Hi EveryBunny!

It’s Easter and what does this holiday mean? Easter is the gift of hope, peace, love, happiness and new beginnings. That means taking time to celebrate your life.

This weekend take time to count your blessings, no matter how small or large. It’s been 12 months of ups and downs in all our lives. In Uganda, schools like ours closed and education stopped. Our Ugandan family is looking forward to a time when they can gather again. In fact, Father Mugagga is headed to Uganda to check on the orphaned children that remained housed at our schools.

Our children are striving toward a new beginning by receiving an education to make their dreams come true. Their dreams are often what some people take for granted – the opportunity to learn, work, laugh, smile, make friends and live an independent life. They strive to better themselves, so they are able to be an inspiration and sign of hope to others who are looking for more out of life.

The children in our program bring joy and happiness to my life every day. While we are able to help change their lives for the better, they have also changed my life dramatically and provided me a greater purpose. I look forward to new beginnings as our schools continue to help children joyfully and optimistically move on to the next stage in their life. We can’t wait for education to return to their lives.

What new beginnings are you looking forward to as we emerge from some dark times? What makes you happy? Let’s celebrate the joyous moments and look forward to new beginnings whether it’s in your career, family, friends or any change in your life.

Blessings,
Cristen Lyn

Layoffs and reduced work hours amidst COVID-19 is leaving less money for giving to allow donors to meet their basic needs. We know being able to financially contribute to non-profits may not be an option for everyone. While sponsoring a child or activity is incredibly helpful, there are tons of other ways to support causes and people that need help and won’t create financial strain.

A couple of simple ways to help Hope for Hearts:

❤ Shop smile.amazon.com and designate us as your charity
Join our newsletter, Pocket Full of Hope
❤ Spread the word invite friends to follow us on Instagram

Now, how can you help other causes in need, check out some ideas below.

Sign petitions

Just by providing your name, you can help further a cause. There are countless websites with petitions that need signatures from people like you. Consider going on Change.org or iPetitions and spending a few minutes a day signing ones that are meaningful to you.

With a simple search, there are hundreds alone regarding Uganda, the treatment of their people, land, and animals. Your name can make a huge impact and it is as simple as going on to your laptop and clicking a few buttons.

Share information on social media

In the age of social media, we all have some sort of platform where our friends and family can read our posts. Whether you have 100 followers or 1 million, there is someone out there that is influenced by the content you share. By sharing fundraisers, petitions, and resources from nonprofits on your personal accounts, you are attracting more eyes which can lead toward donations and more support. It is a free and easy way to spread the word.

Vote

Whether it’s voting by mail or standing in line, the politicians we elect have the power to chance the world. Not only is it important to exercise this right, but also make sure you are researching what these people stand for. Even though we live in the U.S, America is a powerhouse and very influential with foreign policy. Electing a politician that prioritizes human rights, especially in countries like Uganda, can work toward ending issues like human trafficking, poverty, and the AIDS epidemic.

Donate items

We are all guilty of having a closet filled with things we don’t use anymore. Clothing, books, and school supplies are all coveted items in Uganda. Donating them to organizations will not only help provide resources but it is also a way to make space in your home. A win win!

Volunteer

They say time equals money which is why volunteering is so useful. There are countless ways to give your time, so there is something for everyone. Help facilitate fundraisers, serve food in a shelter, or teach free English classes online. Have a skill you want to use? Even better! If you are good with social media, volunteer for a few hours making posts. Work as in PR? Try to get some press for a meaningful cause.

So, there you have it! During these difficult times, there are still many things you can do to help. And, if you do have the financial means to donate, consider making a donation to Hope for Hearts so that we can continue to fight for the rights of children in Uganda and provide resources such as these.

Sending love and blessings,
Cristen Lyn

Dignity – The quality of being worthy of esteem or respect.

While we may not think about the word dignity often, it plays such a large part in the way we live our lives. Having dignity gives one a sense of worth, confidence, and respect for who they are as a person. This is important to understand because without dignity, our lives feel incomplete and worthless.

So, how does someone have dignity? This can happen many ways but the three most fundamental are feeling like you’re being heard, valued, and treated as an equal. Based on this, if you were to ask citizens of Uganda if they believed that they had the opportunities to achieve dignity, many of them would most likely say no.

This is especially true with the children we support. Due to non-existent government provided social services including education, the extreme poverty cycle continues with no way to break out. Schools like ours are the only way out.

Dignity transformations happen BECAUSE we educate orphaned children who grow up to be productive members of their society, and then are able to provide their children with an education to do the same.

Countless children at our schools are found on the streets, orphaned, or selling their bodies so that they can keep themselves alive. They have no sense of dignity because they don’t have access to environments that build them up through love, knowledge, and mutual respect. This is one of the many reasons we take them in, as we believe dignity is a human right.

