Vivian Glyck

JLMC Begins Work in Senegal

2013-01-29T15:12:35-05:00

On Monday, January 14th, 2013, Just Like My Child Foundation officially signed a covenant with community members for a sustainable water irrigation project, which aims to generate income within the community of Keur Cheikh in Senegal.

The community of Keur Cheikh has agreed to co-invest by providing labor for building the irrigation system's infrastructure -- valued at 20 percent of the project's total budget -- and has made a commitment to fully participate in the management and care of the project. Once the irrigation system is in place, the community will begin a collaborative gardening project.

Since the signing of the covenant, tools have been purchased and distributed within the community of Keur Chiekh as villagers excitedly make preparations to begin carrying out their community co-investment of trench digging for the irrigation system's infrastructure. This project will bring increased income generation to the entire community, and the garden will provide sustenance to many of those involved.

Here at Just Like My Child, we are delighted to see the project breaking ground after many months of careful assessment and planning. We are proud to be working with this community, and eager to see the benefits of this income-generating irrigation project unfold.

Stay tuned for more updates from the ground in Senegal!

Kicking Off Camp Girl Power

2013-01-08T12:42:34-05:00

This week, 100 pre-teen and early-teenaged girls are gathering in the rural village of Katikamu for Just Like Child Foundation's very first Camp Girl Power. Camp Girl Power is the culmination of yearlong training initiatives through our Girl Power Project. The Camp is focused on empowering girls to reach their full potential through leadership and social skills training.

The world now knows that educating girls has the power to break the deadly cycle of generational poverty. Shashi Tharoor, India's Minister of State for Human Resource Development, boldly states : "If you educate a boy, you educate a person; but if you educate a girl, you educate a family and benefit an entire community." Shocking statistics exist, such as "In Africa, children of mothers who have received five years of education are 40 percent more likely to live beyond the age of 5." Educating girls truly is a matter of life and death.

Camp Girl Power brings together one hundred of the most promising yet vulnerable female students from five different schools throughout central Uganda, representing some of the country's most impoverished communities. Camp Girl Power goes beyond academics -- it teaches girls critical life skills that address their most pressing needs. Of rape victims in Uganda, 86.9 percent are between the ages of nine and 17, and AIDS spreads twice as fast among uneducated girls than among those who have gone to school. The Girl Power Project is reaching out to these girls and giving them the tools they need to ward off sexual violence and protect themselves from early pregnancy and disease.

Monica Nyiraguhabwa, the Girl Power Project Facilitator, witnesses first hand the problems affecting Uganda's young women. "I believe that it's not enough just to put up structures for girls. Girls face a lot of issues and so if we need to keep them in school and be able to graduate them as future leaders, we need to handle the other aspects of life that affect them." Our holistic program teaches at-risk girls positive self-esteem, vital decision-making skills, and gives them the space and support to think about their goals and dreams.

Empowering girls to reach their full potential will move the entire country forward -- the World Bank has stated that the greater the number of girls who attend secondary school, the higher the country's per capita income growth. Moreover, when women undertake leadership roles in their communities, corruption diminishes noticeably. Giving 100 girls the hand up they need has the power to reach 10,000 girls, by empowering them to become mentors for their siblings and peers.

As part of the Girl Power Project, Camp Girl Power is cultivating girls who are bold enough to look you in the eye, strong enough to state their rights and free enough to lead their country forward. Follow this link to learn more, and donate now to help us transform the lives of 10,000 girls in Uganda.

Watch the video below to learn more about our efforts to empower young girls in Uganda:

A Testimony to Project Grace: 'The Delicacy of Goats' Milk'

2012-12-17T10:49:54-05:00

Nayiti Lydia is one of the beneficiaries who has received a dairy goat through Just Like My Child Foundation's Project Grace, a microenterprise program that has a partnership with Heifer International.

Lydia, a 23-year-old Ugandan woman, is married to Tebukoza Juma, 26 years-old. These two look after a family of five members, including orphans and vulnerable children.

