Simon Peter Omollo needs just $400 more to help him finish his university degree in Education and fulfill his dream to become a high school teacher. Please join us by giving or sharing his story with others today!!
Let Us Join Our Hands Together
Girls leave their homes because of families difficulties, death of a parent, promises of opportunities for work, and the lure of lights for the big city. Yet when they arrive in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, they quickly realize it is not as they had hoped. They have no resources and no where to turn, so they end up on the streets vulnerable to abuse, domestic servitude, prostitution or trafficking to another country. Good Samaritan Sisters and their team go out on the streets nightly to find these girls and rescue them. They offer them a home, medical care, counseling, spiritual guidance, and the opportunity to learn a skill or two that they can use to earn income. When possible, they help to settle the girls back home in a way that enables them to help the family. In a nut shell, they restore the girls dignity and renew their hope!
Will you join hands with these deeply committed Good Samaritan Sisters to help give these girls a second chance? Here are a few ways you can help:
$25 buys supplies for 1 baking, sewing or salon class
$50 enables the Sister’s to take one new girl in from the streets
$60 supports one girl in the program for one month
$100 provides food for seven girls for one week
$200 covers the salary for one teacher for a month
$500 buys one new industrial sewing machine
$3000 covers the cost of solar system
Together we have raised $550 for Simon Peter. However, he still needs $850 more to help him finish his University degree and fulfill his dream to become a high school teacher. Please join us by giving or sharing his story with others today!!
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Matthew 5:7
As we begin this year of mercy, let us all seek ways to be more merciful in our lives, to be more generous with our forgiveness and our blessings.
In December, I had the privilege of going to Uganda to visit our brothers and sisters in Christ that we serve. I met with Fr. Tony Wach the Director of Ocer Campion Jesuit College. 
They graduated 70 more students in 2015 of which 52 scored in the 1st Division for O-level exams and 18 scored in the 2nd Division. An amazing accomplishment for such a new school. They are progressing forward slowly by slowly with the development of the school. The Jesuits are looking to add on more boarding sections and classrooms to extend the school to include Senior 5 and Senior 6 by 2018. This will increase their need for teachers, thus they remain grateful for our commitment to build a house for volunteer teachers.
I also met with the mothers that formed Community Children’s Care to provide safe, clean
and stimulating learning environment for children with special needs as part of a community nursery school. They also strive to build awareness among the community about the children as many are misinformed regarding the causes of their issues. They prepared a wonderful Ugandan lunch for me and showed me the newly remodeled class room. They still need to tile the floors and lay paving stones outside, but the place looks great! They are very appreciative for any on-going support we can provide for medical services, special therapy equipment and advocacy efforts.
An afternoon and evening was spent meeting with our various sponsor students. Some have 
graduated from their current schools and are looking to attend secondary (high) school, senior secondary school, vocational or university. All were enthusiastic to learn more about smart phones, smart phone Apps and sending messages or emails!
One day was spent facilitating a retreat for the Catholic young adult leaders at the John Paul II Justice & Peace Centre. We had 20
youth and several that travelled long distance to join us in the capital. I was moved by their strong commitments at the end of the day to work ever diligently with their little resources to help make Uganda a more just and peaceful country. Pray for the country as presidential elections are being held in February 2016. Twelve are thrilled to be able to participate in the World Youth Day in Krakow Poland this year presuming we can raise the necessary resources to make the pilgrimage.
Any support you can provide in these regards is very much appreciated.
Blessings upon you, Laura
Ocer is Acholi for “He has risen!”
Dear Friends,
The youth in Northern Uganda suffered terribly for two decades due to the conflict and abduction of boys to be child soldiers and girls to support them. Initially they abducted older youth, but over time they took younger and younger children. Those who were taken were forced to commit atrocities on their neighbors, burning villages and killing people. Others were forced to flee their homes at night to safe havens to hide from the rebels. Nearly all lost family members and suffered incredible traumas. Many were left orphaned or widows with numerous children. The education of the children was interrupted and delayed, stealing not only their present lives, but also their future.
