WHAT IS

UGANDA SPIRIT?

UGANDA SPIRIT is a non-profit (501c3) organization specifically set up to provide food, clothing and education for Ugandan orphans and women in desperate need. Contributions are sent directly to Uganda to provide shelter, food and education for children orphaned as a result of the HIV/Aids epidemic, the rebel uprisings in Gulu, Northern Uganda and other causes.  Funds are also being used to train women and young people in programs such as nutrition, farming and various trades, all of which can provide long term results.

Uganda Spirit is a truly ecumenical organization. Its principal mission is to aid those who need help and to relieve human misery in a place that has been burdened with so many problems and too few sources of recovery. While originally inspired through its founders' interactions with a Ugandan catholic priest serving in the United States, Uganda Spirit moves forward engaging and seeking support from those of all faiths.

A BRIEF HISTORY

Uganda Spirit was founded in July of 2006 by four women in Aiken, South Carolina. The organization came about as a confluence of multiple, seemingly independent events (Some say there are no coincidences - this history may suggest otherwise):

• First there was the shocking news, worldwide, of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and the resulting flood of refugees and orphans. Peggy DeVine, one of Uganda Spirit’s founders, later had an opportunity to meet Paul Rusesabagina, whose heroic actions to save hundreds of Tutsis was heralded in the award-winning film Hotel Rwanda. That aftermath of that horrifying event begs starkly for help from the outside world.


• More recently, news of the ongoing civil war in the northern part of Uganda, yet another source of refugees and orphans, captured attention of concerned people everywhere. Again, a need of staggering proportions confronts us.


• In 2004, Father Charles Kawesi came from Uganda to St. Gerard’s parish in Aiken SC, a missionary to the U.S.  Although not here in search of aid for his home country, Father Charles, in his quiet and dignified way, put a human face on the plight of so many in Uganda. His parishioners learn, for example, that he personally has taken on accountability for raising at least 30 orphans.


• By chance, two other couples, parishioners at St. Gerard’s, have visited Uganda in recent years - Father Charles' descriptions of circumstances resonate with them and are reinforced in the consciousness of parishioners.

All of these factors prompted spontaneous, informal giving, to support Father’s orphans and others in Uganda. It was not long before, Peggy DeVine, Marge Glauser, and Christine Betancourt, all parishioners of the tiny local Catholic Church where Father Charles presided, together with Linda Chavers, another member of Aiken’s small community, began to consider ways to formalize the process.

On consideration, the benefits of creating a formal, sanctioned not-for-profit organization became clear: such an organization could dramatically broaden the base of donors, lending credibility to the endeavor and building confidence among prospective donors, offer donors the opportunity to give more generously (taking advantage of the benefits under US tax laws), and putting in place, and ensuring strict accountability for the funds donated.

Although they had no prior experience in creating such an organization,  the founders took on the challenge and began the tasks of learning, assembling, organizing, dealing with state and federal agencies, etc.- and after months of effort, on February 13, 2007 the U.S. Internal Revenue Service formally approved their application for not-for-profit status.

Uganda Spirit was born.

WHO WE HELP

As stated in our charter, Uganda Spirit was created to help Ugandan women and children in desperate need. Unfortunately, there are all too many people in this category. The massacres in neighboring Rwanda, the ongoing hostilities in the northern part of the country, and the overwhelming consequences of the AIDS epidemic have taken a horrendous toll and have left many, particularly women and children, in dire need of support. The Uganda economy is not strong and government services are inadequate to meet the need.

To put a human face on this ongoing catastrophe, here are just two examples of people we have been helping:

• 
  

  Victor Bidong - 5 years old 

Victor’s father was killed by Rebels from the Lender Tribe at the border of North West Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  His grandfather is ill with asthma and his grandmother is very weak.  Neither is strong enough to cultivate the land to produce enough food for Victor. 

• 
  

  Kayeny Robinah  – 7 years old

Kayeny’s father died of the HIV-AIDS virus and her mother is dying of the same disease.  Her grandmother is currently carrying for a number of other grandchildren she has been left with because her five other daughters have also died of AIDS. She does not have the resources to care for even one more child.

HOW WE HELP

• 
  

  Direct Giving....Uganda Spirit provides direct financial help through Father Charles and several other trustworthy individuals [see Real People] in Uganda who are directly and personally involved in caring for the needy. We believe this approach to be extraordinarily effective - Uganda Spirit is not a faceless agency doling out funds in hopes that they may help - we are putting financial resources directly in the hands of those who dedicate their lives to helping the women and children in need, and who can apply these desperately needed resources to maximum effect.



• 
  

  Projects....Uganda Spirit sponsors, supports and/or participates in numerous projects designed to help Ugandans help themselves. A major focus area is making it possible for children to attend school. Other projects provide training and financial support in ways that will help Ugandans help themselves. We have provided financial support to Ugandans to help deal with one-time, unanticipated problems. Still other projects foster communucations, understanding and information exchange. And in many projects we collaborate with the Kizito Lifeline Association, a group of Ugandans working together with Father Charles to meet their communities' needs.
  

