Sponsors in our child sponsorship program receive two to three letters per year from their sponsored child. Sponsored children update their sponsors on important happenings in their lives, share how they are doing in school and often mention how they are helping their families. Our sponsors are often curious about us what some of this information means. Things like:
what does sweeping the compound mean
what is washing utensils
fetching water where
working in the garden
Volunteers Experience Rural Ugandan Life
Our volunteers have been actively participating in village life in Agwata village in the Lamwo district of northern Uganda these past two weeks. We’re excited to share with you some first hand photos of some of these daily duties of young elementary age children in the village.
Many of our sponsors share that sponsoring a child has been a favorite activity of their family. They feel it helps their elementary age children learn about a culture that is very different from that in the U.S. It’s a culture where many things we take for granted are not available.
Where life is much simpler. Where children have very different hobbies and go to a very different kind of school. Life in Agwata, Uganda is a life “off grid” with no electricity. Some homes may have the use of one solar light at night. There is no running water. Cooking is done either outdoors or in a hut filled with smoke from the cooking fire.
Agengo Priscilla
Agengo Priscilla (bd 4/03/2014)
Sponsorship:$27/mo
Grade: Primary 3 (2nd grade)
Priscilla lives in the village of Agwata located in northern Uganda. She has 1 younger brother.
Priscilla works hard and helps her mother at home with fetching water and washing utensils. She enjoys playing tag and running games in her free time.
Math is Priscilla’s favorite subject at school. She’s hoping to become a midwife when she grows up. She is active and disciplined.
Annual sponsorship cost is $325 for primary school fees, uniforms, and basic school supplies. This amount can be paid annually, by term at $108 per term, or via monthly credit card payment of $27 per month. Additional optional amounts up to $300 total may be contributed during the calendar year as a special family gift.
Auma Mary
Auma Mary (bd 11/4/2004)
Sponsorship Amount: $29 per month
Age: 18; Grade: Secondary 2 (8th Grade)
Auma Mary lives with her mother along with 5 siblings in the village of Palabek located in northern Uganda. Her parents separated when Mary was very young. She is the fourth born child among 2 brothers and 3 sisters.
Mary recently completed primary school and scored very high on her Primary Leaving Examination (PLE). Her favorite subject in school is English, and she is hoping to become a teacher in the future because she enjoys teaching younger children.
Mary helps the family household with fetching water, grinding sesame paste, washing clothes and farming. In her free time, she enjoys chatting with her friends and reading newspapers. Mary occasionally plays netball too.
Annual sponsorship cost for Mary is $700 to be split among 2 sponsors at $350 each which provides her school fees, room and board, uniform, basic school supplies and mentoring by OU staff. Mary has one sponsor, but desperately needs a 2nd sponsor! This amount can be paid annually, by term at $117, or via monthly credit card payment of $29 per month. Additional optional amounts up to $300 total may be contributed during the calendar year as a special family gift.
Story Highlights from 3 Thankful Sponsored Students
Henry’s Story – Child Sponsorship Leads to Becoming a Doctor
Henry has participated in our child sponsorship program since its very beginnings in early 2008. He has always been a diligent student. When he was in secondary school, his father died. At that point, his education would have ended had it not been for his two sponsors. His mother did not make enough from her small scale business and selling her beads to pay his school fees.
Sponsorship Provides Stability During Difficult Times
Thankfully, his education continued uninterrupted and he could continue to concentrate on his studies. He was accepted into a medical doctor program at the university level. He graduated this year and is now in a paid one year internship program assigned to a government hospital in Kampala. Henry is very low key but confesses, “I don’t know what I would have done without being sponsored!”
Adeno’s Story – Sponsorship Helps Her Achieve Her Dream
Adeno also joined our sponsorship program very early when she was still in primary school. She comes from a large family including her parents. Her mother is one of the women artisans in our Jinja craft group. Her family lives in a single rented room in one of the worst Jinja slums. Adeno attended the nearby government primary school. Even that would have been impossible without her participating in our sponsorship program.
Adeno’s Dreams are Becoming Reality
When younger, she dreamed of being a teacher. But when she finished 10th grade, she decided to branch to vocational school. She even received a scholarship for her tuition to join a catering course. Sponsorship means she could board at the school where she could focus totally on her studies. She excelled in her studies. This past summer she decided to pursue a two year associate’s degree course in travel and tourism. She started this in September thanks to support from Outreach Uganda’s child. sponsorship program.