In a humble grass thatched house, Lydia and her family live. The family is embattled with poor shelter, inadequate clothing and malnutrition. Even with free universal primary education, her children lack basic resources like pencils and uniforms to enjoy this free education. The family gets its meager income from a quarter acre of a coffee plantation. Lydia also practices subsistence farming of beans and groundnuts.

Lydia and her family received a dairy goat from Just Like My Child Foundation's Project Grace microenterprise program in August of 2012. With her luck, she got a pregnant nanny goat that was near to kidding, or giving birth. Just three weeks later, the dairy nanny kidded female twins. This was the rise of the "goats' milk delicacy" for Lydia and her family.

Lydia is overjoyed for the chance she had to pick a pregnant nanny. "I thank God for this chance; people from Heifer told us that we have to choose the goats by lottery. Each one of us had to pick a rolled paper with a goat's number. All chances came my way." Lydia explains.

Lydia says the information she received at the start of the project can now be confirmed true. "I doubted! I really doubted what we were being told at the beginning of the project. We were told that goats' milk is delicious during those trainings."

Lydia revealed her initial doubts, saying, "I had never imagined milking a goat, but now my children can't imagine spending a day without a taste of goat's milk."

Lydia is now a living testimony of all the myths about goats' milk in her parish.

You know people have many myths about goats' milk. Some say it is greenish, some say it has a bad odor. Many of my fellow farmers now visit me to consult about goats' milk -- my children tell them what a delicacy goats' milk is. Our family is filled with joy, not a single penny will be spent on cow's milk. Our goat gives it all to us.

Lydia has a word to her fellow farmers: "Goats require less space and labor to keep, yet they can support our livelihood like cows. I advise my fellow farmers to commit to the project as I have seen great hope from it."

In her conclusion, Lydia was thankful to the Just Like My Child Foundation and Bishop Asili Hospital for the dairy goats project. "I thank Heifer, Just Like My Child and Asili Hospital, we are realizing hope from your support."

This holiday season, all it takes is $400 to provide a "Hand Up, Not a Hand Out," to a family in Uganda by putting a family in the dairy goat business through Project Grace, a partnership between the Just Like My Child Foundation and Heifer International. You have the power to transform the fortunes of an entire family, just like the lives of Lydia and her family were transformed through this program.

Save for Health

2012-09-12T10:52:47-04:00

Access to quality health care that is affordable is a problem to which many in the United States can relate. In Uganda, government run health centers are supposed to provide affordable care by subsidizing the costs of medications and consultations. However, a woman who is giving birth for example has to bring her own delivery kit of gloves, cotton balls, plastic sheet cover, razor blade, flashlight, needle, thread, and disinfectant. Often times the government clinics lack equipment and supplies and are not stocked with medications. So, anyone seeking treatment at the government clinic will often times be referred to another government clinic, and then another clinic, which all lack the same things.

Our partner, Bishop Asili Hospital, tends to be the last stop on a persons journey for medical care, because it is a private nonprofit hospital that costs a bit more - yet it is fully resourced with equipment, supplies, experienced medical staff, and medications. By the time many reach Bishop Asili, they are in dire need of emergency care.

Above: Save for Health staff and Just Like My Child Staff

This is where Save for Health comes in, a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with Bishop Asili setting up health care cooperatives at the parish level (a parish is comprised of 6 neighboring villages). Their mission is to improve the quality of health of Ugandans through self-managed community health financing approaches, or simply health care cooperatives. Save for Health has established 37 health care cooperatives within the catchment of Bishop Asili so far, serving over 18,000 individuals. A family of five pays a membership fee of 60,000 shillings annually, roughly $25. Each individual is then covered up to 500,000 shillings ($200) in medical care, including dental. At Bishop Asili, a c-section for example costs approximately 350,000, which is around $150.

Save for Health has plans this year to expand their services to parishes which include two of our school communities. During a round of focus groups with our school communities back in December, many raised lack of access to health care and health education in their communities as a major challenge. One of Just Like My Child's long-term goals is to overlap five of its programs focusing on education, human rights, girl empowerment, micro-enterprise and access to health care in all the communities it serves. Currently our school communities are benefiting from three of our five programs, missing out on our micro-enterprise and health programs. Introducing Save for Health Uganda to two of our school communities will help enable families to look after each other within a community, be able to save for their own health needs, access good health care from 'unaffordable' health service providers, and bring JLMC closer to its goal.

