Jesuits – eChange Endeavors

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

Fall Scholarships to Finish Strong!

Fall is here! While that means the start of new academic year in the US, it is the final term in Ugandan. We need to raise $4000 for our scholarship fund to clear the students fees in time for exams. Will you help us and contribute $200 for one needy high schools student per term? Without your generous support these children would not be studying, causing the cycles of poverty to persist in their families.

We support 3 students at Ocer Campion Jesuit College in Gulu, which has 600 plus student with one-third on scholarship (top photo). At St Joseph College, a Franciscan high school in Tororo with 150 students and nearly all students on partial or full scholarship we support 6 students. (See photos above.) We have another 6 female students we support at various Catholic Schools, including Sr. Jackline, LSOSF. Most of their parents are farmers struggling to earn a basic livelihood. Without your generous support these youth would be growing up without an education. For only $600 per year, $200 per term, or $50 per month you can help a youth stay in school and reach their dreams. Graduating from a Catholic school experience is transformative in their lives and that of their families for generations to come. Collectively we help bring a brighter and more faith filled future for all of Uganda. Will you help a high school student reach his/her dream of education? Donate Today!

In Lira diocese, we are helping to support 20 students in primary school with boarding at the YOUFRA (Young Franciscans) Centre and personal requirements. Their parents are former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) abductees whose lives and education were disrupted when they were captured, dragged into the bush and forced to fight or assist fighters under the threat of death. While the conflict is over many years now, the parents have yet to recover–emotionally, educationally, socially, and especially financially. We are working diligently with Sr. Margaret Awor, LSOSF, and staff of the YOUFRA Youth Centre to help improve their livelihoods, heal their traumas, and ensure a next generation does not also loose out on education. Will you help us compensate for a great injustice by supporting their children’s education? Donate Today!

Personal requirements for the primary students includes meals, mattresses, sheets, blankets, school uniforms, sturdy shoes, socks, books, paper, pencils, pens and markers, and sports gear. We are seeking $500, $25 per student, per term for these children, plus an additional $750 for one-time purchases. Will you help the parents redeem and reclaim their hope and dreams for their families and a good future? Will you help ensure their children have access to quality education? Donate Today!

We also support three students engaged in university studies. (photos above) Mercy is studying for a Bachelors in Education to become an English teacher. Gerald is seeking a Diploma in Laboratory Technologies to step his way to becoming a doctor. Emilly is working on a Master’s in Family Counseling to empower her to counsel the families she is working with at the YOUFRA Youth Centre. It costs $700 per term, $120 per month to support them. Will you make a contribution today to ensure their dreams and a better Uganda? Donate Today!

Summer Fun Dancing, Drinks, and Donations!

All proceeds benefit our needy scholarship students in Uganda through our amazing partners. Without our support these youth would not be in school. We are helping to make their dreams of education and a better life come true! Pay at the door. Cash appreciated.

Thank you everyone for attending!! We had a lot of fun cutting up the dance floor thanks to DJ Mike Leach and Rockette Becky Stout MacIntyre. We have raised $3,800 towards our goal of $5,000. There is still time to support our scholarship fund and help us close the gap. Use the our secure PayPal link for a one-time or monthly contribution. Your dollars transform lives and families!

Donations Accepted too!

Scholarship recipients include Emmanuel (red shirt) whose mother was abducted by the LRA and spent 3 years living in the bush under the threat of being killed. She lost her chance at an education and struggles now to support her children as well as carrying the memories of that trauma in her life. Through the Young Franciscan of Uganda (YOUFRA) Youth Centre in Lira Emmanuel’s boarding and personal requirements are provided as he attends a local public school. His mother has received counseling and additional training in shoemaking to supplement her agricultural activities from the Centre.

Shaddrach was about 8 years old when his father Francis a primary school teacher died from liver cancer, which came from hepatitis C not being probably treated. He is now a 2nd year student at Ocer Campion Jesuit College as high school student with our support. Also, thanks to our support his sister Mercy is studying education at University to become an English teacher. She is following in her father’s footsteps. Her mother a widow only completed 2 years of high school struggles as a farmer to meet the family’s basic needs.

St Joseph College has a majority of the current students on scholarship. We help with 6 of the students and further development of the school. Their parents are farmers barely eking out a living and cannot even afford to provide for all the basic personal requirements of the students.

Lekebwam is an amazing individual with a very positive outlook on life and concern for others. Through our support with Children’s Community Care he is working to complete a diploma in communication and journalism. We cover tuition fees, personal requirements, boarding and the cost of a care assistant.

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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

Fr. John Chachu’s Story

Former Head Teacher at Ocer Campion Jesuit College, Fr. John Chachu, passed away on July 22 at 59 years old. His loss was a devastating shock to the OCJC community, as he had been involved with the college for several years, and was well established in the college community. Fr. Chachu was a Jesuit priest originally ordained in Sudan in 1988, later sent to Ocer Campion Jesuit College in 2014. Under his leadership, enrollment at the college had risen from just over 600 students to over 700.

Upon the news of his death, many in the OCJC community began to raise money to bring his body back to Gulu so he could be buried there. The community truly loved him, so much so that, when news spread that only 20 people could attend his burial due to Covid restrictions, a cause went up to request that his burial be open to the entire community. Parents, students, and teachers alike wanted to be able to attend, and after some discussion, the burial ceremony was opened, and 700 people attended (double the projected 250 mourners).

Fr. Chachu came from a family of 6 children, and was one of two surviving members; he and one of his sisters. He had been raised in Sudan in a faithful family. In Gulu, he was the only Jesuit priest there that spoke the local language, a skill he was very proud of, noting that he was “very much in this place.” He embraced Gulu as his home, and felt very connected to the community. Likewise, the community loved him. Many students paid homage to Fr. Chachu at his burial, and others sent messages and stories to the school. The students at OCJC truly saw him as family. At his burial, one of his students, Susan Akera, noted “he was a father to many of us who were orphaned.” Another student expressed, “we will miss our father, our parent.”

In an unreleased interview, Fr. Chachu spoke lovingly about the community. One of his biggest concerns was that many prospective students could not afford to attend OCJC, but even some who could not pay were still welcomed into the program. Fr. Chachu cared deeply for the situation of those children in Gulu, commenting, “they literally have nothing, and as a school now, we cannot… send them away.” According to many in the community, Fr. Chahcu was a stern, disciplinary teacher at OCJC, yet even so, he was loved and widely known to have loved everyone. He kept close contact with the families, even outside of school, and was very encouraging to all of his students. His student Susan Akera described him as “the most forgiving priest I have ever come across. He would quarrel on us and within minutes he would start making jokes to us.” Another student agreed, stating, “He created a social environment that was equal for us all irrespective of who you are.”

The OCJC families and staff will sorely miss Fr. Chachu, and his contributions to the community will not soon be forgotten. Fr. Chahu was known for truly loving his students and for being a well rounded, disciplinary role model to the children at OCJC. It is with great sorrow that the OCJC families and teachers say farewell to Fr. Chachu. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.