Students have pal in Uganda

Second graders at St. Mary's School in Clinton Heights are reaching all the way to Uganda to touch the life of a little girl.

As signs of friendship, they are doing good deeds at home and school to earn $1 a month. The money provides food, clothing and education for the girl, Nakidde.

Although they have not met her, the second graders say that she is their friend.

Pronounced affection

"We aren't sure, but we think her name is pronounced Na-keed," said Lisa House, second grade teacher. She got her class involved in the effort because of an advertisement she saw in The Evangelist.

"It was an ad placed by the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging," she noted. "At first, I thought it might be nice to enroll my family so we could sponsor a child. But then I thought it might make a good project for the second graders; that it might give them an opportunity to learn about other children their own age, children who are the same as they are but living in a different situation in another country."

According to CFCA, more than 85 percent of the money sent in to sponsor children is sent directly to missionary programs for direct aid to the needy.

Full participation

Last year, all 16 students in Mrs. House's class participated in the sponsorship of Nakidde. Coincidentally, she was seven, the same age as the second graders.

Nakidde lives in a home made of mud and reeds. It has a tin roof and mud floor, and she sleeps on a mat on the floor.

"The children knew they had to do good deeds for family members at home so they could earn their dollar each month," Mrs. House explained. "We talked about what they could do to earn their money. At the end of each month, they brought in their dollars, and we would send the money to the sponsor, along with a letter for Nakidde."

Extra efforts

The children decided they wanted to send Nakidde some additional items and obtained a special mailing envelope from CFCA.

"Nakidde lives in an economically depressed area, and we could send only simple gifts that she could actually use," the teacher said. "We decided to send some school paper and pencils. One little girl managed to get a bracelet in the envelope, too. We sent it off and waited. She sent us a letter. The children were very happy to hear from her."

This year, Mrs. House has more students, 26, so there is more money to send to Nakidde. The first letter the students composed was sent last week and contained lots of questions.

For example, the students were curious to know if Nakidde considers Jesus to be her friend. They also asked her how much English she speaks, writes and learns in school.

"At St. Mary's, we believe that we are all children of God," said Mrs. House. "We hope that Nakidde receives our letter soon and that she will know that even though the children may live very far away from her, they really care about her. By communicating with our friend Nakidde, we learn that we are helping to build a better life for her and other children like her in the wider world community."

(For information on the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, go to www.cfcausa.org. Also, see advertisement on page 5.)

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