During the introduction meeting in our Kyevunze school community, a woman councilor from Kikoma village was thrilled with the possibility of a health care cooperative in her community. She strongly encouraged the community members to set up a cooperative, stating she has experienced the downside of not having a program like this. At one time, she had to jump from clinic to clinic to find somewhere to treat her illness, wasting time and money on transportation. She ended up spending more money than the annual Save for Health membership fee. As part of a Save for Health cooperative, she could have immediately accessed a reputable hospital with quality care and saved money and time, ending her suffering sooner.

Joining a Save for Health insurance cooperative is a great opportunity for the Kyevunze community. At least 70 households, about 450 individuals, must be interested and become members of a cooperative for the cooperative to be created and sustained. However, even with testimonials from the crowd, it is difficult to convince people to spend what little money they have on insurance they may or may not use.

Next Save for Health introduction is planned for our Katikamu school community.

Girl Power for Boys

2012-07-11T11:49:10-04:00

Last week we held our first Girl Power training for boys (the first of three to be held this year) as one way of creating a sustainable and enabling environment for girls' empowerment at one of Just Like My Child's school communities, St. Joseph Magogo.

In order to support an environment that will allow the girls trained in our Girl Power Project to lead empowered lives and fight any injustices against girls, the community must also be empowered to support the girls. So, we decided this year that it is critical to our program's success to involve boys and parents.

We've already held meetings with all of the parents in our five schools, introducing them to what their girls are learning in the program and what they can do to support their daughters. The parents' response to the program was enthusiastic, and they were grateful their daughters have this opportunity. We plan on having more meetings with the parents toward the end of the year to discuss changes they witness in their daughters' behaviors, how this has affected the relationship with the parents, and what parents can do to be supportive.

The boys' training showed similar promise. Our local facilitators Ismail and Monica discussed social survival skills, puberty, growth and development, and gender roles with the boys.

During the Girl Power training with the girls, girls often complained that boys who are just friends would ask for sex, which is problematic for the girls because they feel they have to say yes to remain friends. Monica takes the girls through an exercise that teaches them how to say no to boys, or men, who ask for sex, and explains the reasons why this is important (remember the 7 Bs?)

Monica gave the boys a similar exercise and opened with this story:

There were two friends, Peter and Jane. They've been very close friends since childhood. Now Jane is in the 5^th grade and Peter is in the 7^thgrade. It was about time for Peter to join high school and since they wouldn't see each other again, Peter asked Jane to have sex just this one time as a farewell.

Question: What should Jane do? And why/or why not?

Boys Answered: She should accept because they have come from so far, and have been friends for long

Boys Answered: She shouldn't accept because:

She is still at school

She is still young

She may get sick with unknown diseases

She may waste her days ahead if she got pregnant

On the topic of gender roles, Ismail asked the boys various questions about the myths of gender roles. Here are their responses:

Myths of what boys do, that girls should not do:

Going out at night

Climbing trees

Riding bicycles

Slashing/cutting grass

Building/construction

Sports

Myths of what girls do, that boys shouldn't do:

Cooking

Fetching firewood

Washing plates

Serving or carrying food

Sweeping and mopping the house

Housekeeping and babysitting

Reasons as to why boys are failing to perform these 'girl' roles:

Some of their parents have told them so

It is shaming

They have not been trained to do them

Boys have been raised to become men, and then get a wife

Girls are naturally weak and cannot handle some 'boy' roles

Who is a man? What is your image of who a real man is?

A big voice

Be tall

Must not tell all on others

Must not cry

Shouldn't be weak

Some of their answers aren't that different from what many boys or girls might say back in the United States, and we aren't saying there is anything wrong with traditionally defined gender roles in any cultural context. However, if a girl or boy wants to go outside of the norm or break from the stereotypical image of what a man or woman is, it is a choice JLMC and our local partners feel they should be allowed to make without criticism or shame. At this early stage, we can't expect boys' behaviors will change. But three of the boys at the end of the training said they would be more helpful at home, helping out with chores. Next session will focus on domestic violence and women's and children's rights. Stay tuned.

