Pilgrim Africa

Thanks to Catherine Willis Cleveland, Sunrise Rotary recently learned of a South African organization that is making great change in the poorest of the poor regions of Uganda. Pilgrim Africa is a Ugandan nonprofit that funds scholarships for children to attend Beacon of Hope School.

 

Beacon of Hope is one of the only secondary schools in Uganda, where the majority of students are poor, rural, have limited access to daily water and no electricity. In an area where 80 percent of children drop out of school before seventh grade, the selling of child brides is common place, and  everyone gets malaria four to six times a year, the opportunity for scholarship and education is a Godsend.

 

Almost three quarters of the students there are on a full scholarship, and a significant number are orphans, literally picked up from the streets and taken to Beacon of Hope School. For the brightest youth, university scholarships are readily available. For other students, a partnership with Columbia University ensures that they receive agricultural education that will allow students to improve the food supplies in their villages and towns.

 

While Pilgrim Africa and Beacon of Hope are making real change in the lives of children in Uganda, equally impressive was the small amount of money it takes to sponsor a child to attend the school, which includes housing and regular meals. A $600 donation covers the cost of a child attending Beacon of Hope for a year.

 

To learn more, or to sponsor a child, visit www.pilgrimafrica.org .