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povertytoprosperity

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Children at Uganda orphanage

Education is paramount.

Hope for Hearts is one of thousands of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Uganda working to prevent future generations of children from ending up on the streets.

This is a child we are talking about, a child that if provided the means to an education can soar into a thriving member of society. A child who is living on the street, eating out of trash cans, prostituting and begging for food. These children have landed on the streets, some by personal choice to leave abusive and neglect homes with hopes to raise their life status from poverty; and others by death of a parent(s) due to civil wars and diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis, cholera and dysentery.

Children are the single largest demographic group living in poverty in Uganda. Nearly 72 percent of Uganda’s estimated 45 million are under age 24, and of that nearly 49 percent are under 15 years old.

Children at Uganda orphanage

Uganda is a country where the government does not provide any social services. Hope for Hearts currently works direct with orphanages and schools that target street children in Kampala and surrounding rural areas. In this city particular, as a social-economic transformation takes time to progress, the livelihood needs of these orphaned children are at the mercy of NGOs and donors like us.

Here’s a fact: NGOs seeking to support street children face threat of criminal sanction for offering assistance. Hope for Hearts helps schools that are operated lovingly by local nuns, and have not been disrupted by the corrupt officials or rebel factions engaged in civil war.

The future goal is to create more schools using this model to help meet the educational needs and emotional support for more orphaned children in Uganda. Our proven formula, has delivered a 90% graduation rate.

Hope for Hearts carries very little administrative costs, and donations go directly into supporting the necessities and education for orphaned children.

You have the opportunity to provide a life-giving gift to a child. Empower an orphan child through the gift of education.

DONATE TODAY

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In honor of July coming to close, lets focus on freedom.

free·dom
noun: freedom
1. the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
“we do have some freedom of choice”
synonyms: right to, entitlement to

Freedom can take on many different meanings and is unique to each individual. Freedom should mean that children have the power to act and think as they choose, without hindrance or restraint. At our organization, we mainly see children who face multiple hindrances and deterrents on their path to freedom.

We need to insure children can grow up safe and supported with the freedom to be a child.

Without loving friends or family, access to education and the simple means to survive, their freedom is restricted. They are not given the opportunity to act, speak or think as they feel because they are too busy trying to survive and find the next place they will sleep or where they will find their next meal.

That’s where our help comes into play. We provide housing, education, training, counseling, food, faith and friendships.

Freedom to learn in Uganda is scarce – children do not have access to public or free education. Without an education, they are often unable to become independent adults and grow into healthy, happy and successful individuals.

Freedom rings when you sponsor a child. It’s a gift that creates a ripple of lifelong change. Children become free to spread their wings through knowledge. Families drastically changed with the power of an education.

Our children have unique needs. Thank you for supporting their freedom.

DONATE TODAY

With love,
Cristen Lyn

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Summer is finally here. It’s a time for vacations, work, and play.

This summer, we ask you to consider being a sponsor. What exactly is a sponsor?

  • a person who takes the responsibility for some other person or thing
  • a person or an organization that pays for or plans and carries out a project or activity
  • Sponsor supporter of an event, activity, or person
  • The word sponsor stems from the Latin word spondre, meaning “give assurance, promise solemnly”

In this situation, a sponsor is life-changing for the children in our program. For only $20 a month, $240 a year, you can drastically improve the lives of children who need it most.

The children we serve are desperate for an education. They strive to maintain any type of normalcy in their lives. Even through the worst times, these children look forward to the opportunity of embracing a new spiritual welfare of hope and building a new life and future with the tools provided by our sponsors.

By sponsoring a child, you are altering the course of their life for the better. You’re providing them a safe place to live, learn and heal and a livelihood through education and training. Overall, you will be providing them a place to simply call home.

As you enjoy your summer with your family and friends, please consider giving back and sponsoring a child. On behalf of the children, I know they will be eternally grateful for your sacrifice and generosity to support a greater good.

With love,
Cristen Lyn

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Flourish is a very important word to our organization as it is at the core of our mission. What we hope to see on a daily basis is a child flourishing in all ways, and we encourage and guide this beautiful process.

flour·ish
/ˈfləriSH/
to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment

That’s what we want for YOU! Every day we see girls flourish in our program from the counseling, education and work training. Uganda has an orphan crisis with children living in severe poverty, lacking money to attend school and have no family. They have no support or examples of how to grow up and live an independent life. Without any tools and support, they often have no hope. We make strides every day to provide the resources and environment necessary for them to flourish in a life of their own.

We serve the most destitute children in our program who have a strong desire to educate themselves, so they can have a productive and self-reliant future. Children not participating in one of our vocational programs, attend Ugandan schools and all children receive food, shelter, counseling, spiritual development, social and life skills classes.

We’ve seen many children flourish and create a life for themselves that they never imagined was possible. For example, Annet Alumna lost her father at an early age and was raised in poverty in a slum called Ndeeba. Her family could not afford to pay for school and she was forced to abandon her education. Annet wanted to learn, and under the guidance of our caring staff, she received counseling and entered the catering vocation. Annet is flourishing in life.

As Spring begins to ramp up, take time to self-reflect and see if you are flourishing in the different avenues of life. If not, what can you do to change it? It’s time to put yourself first and make sure you are in a supporting and loving environment that allows you to grow and develop into the best version of yourself!

Peace + Prosperity
Cristen Lyn
Hope for Hearts Founder

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With confidence, you can do anything

This week’s Weekend Word is extra special to me because the children are reminded every single day of their confidence and abilities to succeed.

con·fi·dence
a: a feeling or consciousness of one’s powers or of reliance on one’s circumstances had perfect confidence in her ability to succeed met the risk with brash confidence
b: faith or belief that one will act in a right, proper, or effective way have confidence in a leader

Imagine being ten years old, unable to go to school, not knowing if you will have food to eat for dinner or where you are going to sleep at night. Living a life like that would make it hard to have any confidence or faith.

When the children start at our program, they often think that they can’t succeed at anything. We turn can’t into can. At our program, confidence is the key to success. We take vulnerable children many with very little confidence and self-esteem and teach them how to turn their lives around. We teach them about self-worth through therapy and classes. By making them feel like their life matters, they get a boost of confidence. The children express what they are interested in and we teach them the necessary skills, so they can gain experience and lead a fulfilling life.

Everyone deserves a chance at a happy life – and that’s what we strive to provide these innocent children. We meet these kids when they are scared, insecure and hopeless about the future. By helping them face their fears, they gain strength and confidence along the way. With a little bit of love and education, we build confidence and make it possible for these kids to do anything they put their mind to.

With love always,
Cristen