Hope this letter finds you well. I am excited to announce that yet again I am heading to Uganda and Rwanda!!! I leave October 30, 2012 (as in 2 weeks away) and fly back December 12, 2012. After arriving home from Alaska a month ago, with no set job, no plans for the future, and nothing holding me back from going, I started praying if now was a good time to go back Africa... guess you can figure out the answer I got :)
So, yet again, I am heading out for 6 weeks to see the students and teaching staff I so love across the world. My plan is to actually blog this time so I don't flood your inbox's everyday with my updates. I need to work on a quick update and then I'll send you all the link :)
Many of you have asked what you can do to help this time around. I have been emailing Cornerstone headquarters and also Madam Sarah (the principal at the girls School in Uganda) and they have excitedly responded with 3 main areas of needs. Please do not feel obligated at all, but if you are interested continue to read this email and we, as a group of friends, could truly help this community!! So, here they are:
1. Clothing and Shoes!!! Madam Sarah has a family of 7 kids (3 are her brother in laws who cannot afford to feed, cloth or school them, so Sarah and David have taken on the parental role indefinelty). I have sent her an email asking for specific shoe sizes, but here are her exact words:
You are dearly welcome my sister. Deb I would appreciate if it is ok with you to get for us stuff like shoes e.g snickers or sports shoes/canvas for Hannah, Grace, Joy, Perez, Brian, Esther, Daniel, Nalugo- night dresses, sweaters or jumpers, clothes (simple ones for daily use) that you can easily get for ages three, five, seven, nine, eight, fourteen, and sixteen. Some story books, children Bibles for the kids- I will be very grateful Deb.
Also, most of the girls students would love any clothes you would be willing to donate as well. They are all shapes and sizes, so as long as it is in good shape, I'd love to bring it to them!!
2. Feeding the Community: This one is close to my heart, as a teacher. Governments usually provide one meal a day for students in school because they know most of them don't eat, and it is also a draw for kids to go to school. I'll have Sarah's email explain:
Deb, I don't know if we told you about this school in our neighborhood. It is a government sponsored school and because it is a free school many kids go there - many of whom trek long distances barefooted to and fro the school Monday to Friday. And because of government bureaucracy funds (that would have covered teachers' salaries and other necessities like lunch for the pupils) are delayed and that affects so much the normal running of the school. The school came up with an idea of charging a minimal fee of 10,000 ugx equiv of 4USD per kid just for a cup of porridge but because majority of the kids come from poor and broken families they can't afford it - and as such they do study on empty stomachs resulting into poor concentration in class, irregular attendance and drop out of school.
We really feel bad seeing these innocent kids precious as they are in the eyes of God lose this opportunity because they cannot afford to pay for a cup of porridge. We really feel bad yet we cannot do much because of financial constraints. We've tried in the past to get them a bag or two bags of posho (corn) but it seems like a drop in the ocean. We're kindly requesting to stand with us in prayers for God to open his flood gates of heaven and provide for his children and friends who can stand in the gap so that they can stay in school and study and become the kind of men and women God intended them to be.
...
For the feeding program, it has not been easy to do it because of financial constraints. We were planning to contribute some money but we’re unable because of school fees etc for the kids - but we still believe God for provision. This is how the budget estimates looks like –
Annual estimates for 200 students to begin with.
(a) Posho: 1,440 kgs @ 2,000 = 2,880,000
(b) Sugar: 540 kgs @ 3,000 = 1,620,000
Totals Ugx 4,500,000 @ ex. rate of 2,400 = 1,875 USD
As you can tell, Sarah has a HUGE heart for her community, but they are very limited in the resources they can give. (Yet how they challenge me because they give even when they have nothing to draw from!). $2000.... to feed the 200 neighborhood kids for an entire year!!! So, I ask you, would you be willing to give to help impact this neighborhood? If you are interested in helping, this is how Tim (the founder of Cornerstone) and I have set up for us to give. Please know every dollar will go towards feeding these kids, unless you want to give a gift to Sarah or Cornerstone, you can write that on the memo of the check.
On donations - the best thing is to have them send a check payable to International Foundation and posted to:
International Foundation
PO Box 23813
Washington, DC 20026-3813
It needs to contain a note that it is for Cornerstone Development Africa. And if they can send me an email at cstone@imul.com letting me know that they have sent in something that helps to ensure it is put on the right account.
3. They need laptops/computers. Remember how I taught typing lessons, writing resumes, creating email accounts etc. Well, they can't teach the students this unless they have computers. Laptops are easiest to transport, so Tim (the director of Cornerstone) has asked for old (but workable) laptop. If you have one (and most likely are in the Orange County area since that is where I'll be flying from) I will try and take as many computers to these kids as I can. Tim has said either PC's or Macs.
I am so excited to go, see, love on, embrace, teach and laugh with these precious precious friends!!! Thank you for being such an amazing support system last time. Your emails and prayers gave me the strength I needed. I will send one more mass email update before I leave and if you have any questions, please send me an email! I'm excited to see what God is going to do in and through me this time and also now what WE can do to help change lives.
Hugs,
Deb
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