A HeARTful Call to Action

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Loves,

There are only 3 days left of our June sponsorship campaign, and we have had no more movement in finding monthly sponsors for the Desire Kids...

30 children have been waiting for someone to show that they care. My mom just stepped up. (thanks, Mom.)

So now there are 29 children waiting. All 4 sponsors have shared our campaign privately and on social media, and have tried to encourage others to follow their example, but we have all found a deafening silence for all our efforts. 11th-hour emergency donations have gotten us through by the skin of our teeth, which has been miraculous, but if we were able to find sponsors, none of that would be necessary. No more crises. It should be an easy fix. Any advice would be welcome.

I will not give up on these extraordinary children. Those who know me understand my unending work and advocacy on behalf of children, especially those who are vulnerable. I didn't get to finish raising my Cameron, which is why I have dedicated so much to giving these kids a leg-up in life. Please join me.

I will continue working on their behalf because every child deserves:

1) Wholesome, nutritious food. The Desire Kids still subsist on mostly white bread, cooking oil and corn meal. Occasionally they get eggs and beans. Survival food. Sponsorship would end this.

2) Housing. The threat of eviction looms constantly. Landlords are brutal. They expect 4 months rent in advance. Every 4 months they find themselves in an emergency housing crisis. Sponsorship would end this.

3) Education. Every school term there is a risk of expulsion for lack of ability to pay school fees. Every one of the 30 school-age Desire Kids is at the top of their class, and a number have been recognized as leaders by their schools, having been appointed as sports captains, choir leaders, and such. They work so hard and know what is in the balance, and the value of an education. They came very close to being expelled over a mere $70 discrepancy this term. Sponsorship would end that threat.

4) Clean Water. The children have to regularly haul heavy containers of water from a borehole well or mud hole, 3 miles round-trip, putting their very lives at risk to do so. Just a few months ago, we lost our sweet, beloved 11 year-old Goloba Ibrahim to a lion attack on his way home while bearing water. The Desire Family has barely had time to mourn his loss because they are fully in survival mode. Sponsorship would end this.

5) Beds. These children have endured, and continue to endure, things that most of us can not imagine... due to some generous support, we have been able to get bed sets (mattress, blanket, mosquito net) for 12 of the 33 kids. The rest share an old piece of foam on the floor with few blankets between which they also must also share. Why are mosquito nets so important? Because malaria and typhoid are rampant in Uganda, including amongst the Desire Kids, and hospital bills are expensive. There are three who are currently suffering at once, even though their rooms are sprayed every night. I can't imagine the constant inhaling of pesticides is good for them either. Sponsorship would certainly help.

6) Health Care. Two out of the 29 unsponsored children have serious chronic conditions that are not their fault but require regular medication and expensive hospital visits. One inherited HIV from her parents, and the other has liver damage from being given alcohol by her birth parents as an infant. They require $100/month to cover all their basics plus specialized health care. There is no accessible insurance for them. The other kids also need health checkups and occasional care when they get regular childhood illnesses and injuries, or malaria, typhoid, salmonella, etc. The older girls are developing and need sanitary products. Sponsorship would provide all the care they need.

They wear second-hand clothes, have few toys to play with, and thanks to a generous donor we were able to get them 3 guitars recently. A friend of the family has been volunteering to give them some foundational music lessons.

Through all these challenges, you see that the children smile, play, dance, sing, and radiate gratitude and joy. Having been literally lifted from the gutters of the slums by Bugingo Desire (29), they are now a loving family, held by Bugingo, his loving mother Nkiinzi Grace, and her other adult children. All volunteer. Every penny goes to the care of these children.

Desire Child Care Organization is a vetted, legitimate, incorporated, legal organization, which was achieved through hard work and sacrifice. The plan to become self-sufficient through agriculture (Bugingo is an amazing farmer) and establish an independent, arts-based, holistic, residential school in the countryside. This means that they only require monthly support until the vision is achieved. There are plans to purchase land (with its own water well!) and create a beautiful, safe and loving home and free school to lift the Desire Kids to the heights we know they can achieve as artists, athletes, doctors, nurses, and educators of the future.

I know many people with compassionate hearts who have the means to sponsor... please do. I have set up and patron an automatic cc payment through Paypal to make it easy.

I also know many people who don't have the means to do a $50 monthly sponsorship. But you can join with others to share a sponsorship for less that it costs to see a movie or buy a fast food meal. One of our 4 sponsorships is collaborative, and it works great! I am happy to help match you up with a sponsor partner.

I know it is a hard ask... but please join me in seeing this through. It matters, and it is a good thing to support. We can't save ALL the world's children in need.... but we CAN save these.

I'm not going to post a link, because of these pesky algorithms, but by now, you probably know where to go. Let's help them fulfill this vision, and sit with the knowledge that in a small corner of a distant land, we made a difference. I know in my heart that the Desire Kids will pay it forward.

Thanks for joining this very special family with me. Patroning them continues to be one of the greatest honors of my life. Truly. And I need your help.