Sending Faith, Hope, and Love the Smart Way.

 Project SmartBox Uganda

A Window of Opportunity

We recently talked with our friend Alice in Uganda about the possibilities of supporting the education of young people in Uganda with Smart Boxes. Her response was heartbreaking yet very confirming that it would fill a great need. Here’s precisely what Alice said:

“Yes, there is a need to support students in their education. A case in point is in Northern Uganda because, for about 25 years that is from the early 1980s to 2007, there was an active armed conflict that disrupted children and young people’s access to education. Yet the damage done to the infrastructure and human resources that provide education, as well as the long-term harm to people’s assets, livelihoods, and physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being continues to be felt today.

Furthermore, there are very many school dropouts from families that cannot afford basic school supplies like writing materials, school bags, footwear, and uniforms among others. I believe with a little help extended to them, we can make a difference one life at a time. Therefore I strongly believe there is a need to support students in their education.”

In addition to this, other problems cause kids to drop out.

  • Approximately 80% of girls miss or drop out of school due to lack of sanitary items

  • Malaria costs children an average of 42 days of school absence yearly and some children are often sick and miss school so frequently that it’s hard to keep up.

  • When family resources are low, a family will have to choose one or two children to attend school while the others stay at home. Older children, orphans, and girls are most likely to be left out.

Here are 3 real life stories (real names are not used) that tell of the need to help young people with their educational and spiritual needs:

  1. As earlier mentioned there are very many young girls who because they lack sanitary towels and other personal care products that keeps them at home for some time every month. Eventually they fall too far behind and dropout. For instance Anena, a young girl of 17 years old is now a school drop out because of sanitary towels . Every month she would miss school during her menstrual period and after awhile she opted out of school.

  2. Aloyo is another girl with a sad story. She is 15 years old and comes from a very impoverished family. She is living with a single mother who has in the past years managed to pull some funds together to pay for the fees that keep her daughter in school. However, as her daughter grows older, the ongoing and necessary school requirements get harder to afford. This has created inconsistence in Aloyo’s school attendance as the school always asks her to go back home and bring the required items to use while in class.

  3. There are stories of young girls who have engaged in sexual relationships with elder men (sugar daddies) as a way of acquiring school supplies and ended up pregnant and out of shame, drop out of school. A case in point is Pamela. Being a teenage mother she regrets dropping out of school at an early age because of engaging in sexual relationship with an elder man. To her she looked at the affair as a way out to get what she needed while in school. She believes that if she had assistance and someone to guide her, she would have made better choices.

To begin this initiative in Uganda and start impacting the lives of young people in need, we need your help to raise just $1000 a month. This will provide about 250 boxes to 250 kids in need. It will also help facilitate the discipleship outreach to these kids.

We are specifically looking for 100 people to subscribe to our Project Smart Box Uganda for only $10 a month. Please consider being a part of this initiative.

Lastly and most importantly, our Ugandan friend strongly encouraged, and we wholeheartedly agreed about their needing for encouragement in a life-long relationship with God. She said, “It will be essential to have a routine meeting with the beneficiaries where they are intentionally taught the word of God, and given help to develop life strategies for achieving their goals and overcoming challenges. If this is done termly then we will be able to have a successful discipleship program for the beneficiaries.”

If you can financially help, you can make a great impact in a young person’s life simply by helping to provide through our Smart Boxes. Every Smart Box is supplied with locally required school supplies, creative tools, hygiene items, and Christian living materials (a Bible and a study book).

Monthly Goal $500

Let’s create positive change together,

Founder of Project SMartBox