-
Jewelry
-
Lifestyle
-
Impact
-
Sponsorship
“I feel like I can help,” Gloria boldly asserts in her quiet, thoughtful demeanor which betrays the true fire that burns from within her. At 23, Ageno Gloria is already a go-getter. She is on track to complete her BA of law from Uganda Christian University in April 2024. “Before I went for law, I wanted to be a teacher,” Gloria recalls. “Now I want to be a family lawyer.” She continues, “There’s a lot of domestic violence back at home (in Northern Uganda). Women are violated. Women are forced into marriage.” She wants to change that and to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. She believes that too often, girls and women don’t know their rights. Fearlessly, she intends to change that.
Gloria is one of the founding members of Echo Hearts, an NGO in its early stages, founded by a youthful group of 21-32 year old Ugandans. The organization aims to teach people the law and advise them of their rights. “Both men and women do things out of ignorance,” Gloria notes. The organization will help advise men of their responsibilities and women of their rights.
As a youth, Gloria spent two years working with Kectil, a community based organization (CBO) that focused on education, entrepreneurial training and the environment. She fondly remembers her time organizing community clean ups, but counters, “That was not my dream. I was helping someone else aspire to achieve her dream.” Echo Hearts is the beginning of pursuing her dream of giving a voice to all women in Uganda.
Comments will be approved before showing up.
"I think big!" gushes Eric. "I want to be the best designer ever!"
His goals aren’t limited to fashioning clothes, but to every aspect of design. With unbridled ambition, a strong work ethic and passion, this 22 year old is unstoppable.
Thanks to Project Have Hope's scholastic sponsorship program, Eric had the opportunity to pursue a course in fashion and design, and is currently employed by a company that manufactures clothes for government contracts.
Eric’s passion for design was ignited when he was 17 years old. His uniform was too big and ill-fitting. He was determined to fix it. “ ‘Let me try,’ ” he recalls saying to himself as he sat behind a sewing machine for the first time to adjust his uniform. “From that day, I loved tailoring.
Pursuing a course in tailoring would have been an impossibility without the financial support of Project Have Hope. Susan has gained both a skill and a confidence that helps her to navigate the future and the challenges that persist.
Much of Susan’s youth was spent rising before the sun and going to bed long after the moon had risen. Her day would start at 4am, when she would rise to head to the fields to work. She’d return home as the sun was setting and begin the time-consuming task of preparing a meal. Day after day.
At 19, a young mother herself, Susan moved to the Acholi Quarter. There, she labored in the stone quarry, often with her infant baby on her back.
When Project Have Hope began, it was a welcome relief to Susan. She could work from home with her daughter seated nearby and roll paper into beads. “It was simple work, easy work,” Susan carefreely recalls. Not only was the work easy, but she’d earn twice what she earned in the quarry. “It was a very great change for me.”
Susan later enrolled in a tailoring course through Project Have Hope’s support. From the beginning, she was thrilled with the opportunity tailoring presented. “You can expect money any day, any time,” Susan beams. “If I return to the village, I can bring my tailoring machine and work from there and earn a living. I can work anywhere.”
