Reading the 10-year overview of what RSF has accomplished in collaboration with the Batwa people filled me with awe. It has been 8 years since my two youngest daughters, my husband Paul, and I met Wendee in Uganda and spent time at the RSF Educational Soup Kitchen hanging out with some of the children, but those few weeks remain vivid in our memories. The high humidity and the landscape were so different to our northern Canadian environment. The poverty and poor health status of the community was shocking yet despite this, there were moments of joy when the children were dancing, singing, and interacting with each other and us.
After our time in Uganda, my husband Paul and I decided to sponsor two of the children. We are both healthcare professionals, and as such, are well aware of the positive impact education has on an individual’s health, sense of fulfillment, and economic welfare, which in turn has broader impacts on that individual’s family and community.
Our daughter Rachelle had bonded with Angel, a very young girl whose mother was struggling to parent her, and we also opted to sponsor Kipson, an older boy. Reading the children’s letters and receiving the progress updates from RSF staff over the years has been so encouraging. And we know that our donations have been well received and have helped these children so very much.
In April 2024, we reconnected in person with Wendee and Joyce on a trip to San Diego and it was super to hear of Wendee’s plans for future projects and Joyce’s hope to leverage her Stanford university studies to help her community. Through our sponsorship over the past 8 years, we feel we are playing an integral part of the bigger picture of RSF’s achievement.
We became first-time grandparents in July. This has reignited my hope that someday no child will live in poverty and that all children will have access to high-quality education. We will be making an extra donation to help support the projects currently in the planning stages.
As Joyce once said in a PSA she created for a high school class, "It is the goal of Redemption Song Foundation and my personal desire to see every single one of these kids attend school all the way through college but that can only happen with your help. If you would like to sponsor a child's education and get to know their stories on a personal level, you can sign up at our website. For less than the cost of a latte a day, just $45 a month, you can change a life.... It not only rights past injustices but can bring joy to your life."
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