Buyamba Uganda- Give Back Blog Hop

Hello and Merry almost Christmas! This post is a little different than the norm for me but I hope you’ll keep going.

Today, I’m talking about giving.  Making sure we are generous with what God has given us is VERY important
in this household. We want to raise our girls with an understanding of
just how blessed we are and that we have abundantly more than we could
ask or imagine. I have learned first hand, that the more generous you
are, the more God pours into your life. Not just in finances but in
relationships, opportunities and general happiness. It shouldn’t be the motivation behind giving but God is good and does sweet things like that.

I was so excited when Brynne from The Gathered Home contacted me about a Give Back blog hop where I had a chance to talk about my favorite charity. PS I’ve been reading Brynne’s blog for a long time so it makes me giddy that she even thought of me. If you’re here from Cuckoo for Design, welcome!

We have lots of organizations that we love but my favorite is Buyamba Uganda. Buyamba means “help”. They’re an orphan outreach in Uganda. I’ve known of them for a long time through our church. Their mission: “to empower the orphaned and needy children of Uganda to impact their nation for Christ.” Cue tears. To me, it’s one thing to help, but to equip people to change their own world gives me all the goosebumps.

The ministry was founded by late Pastor Bethuel and his wife Florence Dongo. They have 4 biological children and 12 adopted children. They clearly have huge hearts and big dreams that they have devoted their lives to making a reality. We were able to meet Pastor Dongo when he visited our church here in North Texas a few years ago and because of his life, he leaves such a huge legacy behind not only in Uganda but here in our neck of the woods.

Years ago we, as a church, raised funds to help them build and finish God Cares High School. Every year a group from our church goes over and helps them with their summer camp. My aunt has been a couple times and she calls it ‘Uganda perspective’. Compared to us, these kids don’t have much but they have everything they need and they are abundantly grateful to the One who provides and loves them.  It’s humbling.

 

There are so many ways to help Buyamba Uganda. We can’t all do it all but we can all do something.  I know, especially as the holidays approach, we feel pulled in lots of different directions and our list of things to buy or spend money on gets bigger. It only takes a little to make a big difference and I try to remember to help in June when the money isn’t flying out of the bank as quickly as it does in December. Just a budgeting tip from yours truly. So here they are; ways to help:

Sponsor a student. You can pay monthly or up front and sponsor a child’s education or room and board or both, for the year. If you feel lead to do that, you can find more information here. You can write them letters, they can write you letters… Our girls know our sponsored buddies by name and pray for them. It’s the sweetest thing.

Send someone to camp. This is a yearly outreach for kids in outlying areas that may have never been to church. A fun week full of activities and chances to hear Good News. There’s more info on that here.

Buy shoes or a uniform. A pair of shoes costs $15. Have you seen these shoes? They’re adjustable and grow 5 sizes and are heavy duty enough to last 5 years. That’s amazing and the gift that keeps on giving. A uniform for school costs $25. Both of those could be a one time donation with a big, practical impact.

Amazon Smile. You can help by making a purchase through Amazon. Did you know that? Set up your account and shop under smile.amazon.com and it’ll tell you if your purchase qualifies to send a small amount of the purchase to your designated charity. Here’s more about it if you aren’t already signed up.

Since this is a blog all about DIY and thriftiness, I thought I might try to bring you a crafty way you can help as well.

Pillowcase dresses. If you like to sew and you could make a few, that would
be amazing! There are patterns all over Pinterest but this is the site that they go by. There are good tutorials and helpful tips. If I can follow, you can follow. Promise. If you don’t have time to sew but you really need to clear
out your craft closet, donate the fabric and let someone else do the
sewing. If you are interested in either donating or sewing please email me at Jessica@househomemade.us and we can talk specifics and I can give you more details.

If none of this appeals to you, find a cause that does. Find one that makes your heart beat faster. There is so much need and little gestures can make big impacts. Do it for yourself. Do it as an example to your kids. Help them to realize the world is so much bigger than them. I double-dog-dare you to find something, and do something and watch God bless the gift and the giver.

To the awesome people at Buyamba Uganda, thank you for the amazing work you do taking care of these sweet, beautiful faces. Thank you for meeting practical needs and so much more. Thank you for affecting generations through the work you’re doing right now.

Brynne, thank you so much for your sweet heart in putting this together! There is no better time to look past ourselves and find ways we can help each other. Because this is a blog hop, keep going– Click over to The Home I Create and see what Linda has for you today! I’m so happy to be surrounded by these awesome women.

Thanks for reading, friends!

Come back tomorrow for regularly scheduled programming.