August 2022
Sponsor Needed
We continue to look for a sponsor for our sweet Sylvia. She is in secondary school at Seroma High School and dreams of one day becoming a nurse. Her favorite subject in school is Biology. Sylvia is the most loving and caring big sister and is so helpful with the caretakers at home. She loves to dance with the younger children of PFP and play netball with her friends at school. Just $85/month will help PFP to keep Sylvia enrolled in school and preparing for University. If you are interested, or have any questions, please reach out!
Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this opportunity: hope@peaceforpaulfoundation.org
A Special Donation
In July, we received a very special donation from a friend of PFP. David was a patient of PFP’s Executive Director, Heidi. She cared for him in his final months of life and worked closely with his best friend Bill in his final days. When he passed away, David left a sum of money for Bill to allocate as he saw fit. Bill donated these funds to the PFP medical department, and we are so honored to be able to utilize these funds to help a couple of our young girls.
Baby Mary was diagnosed with acute pneumonia and severe malaria this month. Part of the donation will be put towards the cost of her treatment. She is already showing signs of improvement. Additionally, Chipa has been struggling with inner ear complications for well over a year. We have been discussing surgery with her doctor and are now moving forward with it using the remainder of the donation. Chipa is so grateful!!
A huge thank you to David and Bill for their generosity.
Staff Corner
PFP relies on our amazing staff in Uganda to keep the organization running. Without our Ugandan team, we would not be able to do what we do for the many children in our care. We hope you enjoy the “Staff Corner” section we’ve added to the blog. Each month we’ll highlight one staff person with the hopes you’ll get a chance to understand the important work they do.
Christine Aguti- PFP Nurse
“My name is Christine Aguti. I am Ugandan by nationality, working with the Peace for Paul foundation. I am a professional nurse holding a diploma in clinical medicine. At The Peace for Paul Foundation; I am entrusted with the responsibility of treating the children. While at work, I make sure the health of all children is in good shape. We have three homes and I task myself to move in all these homes, checking the health of our children along with their hygiene. I I regularly carry out health lessons with the children to teach them how they can manage their own health. In addition, when our children are away at school; I continue to follow up with them to stay on top of what is transpiring with their health. For any referrals, I act right away such that the sick children are attended too to make their health be in good shape.
In the last month, I was able to take one of our children to see the ENT (ear, nose and throat doctor), because she had some ear problems. The problem was diagnosed and medication prescribed. The ear is improving compared to the previous status, but it will needan operation after the medication dosage is done. Also, another child had enlarged liver problems, so I had to take her to the international hospital to see the Pediatrician for examination. Her health is now improving. Other children were treated as well for a variety of issues including infection, malaria, bacterial infection, respiratory tract infection, etc.
Within our Juniors Program (children living in the community with their parents) I received four referrals. They had ear, eye, acute gastritis and ovarian cyst problems. I also took them to international hospital to see the specialists. Diagnosis was done on them and medication prescribed, they are on treatment and their health is turning around.”
Christine with Julius
At School
The PFP students continue to work hard at school. We now have 202 students who attend two different nursery schools, 19 different primary schools, 11 different secondary schools, four different trade schools and four different universities. Our staff and our older A Hand Up students have been busy making the rounds, checking in and ensuring that all students are happy, healthy and have what they need to excel at school. When our team visits, a nurse, social worker and mental health therapist make the rounds together. They bring snacks and other treats, as well as check in on the health and wellness of the children. The identify challenges, whether that may be academics, physical health or emotional well being- and they address those needs where they are identified. We are so grateful for the team we have on the ground in Uganda and so excited for our students as they continue to work hard at school.
Everyone is looking forward to coming home at the end of August for a three week break from studies. Until then, students are studying hard for their final exams.
Children at Victoria Junior School
Yasin and Morgan with friends at school
Ashiraf with his teacher at school
Ashiraf, Joel and Benja at school
Team AHU (A Hand Up)
PFP is working hard to prepare our older students for the “real world” outside of PFP. When a student enters Senior 5 (usually at about 18 years of age), they are moved into the “A Hand Up” program. They still receive all of the benefits that all PFP children do, however now they are required to give back to their PFP family or community. Each AHU student volunteers 20 hours per week on school holidays and has the opportunity to showcase their specific skill set to better the lives of the PFP children or at risk community members.
All of the AHU students have been stepping up this month. Everyone does what they can, where they can. Monthly meetings occur, with Tikol at the lead where students present ideas on how they can best utilize their skills. Students have been working with PFP as a sort of internship. Examples are Shafik working with our maintenance team and cleaning or repairing vehicles (his area of study is mechanics), Lotukei has been working in the office and with paperwork (her area of study is law), Peter has been cooking and baking for the staff and children (his are of study is hotel management), and so on. Everyone has a skill to contribute and we love how this is coming together!
Facebook Birthday Fundraisers
We love when our supporters dedicate their birthdays to PFP! Such a fun and easy way to get involved and to allow others to get involved as well!! Facebook fundraisers take ZERO administrative fees! We hope you will consider including PFP for your next birthday!
Birthday Celebrations
We always do our best to make sure every child in our main program gets a chance to feel special on their birthday. Each child receives a gift and has a small celebration during their birthday week followed by a BIG birthday celebration all together at the swimming pool during school holidays. Many sponsors get involved by sending gifts to their child as well. All children deserve to feel special on their day and we always do our best to make it so!
Happy, happy birthday to our July birthday celebrants! This month, the children were in school, and so our staff visited them to celebrate with a small gift and treats from there. Everyone is looking forward to the August holiday from school where they will have a chance to celebrate together at the pool!
