Franciscan – eChange Endeavors

New Year, New Hope with Catholic Education

As we begin a new calendar year, Uganda also begins a new academic year. Following the election violence and the eroding economy families continue to struggle and suffer greatly. Children then miss out on education and the pit of poverty deepens. You contributions help transform difficult situations into new avenues of hope for these families. Would you consider support a student for one year or even one term?

We collaborate with four partner schools and organizations in Uganda to ensure children are able to access quality Catholic Education. We are super excited about launching our new partnership with the Missionary Sister of Mary, Mother of the Church and Bishop Caesar Asili Primary School (photos above) located in the Lira Diocese (central). Lira is one of the poorest dioceses in the country due to nearly two decades of conflict driven by Kony’s Lords Resistance Army. YOUFRA Lira is partnering with the school to support 12 primary students whose parents are small holder farmers in their agricultural program. The cost per student is $150 per term and $450 for the year, which covers studying and boarding. Will you sponsor a primary student today? Donate Today!

Our partner Ocer Campion Jesuit College in Gulu Diocese (north) has 1,000 plus student with one in four students on scholarship (photos below). St Joseph College, a Franciscan high school in Tororo Diocese (east) has 150 students with nearly half of the students full scholarship. (photos above.) Most of the parents are farmers struggling to eke out a livelihood. Without your generous support these youth would be growing up without an education. Catholic education is key to helping children become fully who God desires them to be! OCJC’s motto is beyond academic excellence. For only $50 per month, or $200 per term, or $600 for the year you can help one high school student to keep learning and striving for his or her dreams. Graduating from a Catholic school experience is transformative in their lives and has a ripple effect across their families for generations to come. Collectively we help bring a brighter and more faith filled future to all of Uganda. Will you help one high school student reach their dreams? Give Today!

We are sponsoring Sr. Jackline of the Little Sisters of St Francis to complete her bachelors in education which will enable her to join St Joseph’s College as a social studies teacher. We are supporting Deputy Head Teacher Simon Peter Omollo to complete a MA in Education Leadership & Management. This will qualify him to become Head Teacher for the College one day soon. University costs on average $1,000 per term. Will you help the Little Sisters build their skills? Give Today!

Along with YOUFRA Uganda in Lira & Soroti we are helping young girls whose educational journey were disrupted by an unplanned pregnancy. After the children are born and reach 6-12 months we sponsor the girls to learn vocational skills such as sewing or catering. This will enable them to find employment or build their own business and earn enough to support themselves and the child. Counseling is also provide to the young mothers along the way. Courses last 6 months to 2 years, costing between $600-$2400. Once graduated they receive a sewing machine or similar. Would you help a young mother learn a vocational skill? Donate Today!

High Tea for High Hope

We have raised $6,000 half of our goal of $12,000! Will you collaborate with us to help St Joseph College acquire solar power that will power a new computer lab with 20 PCs? This will improve the quality of the student’s education, attract more paying families, and drive the school’s sustainability. Read more below.

Donate!

You are cordially invited for High Tea at Williams Place

Saturday, November 22, 2025, 3-5pm

Hosted by Michelle Waters Williams & Laura Frederick

R.S.V.P. appreciated by November 20, 2025

Join us for a lovely British High Tea to hear Laura Frederick, Founder of eChange Endeavors, share stories of the missionaries and families in Uganda we have touched by our support. She has 30+ years of experience working with the poor in East Africa and beyond. She began her missionary journey as Jesuit International Volunteer in Belize from 1990-1992. Laura has been working in Uganda since 2000 and lived there between 2006 to 2011. She continues to collaborate with various missionary partners remotely and through visits.

We are seeking to raise $12,000 for our partner St Joseph College in Padhola, Tororo district of Uganda that provides high school education with a Franciscan spirituality. The College serves rural families, mostly whose parents are farmers and their income is too low or inconsistent to afford the cost of education. The initial community school was started by a German Franciscan along with health facilities and related community programs. He bequeathed the land and facilities to the community upon his retirement back to Germany, who in turn invited Sr. Margaret Awor, National Director of YOUFRA Uganda to run and develop the school anew. In 2020, it was re-opened as St Joseph College Padhola a challenging year to begin. Funds will help install a new solar system for the College to power even more engagement!

