January 2023
It was a VERY Merry Christmas, indeed!
What an exciting Christmas we had at the Peace for Paul Foundation!! Each and every one of the PFP children received a gift from their sponsor or from a generous donor matched with them if their sponsor was unable to participate this year. Each gift was purchased from within Uganda (thereby supporting the local economy), and each of the children went to town to choose their own new set of clothing. We hosted a big Christmas party, complete with cake, a special meal, dances and other performances. Fun was had by all!!
Party at Love Home!
Mukisa Johnathan with his sponsor letter and Christmas gift
Flavia, wearing her new Christmas clothes showing off her gift
Mary, in her new Christmas dress
In addition to the individual gifts our children received, a few of our supporters also donated toward gifts for the whole family. A fan favorite was soccer balls!! These kiddos cannot WAIT to take their shiny new balls to the field this week!
The boys with their new soccer balls!
The girls with their new soccer balls!
Christmas Giving
Every year, we give our supporters the opportunity to purchase a large food package for a family in the local community near our children’s homes. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, our social work team goes out into the community, searching for the most needy people. Then on Christmas Day, our team delivers the food so these people may have a large Christmas meal with their families, worry free. This year, we were able to purchase meals for 53 families! Thank you so much to our generous donors!
In addition to the above initiative, each year one of our original PFP students, hosts Christmas giving event of his own. Every year during the Christmas season, Ajuna saves his money so he can put on an event for families in the most desperate need within the Masese Slum area. This year, his brother Bush joined in– and so did his sponsor Mary. With the extra boost in funds, he was able to reach a great many families and elderly in need. We hope these photos will bring you as much Christmas joy is they did for us.
Home For The Holidays
While a good number of the children in our programs live within PFP’s Hope and Love Homes, many live in the community with their family. We work hard to seek out family members who are in a position to “parent” the children in our program as we see great value in having the children connect with their community. Our social workers make weekly check-ins to ensure everything is going well and we love what we are seeing!
Nantale, cooking a traditional Ugandan meal at her family’s home
Robina, tending her family’s goat
Promise, helping with her mother’s charcoal business
Swaric, helping in his mothers roadside vegetable stand
PFP’s Hope and Love Homes
In December and January, all of the PFP children, both young and old, are home for the long end of year break. (The school year in Uganda ends in November.) Our PFP staff has the program finely tuned and keeps everyone busy during this long holiday.
The PFP team has created a daily calendar for the PFP children, in which activities are rotated throughout the week. some of the favorites to appear on the weekly schedule include painting and art lessons, the sports program (netball and football), tutoring, dance and yoga, tailoring and weaving/knitting.
Nuru, working on the wall mural under the guidance of our AHU student, Levy
Abura and Peace, practicing their netball skills
Joseph, working on his schoolwork
Flavia and Ketra enjoying their knitting project
Levy, working with the girls on a dance routine
Tracy, learning to sew
12th Annual Anywhere in the World Raffle
It’s that time of year again! Starting PFP Directors are now selling raffle tickets for $20 each with a chance to win two round trip tickets to ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, ON ANY AIRLINE. There are only 2,000 total tickets sold and tickets can be booked for up to TWO YEARS from the date of drawing! The drawing will be held March 29th, 2023 via Live Facebook video (you do not need to be present to win). This is one of two major fundraisers that we rely on in order to keep our programs running smoothly. We hope you will take part!
To purchase your tickets, just click HERE!
New Sponsors- Welcome!
This month, two children welcomed new sponsors into their lives. Both Josephine and Bright could not be any happier! Thank you family, for continuing to step up month and after month.
Sponsorships Needed
We are now down to FIVE students in our program who are looking for their sponsor match Below is the list of children who need a sponsor, which part of our program they are in and how much their sponsorship is per month. (In U.S.$). Can you help?
- Lojore- Main Program ($75/month)
- Arthur- AHU Program ($60/month)
- Jonah- Juniors Program ($115/month)
- Priscilla – PFP Junior Program ($85/month)
- Elvis – Main Program ($85/month)
If there is a student listed that you may be interested in helping with, we would sure love to hear from you.
Sponsorship covers:
- Boarding school
- Medical including mental health/dental
- Food
- Clothing
- Housing during breaks/holidays
- An amazing Ugandan support system (All PFP employees are Ugandan)
Sponsorship, along with our fundraisers, also contributes to:
- Field trips
- Cultural exposure
- Sports/exercise programs
- Skills training programs
- Transportation
- Social work services to support any available healthy family ties
Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this opportunity: hope@peaceforpaulfoundation.org
Letters From Friends Across The World
Both sponsors and 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.
