Endeavors Circle

Join us as we launch a monthly giving circle to share our blessings.  We are called to build up the Body of Christ, the Church.  At eChange Endeavors we do this by supporting widows, single parents, orphans and those with disabilities either directly or through local Catholic institutions. We seek to leverage previous investments made in education, personal development or institutional capacities to ensure those at risk won’t fall by the wayside. Together we are helping to transform problems into opportunities inspiring hope and strengthening community!

We help hardworking mothers such as Gloria to ensure they can provide for their children. When she needed a hip replacement surgery due to an accident, we stepped in to help. We also supported Pascal to finish University after his Mother died and his Father was no longer able to generate enough income for both him and his younger brother who was still attending high school. When Esther’s husband died, we assisted with food and helped her start a micro business. Later when the eldest reached high school we helped with the higher fees. We have given a small grant to Children’s Community Care to finish a classroom for children with mental disabilities so that mothers would have a safe, clean, and stimulating environment in which to leave their children while they went to work in the street markets.

We also raise funds for OcerCampion Jesuit College both scholarships and an additional housing for international volunteers to work at the school. We are seeking resources for technology and textbooks for St Athanasius Primary School, which serves mostly poor families living in the slums of Kampala. St. Elizabeth’s Home & Vocational Institute rescues young women from the streets, trafficking and prostitution.  We are seeking to raise funds for a solar solution and sewing machines so that local money collected can feed and support more women. We are seeking to help rural health clinics diversify their service capabilities to create a more sustainable model. None of these good works would be possible without your generous support over time.

So join us today and become part of our circle of giving to ensure we can say YES to helping our brothers and sisters in Uganda when we receive their requests. To join simply click on our DONATE button that will take you to a PayPal payment page. You can pay via PayPal, credit or debit card. Just make sure to tick the box for re-occurring payments and your giving will be automatically processed each month.

$10/month enables an entrepreneur to start or grow a microenterprise

$20/month enables young adults to participate in Catholic youth camps

$25/month provides one teacher with a mini-laptop

$30/month supports a student in primary school

$50/month provides a small grant to a health clinic or partner

Thank you for becoming part of our Endeavors Circle of love and hope in the world!

 

Girl’s School in Uganda Needs Solar Solution to Offset Costs

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QsZ8A7Nb4U&w=560&h=315]

St Elizabeth’s Home & Vocational School gives young women a second chance at life.  The St Elizabeth team rescues young women from the streets, human trafficking and prostitution in Kampala Uganda.  They provide love, a safe place to live, food, counseling, life skills, and income-generating skills, such as sewing and baking.  St Elizabeth’s is seeking $5000 for an electrical solar solution and industrial sewing machines.  Our investment in this solar infrastructure enables them to apply all locally raised resources towards food, mattresses, personal necessities, and teaching resources to increase their outreach and impact.

Will you join hands to help give these young women a second chance at life? Donate 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!!

Gloria’s Story

Thank you for your prayers and support for our recent visit to Uganda. Here is our first video telling Gloria’s story. We hope you enjoy getting to know her.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B9AtRbzzZg]

 

Donate Today!

Please share the video with your family and friends, as you never know who might be touched and inspired by her journey with Christ.  Her faithfulness and hopefulness in God despite her challenges inspires me daily!

Currently, we have raised $1200 of the $2000 required to cover her hip surgery. Please help us to raise the remaining $800 by giving, sharing and praying for Gloria.

Blessings of Mercy upon you!

When did I see you sick?

Unexpected medical crises send a family quickly into a downward spiral of economic depletion, poverty and hopelessness.   As we enter into Holy Week, the pain of the Passion gives way to the joy of Easter.  Let us help bring renewed hope to our sisters and brothers in Christ suffering with health issues.

“And the King will answer them, `Truly, I say to you, as you did for one of the least of these my brethren, you did it unto me.'” Matthew 25:40

Gloria is a single mother in her early thirties who has been disabled since she was 11 IMG_9712 Gloria face shotyears old.  She was the victim of a traumatic boda-boda accident that shattered her right hip.  Already an orphan, the extended family had no resources for her care, so the hip became infected and dysfunctional.  This in turn affected the growth of her right leg.  In 2011, she was in dire need of hip surgery now for her left hip as it had born the brunt of 17 years of the right hip not functioning properly.  We raised resources for her initial hip replacement surgery.   Since she was forced to leave school after primary three, she is only qualified to do manual labor.  She works as a nanny and sews beautiful bags and clothes to provide an income for her and her child.  This type of manual labor has caused problems and the hip now requires re-cementing.  It costs $2000 for this follow-on surgery in Uganda.  She is living in pain everyday until the surgery can be performed. Help Gloria come pain free again with your contribution today! 

Donate Now!

Simon Peter is another young, dynamic catholic your leader who participated in our Youth Building Peace program.  His Father was diagnosed JPYouth2010 398with esophagus cancer in 2015.  Consequently, all the available family resources have been put towards his father’s surgery and treatments, which he is still on-going.  This has left no resources for Simon Peter to finish his B.A. in Education at St Lawrence University in Uganda.  He is only four months from graduating and being able to work as a secondary teacher, and able to contribute back to his family.   He needs $1500 to settle all is outstanding university fees for the year.  Help Simon Peter graduate in May and begin teaching the next generation of youth!

Donate Now!

Ann Ruth, a dynamic Catholic youth leader in Uganda, only 28 years of age, was JPYouth2010 152diagnosed in November 2015 with 3rd stage bladder cancer after nearly nine months of ill health and testing.  The only treatment available required that she fly to India for innovative surgery and recovery.  This health crisis has put the family in debt $21,000US.  While gratefully she is recovering well, the family is now burden with this enormous debt.  We are seeking to raising $7,000 to cover one-third of it for the family.  Help AnnRuth and her family get out of debt and back to building their family together! 

Donate Now!

With only a little amount you can make a radical difference in the lives of these families, today and for generations to come.  As we close Lent I invite you to inspire hope in these families by giving today!    

Thank you for keeping all our grant recipients and their families in your prayers!

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 

  1. 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.
  2. Power down your mobile phone and other mobile devices and give to another adult to verify you did it!
  3. Have a carefree, no technology day and see what happens differently.
  4. Make your donation by texting the word UGANDA to 41444.
  5. 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!

Click below to view our videos:

http://youtu.be/r28AYymTRHE

http://youtu.be/SxU5SlBJkyM