St. Stephen Children's Centre
Makondo, Uganda, Africa
Partner with us:
We are a small group of people trying to make a difference. We don't always have the funds, resources, manpower, or expertise to accomplish all of our goals. Partnering with local and international organizations helps us to obtain support and opportunities we could not otherwise have.
We have been blessed to collaborate with many truly inspirational people and organizations who, like us, believe that together we CAN make a difference and help people in great need. Their donations, time, mentorship, and support have been essential in allowing us to continue building our school and to provide our centre and village with important resources, such as solar electricity and better teaching, health care, and farming practices.
The best way a mentor can prepare another leader
is to expose him or her to other great people - John C. Maxwell
The BC Society for St. Stephen Children’s Centre
The BC Society for St. Stephen Children’s Centre is an incorporated not-for-profit society in British Columbia, Canada (#S-0064790) whose purpose is to provide long-term sustainable funding, education and partnership opportunities, and support to St. Stephen Children’s Centre in Uganda.
The BC Society for St. Stephen Children’s Centre runs and manages many of our programs, including our international volunteer, sponsorship, and pen pal programs, and receives and distributes all international donations to our centre. They follow Canada Revenue Agency regulations for Canadian charities supporting international organizations, ensuring accountability and transparency for all use of funds donated to our centre.
Do good where you are; it's those little bits of good
put together that overwhelm the world - Desmond Tutu
Afri-Americas Foundation For Children
This Canadian organization (CRA # 83240 1707 RC00001) was established in 2011 by Courtney Doldron and Jan Siegel to advance and support education in Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean. St. Stephen Children's Centre is one of the many schools they support, with Julie Desroches serving on their Board of Directors as a representative of the centre.
With their many local contacts in Uganda and the Caribbean, they have been able to connect us with mentors and experts in advanced and innovative teaching practices.
The greatness of a man is in his integrity
and his ability to affect those around him positively - Bob Marley
Rotary Clubs throughout the world bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
We have been very fortunate to receive support from several Rotary Clubs, including Rotary Evergreen, Rotary Vancouver, and Rotary Kayunga. Their funding and mentorship support have helped us to continue building our school, provide our students with much-needed textbooks and supplies, and develop better teacher practices.
Rotary's vision: To harness the great power of friendship
to help do the world’s work - Paul Harris
This USA-based organization (IRC #20-8595073) was founded by Maria Galter in 2007, now directed by Kristy Hitchings, to support St. Denis and St. James Secondary Schools in Makondo Parish where St. Stephen Children's Centre is located. They have done amazing work there, including the building of an examination hall, a school library, a science lab, a computer lab, a girls' and a boys' dormitory, and water harvesting tanks. They provide funding for life skills scholarships to students, enterprise projects for students and families and have helped the schools to be financially self-sustaining through their Self-Sufficiency Project. St. Denis is the first nationally accredited secondary school in the Makondo Parish.
Our director Ben serves on their Advisory Board. In partnership with Into Your Hands-Africa, we are hoping to collaborate on potential business concepts and enterprise projects not just at St. Stephen Children's Centre but throughout the entire parish. This will help the centre to finance itself and to provide villagers with much-needed work, training, and income, which will allow them to afford to send their children to school.
Your passion and involvement, together with their hands,
can create a better world - Into Your Hands
Medical Missionaries of Mary (MMM)
This Ireland-based organization has done a tremendous amount of work in the area since they were first established here in 1955. They were witness to the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in Uganda, with Makondo Parish being one of the hardest-hit areas of the entire country. Through their healthcare centre and clinic and outreach care, they have been critical in the prevention of the spread of HIV and the care of persons with AIDS throughout the Masaka District. They also run St. Kizito Nursery School and Ste. Agatha Primary School, among the best schools in the district. In addition, they have been leaders in the advancement and accessibility of education, agricultural training, and technological support in the area, a model which has been adopted by the United Nations and several other countries.
The wonderful sisters of MMM have provided us with much guidance, mentorship, and support throughout the years, particularly around providing medical care for our students and those in the community affected by AIDS.
We live “that all may have life
and have it in its fullness” - The Medical Missionaries of Mary
Epsilon Innovation Group is a science, technology and policy innovation company in the USA, committed to creating sustainable energy solutions across the world, including East Africa. Thanks to donations through fundraisers and the Vancouver Rotary Club and collaborations with Dr. Robert Van Buskirk, Dr. Asmerom Gilau from Epsilon Innovation Group came to our centre in 2014 to install a solar electricity system. Students and community members are able to use the facilities at night, exterior lighting has made the area safer, and a cell phone charging station is now available for everyone in the community. It has been an honor and a privilege to collaborate with Epsilon Innovation Group and Dr. Gilau in extending their work into Uganda, starting with our centre and our village. We believe this long-term partnership will help to bring tremendous change and opportunities to our area and to all of Africa. It has been an incredible experience to be a part of this important global movement.
I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy.
What a source of power! – Thomas Edison
Education Beyond Borders is a non-profit NGO in Canada devoted to closing the global education divide through teacher professional development and community education across the world. We were very fortunate to be included in their first advanced teacher training program in Uganda, which included workshops on developing best educational practices and on various topics including early childcare & literacy, health, gender, and adult education. Our collaboration with Education Beyond Borders has been invaluable, and has provided our teachers with important knowledge and skills to better educate our students and adult vocational learners. We are very grateful to have the opportunity to learn from Noble Kelly, Courtney Doldron, and the rest of the staff of Education Beyond Borders, and look forward to ongoing future collaborations together.
Engage. Educate. Empower. – Education Beyond Borders
The Ugandan Water Project is an American and Ugandan non-profit humanitarian organization that works to provide safe accessible drinking water and other catalyst resources to communities in Uganda. Their goal is to implement relational solutions that help Ugandans pull themselves out of poverty in a sustainable way so they can live the lives they were created for.
In 2016, we will be partnering and collaborating with the Ugandan Water Project to repair and rehabilitate a broken borehole water well in the area and train our staff and community in the maintenance of this well. Although there are many wells across Uganda, approximately 30% are no longer functional due to poor maintenance and breakdown of the parts. Thanks to the Ugandan Water Project, we will be able to provide year-round access to clean water to thousands of people in this community and provide them with the knowledge and resources to maintain it so that it can be used for many years to come.
Give water, give life – Ugandan Water Project
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