Sylvia’s Children Celebrates Its 2023 Platinum Jubilee Trip to Uganda In May

When Sylvia Allen agreed to join a mission trip to Africa in May of 2003 she had no idea how that trip would change her life.?Sylvia's Children, a U.S.-based non-profit organization working to improve the lives of children in Africa since 2003, is celebrating two decades of service with a Platinum Jubilee trip to Uganda from May 26 to June 3, 2023.

The organization, founded by American businesswoman and philanthropist Sylvia Allen, has achieved colossal results for the Mbiriizi Advanced Primary School and its student body.

"We are thrilled to celebrate our 20th year with this trip to Uganda," said Allen. "I can’t believe it’s been that long! I couldn’t be more thrilled with how much of an impact we’ve made in this village. We’ve been able to give these orphans lives they might not have had due to their unfortunate circumstances, losing one or both parents or guardians to HIV/AIDS and other illnesses. I feel so blessed and grateful to have been given this opportunity to help these children and am excited for what’s next!”

During the all-inclusive trip, travelers will immerse themselves in an authentic cultural experience, while spending time with the children of the Mbiriizi Advanced Primary and Daycare School near Masaka. There they will get to update the physicals for three class levels that were unable to receive them during COVID.

One of the travelers, Claire Sully (Certified Medical Assistant at Holmdel OB/GYN, part of the Axia Women’s Health network) joined the group the very first year of visiting the school and is excited to be returning.?“I am thrilled to return to the place that encouraged me to change career paths and join the medical field. After my last trip to Uganda, I quit my job as a teacher and enrolled in medical assisting school. Uganda and its people have a way of challenging your personal limits, instilling bravery where you might feel timid, enveloping your soul, and changing your world view for the better. Joining the medical community was a direct result of my experiences with the people and healthcare system in this wonderful, but unyielding country.??I look forward to returning after 14 years away. I look forward to seeing the changes to the school and its property, but most of all I am excited to see the children that pulled my heart towards service all those years ago. I am thrilled that the village of Mbirizzi will have accessible healthcare with the opening of our new clinic. It's really a miracle,” shares Claire Sully. ?

Axia Women’s Health was proud to recognize Claire’s notable contributions to Sylvia’s Children this year by selecting the organization as an award winner as part of the company’s Axia Gives Back awards. The Axia Gives Back awards are all nominated, voted on, and selected by the company’s community of more than 2,500 colleagues. The awards include financial donations to support philanthropic organizations that are aligned with Axia’s values and are making a difference in their communities and beyond.

Thanks to Claire’s ability to join the group, the organization will also take new individual photos of all of the orphans at the school and distribute 1,000 goodie bags filled with candy and mirrors to the children. The group will stay at the Golf Lane Hotel in nearby Masaka, and will also visit the Mweya Safari Lodge to cap off the trip.

All individual members will pay their own way, as the charity does not use any funds designated for its beneficiaries.

Sylvia's Children has been instrumental in expanding the campus of the Mbiriizi Advanced Primary School from the initial four buildings in 2003 to an impressive 26 buildings today. The school is now ranked in the Top 100 of 6,000 schools in Uganda, and a recent nursing graduate became one of the top nurses in the country.

Sylvia’s Children has also provided clean wells, new classrooms and housing for teachers and orphans, a kitchen, a corn milling business, 16 chicken coops with 20,000 chickens, 100 pigs, coffee husking business, a sewing facility that teaches tailoring, a fully stocked library, a playground and the beginnings of a model farm that the organization can use as a tourist attraction.

Allen was inspired to start the organization after a moving experience visiting Uganda with Worldvision in 2003. During the last day of the trip, Allen had been conducting a class on pricing products when the head of the Mbiriizi Advanced Primary and Day school approached her expressing that the children of the school would like for her to be their grandmother. It was at that moment that Allen knew she was meant to do this work. Upon returning to the U.S., Sylvia's Children was incorporated.

Those interested in joining the trip can contact the organization by email at [email protected] or call 732-946-2711. Visit www.sylviaschildren.org for more information.?