Students at the Children of the Nations School in Uganda.

 

Children growing up in poverty face so many barriers—hunger, disease, unstable home life, and many other challenges. But when a child in Uganda becomes part of Children of the Nations, they receive nutritious meals, clean water, the chance to learn, and more! All of these things are crucial for helping children rise out of poverty and unlock their full potential. Child sponsorship makes it possible to provide these essential resources to children who need them. 

Click here to sponsor a child today. 

Here’s why Uganda is one of the best places to sponsor a child right now: 

Children are excited to learn after the school closure

After the longest school shutdown in the world because of the pandemic, students in Uganda couldn’t wait to get back to school in January 2022.

When schools were closed, many children worked to support their families so they could afford food or did chores at home all day. The school shutdown also disrupted children’s access to clean water and highlighted how difficult it is for people in rural areas to access sanitation systems in Uganda, according to UNICEF.

But even during the closure, students at Children of the Nations programs in Uganda continued to grow in their learning, with the help of dedicated teachers. Starting in August 2021, teachers assisted with at-home learning to keep children from falling behind during the lockdown. Now back in person, children continue to excel in their studies and have a safe place to go during the day.

 

Head Nurse Trudy at the Children of the Nations Clinic in Uganda.

 

Students can receive access to medical care at school

In Uganda, many children have very little or no access at all to health care. Sponsorship helps to ensure that the children in our programs in Uganda are cared for by medical professionals.

This was especially important for Joy, a secondary school student in Uganda.

In the months before schools opened, she got an infection called tinea pedis, otherwise known as athlete’s foot. It’s pretty common, but if left untreated for a long period, the infection can go deeper into the body, causing serious complications.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to Joy.

“I could no longer put on my closed shoes because of the severe pain,” she says.

Even worse, she was told that her left leg would need to be amputated because the infection had spread to her bones.

Thankfully, when Joy went back to school in January, she received treatment for the infection.

Just in time for her leg to be saved.

“When I came to the COTN [Children of the Nations] clinic, the nurses treated me the whole time—which was three months,” she says. “I got better and am now completely healed."

Joy knows that there are nurses there every day looking out for her and making sure she receives the best medical care possible.

Without the medical care sponsorship helps to provide, Joy could have lost her leg.

This is why Uganda is one of the best places to sponsor a child right now. When children like Joy have sponsors, they receive high-quality medical care to help with pain.

“I am grateful to God for the COTN [Children of the Nations] sponsors, for the nurses, and for their efforts for our education and health,” says Joy.

When Joy was in excruciating pain, medical staff met her where she was at and changed the outcome for her. She can now focus on school and work toward achieving her dream of being a nurse. Just like the ones who treated her leg.

 

Children learning important health lessons during a school assembly in Uganda.

 

Children are loved and supported

Every child deserves to be loved and feel heard. Elizabeth, a primary school student in Uganda, says how important expressing her feelings and processing her emotions are in group sessions with her peers, staff, counselors, and teachers.

“I'm so excited because our privacy is being kept and we always raise our concerns... It also helps us to be a part of a family with great values,” she says.

Sponsors help provide clean water, food, education, and medical care to children in need. But children also receive the emotional support and counseling they need. Loving staff members and counselors quickly become a support system for children who otherwise wouldn’t have one. Without the help of sponsors, counseling like this would not be possible for girls like Elizabeth.

“I am so grateful for our sponsors who are giving us a great family—not only a family but also a loving family and caring family,” she says.

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Children in Uganda are receiving quality education, access to a clinic, and counseling and sponsors help make it all possible. When you sponsor a child, you are providing these things for children who are in dire situations. When more people become sponsors, more children’s lives can be transformed.

You can sponsor a child today and provide nutritious meals, clean water, quality education, and medical care to children in need.

Want to know how sponsorship works? Click here to learn more.

*Names and photos of all children in this story have been changed to protect their privacy.