Last year, around this same time, I wrote about a woman I met in a slum in Kampala where she lived with her two little children.  She was dying of AIDS; you could still see the former beauty that faded rapidly as the disease ravaged her body.  Her husband had already died some months earlier.  She came from the countryside and there were no relatives in the city and those who had been there, the scourge of AIDS had also cut them down.  At this stage of her life, when she knew that death was knocking on her door, her worry was for the wellbeing of the children she would leave behind.

I had briefly spoken to her near a school where I used to visit.  That day she looked at me and after greeting me said as she held her two little children, “No one cares. My children will have no mother, no father. No one cares.  The church cannot help, the government does not help, my neighbors cannot help, and it seems that no one cares.”  Her words have haunted me and periodically those words come back to me ever so clearly. She is long gone, her children are a bit older now, and yet, I still hear her words today “No one cares.” 

Last Sunday I had company from Africa and my son came with his wife and of course my new grandson was there.  It was nice to have lunch with David and Robinah and their son Clovis.  It was nice to spend an afternoon with a woman who understands the concept of “Our Children” very well. I sat there with Robinah and her husband David talking about Africa, their work with children, the struggle to meet the needs of those hundreds of children, to give them a future and a hope, to prepare them to live a life where they can replicate what they have been given, making a difference in their country. As I listened to her I understood once again why hundreds of children have called her Mummy for the last 30 years. 

During the late 1990’s, when Uganda was visited by the winds of aids, war in the north of Uganda, when thousands of children were orphaned overnight, Robinah stepped (having served the children of Uganda for years with other charities) in and with others formed a Ugandan charity called Alpha and Omega Ministries that whose mission it is to empower children doctors, lawyers, engineers, nurses, teachers, radio personalities, carpenters, farmers, just plain people who are changing their country from within for the better.  She looks at  the throw-a-ways of Uganda and sees them as “Her Children.”  There are countless orphans because of AIDS, even though Uganda is one of the only countries in Africa to reduce the new infection rate, all needing that same covering of loving care, more to call Robinah Mummy for years to come.

2006 was the beginning of Ambassadors of Hope International, an organization formed by some dedicated men and women who wanted to impact the world of children who live in the slums of India and Africa...Ambassadors of Hope International was born.  On this website you find our African involvement.  That part of the operation comes down to one person, myself and another person who helps with the mail and deposit....no one gets paid, all the money with the exception of some minor administrative costs goes to Uganda and other places in East Africa.  In Uganda we assist Alpha and Omega Ministries an agency actively engaged in changing the lives of children through education.  In the 1990's I spent a lot of time there and Uganda's slum (many of them AIDS orphans) children became like my own...after a long absence I renewed my commitment in 2006 when I went twice to Africa...here in the summer of 2007 I am preparing for almost six months in Uganda, where I will work with my children in various projects and invite you to participate...jon...Ambassadors of Hope International

Trevor Stevenson came to Uganda back in the mid 90’s to buy land in order to begin a farm that would help orphanages and schools.  Trevor looked beyond the rich soil of Uganda to the people of Uganda and along with his wife Ruth they developed a love for the children and people of Uganda.  Trevor and Ruth were not African, but hailed from Ireland where they were instrumental in the founding of a group that he still heads called “Fields of Life.”  The last time I spent time with Trevor and Ruth was in 1997 and they had just built the first school in a village outside of Uganda.  Now a mere 7 years later there are 36 of them, besides the other projects such as clinics, farms and more. He and his wife Ruth, the organization called Fields of Life, see Uganda’s children as theirs.  They take responsibility, even though there are thousands of miles between them, they simply feel a responsibility for them as “Our Children.” (http://www.fieldsoflife.com )

Scott Baxter is a young man on the threshold of getting married, and I remember talking with him about Africa some years ago.  He too developed a love for the children of Africa, seeing them in the same way as the others, “Our Children.” Except it is in Luganda and therefore entitled “Abaana” (http://www.abaana.org ).  Scott has used the Internet and many people have sponsored children via his site.  He recently sent me a factoid that startled me: 19000 children die per day in Africa.  What makes Abaana different from other organizations working with children in Africa is that Scott uses young people and cultivates a big brother and sister mentality into their lives so that they can mentor the younger and once again see them as “Our Children.”

One of the reasons for my Website and the African Insights Blog on Africa is to acquaint people outside of Africa with Africa.  Throughout my life I have had this drive to be a voice for the voiceless and that certainly would be the children of Africa.  Though we are miles from them, they are our children…and if we could tell that woman back in Uganda who told me years ago that no one cares…I wish I could have shown her the many people I have met in person, over the phone, or via email who do care and want to make a difference, want to sponsor a child in Africa and make a difference, one child at a time…

People do want to help, but do not know how.  In this African Insights Blog newsletter  I have given you some guidance to some organizations that I find worthy of help and who would handle your donation in the appropriate fashion and pass it on to the child that is in need.  The passing on of monetary support can be a real problem. Here are some things to look for and on the other hand to look out for.  There are lots of child sponsorship organizations found on the Internet and not all of them are legitimate.  I have dealt with orphanages that actually made a game out of how many sponsors they could get for the same child and they would have various organizations sponsor the same child.  I have also met people who would enrich themselves and not pass on to the children, or they would establish paper organizations, take pictures of any child, make up stories, but all of that does not take away the fact that there are countless legitimate sponsorship organization.

Things to look for before sponsoring a child:

• What does your 25 to 30 dollars a month do for a child?   How much of the money is used for administration?  Over 25% is excessive.  Some of the groups above have no administration cost, it being covered by other donations.  I have seen organizations take 75% and pass on only 25% but juggle the wording.

• Does the money go to the one child?  In many cases it may go to a project that would benefit the child but may not go directly to the child.

• Look out for language “such as medical care, food, education.” Ask specifically, does it cover food?  How many meals? School-fees?  Medical Care?  Does any money help family?  Ask anything else.

• Does organization double sponsor a child or even have three or four sponsors per child?

• Will I be able to write the child I sponsor?  You should get 3 to four letters per year from child. In some cases you will get a progress report on child.

• Will I be able to visit the child I sponsor?  This is one of the best things for all concerned since you will visit Africa and find your heart enlarged.  I met a man from Texas in Nairobi who had sponsored a child and had come all the way from the USA, not to find the child in the orphanage or school.  The child existed on paper only.

If you have questions as to how you can help a child-feel free to write to me…jon

Catherine Ajok:- 13 years in captivity with the LRA, recently set free.  A forced wife of Joseph Kony, read her story of being kidnapped one night from her secondary school, her captivity and eventual freedom from being enslaved by Joseph Kony and the LRA.