September 2022
Welcome to the PFP Family
This month, we welcomed six new children and sponsors into our PFP Juniors family. All six of these children are now preparing to start school for the next term– and we could not be more excited for them. Thank you so much to all of those who stepped up to make education a reality for these very deserving young ones.
Sponsor Needed
We continue to look for a sponsor for 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
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.
Mukyala Hildah- PFP Mental Health Therapist
My name is Hildah Mukyala, and I am a mental health therapist working with The Peace for Paul Foundation. I hold a Bachelors degree of Arts in Social Sciences from Makerere University Kampala, and many certificates which help me to perform my job better (Certificate of Excellence in dealing with Adolescent Health Challenges in Developing Countries (Uganda), Management of Community Development programs/Projects, Developing Donor Funded Projects, Project Planning & Management, Leadership & Administration, Budget & Finance Management from the Global Health and HIV/AIDs Initiative and a Certificate of Completion in Good Clinical Practice in research from NIDA Clinical Trials Network).
While working with The Peace for Paul Foundation, I have been able to interact with children through individual and group therapy sessions, home debates and open games. This has enabled them to feel free and gain confidence to share with me. It also creates a conducive environment that enables me to ensure that the basic needs of each child under my care are met and that every child is treated equally and with respect.I have handled children who have different challenges, such as conduct disorders, hyperactivity/attention deficit disorder, social phobia, and post-traumatic stress disorders. These challenges have contributed to violence and negative behavioral changes with constant anxiety and depression which were all contributing to the decline in their school performance, inactivity, isolation and neglect of oneself and friends. Some of these psychological/mental challenges are associated with deficits in the interpersonal realm of functioning. However, as a mental health counselor I have worked with great effort to monitor and ensure that each child’s concerns and experiences are taken seriously and through the therapy sessions, it has helped offer a safe space to talk about common experiences and this has been through building a strong relationship and trust with children.I make use of the child behavioral checklist, observation, school visits, and a good working relationship with all staff in different departments to monitor and track some of the behaviors. This has helped me to understand and gain deeper insight of their mental health concerns thus working with them efficiently and effectively; focusing on issues not people. So far there have been mild signs of mental health and I have had manageable concerns that are at a frequent monitoring and assessment stage for a few individuals.
This August I have been offering emotional assistance to the young adults in the A Hand Up program so as to have them comprehend with the dynamics of work. I have provided behavioral change communication aimed at restoration of a good relationship between the mother and her child (juniors). I have engaged in counseling a particular family as allocated to me by the junior’s program coordinator and I have also been attending to a client of primary seven at one of the schools in the community to assist this client deal with the negative aftermath of a series of fits which come as a result of attacks.I continue to bless all the arrangements that see mental health and other departments that benefit the children in the foundation flourish.
Hildah with the boys at Hope Home
Sports at School
Our children LOVE playing sports– and especially football (soccer). Many of our girls and boys play for their school teams and we all feel that this greatly enriches their lives. Way to go girls and boys!! PLAY ON!
The girls soccer team at Victoria Primary!
Internships
Many of the elder PFP children are starting their advanced educationinternships. Ajuna is working for a pharmacy in town learning all things pharmacy! Angela is getting deep into his electrical training internship. Both of these young men are learning the skills that they will need to obtain employment in the future. Good job, men!
Angela, working hard in his electrical internship
Ajuna in his pharmacy
Home for the holidays
Most of our children have come home for the month of August to rest, relax and recharge in preparation for the third and final term of the year (beginning in September). There was a full calendar of activities, including tailoring, knitting, baking, career guidance, sports, novel reading, hygiene lessons, counseling, computer skills, yoga, and a big birthday party at the swimming pool. A good time was had by all!
Victoria Junior Children arriving home for the holiday
Priscilla, learning to knit
Sarah and Lydia learning to knit
Dance class, lead by Charlie
Levy, teaching a dance class at Love Home
Art Projects at Home
One of our ‘A Hand Up’ recipients (Levy) continues to work on beautifying the walls and water tanks at all of the PFP homes. He has incorporated art lessons for many of the students so that they may take part in making their home their own. We love this!!
Levy, conducting an art meeting with his students for the day
Levy, working on Love Home’s newest work of art!
The water tower at Love Home!
Levy with his students, making progress on the Love Home wall
Medical Checkup
In addition to the daily medical support that our children receive from our on site nurse, they also go for a full checkup each holiday at the clinic. The checkup includes lab work to detect malaria, typhoid or other silent illnesses. In addition, this month, all children were vaccinated against Tetanus, HPV, MMR and typhoid. Keeping this many children healthy is no easy feat!
A group of PFP children at the Medical Clinic
Ketra’s turn for labwork
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.
This month, Peter baked a cake for the big holiday birthday party, Michael worked as a security guard for Love Home, Faima helped Nurse Christine to administer vaccinations, Lotukei acted as a nanny, and Mark tutored the young children in math and science. 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 August birthday celebrants! This month, everyone was home from school and so we treated the celebrants from the past 4 months to a big birthday party! Yahoo!!!
Happy Birthday to Our September 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!
Pool Party!
This holiday, the long awaited pool party finally happened! Every single child whose birthday fell between April and September was celebrated this month. Each child was treated to a special meal, a big birthday cake, presents to open, swimming and of course, dancing! Fun was had by all!!
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.
Dental Lessons
This month, while the children were all at home, we invited our friends from Hope Smiles dental clinic to come and provide education to the children on dental hygiene and cavity prevention. The team did such a great job, and the children (and staff) learned so much! We are so proud to partner with this amazing group of dental professionals!
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.
Eria, writing his letter
Denis, helping Ashiraf to compose his sponsor letter
Food Support
At PFP, we strive to support our staff and the families in our communities. Currently, in Uganda, the current economic situation makes it difficult for people to survive and to purchase food and other necessities for their families. Prices of fuel and commodities has skyrocketed and the working class families are paying the price. This month, PFP offered a hefty food basket to each of our staff and to many families in our communities as well.
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.
This month, we hired an expert in Microfinance and Business Management (an entrepreneur and lecturer from Makarere University in Kampala) to hold lessons and help mentor both our staff and the women benefitting from this program. He will return once each month for another training and mentoring session to help guide the women in their business and savings endevaors. The plan for down the road is to form savings and business groups among the women. We are so excited to see what comes of this!
Rose, Scovia and Immaculate with our trainer and staff
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 97 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!
PFP Juniors (Kevin, Nalujja, Josephine, Immaculate and Rebecca), learning how to sew with their tutor
Namuwonge Josephine, enjoying her sewing lesson at Love Home
Tracy and Rehema, learning to knit
Muhammad, painting with Levy
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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