In 2006, following the signing of the Peace Accords, the Society of Jesus started a new high school—Ocer Campion Jesuit College in Gulu as a means of helping with the healing and reconciliation of the people. Hear is the voice of one student,
“I grew up in violence because I was born at the time of the civil war of the Lord’s Resistance Army. I spent most of my life witnessing brutal acts conducted by the rebels in our areas, killings, burning down of schools, people’s homes and more. These memories are still fresh in my mind, but I am glad I am at {Ocer Campion} school participating in activities that help me to take away my thoughts.” Lilian, Senior 4
Ocer Campion Jesuit College is special because it offers an extra preparatory year to enable students to address their learning gaps and properly prepare them for a rigorous high school curriculum. In December 2014 they graduated their first class. Their O-level scores were ranked highest for the region demonstrating the power of this model. The vision of the Jesuits is to continue to increase the quality of the education at Ocer Campion by leveraging the expertise of international volunteers, which benefits both the staff and students.
Pope Francis echoes Jesus and the scriptures calling us with his message to be a light in the darkness, to be hope for the hopeless, to heal our world!! In response to this great invitation, we as a faith community have embarked on an ambitious goal to raise $100,000 for Ocer Campion Jesuit College. These funds will be used to build a two-story house on the school campus for international volunteer teachers, counselors, coaches, medical, and support staff. In this way we will enable others to give generously of their time and talents to help improve the quality of the education and life for the students and their families.
Please won’t you join us and help these students to rise from the ashes of their childhood to become fully the youth that God intended? Donate Now! or Come to an Event!
Thank you for bringing renewed hope to these youth!
To learn more about Ocer Campion Jesuit College visit Our Partner page.
May God bless you abundantly, Laura
Power Down for Education in Uganda
We @echangendeavors are powering down our mobile device to raise $100,000 for education in northern Uganda: #PowerDown4EdUg. Students at Ocer Campion Jesuit College (OCJC) in Gulu Uganda do not have access to technology for learning purposes, let alone personal use. In solidarity with these students, we are giving up using our mobile phones and other mobile devices for 24 hours and donating $24 to improve the quality of their education.
In this way, we are affirming the value of high school education for all youth and facilitating a higher quality of education in Uganda. The funds raised will go towards the building of a two-story house on campus for international volunteers, teachers, coaches, medical personnel, entrepreneurs and others who come and work with the youth for extended stays.
Ocer Campion Jesuit College http://ocercampion.org was initiated following the signing of the Peace Accords in Gulu in 2006 as means of reconciliation and restoration in northern Uganda following two decades of war and violence. During the conflict, thousands of youth were abducted and forced to be child soldiers or to support the soldiers. Many more youth lived in fear of being abducted, so they went to camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) that were underfunded or nightly they retreated to shelters in Gulu town. All of which negatively affected their education. Ocer Campion offers an extra initial year for students to address gaps in their knowledge and skills to ensure they are properly prepared to begin high school studies. This methodology has proven to be powerful! This last December Ocer Campion graduated their first class of students and earned the highest ranking on the national O-level exams out of all the schools in Gulu district.
Now is your opportunity to be part of this grand endeavor to give these youth a second chance at a good education. Take on our challenge to power down for education in Uganda – #PowerDown4EdUg and donate $24 for Ocer Campion Jesuit College.
The #PowerDown4EdUg Challenge in 5 Easy Steps
- Tell all the people in your circles WHEN you will be powering down your mobile devices and WHAT inspired you to take on this challenge.
- Power down your mobile phone and other mobile devices and give to another adult to verify you did it!
- Have a carefree, no technology day and see what happens differently.
- Make your donation by texting the word UGANDA to 41444.
- Post a brief video or message to tell everyone you know that you completed the challenge and what you gained from the experience. Finally, don’t forget to challenge others to take on the #PowerDown4EdUg challenge too!
For all your posts, use #PowerDown4EdUg and refer to us @echangendeavors
Come join us this Lenten season and take on this charity challenge of letting go of your mobile technology to help youth improve their educational opportunities in Uganda.
Thank you for your support!
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