“There are no words to describe the way Uganda makes me feel. The people there are the most giving, loving people you will ever meet.”
—Heather Morrow, Young Living Member
Though most of our members couldn’t join Heather and other volunteers on a service trip to Uganda last July, each of you has played an integral part in supporting the work of The D. Gary Young, Young Living Foundation and its three partnerships in this region. Through donations, volunteer hours, and simply by working to build your Young Living business, you have made a difference. Because you couldn’t be there in person, we’re giving you an in-depth look at the Foundation’s most recent service trip and the organizations that are changing lives.
Healing Faith Uganda
A person dies every 60 seconds from malaria in Africa. Since 2011, Healing Faith Uganda has been a champion in the fight against malaria in Eastern Uganda, and the Foundation was thrilled to partner with them in 2015. With your generosity, the Foundation has contributed tens of thousands of dollars, hundreds of volunteers, and even helped build the Young Living Foundation Malaria Center, the first of its kind in Uganda.
The Malaria Center’s focus is on preventing malaria and treating victims of this terrible disease—particularly common in this area because of its proximity to Lake Victoria. On this trip to Uganda, member volunteers went from home to home delivering mosquito nets. With the Foundation’s help, Healing Faith Uganda went from hanging 400 nets a month to 4,000.
Other impact includes:
- Educating and treating more than 90,000 individuals
- Building a new center in August that can treat up to 100 patients a day
- Saving lives with mosquito nets; a $5 donation buys one net, which can save the lives of four children
- Testing and treating people with malaria for less than $2 a day
African Hearts
Your support of African Hearts has provided boys in need with clean beds, healthy food, school, and time to play and develop in a family environment. Members walked the corridors of the Kisenyi slums in Kampala—the biggest and most dangerous in Uganda—to treat minor ailments and feed the young boys who call the streets their home. Donations to the Foundation help fund every aspect of the slum program, including wellness treatments, meals, classes, and rescuing children from the streets and reuniting them with their families.
Donations to the Foundation also helped with:
- Rescuing and restoring 30 boys from the streets so far in 2017, meaning they’ve been pulled from the slums, gone through a transitional home program, and are attending the African Hearts Junior school or have been reunited with their families
- Feeding 500–600 boys per week, compared to 120–240 when the program first started
- Treating wounds for 150–200 boys per week, compared to 30–40 when the program first started
- Creating the Royalle Band, which has grown to more than 60 boys and performs all over Kampala and the surrounding areas
Sole Hope
Sole Hope uses donations from members like you to help people find hope, healthier lives, and freedom from foot-related diseases, with a special focus on helping them become free of jiggers—parasitic sand fleas that can lead to infection, amputation, and alienation. This includes jigger removal, treatment, education, shoes, and follow-up care.
While in Uganda, members washed children’s feet and helped the Sole Hope staff as they removed hundreds of jiggers from each patient’s feet and hands.
“We shared so many beautiful moments with the people of Uganda,” said Greg Larsen, Executive Director of the Foundation. “Our Young Living members came together as one in purpose to serve and become a voice for the voiceless. We all got to witness how each of our partnerships brings hope into the lives of the underserved and really empowers them through education and long-term change.”
Volunteers also helped the Foundation with:
- Removing thousands of jiggers each week as they try to end the 200-year jigger tragedy in Uganda
- Breaking ground on the new land where The D. Gary Young, Young Living Foundation Hope Center will be built; in this center, 40–50 patients a week will receive medical treatment and jigger removal
The Gem Foundation
In addition to these three organizations, the Foundation also visited and helped at a special needs orphanage called The Gem Foundation. Member and employee volunteers helped make meals, played with the children, and even helped plant trees so the organization can grow its own food and become self-sustaining.
Other impact includes:
- Planting more than 300 trees on The Gem Foundation’s land
- Taking in 50 special needs children, compared to 11 when they first started
- Employing nearly 50 Ugandans
What impact have you made?
Your donations, time, and compassion have changed the lives of countless people, not only in Uganda but all over the world. The impact of your support has stretched from Nepal to Ecuador and traveled back to your own communities.
Your support has also helped the Foundation:
- Raise nearly $1 million at the 2017 International Grand Convention
- Raise more than $550,000 in 2016 through Essential Rewards round-ups; if everyone on Essential Rewards rounds up, we could raise more than $4 million in one year
- Cover all administration fees, so when we say 100 percent of donations go toward these causes, we really mean it!
Looking for more ways to get involved? Helping is as easy as rounding up your order total. You can also sponsor a child, hold a fundraiser, host a care kit party, make a purchase through AmazonSmile, or simply donate. There are plenty of ways you can take action today. For more ideas, visit YoungLivingFoundation.org/GetInvolved.
Learn more about these partnerships and the work of The D. Gary Young, Young Living Foundation at YoungLivingFoundation.org.
Want to learn how your contributions to the Young Living Foundation are changing lives in Uganda? Listen to this podcast episode for the inside scoop!
Which Foundation causes are most near and dear to your heart? Share in the comments below!