We invite you to sponsor a student.
The goal of our Child Sponsorship program is to facilitate a close, long-term connection between our students and their sponsors. Making this program work for you and the students is our top priority.
Sponsorship plays an central role in the work of L.E.A.D Uganda. We are proud of each of our students. The hard work they put into their studies so they can achieve their dreams is inspiring. Your sponsorship and the relationship you create with them makes their success possible. If you sponsor a child, you can be proud that you are transforming a life and helping reduce poverty in Africa. As the proverb says, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”
How Sponsorship Works
YOUR COMMITMENT TO YOUR CHILD
Each sponsor commits to making a monthly donation of $150 or a yearly donation of $1,800.
We realize this is more than some organizations require for sponsorship, but L.E.A.D Uganda does much more for our students — and they achieve more.
We place our students in the top primary and secondary schools so they are prepared for the best universities. 83% of our students are in top schools and more than half of them receive “A” grades at the best schools. Our graduates receive scholarships at top universities[1]
In addition to providing them with the best education (which accounts for half of the $150 a month budget), we buy our scholars their school uniforms and shoes, books and scholastic materials. We provide workshops and tutoring during school breaks. Our orphans are visited regularly at school by our staff. L.E.A.D Uganda gives our children — who are affected by AIDS, war, and poverty — a high level of support and counseling so they can overcome their traumas. L.E.A.D Uganda is family to our orphans.
This is the actual amount we spend in Uganda to educate and nurture each of our students.
See a financial breakdown on your money is used in Uganda.
We encourage you to sponsor a child.
Many people are creating groups to sponsor a child.
A number of people have teamed up with family and friends to sponsor a child together. We urge you to form a partnership with your parents and siblings, with your best friend, with co-workers, with others in your social club, or with members of your church, synagogue, or mosque.
WHAT YOU RECEIVE FROM YOUR CHILD
You will receive a Sponsorship Kit
The Sponsorship Kit will contain your student’s photo and their story. It will tell you how to connect with your student, information about your student’s community, information about L.E.A.D Uganda, how your monthly support is used in Uganda, and my contact information.
You will receive personal letters from your student and updates from us.
You will receive three personal letters throughout the course of a year from your student.The letters will come after school breaks in February, May, & September. You will receive occasional email updates from me and the L.E.A.D Uganda staff on further achievements of your student. We encourage you to write to the student you sponsor. We want to help you get to know and begin to develop a relationship with him or her.
You will also receive a new publication from L.EA.D Uganda – an annual, published in February – with student poems, essays, drawings, and further updates from the entire program. You will continue to receive our yearly report as you have in the past.
Questions or Concerns?
If you would like to sponsor a child, or if you have any questions or concerns, please contact Stephen Shames by phone (+1.718.622.2650) or email (steve@leaduganda.org).
Useful Links
Set up your monthly sponsorship donation on line
How to set up a sponsorship page
Your child sponsorship donation to L.E.A.D Uganda is tax-deductible in the United States. The Stephen Shames Foundation (doing business as L.E.A.D Uganda) is a tax-exempt 501c3 nonprofit organization. If your circumstances change you can discontinue your child sponsorship at any time.
[1] In contrast, many programs with $30 a month sponsorships keep students in village schools where more than half drop out by 7th grade.
