Catholic Education Transforms Lives. Will you help?

As we begin anew calendar year, Uganda also begins a new academic year. 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. (See photo above.) 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. For only $50 per month, or $200 per term, or $600 for the year you can help one youth stay in school and reach his or her 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 one of these students reach their dreams? Donate Today!

In Lira diocese, we are helping YOUFRA (Young Franciscans) to support 20 students in primary school with boarding and personal requirements. Their parents are former abductees whose lives and education were disrupted when they were captured, dragged into the bush and forced to fight for the Lord’s Resistance Army or assist with their personal needs. While the conflict is over 17 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 Young Franciscan (YOUFRA) Centre to help improve their livelihoods, heal from the traumas, and ensure a second generation of families doesn’t loose out on education. Personal requirements for the students includes mattresses, sheets, blankets, school uniforms, sturdy shoes, socks, books, paper, pencils, pens and markers, rulers, and meals. We are seeking $300 per term for these children, plus an additional $700 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!

Summer Evening of Dancing!

Win great prizes in our raffle — gift certificates to restaurants, manicure/pedicures, bundles of beauty, food, wine, and more!!

Tickets are $5 or 6 for $25 (one book). You can purchase at the Dance OR online, OR email us at endeavors@globalechange.com. For online purchases use our red donate button and specify in the reference for the raffle. Make sure to give an email and phone number. We will follow-up with you.

Can’t make the event? You can help us to reach our goal of $5,000 for Scholarships by donating today! These students would not be attending high school, vocational college or university if we didn’t step in to fill the gap. Join us in transforming their lives and that of their communities.

We had a very fun night of dancing! Thank you to all of you who joined us on the dance floor or supported from a far. We raised $2,000 for scholarships thanks to the event sponsorship, donations and event funds with $800 coming from the raffle. We hope you can join us again next summer. To support our scholarship program donate here!

Event Sponsors:

Raffle Sponsors:

Chef Hannes Restaurant

Lido Di Manhattan Restaurant

Coyote Cafe Restaurant

Becky Stout MacIntyre Dance Instruction

Mary Hornickel @The Wellness Company

Autumn Granath Manicure/Pedicures @Merle Norman

Frances Nails @Manhattan Beach

St. Joseph’s College Needs a New Roof!

During holy week this year a big storm blew through Tororo Uganda and took the roof off St. Joseph College’s main classroom building. Leaving students and teachers quite alarmed and exposed. They are currently renting a hall at a guest house near the campus to make up for the lost classroom. St. Joseph College is already busting at the seam with 140 students from Senior 1 through Senior 4 and a P7 class. The missing roof has exasperated the problem and the exposed walls and building to more damage.

We are stepping in to help raise $20,000 to replace the full roof and other necessary renovations to the foundation, walls, windows, and doors. Will you join us to help these youth stay in school getting a good catholic education?

Donate today!

Thank you American Martyrs parish and FOAG for stepping in to help! Construction of the new roof begins this week. We are still seeking funds to help replace the windows and doors, paint, and provide much needed solar power for the school. Join hands with us and donate today!

Construction has begun. Stay tuned for more.

High Tea for High Hope

You are invited for High Tea at Williams Place

Saturday, May 20th, 3-5pm

Hosted by Michelle Waters Williams & Laura Frederick

R.S.V.P. by May 18th

Life in Uganda is hard. After two decades of conflict, difficult repatriation, a global pandemic that resulted in further economic hardships, severe weather shifts–too much to too little rain destroying crops most people in northern Uganda are battered and desperate. YOUFRA (Young Franciscans) steered by Sr. Margaret Awor, LSOSF, and her team are working to help counsel and reconcile families, guide faith formation, improve livelihoods, and ensure the next generation of children don’t also miss out on education. We are stepping into help YOUFRA members and their families renew their hope and faith in God and life.

Join us May 20th for High Tea and hear Laura Frederick, Founder of eChange Endeavors, share stories of the lives that have been touched by our support. Laura has been working in Uganda since 2000 and lived there between 2006 to 2011.

We are seeking to raise $14,500 for the YOUFRA Youth Centre in Lira to renovate the building and facilitate greater program delivery. Funds will be used to refurbish the outdoor bathrooms (showers and toilet) at the Centre as well as much needed basic repairs to the building, plus purchase furniture (tables, chairs, and beds) along with materials and facilitation for programs. These improvements will enable YOUFRA to host retreats and trainings for 25-150 young adults in their 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s at a time. Having a place to take a break from home to sing, pray, laugh, learn and connect with other youth renews their hearts, minds and dreams and builds skills among the youth. Retreats are focused on the Sacraments, spiritual formation, and strengthening families. Trainings cover topics such as shoe making, hair styling, baking, farming, communication, team building, financial management, and beyond. Will you join us and make a gift of $100 to $1,000 or more today?

Donate Now!!

We have reached $9,300 towards our goal of $14,500. Could you help us bridge the gap?

Join hands with us today and give to help this community recover from two decades of civil war. Through counseling, livelihood and life skill training we are helping a generation of youth reclaim their lives. We support former child abductees of the Lord’s Resistance Army who lost their opportunity to education and now economically disadvantaged in the community to thrive and provide for their families. Donate Now!

The new L – shaped design will have 6 toilets with two basins each for the ladies and gents, plus 5 shower stalls. A clean, beautiful and modern look for the area. We are reusing all the bricks we can in the innovations. We are refurbishing the toilet doors for new shower stall doors. Moving the solar water heater that hasn’t been used from the other-side of the center to install on the bathroom to provide warm piped water. We are making use of paint that helps repel mosquitoes to reduce chances of malaria. This will be a great inspiration for the whole community as well as having a functional benefit.

Donate Now!!

Donate Now!!

Catholic Scouts Chiro Camp

Fr. Ceasar Matuvo, Camp Director & Scout Chaplain

The Catholic Boys Scouts in Uganda is one of the few youth organizations in the country that provides youth development for anyone. Through the Scouts youth have the opportunity to learn loads of skills such as setting up tents, tying knots, first aid, sourcing safe water, proper sanitation in the wild or at home, cooking, science and care of the nature, as well as leadership and team building.  Skills they desperately need for a productive and cooperative life at home, work or in the community.  

Fr. Ceasar Matuvo has been working for 10 years to develop Chiro Camp along Lake Victoria in Masaka district of Uganda.  The land was donated by the Archdiocese of Kampala.  With the help various donors, hard work and tenacity on the part of Fr. Ceasar, George K., George M. and other scout leaders and troops they have built a main hall, a few bungalows, and limited water and sanitation infrastructure. They are in need of quality tents that sleep 3, 6 or 8 campers, which are two season and can endure the heavy rains. We are currently seeking $2400 for tents and additional $1200 for additional equipment for the kitchen and training hall.

Chiro Camp hosts about 300 youth each quarter between the Scouts and the Xaverians, a local Catholic youth service organization. You can enable a multitude of youth to have a fun and educational camp experience with just $25, $50 or more. Help make the future of Uganda better. Give Today!

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!

 

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!!

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!