change the truth update

All kinds of wonderful things are happening on the Change the Truth front! Allow me to fill you in.

Two short months from now, several dedicated and enthusiastic friends of Change the Truth will board planes headed for Uganda. Once on the ground, they will make their way to St. Mary Kevin Orphanage for a ten-day mission commitment. This year there are actually two separate groups going; I know that amazing work will be done each session. As we get closer to departure time, I will introduce you to the talented and generous souls who have decided to make this journey with me. Please stay tuned to this blog! For now, know that we are all busy getting our visas and shots and figuring out how best to spend our time helping the children once we have arrived.

In the meantime, your contributions continue to flow in. Thank you so much! The funds we have received have allowed us to support even more projects at the orphanage. Each month now, we send enough money to cover food purchases, secondary school fees for nineteen young people and (new just this month) money to cover the employment of a part-time nurse, as well as medications needed by sick children. We have also recently sent enough funds for the purchase of a maize mill. This will enable the orphanage to produce much if its own corn meal, leading to a reduction in the amount of money required each month for food.

Supporters of CTT have been finding creative ways to raise money. In New York City, for example, a softball team chose CTT as its beneficiary in a charity league. When they came in second place, a healthy donation was made to the children. A woman in Port Washington, New York is organizing a grand scale garage sale, the proceeds of which will go to Change the Truth. She’s also passing out brochures to her shoppers so that people will learn about the work we’re doing.

For the second year in a row, we will have a fundraising event at Ten Thousand Villages, a store in Overland Park, Kansas that carries only fair trade products. On the evening of December 2nd, a percentage of all purchases made at the store will be donated to Change the Truth. Last year, we raised more money than any other organization that participated in the program. Let’s hope we do as well this year! You will receive more information about this as the date approaches. It’s a fun event – a great way to buy some unique and beautiful gifts for your friends and family for the holidays and also help out some very grateful orphans in Uganda.

The motorcycle we purchased for St. Mary Kevin’s can be spotted on the red dirt roads in and around Kajjansi now. Used primarily as a taxi, it brings in income for the orphanage, but also provides a means of transportation for staff and children when they need to go to the market, to the medical clinic, etc. I can just imagine the Change the Truth license plate flapping in the wind as the motorcycle winds its way through the Ugandan countryside. What a beautiful sight!

The children at St. Mary Kevin are performing better in school because they are not so hungry all the time. They are happier because they know their chances of attending secondary school are actually pretty good now. They are not struggling as much with their fears and sadness, because they receive much needed counseling and support from the staff. And now the children will have better medical care.

To those of you who have contributed: you are responsible for these things. You can feel really good about the donations you have made to Change the Truth.

Thank you for your ongoing support and for your interest in this amazing and ever blossoming endeavor!