Community Legal Volunteers Promote Justice: Part 1 -- Olowo John

2012-06-25T14:27:55-04:00

Several months after receiving paralegal training through Just Like My Child Foundation's (JLMC's) Project Justice, community legal volunteers are actively responding to domestic violence cases in their communities, mediating between husband and wife, or parents and children with great success. This past week, our staff had the pleasure of interviewing two of the community legal volunteers, Olowo John and Serina, in the village of Giriyadda, where JLMC is constructing St. Kizito Primary School through Project Universal Education. Today, we introduce you to Olowo John and some of the people he has helped.

Olowo John is the deputy head teacher at St. Kizito Primary School. He was chosen by his community to participate in the 10-day paralegal training facilitated by FIDA, an organization of Ugandan women lawyers. He expressed much thanks for the opportunity to participate in the training, because it helped widen his knowledge as a person and empowered him to help people in his community. John spends his free time counseling families suffering from domestic violence and tries to sensitize the communities about women's and children's rights, telling parents to handle their children with care and respect. John said he is "proud to be chosen and be a part of [Project Justice]."

John shared several stories with us about the people he's counseled and the lives he's helped change.

There is a young boy who took 200 shillings (less than 5 cents) from his father without permission. The father responded by tying his son's hands together with banana fiber and setting him on fire. John said if the father had known about the rights of the child, he would not have burned his son. His son made a mistake, but the punishment was beyond excessive. Since receiving the FIDA training, John visits homes, like this one, trying to counsel families where there is domestic violence.

The community legal volunteers solve domestic violence cases through mediation whenever possible, a different approach from what people are use to in the United States - the first response tends to be to send the offender of the violent act immediately to jail. Mediation, if successful, allows families in Uganda to stay together and even strengthens relationships and ties to the community.

A parent at John's school is a drunkard. His wife approached John to complain that she can't pay the school fees that buy her son porridge and tea for lunch because her husband "boozes." John went to speak to the husband to tell him that his child is without porridge and tea, and when the boy is hungry he cannot study well. Several weeks later, John went back to the wife to find out if the situation had improved, which the wife confirmed had improved. John returned to the home several more times to visit with the couple and soon became good friends with the family. Over time, the situation at the home changed. The boy's school fees were paid so he can eat lunch at school, and he is even participating on an end of year school field trip paid by his father.

John works closely with two other paralegals in his area. They share their experiences and often work cases together to help each other out.

There is still a need for more sensitization trainings and community dialogues to try to change the attitudes and behaviors toward women and children. But, the JLMC staff is really excited about Project Justice because there have been so many positive and life-changing outcomes in such a short time. JLMC will be working closely with our local partners, including newly trained paralegals like John, to come up with a plan of action for the year to increase the number of success stories.

Stay tuned as we introduce you to Serina later this week, another exceptional community legal volunteer who others are turning to: "If you have a problem, you call Serina."

In the meantime, help support JLMC's efforts in creating healthy communities in Uganda.

An Exchange Between Farmers Builds Friendships and Strengthens Communities

2012-06-11T10:39:53-04:00

One of the reasons why Project GRACE is so impressive is because of the support networks it creates between farmers living with HIV, which will contribute to the longevity of the project well after Just Like My Child Foundation completes its role in the project. Through these networks farmers share their practical knowledge with one another, help each other improve on their livestock rearing and agricultural production, and support each other to overcome the stigma of HIV and to stay healthy.

This past week, Project GRACE farmers from adjacent villages met in Bweyeyo village to share their successes and challenges.

Pictured above: Project GRACE farmers from three neighboring villages take a break in the home of Bweyeyo village resident, Teddy Nalweyiso.

Bweyeyo village resident Ssebisalu Paulo told visiting farmers that in order for them to benefit from Project GRACE as he did, they need to know the basics of feeding and caring for livestock. He also advised them to devote their time to the animals because it is a step to achieving the best results.