We have helped the St Joseph’s College to operate through out the shutdowns and beyond with 6-8 scholarships per year, which has paid teacher’s salaries and purchased needed educational supplies. We funded the renovation of the College’s pit latrines upgrading them with a new modern design, disability access, easy cleaning and maintenance. In 2023, when the roof blew off their main classroom building we stepped in to fund the renovation of the whole building along with a brand new roof. We upgraded doors and windows to glass for better lighting. Added electrical capabilities and finished off 3 small rooms for science & computer labs, along with ceilings and a wide verandah for quieter atmosphere and extra space during heavy rains. We gave the building a new coat of paint inside and out.

Later when the borehole their main source of water for the school and community became spoiled we funded the substantive repairs and replacement parts. We helped purchase 10 new triple decker beds for the dormitory allowing 30 students who live to far away to commute to board at the school. We have also partnered with Farmers Oversees Action Group (FOAG) to build a fence around the College gardens to protect the crops they grow from wandering animals. Food grown on campus helps to greatly reduce the cost of education and boarding for the parents, as well as, a great learning and service opportunity for the students.

Now we are working with St Joseph’s College to implement a solar power solution for the school. They have 20 computers, a printer, and projector that was received in 2019 when they were still at the Eastside location (photos above). Since the campus is off grid with nominal power at the school it is insufficient to run the computers all at once. Getting the full lab working again will enable the students to learn computer skills necessary for today’s jobs, assist the teachers with richer lesson planning and ease their work. The school currently has just under 100 students. The computer lab will also enable the school to attract more paying students, which will help with their overall viability and sustainability. One day they hope to expand to a full vocational college.

Will you join us for High Tea and make a gift of $100 to $1,000 or more now? Donate! or R.S.V.P. with Michelle.

Before and after photos below of the toilet and classroom renovations.

3rd Term Final Push Before Exams

We have raised nearly two-thirds of our 2025 scholarship fund target of $15,000. We are still seeking $5,500 more to help students finish the academic year. Will join your hands and hearts to ours to support these well deserving students?

Our partner Ocer Campion Jesuit College in Gulu northern Uganda offers high quality educational opportunities with Catholic formation to youth whose families were negatively effected in the region by the conflict years. At least one-third of their students are on scholarship. They have 1200 students between high school (O-levels) and junior college (A-levels). We sponsor 3 students at $600 per year and we would like to support more! Faith is central to the students learning experience. Students participating in choir at Mass (photo above), learning & service projects (photo below), and academic work. Wonderful opportunities that are not common at public schools in Uganda. Could you give a full or half scholarship $600 or $300 today to give a student an opportunity of a lifetime? Give Today!

(Photo above.) Students help attend the maize for elderly sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They easily slip out of their school shoes so as not to spoil them while working in the garden.

St Joseph College, provides high school education with a Franciscan spirituality school in Tororo district eastern Uganda. They have nearly 100 students with ALL on partial or full scholarship. Most of the students’ parents are farmers struggling to eke out a livelihood. Without your generous support these youth would be growing up without a proper education. As we know, Catholic education in collaboration with the Holy Spirit is key to helping children become fully who God desires them to be. For $50 per month, or $200 per term, or $600 for the year you can help ensure one more youth is able to reach their dreams. Will you help to transform their lives and the whole family? Give Today!

The YOUFRA Youth Centre in Lira Town (photo below) is helping 15 primary students with boarding and accessing a quality school, which they are not able to do living deep in the rural areas.

Their parents are former war victims and abductees who lost their chance at education leaving them with farming as their only source of income, which is unreliable and limited. We are making sure the next generation doesn’t also loose out on education. It costs $50 per term per student for boarding and requirements. Can you help us with food, backpacks, uniforms, shoes, school books and other school requirements for one or two students? Give Today!

In Kampala, Children’s Community Care (CCC) empowers families with children that have disabilities through medical support, community awareness, and educational scholarships. We help provide scholarships because the higher costs of the children with disabilities puts their siblings at risk of not attending school. In order to affirm the dignity and worth of all children, we sponsor 3 students through CCC: 1 high school student and 2 A-level students at $600 each annually. This helps honor their assistance in helping care for their siblings too. Will you help ensure these hardworking students have a chance to reach their educational dreams? Give Today!