Education – Page 2 – eChange Endeavors

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!!

Back to School For Sponsorship Students

Ocer Campion Jesuit College (OCJC) and Eastside High School (Franciscan) have been paving the way for success for the children of poverty-stricken families. These schools depend on generous donations to support both student tuition and school improvements. For OCJC, over a third of its students rely on scholarships provided by sponsors. For Eastside High School, that number reaches over half of the student body.

Leah is one student at Ocer Campion JC who has been given the opportunity for success thanks to the kindness and generosity of scholarship sponsors. The second of three children, her mother was widowed after her father passed away due to Hepatitis C in 2010. The family has struggled with poverty since, and Leah’s mother, a farmer, has found it difficult to provide for her children’s basic needs, even more so for an education. Since economic crashes following COVID restrictions, the family has faced further poverty and health problems, threatening to keep them out of school. Leah and her siblings have been blessed to continue their education entirely through scholarships, an opportunity that gives them hope for a better future.

Another student at Ocer Campion JC who has received aid via the gracious giving of sponsors is John Mary, eldest of three children. John Mary’s parents have been active in youth leadership programs, youth activities at their parishes, and Church choir. The family lives in the capitol city of Uganda, Kampala, and has faced many challenges in paying for rent and food. With prices steadily on the rise, and no stable income for either of John Mary’s parents since businesses closed due to COVID, sponsorship has been a saving gift enabling John Mary to pursue his education.

Wondering how you might help poverty-stricken children in Uganda stay in school and achieve success in life? You can support the poor rural families in Gulu and Tororo, Uganda by offering prayers, joining our monthly giving program or making a one-time donation. Just click the red donate button on the right side bar.

Scholarship sponsors play a vital role in providing students at Ocer Campion JC and Eastside High School with the opportunity for an education and future success. Please consider sponsoring a student today and giving them the chance for a better life!

Franciscan Sister Relaunching Eastside High School

Sr. Margaret Mary Awor is working diligently to relaunch Eastside High School for students from poor rural families in Tororo district of Uganda. Due to the long conflict in the country and now the repeated drought years these students and their families have suffered greatly. Sr. Margaret is a Little Sister of St. Francis and the National Director of the Young Franciscans (YouFra) of Uganda. She and the team are helping youth gain back their sense of human dignity and fulfill their potential. Eastside is a private Catholic high school with boarding offering a Franciscan charisma and spirituality to the youth attending.

Despite this being the first full year the school is open in a good while the student body is 286 strong of which two-thirds are on scholarship. To be financially viable long term they are seeking to attract 600 students. To attract paying students the school is in need of many new things such as a new water tank, more textbooks, improved science equipment, better windows, solar power, and most especially computers for both teachers and students. Thus we are seeking to raise $10,000 to bring new life back to the school. This is equivalent to only $35 per student to bring new life to the campus and educational experience of the students.

You can make a one-time gift for school improvements or sponsor a student for just $50 monthly. Join our circle of giving today and help make the high school experience for these needy students even better! Your contribution will help shift the trajectory of their lives, families, and country forever.