Incredibly Cute Kids!

Yes, this might be a ploy to get you to donate to Arlington Academy of Hope (www.aahuganda.org). I know a lot of us are in transition states in our lives right now, so if you don’t have disposable income, please no worries at all! But for anyone with job or who maybe has a little bit to give, the kids here appreciate your help more than you know. All of the kids at AAH need sponsors (the first 4 pictures are all P1’s, up for grabs). This covers their books, uniforms, lunch, and school fees. It’s a big commitment, but you automatically become a hero to a kid half way around the world. Our kids know their sponsors by name, and write to them every term. In a district where 1/3 of the children fail their Primary Leaving Exam (PLE), the opportunity to have a quality education is a huge gift. In our entire district, only 83 students scored in Division 1, the highest distinction, on their PLE last year. 34 of these Division 1 students came from Arlington, out of a class of 49 students. I’m mighty proud, and definitely thankful for the opportunity to be around some inspiring kids. So all that to say, if you have the means to donate, they value it a lot. But either way, please enjoy the pictures of some incredibly cute kids! :)

 

**So, I wrote the post above in a word document a couple weeks ago, and since then, 3 specific people have also come to mind if anybody would be interested in offering support…

1) There is a little boy in my district who just started P6 at a local government school. His name is Joseph, and we’ve bonded. He can’t be more than 11, but is SO charismatic. He’s one of those people whose presence is impactful. Very upbeat and super smart, he performs well in a government school with the normal problems, such as limited resources, high teacher absenteeism, and no feeding program. He’s just one of those kids that you know will do BIG things if they have the support and opportunity. I’d like to find him a secondary school sponsor if anyone is interested. It would cost about $500/year, which is definitely no pocket change. But again, I think this kid is pretty exceptional, so if anyone has the means and is interested, let me know!

2) The second request comes from a good friend of mine, named Naomi, who is the leader of the women’s microfinance group in our community. Naomi is a wonderful person, very caring and involved in the community. She is never one to complain or try to pull strings. She just works hard, and I like that about her. She came to me this week trying to find help for a young girl that she heard of in our area. The girls name is Mercy, and she just finished P7, which means she should be starting secondary school this term. Mercy also went to a local government primary school, and performed amazingly well on the Primary Leaving Exam (PLE). This exam has 4 subjects, with the highest score in each being a 1 (as in being in the first percentile). So the highest score you can get is a 4, and Mercy scored a 7. EXTREMELY impressive for a student from a rural government school. She’s got some brains. This score easily earns her a spot in a secondary school, but her family does not have the money to send her. Apparently her father passed, and her mother was recently diagnosed with HIV. Her mom had fallen very ill before the diagnosis, so is currently weak and unable to earn much income. The cost to send her to a local secondary school is only $100, and from talking with Naomi, it sounded like her family would be happy to split this cost 50/50 if someone was willing to help. So if anyone is interested, it would be about $50/yr as I understand it, and the family would be extremely grateful.

3) Last but not least, my Ugandan “mom”, Jenipher, is one of the happiest people I’ve ever met. She literally laughs all the time and its infectious. She is someone who is really important to me here and has taken good care of me. Jenipher has 2 sons. One is at Arlington Academy of Hope, but the other missed the opportunity to interview and is in a boarding school in Mbale, about 2 hours from my village. Boarding schools are expensive, but offer a better education than most government schools. I know Jenipher works hard for AAH to make sure she can pay his school fees, even if it’s a struggle sometimes. Jenipher is more or less a single parent, and although she’s never asked for it, I think it would help her out to have some extra support in paying his boarding school fees. So if anyone is interested, let me know!