This post is from an email sent October 18, 2016
The region where we live in
Uganda has one of the highest alcoholism rates in the world. You read that
right – IN.THE.WORLD! I couldn’t believe it at first but unfortunately
I’ve come to see it with my own eyes and am no longer surprised by such a
claim. There seem to be more trucks full of alcohol than bars to sell it
at -- and the bars seem to be on every corner. It is even possible to buy
a small pouch of grain alcohol for $.03!
The alcohol dependency coupled
with the high poverty rates, give way to many social problems. Every day the
local bars and pool halls are full of young men who are out of work and spend
their days sitting idle. Arguably, the idleness leads to more alcohol
consumption which leads to more unemployment…and so the cycle continues.
This all leads to me to this past
January when a 16 year old youth from our community came to our house looking
for work. He had dropped out of school (grade 6) and was looking for
something to do. Ivan and I didn’t want to turn him away, we wanted to
give him work and help him beat the odds of avoiding the temptations of
alcoholism and idleness that many of his peers have succumbed to. So in
January, Jarrod joined our team.
Over the course of the following
8 months Jarrod worked alongside several community members, whether it be
digging in our farms, helping harvest potatoes or hauling 50-kilo sacks of
sorghum to trucks that come through our village. No matter the task, he
didn’t miss a day. But it isn’t THAT Jarrod worked that’s most notable. It’s
what he’s learning in between the laborious jobs that make me most proud –
skills like work ethic, responsibility, money management, teamwork. Skills that
will help him build a successful future.
With the money Jarrod earned, he
was able to purchase his own cell phone, bicycle and pig! To some, those
may not seem like significant things to purchase, but they are important tools
to a young man in the village and if well used can lead to further work and
income.
As of now Jarrod continues to
work with us and is now part of our family. His dream is to learn how to
be a mechanic and we want to help him achieve it. Over the next few months, he
will be saving half of his monthly salary to help cover expenses needed for
mechanic training. We pray he will have what he needs and be ready to begin his
training early 2017.
Imagine how good he will feel
when he is paying his tuition with money he was able to earn? Setting a dream
and achieving it? There are no words, my friends.
The truth is that Love Empowers
exists to walk alongside young people like Jarrod. As we look towards
2017 my hope would be that Love Empowers would have the necessary funding and
support to walk alongside more people like Jarrod. During the course
of 2016 it will have cost Love Empowers roughly $500 to employ Jarrod.
When I look at how far he has come and the positive direction his life has
taken, I can assure you, it is money well spent! In addition we predict
his course in mechanic training will cost roughly $1000 in 2017.
Thank you for your continued love
and support of us and Love Empowers. To make further financial
contributions please visit our website at www.loveempowers.org
Cara