This may not seem extraordinary. But comparing Adeno to other girls who grew up in the same slums, most are married with a couple of children. They have no means to support themselves or their families.
Jully’s Story – Child Sponsorship is a Life Saver When Her Mother Dies
Jully has been part of our child sponsorship program at the Agwata school in northern Uganda. Life was always hard since the family re-settled their land, coming out of the IDP camp in 2009. But it grew much worse for her when her mother passed away late last year.
Thanks to a caring sponsor as part of our child sponsorship program, Jully is able to board at the Agwata school. During school breaks, she can stay with her extended family. Jully is in 5th grade this year and looks forward to next year when she hopes to do well on the national exams so she can join secondary.
Sponsor a Child Today to Help Students Like Henry, Adeno & Jully
More children in Agwata as well as older students wanting to branch to vocational need sponsors. Please consider sponsoring a child today and changing a life forever!
Lakica Patricia
Lakica Patricia (bd 6/04/2007)
Sponsorship Amount: $29 per month
Age: 15; Grade: Secondary 2 (8th Grade)
Lakica is from the village of Agwata located in northern Uganda. She is the 5th child out of 4 sisters and 2 brothers. Her parents both grow small crops of cassava and beans to help provide for the family. Lakica’s father is lame and is the chairperson for the local disabled persons group.
Lakica helps her parents when she’s at home with fetching water, cooking food and looking after her younger siblings. This is especially important when her parents have gone far away to dig. Her mother also leaves Lakica in charge of taking care of the home when she has to leave in order to look for money to provide for basic needs. Three of Lakica’s older sisters have dropped out of school and are married.
Lakica likes to rope skip and read in her free time. She is also very athletic. Lakica is polite, disciplined and hardworking.
Annual sponsorship cost is $700. Lakica has 1 sponsor who contributes for 1/2 of this amount. She desperately needs a 2nd sponsor to cover the 2nd half of her sponsorship amount. Sponsorship provides secondary school fees including room and board, some supplies, and mentoring by Outreach Uganda staff and other sponsorship benefits. This amount can be paid annually, by term at $117 per term, or via monthly credit card payment of $29 per month. Additional optional amounts up to $300 total may be contributed during the calendar year as a special family gift.
Peyot Ronald
Peyot Ronald (bd 2/3/13)
Sponsorship Amount: $27 per month
Age: 10; Grade: Primary 2 (1st Grade)
Peyot is 10 years old and lives with his parents and four siblings in Agwata village in northern Uganda. He is the second oldest child and has two sisters and two brothers.
He recently started school and his favorite subjects are reading and writing. He hopes to become a primary teacher in the future.
When at home, Peyot farms and likes planting cotton. He also fetches water and sweeps the compound where his family’s huts are located. In his free time he plays football (soccer) or imitation of ox plough games. He is a humble boy, active and polite.
Annual sponsorship cost is $325 for school fees, and the opportunity to be part of our sponsorship program to receive mentoring and other sponsorship benefits. This amount can be paid annually, by term at $108 per term, or via monthly credit card payment of $27 per month. Additional optional amounts up to $300 total may be contributed during the calendar year as a special family gift.
Adyero Mary
* Adyero Mary (bd 4/26/2011)
Starting at:
**Sponsorship Amount: $25 per month**
Age: 7; Grade: P-1 (Kindergarten)
Adyero Mary lives in the village of Agwata located in northern Uganda. Both of her parents are subsistence farmers. Adyero is the middle child. She has 1 brother and 1 sister, but she lives in an extended family of 14 people including her stepmother, step brothers and sisters.
At home, Adyero likes to help with household chores like washing utensils, sweeping the house and fetching water. Her favorite dish to eat is beans. In her free time, Adyero likes to play with her friends, Oswald and Tender. They play cooking roles because she likes to imitate the part of a mother. She also likes to sing both church and traditional songs.
Adyero’s favorite subject in school is CRE. She wants to become a nursery teacher in the future because she is passionate about young children. Adyero is active and disciplined who will have a bright future with the help of your sponsorship.
2023 Update: Good news! Adyero now has a sponsor. But please click the link below to see other girls needing help in order to stay in school.
