October 2022
Welcome to the PFP Family
This month, we welcomed four new sponsors into our PFP Juniors family. We are so grateful to our family of amazing supporters for stepping up to make sure all children enrolled in our programs are covered.
Sponsor Needed
The dynamic duo!! Josephine & Elvis (siblings) are two of the sweetest teenagers you’ll ever meet. Sadly, one of their shared sponsors is no longer able to continue supporting the team after many years, and we are needing to find sponsors for both of these fantastic kiddos.
Josephine is 18 and Elvis is 17. With PFP we stand with our children until they are DONE with school. No one ages out at 18. Depending on grades and what they want to do – the student will either move into a trade or on to university. We want to stick with them to ensure they are truly able to provide a living for themselves.
Both of these students are still in high school as they of course started a little later in life due to their early struggles. The cost to sponsor J & E is $85 USD each. They are part of our main program and we are therefore looking after ALL of their needs.
Elvis and Josephine- Each need one sponsor at $85/month
Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this opportunity: hope@peaceforpaulfoundation.org
Sponsor Letter Packages
A big package full of letters from the PFP children to their sponsors has finally arrived from Uganda! It takes between 2-3 months for this package to make it all the way across the world, to Oregon– but it has finally come! Now Heidi (our ED), Mak and Madi (her two daughters) will begin the process of packaging them all up (along with photos and school reports). If you are a sponsor– you can expect to receive your sponsor letter package in the next few weeks!!
Mak with a package of letters, fresh from the post office!
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.
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.
Akutui Olivia- Administrator/Director on the Board
Akutui Olivia is my name, and I am a 35-year-old Ugandan female and an administrator and Director at The Peace for Paul Foundation. I hold A bachelors degree in Development studies, a certificate in project planning and management, and certificates in leadership skills as well. I have worked with peace for Paul foundation for 9 years now. I worked as a caretaker first, and now as administrator and director representing the staff at the Board level.
While working with The Peace for Paul Foundation, I have been able to oversee the daily administrative and management work of the organization and help to ensure its smooth running and focusing towards achieving its goals and objectives.
I oversee the daily running of the organization activities, manage the human resource management, and coordinate with the government of Uganda. In addition to the above, I take on the administrative role which includes making sure I secure the paper work and documents needed for the operation of the children’s home and NGO in Uganda. I also handle the financial area to make sure the funds are distributed to the respective areas and monitored.
As an administrator of PFP I organize different programs in the organization that benefit Peace for Paul children, the staff and the community at large. Programs include career guidance, dental health and medical checkup sessions, staff meetings, AHU meetings, business training skills sessions for the micro finance women, staff training sessions, education and counseling session, skills training sessions, and many others
I also supervise daily activities of the staff, children and the community through monitoring, assessing and evaluation such that activities are carried out well in an organized timely manner. My goal is to ensure that funds and resources are managed well and put to the right use. I supervise and check children in different schools, and follow up on their wellbeing, academic performance and I ensure that their behavior and health concerns are attended to.
I also implement the various different programs of the organization, such as daily communication with the directors, recruiting both children and the staff, resettling/reunifying children with their relatives and monitoring them for safety. I am involved in enrolling children in different schools, monitoring staff activities and organizing staff training workshops.
I also attend workshops and training sessions in different programs organized by the government such that PFP can be updated of the current government programs in charge of the children’s homes and the community. I am so proud to play a role with the Peace for Paul Foundation. I love its mission and I love what we do.
Welcome to the Team!
PFP welcomed both a new security guard and a new nanny to our ever-growing team this month. Our goal is to always ensure the safety and well being of the children in our program, and to provide a good work-life balance for the staff. We strive to keep the ratio of children to adults providing care, low so that each child may receive the care, love and attention that they need.
Welcome to Aida- our new Nanny and to Okuduyo– our new security guard!
Aida Rukia- Love Home Nanny
Okuduyo Robert- Security Guard
Community Outreach- Food support
The current economic situation in Uganda makes it extremely difficult for people to survive and to purchase food and other necessities for their families. Prices of fuel and commodities have skyrocketed and the working class families are paying the price.
Our community outreach program continued this month and our social work team identified the most needy families in our circle (most of which are residing in Northern Uganda). One of the AHU students made the 10 hour journey north, to Moroto to offer support to those who needed it most.
Ilukol, delivering food and funding to a beloved auntie of one of our PFP students
Tikol, delivering food, soap and funding to a Jaja (Grandmother) of one of the PFP students
Friday, one of our elder PFP students really has a heart for helping children who live on the street (he himself lived on the street for many years prior to joining the PFP family). He used his own money and asked PFP to match what he spent so that he could take a group of boys from the street out for lunch at in a restaurant in town. We love seeing it come full circle like this. Way to go Friday!
Friday, (far right) with a group from the street, enjoying a meal together in town
Back to School
In September, after a short three weeks at home, all of the children reported back to school. This will be the third and final term of the year before the big holiday in December and a graduation to the next level. Our candidates (Primary 7 and Senior 4) students working hard, studying for the National Exams, in the hopes they will be promoted to the next level. We wish them the best of luck!
Kids at Victoria Junior Primary School
Time to go
A New Path
All students in Uganda (if they have the funding to pay for it) have the option of deciding to complete secondary school (through Senior 6 level) and work toward University or to complete Senior 4 and then “branch” to trade school to learn a trade which will prepare them for the working world.
This term, one of our elder secondary students has decided to start down a new path. Friday has decided to “branch” from Senior 4 to start a 4 year course in catering and hotel management at Uganda Hotel and Tourism Institute. We stand beside our students, no matter the path they choose. As long as they are ready to work hard and stay focused, we are ready to stand beside them all the way. We are so excited to where this road leads Friday. We know he will go far!
Friday, in one of his classes at Uganda Hotel and Tourism Institute
Friday, admiring his new laptop for college (a gift from his beloved sponsor)
At Home
While most of the PFP children are back in boarding school for the term, our youngest and most vulnerable children remain at home with our team of caregivers, mental health therapist, social workers and nurse. During school holidays, this group is showered with love from all the children home from holiday, and during the school year, they get extra special attention from our staff. What a lucky bunch!
Abura, Benita, Apio, Nakayi, Achen and Jackie
Baby Mary, learning to play “football”
Love Home kids learning to wash their clothes, and working as a team to get it done
Skills Training
In September, we hired one of our Bulungi Beads moms to come to the home and help the children grow their skills in paper bead making. This may serve the children down the road when they need to make money for their families and if work is not available. The more skills we can equip them with, the better. Lojore and Alyat have really taken a liking to this and have perfected their skill!
Fatuma, training at Love Home
Hand rolling paper beads
Lojore and Alyat with their crafts
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. This month, Simon Peter worked with an AIDS information center to record data (he is studying social work) and Peter made Mandazi at Love Home for the day school children to bring to school as a snack (he is studying catering and hotel management)
Peter, making mandarin
Simon Peter, recording data
Levy continuing to build on his masterpiece
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 September birthday children! This month a few of the sponsors sent enough to include a big birthday dinner for their children at home. The families were so grateful!
Happy Birthday to Our October 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
Microfinance and Savings Group
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.
Monthly lessons in savings and business management continued this month with our hired expert in Microfinance and Business Management (an entrepreneur and lecturer from Makarere University in Kampala). The women have started to make regular deposits to their savings accounts and to date, the entire group has continued to make weekly deposits as planned. They are proud of their progress and we proud of them!
Savings group with their lecturer from Makarere University
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 93 students who are benefiting from this partnership.
Moses with Ashiraf, giving a pep talk at Bright Valley Primary School
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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