Keep hope alive

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“Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy: true fulfillment.”

Anthony Robbins, author

Dallin Stone Provides Literacy Kits, Hope and Inspiration to Uganda Students

July 2007

The joy from their young faces told it all! The light that was burning out was rekindled by literacy kits. The young ones were all orphans, between the ages of 9-14 years, whose families were participating in the Stay Alive program.

Dallin Stone, the son of United Families International's Stay Alive Director Michelle Stone, made literacy packets for Africa for his Eagle Scout project. Uganda was one of the African countries that benefited from his project. The literacy packets were brought here by the writer of the Stay Alive program, Wendy Sheffield, on her culturalization tour to Africa. The Stay Alive program is a culturally-sensitive skill, abstinence and family-based HIV/AIDS prevention education program that reaches out to children between the ages of 8-14 years. The program has been introduced to 75,000 children in Uganda.

Wendy's visit took us to the homes of the children who had participated in the Stay Alive program. Specifically, we visited child-headed homes and grandparent-headed homes resulting from the death of both of the children's parents. It is in these homes that we gave out the literacy kits.

An increasing number of orphans today are being cared for by grandparents in Uganda. This is particularly difficult as the grandparents' income during this time is usually much lower than it was during their working years. Grandparents are challenged by the difficulties of having to feed, clothe and school another generation. It is also difficult for the children who are often moved from their homes in the city to rural areas, where the grandparents reside.

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Above left: A grandmother living with her seven grandchildren who have lost both parents. Her only surviving son also lives with her because he is sick with HIV/AIDS. Her grandchildren go to the nearby school and have discussed the Stay Alive program with her.

Above right: The girl marked by an arrow had broken down in tears while she and other children led the Stay Alive choir in a moving song at their school. Having lost both of her parents, she and her siblings is now live with her deaf and dumb grandfather. The children do gardening work to provide food for the family.

The vulnerability and sacrifice of a child forced to head a household is great. The child heading a home often times makes a significant personal sacrifice by not continuing his or her own schooling and struggles to raise siblings and put them through school. The labor and income-generating activities of these households change rapidly once the parents die. The children begin to do more gardening and food production, become engaged in casual labor, start producing charcoal and become involved in petty trading. The child-headed household lacks money and suffer from a shortage of food and other basic needs. Many eat once a day and holding the household together is a difficult task.

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Above left: Michael, age 17 and a double orphan, has left school, works in a photo studio in the nearby trading center and is now paying school fees for his 12- year0old brother, Charles. Charles has shared the Stay Alive program with Michael.

Above right: Helen, 19 and mother of a three-year-old baby, left looks after her siblings, ages 12, 11 and 9. Helen dropped out of school when her parents were dying of AIDS. With no hope of continuing her studies after her mothers' death, she got married. When her father also died, Helen left her marriage to care for her siblings.

The education of orphaned children in Uganda is particularly difficult to manage with the standard materials, resources and training available to the typical child in Uganda. Primary education may be the only education that an orphan child receives. The quality of primary education in rural day schools, where the majority of children are, is therefore key to the future of the orphans who may have traversed many hurdles to remain in school.

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Above left: Kyengeza Primary school head teacher standing in front of the administration block

Above center: Namayumba C/U primary school children in front of school block with no windows and dusty floor. School enrollment is 685.

Above right: Bananywa Primary school children sing about HIV/AIDS. The school has improvised papyrus mats to stop the wind from coming through the classroom.

Apart from the poor structures, often times lacking windows and using cow dung-cemented floors, schools in the most rural settings in Uganda lack even the basic requirements like chalk. Though universal education has been introduced by the Ugandan government, parents/guardians cannot afford school uniforms and scholastic materials for their children. So, when Dallin's literacy kits arrived in Uganda, carried by “Mama Wendy,” as the children refer to her, it could not have been a more opportune time to support the families and children that were participating in the Stay Alive program.

The ideal reason for Dallin to send these kits was to make a difference in this hurting world. He must have known very well the needs of these children. Each kit contained pencils, erasers, a writing pad, crayons, a black board, a box of chalk and a duster. The new availability of pencil sharpeners meant that the children would no longer have to use razor blades. Sharp objects and instruments is one of ways that HIV/AIDS is transmitted. Dallin's kits improved the learning environment for nearly 50 children..

There are so many ways that we can contribute. We do not have to wait until we develop a grand master plan to make a difference. We can have impact in a moment, in doing the smallest things, making what most often seem like insignificant contributions. There are so many simple ways to make a difference. We do not have to go out and save somebody's life. But perhaps by simply getting the students to smile improves their lives, or at least gets them to enjoy the life they know.

Sometimes, heroes are the people doing seemingly small acts of kindness. They are not always acknowledged. Dallin Stone is a new hero to these children and one whose generosity and compassion provide hope and inspiration! The students' response to Dallin was:

“We love you and we will always be grateful that you gave us a chance to share your skills, life and money with us—the Ugandans.”