September 05, 2017
A common thread that runs through the lives of all the children in Project Have Hope’s child sponsorship program is their understanding of the value of education. Though they are young, they understand that education is the key which can unlock their potential and put an end to the poverty they experience.
One of the children sponsored by Project Have Hope, Okello Benard, hopes to become an engineer in the future. He has had a very positive experience at school. “It is better to go to a boarding school than a day school,” he says, “because there is predatory time where I can read my book without being disturbed and understand it properly. […] During break times we sometimes go to the library and research for the work which we have been given, and also during lunch, sometimes we eat as fast as we can so that we can go back to class early and revise our books.” On the value of his education, he says “I would like to continue [to] higher levels of education and be a light to the world by helping others and also teaching others of the goodness of school.”
Another child, Ajok Winnie, hopes to be a doctor one day so she can save people’s lives. “I truly hope that one day my dream comes true,” she says, and she works very hard in school to ensure that it does. “My proudest accomplishment [came when] I greatly improved in my exams of the July assessment…I really look forward to excelling more and more not only in [school but in life]. […] If I wasn’t at school, I would not have the knowledge that could guide me through this life.” Ajok Winnie also prefers her education at the boarding school better than a day school because she gets more time for revision and there is less distraction so she can focus more and get better grades.
Aweko Janet is sixteen years old and has been sponsored by Project Have Hope for eight years. Her proudest accomplishments are finishing her primary levels education and becoming a leader at her school, something she’s always wanted. She has had many challenges in her life. She lives with her elder sister because her parents were killed in northern Uganda. She has overcome the obstacles in her life by staying close to her friends who assist her with her schoolwork and by consulting her teachers when she is having trouble. “If I wasn’t in school,” she says, “I think I would be a mother […] because that’s the option most of the girls would take due to lack of enough care in their lives.” She hopes to finish her studies and be “very successful in life.” “I want to build a big house for my sister and buy a plot of land for her, then open for her a business.”
As demonstrated by these three remarkable children, Project Have Hope’s sponsorship program not only gives these kids an education, it empowers them to create a future in which they can create success for themselves and overcome any of life’s challenges.
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September 09, 2024
August 21, 2024
"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.
August 06, 2024
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.”