Initially, Ssebisalu was given three goats, two nannies (female goats) and a billy (male) goat, which produced six kids. The group marvelled at how he has expanded his project and manages to keep all the animals well fed and in clean pens: four goats, a dozen chickens, two pigs and over 10 piglets. He shared the importance of de-worming the animals regularly and also shared the secret of using residues of malwa, a local brew, as feed for the pigs. He said it is economical and that 1000 Ugandan shillings worth of the residue, about 40 cents, will last for three meals if they mix it with other feed. One of the biggest challenges many of the farmers have faced in this project is affording enough feed for their animals. Advice like this on alternative feed is invaluable to these farmers.

Ssebisalu's neighbor Veronica Nampa had a problem with the mother goat refusing to feed her kids. Veronica said so far she has lost two kids just because their mother refused to feed them. The group quickly advised her to use a specific type of plant to tap the udder, which will allow Veronica to forcefully feed the kids as she holds the mother goat's legs. Veronica, grateful for the advice, gave the others some advice of her own and told the group that using sundried peelings of potatoes, cassava and other foods have helped her boost the feeds for the goats.

Pictured right: Muwanga sits in the doorway of his goat house in the sky, as other farmers admire the house from below.

Yowasi Muwanga, the last exchange visit of the day, left the group mesmerized. He has built a pen for his goats and pigs with so much art and at such a height as if he had mountain goats. His homestead is immaculate, cleaner than anyone the group has seen before.

As lasting friendships develop among our farmers, you too can develop a relationship with Just Like My Child Foundation and our beneficiaries. Click here to support Project GRACE.

Global Motherhood: Project GRACE, A Blessing To Families Living With HIV

2012-06-06T14:54:07-04:00

The establishment of Project GRACE, one of Just Like My Child's six programs has benefitted self-motivated individuals living with HIV in Luweero. Project GRACE started in 2009 and provides small loans in the form of poultry and livestock to its participants who work together as well as encourage others to get tested for HIV at Bishop Asili, their local hospital.

Pictured above: Project GRACE farmers come together to exchange best practices in rearing their animals.

David Kinene and Anatolia Nakibule are two beneficiaries who have successfully completed their project this past month by passing on the gift of four pigs to two new beneficiaries.

David Kinene, a 42-year-old beneficiary of Project GRACE, feels that in a span of nine months, his life has significantly improved financially as a result of the two pigs donated by the project. His animals produced four offspring, which inspired him to increase his agricultural output. This not only fed his family and his livestock, but also generated income because he could sell the extra food. He also joined a village savings plan, which makes it easy for him to keep his animals' health in check by withdrawing money for medication. Kinene's advice to prospective beneficiaries is to have love for livestock-rearing and determination to expand in the livestock sector.

Construction of a house for her family is Anatolia Nakibule's future expected outcome of her successful GRACE project. The 57-year-old, who is a resident of Kigombe, already started generating income for school fees and health needs from the two pigs she was given in 2011. Having taken good care of her farm animals, they matured healthily and were sold. As a replacement for the ones sold, she bought two pigs and the rest of the money was used to pay for her two children's school fees, as well as health and domestic necessities. Project GRACE is a blessing she never thought would come her way, says Anatolia. She encourages the new members to have a zeal for hygiene because it is what farm animals need to be productive. Anatolia feels that passing on a gift of livestock to another participant means that she has achieved the project's objectives. She also hopes that the next person will benefit as much as she did.

Pictured below: Anatolia Nakibule participating in a JLMC training for GRACE participants on animal management and poverty.

A Goodbye to Our Dear George William

2011-12-20T12:48:37-05:00

The Just Like My Child Foundation family has unfortunately lost one of our most treasured and significant team members on the ground. Sadly our Construction Supervisor, George William recently passed on from complications after surgery at Malogo Hospital in Kampala from an obstruction in his intestines. This has been a shocking and tragic loss for everyone who knew this incredible man. Our JLMCF on the ground team attended George William's burial and extended all of our condolences. They celebrated his fascinating life and unwavering dedication to helping the people of Uganda in true Ugandan style with his family and friends.

George William
Construction Supervisor

George William was the fabrication Genius behind JLMCF's Universal Education Program. He worked with our project coordinators to create school building plans and then transforms those creations into safe and shining learning environments where eager and knowledge hungry Ugandan children can thrive.

