Greetings Hope for Hearts Supporters!

As 2012 moves ahead fast and furious, your mind may be focused elsewhere, perhaps a new promotion, a new baby, or preparing your children for a new school year. Well, I ask you to pause for a moment and think about the girls being served by St. Elizabeth Girl’s Academy (SEGA).

Like many of us experience over and over in our lives, our Ugandan family at SEGA has hit a snag in the road. Last month I filled you in our scout to purchase 30-50 acres of land to help further our mission with the construction of a new campus that will serve up to 1,000 girls.

As we continue to focus on funding the $4.5 million to make this a reality, we must take a look at the immediate need. Financial help to replace necessities lost in a fire created by old electrical wiring. The fire demolished SEGA’s main building and displaced 40 students and nuns. The main building housed offices, storage, nuns living quarters, and a student dormitory.

Although rare due to brick structures, fires do happen. Since there are no firefighters and fire trucks contain no water, the fire eventually burned out.  The fire has been a strain on our resources, as well as cramped learning and living space for the students and nuns.

It would cost $250,000 to rebuild the facility, so a tough choice had to be made in order to focus on the bigger picture, our new campus. We will make minor modifications to existing buildings to create temporary living quarters.

Please join me in my efforts to build, not only a new campus, but also a new life for these girls. If we can help just one girl, we have won. Your past support has helped more than 200 girls live a better life – a life with basic necessities like food, shelter and a chance to gain skills.

We must continue the goal to break the cycle: girls being exploited, girls becoming a mom before they are ready, and girls living on the streets. I look forward to a better tomorrow, and our actions today lay the groundwork.

From our hearts to theirs…peace and love,

Cristen Jacobsen-Champagne
Executive Director/Founder
Hope for Hearts