Happy Birthday to Our August Birthday Girls and Boys- we wish you all THE BEST as we celebrate YOU this month!
If you are the sponsor of a birthday child this month, you are welcome to send us an email and we can work together to make their day even more special!
Letters From Friends Across The World
Both sponsors and sponsor children continue to send love to one another from across the world. It warms our hearts to see the genuine connections that are being made Thank you to everyone who takes the time to get to know your sponsored child.
This month, Kafero received a very special birthday message from his family in Utah. We love this!!
Kafero wasn’t the only child to receive a letter from his sponsor family this month. Almost all of our birthday children received a letter and they could not have been happier!! Thanks to everyone for helping to make their child’s birthday so special.
Lotukei, Rebecca, Sharifa, Bush and Apaita with their letters
Tutoring
With so many helpful AHU (A Hand Up) students, all of PFP’s day school children have been receiving extra attention and tutoring. Grades and spirits are both looking up!
Leah, working on her homework
Julius, working on his homework
Sponsor Letters Coming Soon
The PFP children have been working hard, writing their sponsor letters. A big envelope, full of their beautiful work will be on its way to Oregon soon and will then be packaged up and sent to each of the sponsors. Get ready!!
Denis and All, compiling the sponsor letters and preparing to mail from Uganda to Oregon!
Staff Education Benefit
Working for Peace for Paul is a lifelong partnership for many of our staff. Much of the team has become like family and our staff remain loyal and dedicated, in part, because of the benefits that are available through PFP. One of these benefits comes in the form of an education stipend for one family member per staff person. This allows for each person employed through PFP to nominate a family member to receive reimbursement for school fees each term (three times annually). As the cost of education is often crippling for most families in Uganda, this allows for a person employed with PFP to keep their children in school while simultaneously being able to focus their energies on building and growing in other areas of their lives as well.
Olivia and Moses with their daughter Michelle
Community Support
Through a generous grant from one of our supporters, PFP has been able to engage a group of local women in managing and growing their individual businesses. The women selected to participate in this program have had difficult lives and at the time of selection are stuck in a position where they are forced to focus on survival alone. Their children are usually not enrolled in school, but rather work alongside their mothers to provide for basic necessities. To be eligible for this program, each woman must be willing to work hard to grow their business so they may pull themselves out of poverty they are found in. In addition to small business support, the children of each of these women will be enrolled in the PFP Juniors program. This enables the women to grow their business while still ensuring their children are able to attend school regularly and have a chance to hope for a positive future.
Both Scovia and Rose are working hard to grow their businesses and are showing great promise. We are so impressed with their strong work ethic and determination.
Scovia showing off her charcoal business
Rose, showing off her firewood business
The PFP Junior Program
The Juniors Program works with families in our community so parents may be able to send their children to school. These children live full time with their families but for them, poverty has prevented the children from attending school regularly. This program is a partnership between parents and PFP to supplement on what they are able to contribute so parents may take pride in being able to send their children to school through their own hard work. The ages of children in this program range from four years to eighteen years of age and we currently have 89 students who are benefiting from this partnership.
Moses with Ashiraf, giving a pep talk at Bright Valley Primary School
PFP Juniors Supplemental Programs
In an effort to address the needs of the whole child and his or her family, our PFP Juniors coordinator has ramped up the supplemental programs being offered. Each month, during school holidays, there is a regular schedule for career guidance, hygiene and sex education, skills lessons (knitting, painting, tailoring and dance lessons), mental health therapy, family planning and birth control for parents, community outreach programs (food distribution and family empowerment), fun day, and tutoring. The Juniors children are LOVING it and getting involved with more and more programs by the week!
Family Sponsorship Opportunities
We are always looking for general sponsors to help our family thrive. Essentially, as a general family sponsor, you are the sponsor of ALL of the children. We have opportunities for Medical Family Sponsor, Dental Family Sponsor as well as Mental Health Family Sponsor. A Family Sponsor commitment can be $25/$50/$100 per month.
Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this opportunity: hope@peaceforpaulfoundation.org
Director (on the Board) Needed
We are looking to add a new Director or two to our board and what better place to look than from within our team of awesome supporters. We are always looking for ways to improve and would love to find someone with a background in Microfinance, child development or child psychology. If you would like to support the work of PFP in a more meaningful way, we’d love to chat. Please reach out via the email below and we can go from there to determine if it might be a good fit. At the very least…. we’ll have a great conversation and a chance to connect.
Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this opportunity: hope@peaceforpaulfoundation.org
Bulungi Beads
Did you know that we have a shop on our website? The Bulungi Beads Shop features beautiful Ugandan jewelry, handmade by women working hard in the slums of Masese and by the young men and women learning the skill in the PFP program. The handcrafted paper beads are purchased from the women and PFP artisans to support their growing business and their families. All profits are sent back to the women and to the PFP program to help pay for food, clothing, school tuition and supplies. Click HERE to view our shop!
GuideStar Platinum Level Participant
The Peace for Paul Foundation has earned the Platinum GuideStar Nonprofit Profile participation level (the highest possible)! This leading symbol of nonprofit transparency and accountability is presented by GuideStar, the world’s largest source of nonprofit information.
In order to be awarded the Platinum Seal of Transparency, The Peace for Paul Foundation included contact information, financial information, our goals, strategies, capabilities, indicators, and progress, helping us more effectively share our story with the world.
Check out our GuideStar Nonprofit Profile and tell us what you think:The Peace for Paul Foundation GuideStar Profile
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