Annual Strategic Planning Session
The Board of Directors was gearing up to meet for it’s annual strategic planning session in December, but have had to postpone until January. Plans were in place for a good portion of the team to actually be in Uganda for the meeting, but an outbreak of ebola has forced the group to cancel.The meeting will now happen via Zoom with board members joining from Uganda, Oregon, Utah, North Dakota and Canada. While it’s disappointing to not be able to meet in person, it’s even more of a let down to not be able to personally reconnect with the children and staff.Despite the disappointment, the team is looking forward to the meeting. Always an amazing time to look back on the year, to regroup and to strategize going forward. We are incredibly grateful for the amazing support we have behind us. Especially as we walked through COVID and now this ebola outbreak. Thank you all!!
Ebola Under Control?
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.
Emuron Denis
Hope Home Caretaker
My name is Emuron Denis; I am Ugandan by nationality, working with the peace for Paul foundation. I am a professional teacher holding a bachelor’s degree in secondary education. At The Peace for Paul Foundation; I am entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of our children, and working hand in hand with the education department to make sure that all the children entrusted to me attend school. While at work, I make sure that all children are fed well and report all health challenges to the nurse (Christine) and she works on them. During school time, I always follow up on the children in the schools where they go. I identify challenges they face to be solved such that they study well and I do education talk with them encouraging them that they can really make it in life. In addition to the above responsibilities, I also guide our children in sponsor letter writing as they have to communicate with their sponsors. I take photos that I send to directors such that they update the sponsors on how their children are progressing. I do monthly birthday celebrations of the children whose birthdays are due in that specific month and photos are sent to the sponsors to share with them the joy of adding up another year in their life. Besides that during holidays, I also coordinate novel reading in the homes to keep our children updated and learning how to read, storytelling, and more English. We also have a community program of our children, (children living in the community with their parents), I always do monitoring of these children with my colleagues Innocent and Isaac to find out their challenges and how life is taking them in the community. Those found sick are attended too and food is also provided to them by PFP. With this great work, I really feel fulfilled in my heart because I am so passionate of extending a hand to those in need. Seeing the children grow in our hands and bringing hope and happiness to them is so rewarding. It is amazing to work with the Peace for Paul Foundation.
Denis, working with the boys at Hope Home
Laundry in Uganda
As you can imagine, staying on top of laundry in our homes is no easy job. While it is often looked upon as “a girls job” in Uganda, that is not the case with us. We expect all students, young and old, male and female to take part and pull their weight.
Sharing in chores and teaching independence starts as early as four years old with our littles. Laundry is an easy task to begin with. At first we have the littles wash their own undergarments (with help and supervision of course) and as they get older more items are added.
While we do have washing machines, they are used primarily for heavy items such as bedding. All other laundry is done by hand.
(Yes we could do more of the laundry in the machines, but the reality is that once our children move on from our homes, their laundry will be done by hand. We strive to keep expectations of life realistic so all graduates of PFP are prepared and ready for the world outside of PFP.)
Girls washing at Love Home
Boys washing at Hope Home
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 continue to step up, month after 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. The AHU members continue to contribute where they can, and we love when they utilize their specific skill set to do something meaningful within PFP or in the community.
AHU- Jinja Chapter
AHU- Moroto Chapter
AHU Day
There are now 40 students enrolled in PFP’s ‘A Hand Up’ program. In an effort to keep these students, aged 18 and older involved with the younger generation and to provide opportunities for volunteer work, our AHU coordinators, Tikol and Moses, have organized what we are calling “AHU Day”. This day provides an opportunity for all of the AHU members to come together at one of the PFP homes, and interact with the younger children by tutoring, cooking, cleaning, playing games, etc. We love how this is turning out!
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!
This month, we would like to wish our long time friend and supporter, Emily a very Happy Birthday! Please head on over to Facebook to support her birthday fundraiser!
Emily’s Birthday Fundraiser for PFP
Birthday Celebrations
Each month, we make sure every child in our main program gets a chance to feel special on their birthday. Each birthday 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 November birthday children! Thanks so much to all of the sponsors for stepping up to be sure that everyone could really enjoy their day!
Happy Birthday to Our JANUARY 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!
PFP Junior Birthday Celebrants
PFP Main Program Birthday Celebrants
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 94 students who are benefiting from this partnership.
Moses working with a PFP Junior child (Badiru’s) mother
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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