Photo by Vivian Glyck

George William was a person whom you would never hear gloat, but we will not hesitate to brag about the wealth of experience that this accomplished man brought to our team. A moment in his presence told the story of an individual with a steady and true wisdom that comes with years of life and building experience. He was well known and respected within the communities we serve and came highly recommended by our project coordinators. Before joining us on our first ever school building project, George William worked for decades in building schools with Plan International. He never failed to continually design feasible and appropriate blueprints, budgets and plans that incorporate JLMCF's methodology and vision. He commanded a quiet respect within every community he worked with, while at the same time setting an essential standard for ethical building practices.

George William had a knack for transforming perceived community constraints and limitations into opportunities for creative building solutions. He acted as a professional mentor and guide to both skilled labor and unskilled volunteers, who were contributing to the building process with an aim to achieve capacity building, community ownership and participation. Since joining our team as construction supervisor in 2008, he had proven an efficient builder, maintaining quality and safety, while still coming in under budget, which allowed for JLMCF to spread our resources across a larger population of communities in need of school buildings. George William had a gift for turning our big ideas and inspirations into real life sanctuaries for learning. Our favorite grandfather who certainly got the job done will be greatly missed and always honored.

George William's capacity building contributions to our programs and his expert building plans will continue to be drawn upon by JLMCF. Our school building projects are currently being carried out by his skilled apprentice, Mr. Akwong Janan Wilson, who has now graduated to Construction Supervisor through George William's guidance and support.

Why I Like to Give Ugandan Women Goats...

2011-11-29T16:02:00-05:00

Recently I found myself wandering around a local downtown area near the San Diego coastline, aimlessly weaving in and out of independent shops in a very affluent neighborhood, when something caught my eye. For a moment I disregarded what I saw. The colorful paper beads had lost major significance to me because I became so aware of them from my many trips to Uganda: women and young girls rolling, gluing, and stringing the beads on the side of the dusty roads, then selling them for dirt-cheap prices to tourists. Even though we purchase many of them, it's very difficult to make this a sustainable business for women, because they do not have adequate access to enough customers.

Photo by Vivian Glyck

Here on that busy coastal street, the beads are selling for upwards of $20 and range from bracelets to necklaces. Don't get me wrong, I do love those beads, and I wear mine everyday. We here at Just Like My Child Foundation sell (and sometimes raffle) them at our events to use for our program funding, and I often give them as gifts, but I would rather give the Ugandan women goats. I would rather give them a business that they can grow and sell in their own backyards. This way, they can depend on their own destiny and their own business prowess rather than depending on people half a world a way to continue creating demand for inventory.

Photo by Vivian Glyck

The beads will become a commodity here, and with a lot of inventory, the prices will have to plummet to get rid of the extra pieces, which just furthers poverty in Uganda as well as making the women and young girls dependent on another's supply chain. Our purchasing habits are at best fickle, and the Ugandan ladies have no control over our buying power. This is why we have teamed up with Bishop Asili Hospital and created Project GRACE. Project GRACE is a microenterprise program that provides a small loan (poultry or livestock, and goats) with intensive training to help create a self-sustaining business that will support Ugandan families.

The beads are beautiful, unique, and not always easy to come by; however, neither are goats in Uganda. Take some time and read about Project GRACE and how we have created sustainable businesses and practices for rural Ugandan families. You can also send a goat to a family in Uganda (check out how here). Also, please share with us your thoughts on the subject.

Just Like My Child Foundation's the Girl Power Project

2011-11-17T10:31:32-05:00

"I discovered ways of building my self esteem"

"I unlearned the mentality that men are stronger than women!" -- Two graduates of the Girl Power Project.

For centuries, Ugandan women and girls have been forced to meekly kneel before men. We at Just Like My Child Foundation are so proud of Nyiraguhabwa Monica, who is teaching our girls to stand proud and treat themselves with the greatest respect.

Monica is helping girls embrace life skills and make empowered choices that will help them navigate the rest of their lives. Monica designs and leads our Girl Power workshops, which teach hundreds of young women that they have the right to live their lives without being harassed, exploited, or hurt. And that they can choose to attend school or work without persecution.

