Smiles! Smiles! Everywhere!

Joseph along with fourteen other Educate Uganda students completed Senior 6 last December.  They have all been given the opportunity to apply for continuing education at Universities or Technical Training Institutions.  The students are all anxiously awaiting to hear if they will be accepted into their desired field of studies.  Some applied to surveying programs, engineering school, medical college and business college!  The universities in Uganda are currently planning to open in August.  We remain concerned they will be delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

My heart is bursting!  We will soon have students entering universities and pursuing degrees that will improve their lives.  This excitement is a beautiful reminder of how important it is to turn our plans over to the Holy Spirit.  To let Him guide Educate Uganda with His gentle voice, soft wind and His constant presence.

"I can compare Educate Uganda's beginnings in Nkokonjeru Parish to a "Mustard Seed" as read from the Bible (Mt,13,31-32). It began very humbly by helping under privileged students in just a few parish schools.  As that tiny seed can often grow into a very large bush, beyond what others expect from that tiny seed, Educate Uganda has also surpassed all our dreams.  As of now, Educate Uganda has reached all the Catholic primary schools, the private primary schools and many Protestant primary schools in the Nkokonjeru area.

When the priests in the Diocese talk of infrastructure, Nkokonjeru Parish has the best, strongly built classroom structures and teachers' quarters in all of Uganda.  These have been built by the generous support of donors to Educate Uganda.

To date most government aided schools lack scholastic materials, even though the students are promised free universal primary school education in Uganda.  This scenario does not exist in schools sponsored by Educate Uganda.  The care and concern is constant and always present.  Even now, with COVID-19 making it impossible for students to attend school, Educate Uganda is working to assist the students and teachers to their best ability.

On behalf of all parishioners, we are indeed very, very grateful to Educate Uganda!   You have been our Good Samaritan for more than 13 years in Nkokonjeru Parish-Uganda.  We, the entire Board, thank all the donors who have extended a financial hand to the success attained by Educate Uganda in Nkokonjeru Parish-Uganda.  We constantly pray that God blesses you abundantly."

With the schools in Uganda shut down, there aren't many learning opportunities for our students.  The government is airing educational lessons on the radio and on televisions but the majority of our students don't have electricity so this isn't very helpful.  Our friends in Uganda are referring to the 2020 school year as a "dead year".  It has been complicated trying to determine the most useful way to help the students and teachers at our partner schools.

The Ugandan government has supplied villages with learning packets for the students but they are expecting the teachers or parents to pay for the photo copies of these packets.  After prayer and discussion concerning the best way to support the Educate Uganda students, we have decided to cover the costs of the photo copies for all of our students.  We will use the sponsorship fees for the 2020 school year to cover photo copy costs for the second term.  As students complete a section of work, they can return the materials to their schools to receive a new section.  The teachers from our partner schools will collect the completed sections and correct them.  Students will then be able to review their corrected problems.  We are hopeful another packet is made for the third term.  We intend to cover the photo copying costs for the third term if packets are made available.  

Educate Uganda has provided a small stipend to the teachers as they have not been paid by the government or individual schools in months.  Going forward, we plan to pay the teachers who come to the schools and work on correcting the student packets.

We believe this is the best way to help our students work on some of the educational concepts they would be learning if they were in school but also help the teachers who aren't being paid during the pandemic lockdown.

Today I read a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."  How true this has been for the Educate Uganda team as we faced frustrations with COVID-19 and banded together to figure out how to help and serve our students.   We all began to feel a little calmer and see more clearly.

Uganda is not a country that typically treasures reading.  It is not something Ugandans have grown up with.  They don't have libraries readily available.  Purchasing books is expensive and therefore a luxury most cannot afford.  Educate Uganda typically tries to keep the culture of Uganda in mind whenever we discuss new programs.  It is not our place to try and change the Ugandan culture.  However, when it comes to reading, this is a culture change that would be such a gift for our students.  Putting a book in a child's hand is a beginning to a road map that will help them overcome the poverty so many are born into.  A love of reading and the gift of knowing how to learn and find answers will help them in all facets of their life no matter what they do for a career.

Our plan is to partner with a non-profit organization that specializes in sending containers of books to Africa. This container will take approximately 22,000 books right to Nkokonjeru, Uganda where our partner schools will have the responsibility of dividing the books among the twenty-eight schools.  Each school will then have a small library of their own from which children can check out or receive a book.  The cost to do this will be close to $15,000 USD.  We feel it is critical at this time to pursue this project.

If you are able to help us reach our goal of $15,000, we are certain the rewards will be great and we will continue to develop well educated leaders in Uganda.

Enter for a chance to win a beautiful basket with every donation made toward our Book Shipment Program before August 15th.  

I always love a fun game or friendly competition!  So, to add a little interest to our Book Shipment Program, for everyone who makes a donation prior to August 15, 2020, I will add your name to the drawing.  

If you share this with a friend and they donate, I will add your name a second time.  On August 17th we will have a drawing for the following baskets that were handmade in Nkokonjeru by some very talented women.

Spread the word and you will surely be one of our lucky winners!