Annual sponsorship cost is $300 for primary school fees, uniforms, and basic school supplies. This amount can be paid annually, by term at $100 per term, or via monthly credit card payment of $25 per month. Additional optional amounts up to $300 total may be contributed during the calendar year as a special family gift.
Aloyo Sharon
Aloyo Sharon (bd 11/7/2001)
Sponsorship Amount: $27 per month
Age: 16; Grade: Secondary 1 (7th Grade)
Aloyo lives with both of her parents in Agwata village in norther Uganda. She is the 3rd child out of 12 children. She has 10 sisters and 1 brother. Her parents are both subsistence farmers, but they also lay bricks for sale in the summer. Aloyo’s mother occasionally brews local alcohol for sale too.
While at home, Aloyo helps with chores like cooking, smearing the house with cow dung along with fetching water and firewood. She also sometimes needs to help her mother brew alcohol because that’s how they are able to raise money for basic needs. Aloyo’s hobbies are singing, skipping rope, playing netball and playing board games.
Aloyo’s favorite subject in school is science because she finds it easy to understand. She is hardworking, obedient and quiet. In the future, Aloyo really wants to become and nurse specializing in midwifery.
Sharon has 1 sponsor but urgently needs a 2nd sponsor to cover the remaining 1/2 of her full year’s sponsorship cost of $650. This is $325 annually as 1 of 2 sponsors for secondary school fees, some supplies and other sponsorship benefits. This amount can be paid annually, by term at $108 per term, or via monthly credit card payment of $27 per month. Additional optional amounts up to $300 total may be contributed during the calendar year as a special family gift.
Lamunu Esther Vivian Tracy
Lamunu Esther Vivian Tracy (bd 5/23/03)
Sponsorship Amount: $54 per month
Age: 15; Grade: Secondary 2 (8th Grade)
Lamunu Esther Vivian Tracy is 15 years old. She lives in Kitgum town in northern Uganda with her auntie, her two sisters (ages 16 and 9), and five cousins. She is the 3rd born child. Vivian has lived with her auntie since her father died five years ago. Her mother had left earlier with another man.
Vivian helps her auntie with household chores including fetching water, cooking supper, and bathing the younger children. She also helps with garden work such as harvesting sorghum when she’s not at school. Vivian’s days are long. She usually completes her chores at 9pm and then can read books and study from 9pm to 10pm. She wakes up at 5am each day.
Vivian has been a day student off and on at school as her auntie is able to pay her school fees occasionally. She is excited about the prospect of joining our sponsorship program so she can board at school like other secondary students and attend school every day.
In spite of the adversity she faces, she is an outstanding student. Her favorite subjects are physics, chemistry, biology and math. She wants to become either an engineer or a doctor. She likes the way they work and wants to help others. She knows she needs to earn lots of money because she wants to help others in the future, especially orphans in her village.
Annual sponsorship cost is $650. Vivian needs either one sponsor to pay the full cost or two sponsors to share the cost at $325 each for secondary school fees, some supplies and other sponsorship benefits. This amount can be paid annually, by term at $217 ($108) per term, or via monthly credit card payment of $55 ($27) per month. Additional optional amounts up to $300 total may be contributed during the calendar year as a special family gift.
Fetching Clean Water is Time-Consuming Chore
Many of our sponsored children write to their sponsors that they help their families by fetching water. Sponsors ask us, what does “fetching water” mean? We hope these photos will help you see what it means!
Fetching clean water is a chore delegated to children in the household, and as the children get older, more often it is girls who fetch water rather than the boys. Hopefully, children attend school. Usually children fetch water before school, and most certainly after school.
Children need to make multiple water fetching trips to satisfy the family’s daily water needs. The well, called a bore hole, is probably at least 1 to 2 kilometers away. The trips take time, but waiting in line at the bore hole also takes time. You might be in a long line of 8 to 10 people waiting if it’s “rush hour” at the bore hole.
The easiest way to carry your jerry can of clean water is on top of the head. Often, a child places a cloth pad on the head under the yellow water container, called a jerry can. Parents delegate children as young as three years of age to help fetch clean water. They just use a smaller jerry can.
If the family owns a bicycle, a couple of children will ride or push the bicycle and can possibly carry two or three jerry cans of water on the bicycle.
If the mother is not aware of good clean water practices, a dirty jerry can may cause the clean water to become unclean.