Monica's work couldn't be more urgent. Save the Children estimates that two children each hour are defiled in Uganda.

One of Just Like My Child's students was raped and impregnated. The rapist's family tried to "erase" the abuse by giving the child's family a cow -- and her family accepted it as the only kind of justice available to them.

I knew in that moment that we had to launch a program that would strengthen, protect, and empower future girls, and convinced Monica to train hundreds of girls ages 9 to 13 via the Girl Power Project. Those girls now are becoming more confident and bold, knowing THEY may be Uganda's next leaders.

We live for those days when the girls say things like, "I discovered ways of building my self esteem" or "I unlearned the mentality that men are stronger than women!"

"We Do It Ourselves!"

2011-10-19T13:13:45-04:00

There's nothing like "Wekembe" to transform an African village! "Wekembe" is a Lugandan word that means, "We do it ourselves!" We all know how great "Wekembe" is in our lives, and this word totally captures the excitement we see when struggling people have new empowerment and the hope of economic security.

In Luwero district in rural Uganda, we are so excited that a new partnership with Heifer International will bring even more dignity and "wekembe" to our families. Over the next three years 740 families will receive goats and vegetable, bean and nut seeds and fruit seedlings for passion fruit, oranges and mangoes. We can already see those new trees blossoming along with this project!

Photo by Vivian Glyck

The 740 families join 20 other families already benefiting from Just Like My Child's Project Grace Initiative. Project Grace empowers rural Ugandans to create and sustain businesses.

The 740 families help support about 5000 men, women and children in this area of rural Uganda. They will be trained in animal husbandry, building and managing the animal pens, business building/savings, and other skills. As their businesses and animals grow, the families will proudly pass on more goats and business acumen to other families in Heifer's "Pass on the Gift" model.

Photo by Vivian Glyck

Anatolia will be one of our first Project Grace superstars to help other families succeed. When we first met Anatolia, all she wanted was the freedom to live out the rest of her days in peace. Now she has a bright future and enough money to pay for her children's education. Anatolia has bred and sold two pigs - for a $30 profit. She's wisely re-invested most of her profits into other pigs and pens to grow her business. She shows her children each day what empowerment looks like.

"My dream now: to build up my project to a level that I can provide for my family for generations to come," Anatolia says. "I want to ensure that my children and grandchildren are happy and healthy and have the opportunities for a good education. I'd also like to repair my family home, so it's suitable for my family far into the future. I am now confident that we will all have access to proper hygiene, health care and good nutrition."

Now that's what we call "Wekembe!"

Project Justice Changes the Judicial Game in Rural Uganda

2011-10-11T10:53:01-04:00

When 15-year-old Jillian was pressured by her father to marry too young to a much older man, she pushed back. Unlike many young girls in rural Uganda, Jillian knew that she had legal rights and couldn't be forced to marry against her will.

Many in Jillian's community in the Luwero district north of the capital of Kampala have long given up of the hope of any justice. They assume that the laws only exist to protect the wealthier in Kampala, where 95 percent of Ugandan attorneys live.

But Jillian's wiser and more empowered. She knew about her rights because her community had participated in our game-changing, groundbreaking Project Justice program.

Photo by Vivian Glyck

Project Justice provides rural Ugandans with greater knowledge of and access to judicial information and processes to strengthen the legal safety net, especially for vulnerable women and children, like Jillian (not her real name). Now she is protected, no longer living at home and has escaped an early marriage -- if not much worse.

In rural Uganda, most people remain ignorant of most criminal and civil laws and how to uphold them. Couples don't even know if they are legally married. They view their children as "property", yet do not know if they even legally own their land and homes. They lose hope and are vulnerable to crime, anarchy, and terrorism.

