Welcome to our first official blog of 2018! It’s been tough sending email newsletters because those tend to go to the majority of people’s spam SO we are nipping that in the bud and reverting to good ole’ blogs. We hope you enjoy it and also are able to share with anyone who would love to learn more.
The first 6 months of the year have been a tremendous success as we have had incredible growth in Uganda – the most to date! God has really put His hand upon the work He called us to and the fruit is evidence of it! Our team in Uganda are such rockstars as they do such an excellent job maintaining and growing all the projects. Freddie and his team of about 30 are the reason we are able to truly changes lives. Through the expertise and care of Freddie and the team, we are able to really maximize your donations for the biggest impact in the community.
We often get the question, why don’t you and Clint live in Uganda? It’s a great question and people are often confused why we live in Nashville and not Uganda. The answer though is pretty simple and a decision we made when we were founding PR12 - we wanted to enable, empower, and support LOCAL non-profit leaders and their vision for their community. Uganda isn’t the only country that we hope to work in. After all, these local leaders like Freddie are the ones who know, love, and understand the needs for their people...not to mention they are trusted and loved. The Lord has been so gracious and kind to give us such an amazing on-the-ground team. I truly believe this is one of the major reasons that we have seen such incredible growth and positive response from not only the local communities but the government of Uganda. So much has been accomplished in the last 6 months primarily because of the PR12 family like you who have spread the word about our projects amongst your friends and given graciously to support all our efforts in the lives of thousands in Uganda. Here’s a little recap of the last few months:
WORLD CHANGER'S ACADEMY
World Changers Academy, our private day school in Sala Village, opened its doors again last week to over 125 beautiful children from Pre-K to 3rd Grade!! Thank You Jesus!!
We are in our second term and students are excelling and doing so well on the nation wide testing. The kids are all flourishing and we are really working to instill in the parents the importance and need for education. We know by educating these kids – and their parents!- we are really giving them the best chance to break the holds of poverty and illiteracy. For most of the children, this is their first time to be taught English so it's incredible to see their improvement. We are so thankful for the people who sponsor World Changer students. These students come from around the local village and without the help of a sponsor would never step foot into a school building. To give you a little background on schooling in Uganda its “free.”
However, free comes with many conditions – pay for a uniform, school supplies, school needs, exam fees, etc. The list is long. The average family cannot even afford one school uniform which is why you will see so many children in tattered clothes or uniforms with holes as they’ve been passed down from child to child. Most families have multiple children. The school they qualify for is extremely poor – no windows, most are have holes in the “ceiling”, the teachers don’t care about the students, it’s a dangerous targeted place by predators, and the classrooms are so overcrowded you can barely even hear the teacher who is "teaching" – it’s a very difficult environment to learn let alone excel in. 90% of the students do not have shoes and are unable to bring lunch or have a meal while at school. They are hungry, distracted, and poorly taught. This is one of the many reasons we opened World Changers – to give children a real opportunity to thrive, to show them the love of Jesus. We take pride in providing our kids with healthy meals, uniforms, love, safety, and an incredible education by some of the best teachers in Uganda.
We still have many children who are in need of a sponsor, $25 a month, and here are a few pictured below: CLICK HERE to sponsor Trevor, Mary, Victoria, or Victor.
THE GENESIS PROJECT
The Genesis Project is continuing to grow at a rate of more than what we could even dream of - we’ve surpassed the 800 mark on single mothers who have gone through our Genesis Project to receive job training, mentorship, and a second chance at life.
It’s been incredible to see, hear, and feel the impact its made in their communities and ultimately their country. This is one of our staple projects that forever changes the life of a young, single mother in Uganda. I’ve been brought to tears hearing some of the stories of these young moms being reunited with their parents who kicked them to the streets - which is the culturally acceptable thing to do when your daughter is pregnant outside of marriage (whether it was her choice or not). Reconciliation is such a huge part of this program because family is everything. We want these women loved and not treated like pariahs within their community. We are so excited as we are going to be opening an Intern Center as an option for these young women to go to after they complete their 6 months of training. The Intern Center will be a Salon and we secured a great place in the center of town to open it – the women will be doing manicures, hair cuts, ear piercing, and other salon services. The goal of this intern facility is to not only provide the women with a place to work if they want but also to produce a stream of income that we can reinvest into the Genesis Project. We need an investment of $6,500 to cover the initial start up costs: equipment, products, rent, etc. So if you are curious about a current need – well this is definitely a big one! You can give for this specific Intern Facility by clicking HERE.
THE PAY IT FORWARD PROGRAM
The Pay It Forward Program is the sustainability aspect of our Rescue Team – orphans, abandoned, poor, and rescued kids are sponsored and given the opportunity to achieve true freedom in life: an elite education, medical care, 3 meals a day, and a safe community.
Our Pay It Forward kids all returned to school last week, many have big tests this week in which they will be scored and ranked amongst the rest of the students in all of Uganda! We have so many incredible intelligent and hard-working kids and it's so wonderful to hear how all their hardwork has paid off. It’s a big month for us as TWO of our beautiful girls were just accepted and started Nursing School while another just completed her first year of COLLEGE! Wow. These girl's stories are feats of absolute bravery and strength.
One of them was living in a pig sty years ago when we first met her - she is one of the amazing young women who live in our girls SafeHouse along with the other two. Their sponsors have been loyal, committed, and so supportive over the last 5 years to get them to this point and now see them through Nursing School. We are so happy because this is truly life changing as they will now be able to not only provide for themselves but have a respectable and solid career. What a blessing.
- - -
On a personal note, we are so thankful for every single one of you who have stood with us in Uganda. It has been such an incredible 6 years and you all have stood with us through all of the ups and downs...truly couldn't have done anything without your support. As most of you know, we have 3 kids under 4 so our lives are a little bit wild but it is the very best kind of wild and we wouldn't trade it for anything.
(Maxx, 3 years old) (Bayylor, 2 years old) (Boone, 3 months old)
Clint and I hope you have enjoyed this new way of learning/staying in touch with what is going in Uganda. We plan on doing monthly blogs as well as videos etc. If you have enjoyed it we would love to hear more of what you would like to get updates on and how you want to stay connected. We are so thankful for you!
Love,
Tara and Clint
tara@projectr12.org
Comments