Obukuumi

Obukuumi Sponsorship Program


Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.
Philipians 3:7

Obukuumi Sponsorship Program is based in Jinja, Uganda.  The sponsorship program will work with and empower families in Uganda, so that children can return home.  Obukuumi is a project running under Total Family Outreach/ Amani Baby Cottage.  Total Family Outreach is a Non-Profit, 501(c)3 organization.  The program will be headed by Kelsey Nielsen in Uganda and Megan Parker in the United States.  We will work alongside Amani, the relatives, and the community so that these children may know what it is to have a family.


More than half of the children at Amani can not be matched or adopted because a relative has not relinquished their rights.  The overall goal of this program is to create a transition and sponsorship program for these children, so they can return home. 


The first stage of the program will focus on family visits.  We will fund transportation, so that the guardian may visit their child.  We will also make visits to the home. This is to help identify family members who are genuinely interested in caring for the child. After visits, we will move toward need assessment and creating a service plan.  We will meet with the families and discuss what must be provided, for a safe transition back home.  We will formulate a reasonable individual monthly sponsorship for each child (around 30 USD).  In addition, we will offer to buy handmade crafts from families.  We will sell the crafts at different events in the States throughout the summer, and the money we make will go back into the Total Family Outreach Sponsorship account.  Bi-weekly home visits, will be made as follow up.  We will be making sure that the child is being taken care of properly with the money the sponsorship is providing.  As long as the child is being taken care of, sponsorship will continue. 


The idea behind Obukuumi is to assess and meet the needs of the families, so that they can adequately care for their child in their own home.  This is an empowerment plan for families in Uganda. We will help these children return home by bridging the gap, and sponsoring their families with the means necessary to provide for the child. We are praying, and trusting that God will provide sponsors for all the children and relatives eligible for this program. 




Who are Megan and Kelsey?

Megan and Kelsey met back in February 2010, while they were volunteering with Amani Baby Cottage.  They fell in love with the kids there, it is hard not to.  They saw a specific need while they were there, a need that God would not let them ignore. They love Uganda.  They love the kids, and the Mamas who work with them.  Most of all they love their God.  They seek to serve Him with their entire life.


Kelsey
Kelsey is the Obukuumi Project Coordinator in Uganda.  She is a 20 year old college student from Collegeville, Pennsylvania.  She spent the Spring 2010 Semester in Uganda, and returned 5 months later in October.  She would be entering her junior year at Temple University as a social work major, but God's timeline for her life looked a little different then she expected.

Megan
Megan is the Obukuumi Project Coordinator in the USA.  She is a freshmen at Christopher Newport University getting her degree in Business Management. She lives on campus in Newport News, Virginia and spends her days studying and wishing she was in Uganda.

Susan
My name is Susan Acen. I’m 25 years old. I am an Acholi tribe, from Gulu district (Northern Uganda). I attended Nsamuzi Training Institute affiliated with Makerere University and majored in social work. Thank you very much for making me put my social work experience into practice. I am very excited and proud to be working Obukuumi sponsorship ministry and I really enjoy doing my work.