We demand and work for change. With the African organization FIDA, weaving in legal and medical personnel and community members, we've helped people protect themselves from crime, fraud, and abuse by investing in:

Paralegal training of legal and medical personnel (more than 1,000 trained so far in 50 rural communities)

Processes that allow people to immediately access counseling, medical and legal intervention, and report all crimes to the legal authorities

Practices that allow the expedition of the collection of proper medical evidence, reporting, documentation, and legal prosecution according to Ugandan laws

Personal training so people feel empowered, confident and secure in seeking legal help

It's hard for us to imagine the legal and human atrocities that constitute daily reality in Africa. Yet they also represent an opportunity for widespread cultural change. Where rape is often not considered a crime or women are tossed out of their homes for not cooking well, we have to stop looking away. Where children are often viewed as property, or forced as young as 12 into prostitution -- we have to act now.

The world won't change and people won't claim and exercise their rights if the legal system and widespread access to it doesn't. Help us fuel this justice movement at Just Like My Child Foundation.

The Greatest Spiritual Moment of My Life

2011-09-27T10:30:28-04:00

Last November, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to India.

We went to many of the holiest cities in the North, including Rishikesh, made famous by The Beatles. They wrote many songs during the brief time they were there, including "Why Don't We Do It In The Road," -- a paean to the many monkeys who do whatever they want "in the road." We also traveled to Haridwar, and to the ultimate in overwhelming Indian chaos: Varanasi.

Photo by Vivian Glyck

Varanasi is famous for its "burning ghats" -- funeral pyres along the banks of the River Ganges where holy pilgrims come to die so they can have their ashes released in the Holy (and dirty) Ganges.

It is fantastically surreal and challenges everything we think we know about death, spirit, and the importance of a sanitary environment.

Throughout India, men who have taken a vow of poverty to pursue spiritual transcendence are revered as a national treasure -- the soul of India's collective body.

But my most spiritual moment did not come in the presence of a Holy Sadhu, but rather through the radiance of a simple woman who had likely spent her entire life's savings to travel to Varanasi. On this day, she joined tens of thousands of women on the banks of the Ganges for "Women's Day" -- a holy day to celebrate motherhood and the power of the feminine.

When I met her, she was freshly bathed in the Ganges, her head just shaved as she offered the only thing of value she owned to the river of life -- her beautiful hair. In her eyes, I saw deep serenity; radiance and oneness that resulted from her pilgrimage and sacrifice.

The buoyancy of her spirit was so large and happy that I imagined she was taller than me as I posed by her to take a photo. I was stunned when I looked at my photos later that night and realized that I dwarfed her by nearly a foot!

She is the spirit that I conjure up each day when I bring attention to my own spiritual core. I won't leave my yoga practice until I bow to the full radiance of her feminine power.

She is the spirit that I bring to our Project Justice work and our Girl Power Project: fully maternal, fully fierce, fully loving, fully healing. This spirit can, will, and has healed the planet.

On Thursday, October 13, at our fifth annual gala, we will pay homage to this fierce and healing feminine essence as we honor three amazing women who sacrifice and love every day in order to bring joy and empowerment to others. Read below about one of our amazing honorees: Monica Nyiraguhabwa, leader of our Girl Power Project. She is power and grace in action!

Please join us for a Hand Up, Never a Hand Out.

Namaste!

Nalubombwe Josephine Got Into the Harvard of High Schools

2011-08-10T17:44:51-04:00

When I met Nalubombwe Josephine in May of 2007, she was a 10-year-old-girl living in one of the most vulnerable situations imaginable. Nearly 30% of her neighbors were infected with HIV, she was surrounded by dozens of orphans, and she was going to a school that had no books and barely a roof on the structure. Recognizing her intelligence and drive, Just Like My Child Foundation, through the generous help of one donor, Jim K., began sponsoring Nalubombwe at one of the best elementary schools in Uganda.

Photo by Vivian Glyck

Flash forward four years: Nalubombwe excelled so far in school and scored so well on her end of term exams that she was just accepted into THE best high school in all of Uganda.

Left to Right: Nalubombwe's mother, Namagembe Topista, Nalubombwe Josephine, Tessa Davis Photo by Vivian Glyck

It's almost incomprehensible to the residents of her village, Kikoiiro, that a girl born into such a dim reality could be walking into the brightest future possible.

Thank you Nalubombwe for all of your very hard work to make this happen!

And thank you, Jim, for believing that the fire of knowledge can change the world. To be like Jim click here.

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