Examples are:

-        Tuition Assistance Project

-        Training of Rural Women in Uganda – A Micro Finance Project (winemaking, poultry farming, knitting and handcrafts)

-        Orphans’ Crafts Project

-       Special Events Project

-        Munaku Kaama HIV/AIDS Patients Group

-        Downs Syndrome Health, Education and Welfare Project

-        Butoolo School and Training Vocational Center Project

-        Kozito Life-line Development Initiative for Uplifting Community Living Standards

-        Michael’s Tool Shed and Workshop Project

-        “Pearl of Africa” Digital Photography Project

-        Reupholstery Project

-        Calligraphy Project

-        Nutrition Support Project for AIDS Patients and Orphans

• 
  

  Education....We try to increase awareness of the issues and needs that we are serving through this website, presentations at workshops and meetings, networking, conversations with friends, etc. Uganda Spirit Board Members (at their own expense) attended the 2007 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress “Stand In The Light”, and at that single event made numerous contacts with prospective supporters and participants in Uganda Spirit’s mission.

For those who would like to learn more, the following is a list of publications providing a wealth of information:

-        An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina

-        Left To Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza

-        Struggle for Equality –Women and Empowerment in Uganda by John Mary Waliggo

-        The Constant Gardener by John LeCarre

-        Justice On the Grass by Dina Temple-Raston

-        No Room at the Table - the Earth’s Most Vulnerable Children by Fr. Donald H Dunson SJ

-        Aboke Girls by Els De Temmerman

-        When Did I See You Hungry? By Gerard Thomas Straub

-        The Sun and Moon Over Assisi by Gerard Thomas Straub

-        We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories From Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch

-        Alice Lakwena & Holy Spirits: War In Northern Uganda 1985-1997 by  Heike Behrend

-        Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go To War by Jimmie Briggs

 

Videos/DVDs also serve to educate. (Some of these are dramatizations, but all provide the viewer a sense and some perspectives on the issues affecting Uganda.)

-        Hotel Rwanda

-        Lost Boys of Sudan

-        Sometimes in April

-        Last King of Scotland

-        The Constant Gardener

-        Binta and The Great Idea

 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Uganda Spirit Board of Directors presently includes six members, together comprising an experienced, qualified, diverse and exceptionally creative and energetic leadership team.

• Peggy DeVine is a Uganda Spirit Co-Founder and the current President. Peggy has a wealth of professional experience and has held senior positions in commercial real estate and business management in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California. Since leaving the business world in 1997, Peggy has devoted her life to care giving and charitable causes, serving as a hospice volunteer and primary caregiver for numerous patients, as a long term volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, and as a volunteer with several other charitable organizations. A parishioner at St. Gerard’s in Aiken, she became aware of the plight of Ugandan children through her association with Father Charles Kawesi, St. Gerard’s pastor.
  

Peggy has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from St. Mary’s College of California in Moraga, CA. She and her husband, Jack, live in Aiken. They have two sons and four grandchildren

• Eric Lenser joined Uganda Spirit in March 2007 and he serves as both a member of the Board of Directors and as the organization’s Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer. Eric recently retired from a successful thirty-five year professional career in accounting, finance and business management.  Eric continues to find ways to contribute his exceptional talents to worthy causes, recently taking on a full time position with Aiken County Habitat for Humanity, and then joining Uganda Spirit. 
  

Eric holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Economics from Luther College in Iowa and a Masters of Business Administration in Management and Finance from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. He and his wife Mary are the parents of one child and have one grandchild.

• Jerry Lyons is a retired U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant with an extraordinary experience base, including service as an Air Force health care administrator, followed by years of service as a health care professional in civilian life. Jerry is the brother of the late Christine Betancourt, one of the Uganda Spirit Co-Founders who sadly passed away in January 2007. His service with the board carries on Christine's marvelous devotion to those in need. Jerry lives in Aiken with his wife Marian.
  

• Victor Franklin was elected to the Board in September 2007, and serves both as a member and as a source of legal guidance. Victor is a highly accomplished corporate attorney, currently serving as General Counsel for the Washington Savannah River Company. Victor donates a great deal of time to charitable
  causes. He lives with his wife and two daughters in North Augusta,
  South Carolina.

• Samantha Grove joined the Board early in 2008. Samantha recently relocated to Aiken with her husband, John, and their two young children
  

• Jack DeVine was elected to the Board in February 2008, after helping informally with Uganda Spirit activities since its inception. Jack is is an experienced and accomplished executive. He has been involved in numerous public service positions, including as a director of Aiken County Habitat for Humanity and of the Seton Medical Center in San Francisco. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He lives with his wife Peggy in Aiken
  

• The late Christine Betancourt was a co-founder and Board member. She dedicated herself to the Uganda Spirit initiative while fighting a terminal illness throughout much of 2006. She passed away on January 8, 2007.

Christine was a gifted artist, seamstress and musician, and was actively engaged in community theater in New York, New Jersey, Florida and South Carolina. With her husband Don, she was an enthusiastic and devoted parishioner at St. Gerard’s in Aiken. She was the mother of four sons and six grandchildren. Christine was an extraordinarIly kind, considerate and unselfish person, a friend to all. Her leadership in helping to make Uganda Spirit a reality, even in her final days, serves as an example to us all.