Charity raises $65,000 for Uganda school

By Jenny Davis

Friday, Nov. 7, 2008 | midnight

Summerlin resident Cristen Jacobsen McCormick has never been to the civil-war torn country of Uganda. She has never seen personally the effects of the AIDS epidemic or one of the 2.2 million orphans roaming the streets.

But she didn't have to see the orphan crisis first-hand to found Hope for Hearts, a nonproft organization that raises money for housing and educating orphan girls in Uganda.

Jacobsen McCormick got involved with helping Uganda orphans when she heard about their situation from a priest on loan to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Vegas from East Uganda, Father Mugagga Lule, who was preaching at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church, 1811 Pueblo Vista Drive, which Jacobsen McCormick attends.

In 1998, Lule founded an orphanage and school named St. Elizabeth Girls Academy for girls from birth to 21 years old who were orphaned, living in sub-human conditions in slum areas and on the streets. The school workers offer girls from the streets vocational training to work at restaurants, hotels and clothing shops.

In addition to the number of orphans, almost 8 million children in Uganda are considered vulnerable to living on the streets, meaning they don't live with paternal parents, according to a 2007 UNICEF report. More than half of the orphans have lost one or both their parents to AIDS.

As a mother of four, Jacobsen McCormick said she couldn't fathom the thought of the children's situation in Uganda. She began to find ways to raise money for the school: everything from church donut sales and lemonade stands, until she founded Hope for Hearts in July 2007. In the past year, the charity has raised more than $65,000.

But her aspirations for the academy have grown, and she hopes to raise enough money, $4.5 million, to construct a new building for the school.

"It's not just funding for the girl's daily needs, but for the big picture: to educate girls to become productive members of society and to be able to provide for themselves and their future families," she said.

The larger school would be able to house up to 800 girls a month compared to the school's current capacity of 200 at any given time.

"Two hundred feels like drops in a bucket," she said.

The school would expand from one acre to 50 acres, and would include an area to raise livestock to help subsidize the cost of living at the school.

Improving the girls' education will influence a community drastically in the future because education will stop the circle of violence in the country, Jacobsen said.

"What's becoming a great concern about that region is the violence and how it's perpetuating itself with the kids," she said. "It's no longer just adults, but kids who will never get out because they're not getting the education, so they're scrapping in the streets. When they don't have any options; the violence continues."

In 2008, this school had two girls go to college, the first time for the school. One girl is working as an intern in a government ministry and has been promised a job when she graduates from college. Jacobsen McCormick hopes that the girl's background will act as a powerful voice to help change laws that hurt the children. One law Jacobsen McCormick would like to see changed is that children from Uganda are not adoptable unless the potential parent lives in Uganda for two years.

"This girl could be able to influence laws that would directly impact the situation in Uganda," Jacobsen McCormick said. "If it wasn't for this school, she wouldn't be in college. Her position could really impact the horrible situation there. So yes, we are making a difference."

Jacobsen McCormick said she feels fundraising for the school is gaining momentum. So far fundraising has funded a new roof for the school, food and clothing for residents. Donation options includes the "Sponsor a Child" program, the sale of hand-made necklaces made by Lule's niece with beads made out of paper, private donations and corporate sponsors.

Last year was the largest graduating class at the school of 36 girls.

"Every time I hear of another girl who graduates, it makes me think one more family will be influenced," Jacobsen McCormick said.

The school has two functions: to sponsor a girl who has an academic background to attend a private school and the other option is to teach girls a basic elementary education while teaching vocational skills on the school's campus. The vocational skills include sewing, embroidering, animal husbandry, catering and will soon have a jewelry making class.

"To see the girls smiling when their future was once so bleak is what keeps me going," she said.

The hand-made beads are sold at Annabelle's All Occasions, 4280 Hualapai Way, where store owner Ann Trobough is also a member of the Hope of Hearts board of directors. Although Trobough, like Jacobsen McCormick, is also involved in several local charities, she said helping with the international charity has been a good opportunity to remember people in other parts of the world.

"It's added another layer of my volunteerism," she said.

For more information about Hope for Hearts, visit www.hopeforhearts.net.

Jenny Davis can be reached at 990-8921 or [email protected].