Recently I had the opportunity to gather together the team that has made Just Like My Child such a wonderful endeavor over the past four years. I often share what is happening in Uganda and so much of our progress is a result of the inspired action of our staff and supporters. In the next few blogs I will be featuring these special individuals who live and work with passion and purpose.
I would like to introduce you to our Program Manager, Tessa Davis so that she can share her story with you.
My experience with the Ugandan culture began back in 2006 as a Peace Corps volunteer. For two years I was volunteering close to the Bishop Asili Hospital run by Sister Ernestine and I was doing capacity building with teachers in the area. I came to know and befriend the Sisters of the convent and I occasionally stayed with them when I had workshops in the area so I did not have to travel back to my Peace Corps village each day.
Through the Sisters I heard a lot of great things about the work that Vivian Glyck and Mike Koenigs were doing with Just Like My Child. I had occasion to meet them when they were in Uganda during one of their development visits. I got to know what their mission, goals and aims were and I was inspired by their hands-on approach to development. I must have made a good impression on them and I know they certainly made a good impression on me.
One of my aims towards the end of my Peace Corps service was to help Akware Judith, a Ugandan neighbor and superstar teacher find sponsors so she could go for her Master’s degree. I reached out to Vivian and told her Judith’s story and tried to find out if she could assist her. The answer was a generous “yes.” (Last week Judith graduated and is working as the headmistress of the Children’s Academy for the Collective Heart – a school funded and built by Just Like My Child Foundation.) At the time of my request to Vivian she asked me what I was doing in the near future because she needed a Country Director as she expanded her programs. I had already been very familiar with the work Just Like My Child was doing. I also had a great relationship with their Ugandan partners and it made sense to come on board. It felt right because I was really close to my Peace Corps village and I could continue to do the work I wanted to do with them while still challenging myself with new opportunities.
I quickly got involved with building the first primary school in the area, The Children’s Academy for the Collective Heart. I helped with the mosquito net distribution and got a handle on the foundation’s sponsorship programs by helping to write their policies and establishing strong relationships with the parents of the sponsorship children.
In 2009 I became the Program Manager, working and living in the U.S., but directing the programs on the ground in Uganda. By this time I had been in Uganda for three and a half years and it was time to come back home to Rapid City, South Dakota for a while and reconnect with my family. My job is to support the current Country Director, Dena Lewerke. As Program Manager I focus on all aspects of how Just Like My Child provides support and resources to its communities.
I believe in Vivian’s concept of needing all “three legs of the stool” (micro-finance, healthcare and education) in order to help families and communities overcome poverty and become self-reliant. You need to have all three of those legs in place in order to hold yourself up. I feel like all of our programs are absolutely necessary.
We also have a new program I am very excited about Project Justice. This program empowers people by helping them to understand their rights with regards to the law — identifying and preventing domestic violence and having access to police and paralegals who are educated and not corrupt. This is a huge need that we are addressing right now. I love being a part of the growth and support that Just Like My Child is providing.
When I finished my time in the Peace Corps I was no less idealistic, but I was also much more informed about what was going on in the developing world and how organizations are utilizing resources. I feel so inspired to be working with Just Like My Child because they are an example of a grassroots organization that is utilizing resources in the best possible way. You will find organizations in Uganda wasting resources and because they are not really on the ground they don’t know what is truly going on and they don’t know what’s needed. I see that many organizations focus on quantity a lot more so than quality. I praise JLMC for using the deep development approach and utilizing resources for what is actually needed. I am impressed by them and proud to be a part of their growth.
To help us continue to provide resources that empower and educate, please donate today. https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=26195&Itemid=108
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