Friends of Uganda was founded in 2007 in Jackson, MS, after one of the founders, Phyllis Hurley, had been involved in an international water project that had focused on Uganda. It soon became dear to Friends of Uganda that one way to help poor Ugandan women was to sell their hand-crafted items. The Ugandan women, many of them widows, relied on their crafts to feed their families, pay rent, and send their children to school. The beauty of their crafts led to excellent sales. Friends of Uganda sold its goods at craft festivals in six southern states, and sold weekly at markets in Jackson, MS, and Orlando, FL.
Friends of Uganda worked with three different artisan groups in Uganda. As a Fair-Trade organization, we paid for the goods before they shipped, so the women received their money immediately. In addition to helping the women with basic needs, one widow, Teopista, was literally able to put a roof over her head. Her husband had started a house, but he died before it was finished. She lived in a small, rented room with her three children. Thanks to Friends of Uganda, the house now has a roof and the family has moved in!
After about 15 years of selling, amounting to over $400,000 in sales, Phyllis and her husband, Jim, decided to shift focus from selling crafts to finding sponsors to help put needy Ugandan through school, starting with the children of our craft ladies.
Then we began helping children in a unique orphanage. Grace was a social worker for years in northern Uganda. As she came upon abandoned children, she did what few would do: she took them into her own home! Some have terrible stories of mistreatment and abandonment. She adopted 14 children!
As the number of children being helped grew, it became clear that we needed to create a 501(0(3) corporation so that donations to help the children would be tax deductible. Thus, Friends of Ugandan Children, Inc. was born. Our Board consists of Jim Hurley, President, Kayiwa Fred, Vice President, and Ramon Maly, Secretary/Treasurer. Kayiwa Fred, the vice president, is a crucial resource. He is a native Ugandan, with a long track record of helping Ugandan children. His knowledge of Ugandan education allows us to locate good, but reasonably priced, schools and to verify data that we are given to ensure our resources are being effectively used!
We are now helping 24 children gain a good education to launch them into adult life. With the establishment of Friends of Ugandan Children Inc., we are looking for persons to help us provide for the current 24 children and to help others. Educating poor children will not change the whole world, but it changes forever the lives of these children at a time does not change the world, but it changes the world of those children forever.
Friends of Ugandan Children Inc 