Our Model at St. Elizabeth Girls Academy

  • take orphaned girls off the streets
  • socialization and trauma processing
  • vocational school or high school with an opportunity to attend college
  • job placement
  • post-graduation mentoring

Our Model at Kankobe Children’s Home (orphaned children from infants to the 5th grade)

  • therapeutic support
  • housing
  • education
  • upon aging out girls are placed at St. Elizabeth Girls Academy, boys a vocational or high school

Nearly 49 percent of Uganda’s estimated 45 million are under age of 15. Ugandan children are the single largest demographic living in poverty.

If you would like to join us on our dignity mission, please consider donating. The funds we receive from readers like you go towards building strong children.

Love and Blessings,
Cristen Lyn

Group of children at St Elizabeths Girl School

In just a few days we’ll be celebrating not only the start of a new year, but a new decade. 2020 will be a momentous year, and I hope it brings you vision, clarity, peace, and strength. I hope you can stand strong to face the obstacles in your way. I hope you can find the strength to do the things you think you can’t, and continue doing the things you know you can.

Group of children at St Elizabeths Girl School

I find this to be the number one lesson I have learned from the kids we serve in our orphanages and schools. Life is hard. It’s not always smiles. These kids came from some of the toughest places imaginable. Homeless, hungry, lacking education or family support. Through all their hardships, they stood strong in the face of adversity, and they envisioned a better life for themselves. They did not give up. They will not give up.

There are many children in our schools that are now happy to be in a home with a roof over their heads, a new familial bond with our staff and friends made at the school. They can once again begin to smile. But it’s not all smiles all the time. They still have memories of where they came from. They still face struggles learning the unknown. And while they may cry tears of sadness or frustration, they are really watering the seeds you’re planting for their future.

With your donation, you can help provide the seeds of knowledge to these children. Instead of crying alone on the streets, they can cry in the comfort and loving arms of our nuns, teachers and counselors. They can feel loved, supported, and most of all safe. They can let the tears out, then with amazing resilience that only a kid can have, they pick themselves up, go back to the books, and stand strong to build a better future for themselves.

As everyone is finalizing their New Year’s resolutions, I find myself thinking about mine. Taking a lesson from our kids, I resolve to stand strong. I resolve to stand strong in all that I do. I resolve to stand strong for others who need the hand up, by continuing to continue raising money and fighting for orphaned children in Uganda.

Will you resolve to stand strong with me? Stand strong for yourself and for the less fortunate.

Wishing you peace and happiness in the new year,
Cristen Lyn

Recently I shared some insights on birthdays that were turned into national holidays. We discussed a few great, well-known, world leaders who earned a holiday in their honor. Jesus, Gandhi, George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr. If you haven’t had a chance to read that blog, take a look here.

I want to share another story about an ordinary person, who became so extraordinary they too, were honored with a day for their life’s work – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.

Avila Pakir Jainulabdeen (A. P. J.) Abdul Kalam was a well-loved and prominent political figure in India, having served as President from 2002-2007. But his path to the presidency was far from easy. His father was a ferry owner and imam of a local mosque, and his mother was a housewife. He was the youngest of 5 siblings. While his ancestors were at one time wealthy, they eventually lost their family fortune. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s family became so poor that from an early age he had to sell newspapers to help pay for his education and take care of his family.

Kalam worked and studied his way through good education and eventually graduated in Aerospace Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology. He served as the project director of India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV II), and was Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. He was widely known as “The People’s President,” and dedicated much of his life to education, writing and public service. He wrote several books and spent every moment he could speaking with students from remote villages to big universities.

There’s no doubt that A. P. J. Abdul Kalam would not have been as successful in his life if he hadn’t worked so hard to support his own education as a child. And you can tell he knew it by his dedication to teaching the next generation of students from all walks of life. His story has served as an inspiration for millions of students, and will continue to do so for years to come. For his dedication to education, in

2010 the United Nations named October 15 “World Students’ Day” in honor of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam’s birthday.

In every student there is a future leader. From political figures to educators, scientists to small business owners, every leader has a role to play in making the world a better place. The American Dream has always been about turning rags into riches through hard work and dedication. What is often taken for granted in this scenario is access to at minimum a basic education. If you can’t learn to read and write, perform basic math tasks, etc. Your chances of finding a vocation that will lift you up in life becomes extraordinarily harder.

For country’s that are experiencing major atrocities on the home front, such as India or Africa, education most often takes a major back seat to securing basic necessities such as finding food and shelter. For every child that does not have access to education, the cycle of poverty continues. Whether it’s traditional or vocational, education is a barrier to entry to lifting children up from poverty to prosperity.

So in honor of World Students’ Day, won’t you help us take away this barrier for more children in the world? By making a donation to Hope for Hearts, you are providing the tools our kids desperately need to take them off the streets and give them a hand up to be the best leaders they can be in their community.

Donate Today

Humbly Yours,
Cristen Lyn