regarding the safety and survival of her family. After escaping the war, Nancy’s mother with the help of her aunt enrolled her in a primary school specifically for war-affected children in Gulu. Nancy’s love of education blossomed and she performed well.

Knowing that her mother, a war widow, couldn’t afford the tuition cost of high school, Nancy still continued to study hard and placed her educational fate in God’s hands. She passed her primary leaving exams and waited at home for an opportunity to continue studying. After a year she had the chance through her Uncle to work in the fields at Ocer Campion during the holiday season when the other boarding students were away. Once she was able to meet Fr. Tony, SJ and Director of OCJC, she was able to apply for both acceptance and support. Nancy’s prayers were answered with an educational scholarship confirming for her that good does exist in the world.

Nancy, now a Senior 4 student, is active in the Ocer Campion community as a member of the Educate Club, Young Christian Society, and Debate Club. Within the Educate Club, Nancy works alongside students to make the campus and community better to study, and in the Young Christian Society, she guides and counsels youth during their difficult adolescent period. She recognizes the high-quality education Ocer Campion offers and is grateful for the ability to interact openly with her teachers. She finds the educational environment very encouraging.

Nancy dreams of continuing her education beyond Ocer Campion and one day hopes to become a lawyer. She recognizes the turmoil that surrounded the last presidential election and the corruption within the country. In becoming a lawyer, and one day a judge, she hopes to allow the people of Uganda the freedom of speech, and all freedoms. She wants to shape the world to be more just.

Nancy’s educational dreams and opportunities would not have been possible without the good works of our wonderful missionaries serving in Uganda and our faithful donors. For a mere $660 per year or $55/month you can help support a student like Nancy for a year of high school. Will you help give a student the opportunity to dream big and join a classroom today? Join our Endeavors Giving Circle!

Meet Fr Tony Wach, S.J., Missionary to Africa

In 1989, Fr. Tony Wach, a Jesuit from the Wisconsin Province, went on a summer trip to visit a fellow priest on a mission in Uganda. A teacher at Creighton Prep for 18 years, a Jesuit high school in Nebraska started for immigrant children, Fr. Tony felt a calling to the missions. Two years following his first visit to Uganda, he volunteered for a mission of his own in the Province of East Africa.

He has been serving now 27 years as a missionary in this strongly Catholic country and focused his efforts on rebuilding the war-torn nation, spiritually and educationally through the human connection. Upon his arrival, he recognized the need to help educate Ugandans on Christianity and show them that our faith reaches beyond the Mass and praying the rosary, and should also focus on serving the community and its people.

In 1996, Fr. Tony became a Jesuit Community Superior of Kampala and alongside his fellow missionaries worked on forming a local clergy, providing spiritual direction and enhancing community centered resources. In 2007, he helped found the John Paul II Justice and Peace Center to reach beyond those in religious life, promote awareness and help the community strive to create a more just and peaceful country. The center focuses on training, research and advocacy surrounding faith, social justice issues and human rights with Catholic Social Teaching as its foundation.

As Jesuit Community Superior of Uganda, Fr. Tony recognized a need to restore and rehabilitate the country’s northern region, the area most affected by the 25 year Lord’s Resistance Army reign. The imposed instability, lack of education and displacement made the need for aid greater than ever, and Fr. Tony made northern Uganda his newest mission. He and the Jesuit Refugee Service began talks of opening a school. After 5 challenging years of effort Ocer Campion Jesuit College was finally opened in 2010, championed by the East Africa Province of the Society of Jesus and funded by St Campion Jesuit High School Alumni from the US.

Ocer Campion integrates Jesuitic values for the wholesome formation of its students who achieve educational, spiritual and human growth through their relationship with Christ. It targets the underprivileged, children and families directly affected by war-time Uganda and builds personal development through education, enriching Christian values and inspiring service to build a stronger community and nation. Fr. Tony calls Ocer Campion “an answer from God to the long-suffering cries of the people.”

Today, Fr. Tony proudly continues his mission of service in northern Uganda as Ocer Campion’s Director. With the help of other missionaries, he has continued to develop efforts like Ocer Campion and JPIIJPC to spread the good works of Christ throughout Uganda.

Support our missionaries in their life-changing work, and in turn help students and families of Ocer Campion receive funds for schools.