June 2025 Newsletter
Report on Align's Scholarship Program
Did you know that Align runs a scholarship program as part of its education for sponsored children? The program provides the opportunity for any child in our sponsorship program to learn a job skill through university degrees, trade schools and other training programs. The schooling can last from two to six years. Align currently has 25 students in the program. Our hope is these young adults will be able to make a living and care for themselves, their families and their communities. And our prayer is that they will return to bless their communities of origin as they have been blessed through the generosity of Align sponsors.
Below are the stories of some formerly sponsored children who are giving back to their communities.
Catherine Namulwinda
Cathy Namulindwa was picked up in 2011, unsafe from the belief in rural East Africa that taking an albino’s body parts to a witchdoctor earns one supernatural wealth. She stayed indoors at the home of her struggling aunt to keep herself safe not only from witchdoctors but also from the sun which damages her skin and eyes. Once she received sponsorship, the Align program provided the treatment and healthcare required for an albino to survive in the sunny Uganda environment along with daily food, clean water, mental health care and an education.
We are proud to report that Cathy received a certificate in Fashion and Design from Lady Valeria Vocation and Business College in May 2025. She immediately returned to her home community of Kakooge where she is now sewing uniforms for the Donela schools. She also helped make choir and Christmas production outfits for the church. Cathy will soon go back to school to attain a full diploma, but in the interim, she is helping to teach tailoring to the staff, students and church members in Kakooge. Besides being a pioneer teacher for the Donela schools and her church community, Cathy is also a core member of the church’s worship team, and a right-hand helper to Jennifer Lokol who heads all our operations in Kakooge alongside her husband Angello. Align is thrilled to give big kudos to Cathy for overcoming the odds!
Bob Ogula
Bob entered the Life With Hope sponsorship program in 2011. He was struggling to make it through each day, heavily dependent on his single and sickly mother. Today, out of gratitude in his heart for the hope he found through the sponsorship program, he is giving back. Bob is now working as a professionally qualified teacher at Donela High School. He also serves as a mentor providing inspiration and wisdom to those who are currently in the sponsorship program. In addition, Bob is the mobilizer of our Ugandan partners' "Elimisha" program. This is a local initiative in which those who have benefited from sponsorship are encouraged to financially support someone else struggling to go to school. Bob also serves as a language translator and program coordinator for PAG Bombo church services and gatherings, where he occasionally plays drums as part of the worship team.
Treasure Mutesi
Without family and nowhere to turn for meals and basic survival, Treasure was added to the Life With Hope Sponsorship program in 2012. She did well in high school and graduated in 2019. She was then added to our scholarship program and received a degree in early education in 2023. Today Treasure is a professional kindergarten teacher serving at the Donela Bombo pre-school. She also serves as a language translator for the church. Treasure plays a major role in coordinating our Ugandan partners' "Vision Casting" - a large gathering to kick off the Donela school ministry activities and calendar for volunteers and helpers which help to build momentum and enthusiasm for the coming year. There, she gives her testimony to inspire the younger beneficiaries, while also helping to coordinate the program.
Dress A Girl Around the World
We want to give a shout out to the Dress-A-Girl seamstresses who have funded the tailoring training program for the last several years. Three former students, Jovia Nansubuga, Mary Achen, and Fiona Nakalabe, all received certificates from our tailoring class, and returned to make uniforms and meet other tailoring needs of the Donela Schools and PAG churches. Today Mary and Fiona serve with our current tailoring training class learners, and they voluntarily help Teacher Joan, inspiring the current class.
POSTPONED - Align Pickleball Tournament
Well the bad news is we had to postpone our 4th annual Dinkin' for da Kids pickleball tournament. The GOOD NEWS is the tournament will now be held Saturday September 20, 2025, and Alex and Millie Ojera will be playing with us! We hope you will join us as we play pickleball, have some tasty tacos, frosty margaritas, win some awesome raffle baskets and/or auction prizes, and make new friends while helping those in Align's Life With Hope Sponsorship Program. Monies raised will support children and widows waiting for sponsors - currently there are over 60 sponsorships needed.
We can use donations for the raffles and live auction, as well as volunteers the day of the event. Just email Barbara at [email protected] for questions and more information. Thank you for helping at-risk children and widows in Central Uganda.
PRAYERS ANSWERED!
Alex and Millie Received Visas to Visit the U.S.
We're thrilled to report that Alex and Millie have received their visas and have scheduled their flights to visit the us this fall. The Ojeras will be in the U.S. from Tuesday September 16 through Monday October 6. Please contact Barbara at [email protected] if you would like to meet with the Ojeras while they are here.
Annual Visit to Uganda
Joe and Barbara Jackson will be visiting Uganda July 29 through August 9 and they ask for your prayers. They plan to visit and inspect all the capital projects at the Donela Schools at Bombo, Wobulenzi, and Kakooge as well as the Life Home Village. They will also spend time with some of the sponsored children and widows at all locations. They may even give Alex and Millie a couple of pickleball lessons! Stay tuned as they will provide an update via newsletters. Feel free to reach out to them at [email protected] or [email protected] if you have any questions about Align specific projects and programs in Uganda. They truly hope you will join them on a future trip.
Sponsored Children of the Month
This month we are highlighting two young children in our Life Home Village, Patience Atugonza and Samuel Kaddu. Both were added to our sponsorship program during the COVID shutdown. Both need an additional sponsor to cover the costs of caring for them: a loving home with a house mother and brothers or sisters; daily food; medical/mental/spiritual health care; and an education that includes the opportunity to learn a job skill.
- PATIENCE ATUGONZA -
Patience is a lovely 8-year-old girl from Luweero who was conceived out of an assault and then abandoned by her teenage mother who couldn’t face what had happened to her. She is a very active little girl that is fighting deep-seated feelings of rejection. She was taken in by a woman that failed to meet her needs and ended up leaving her homeless and helpless. Patience was moved to the Esther home in the Life Home Village in 2021. She is now in Primary 1 (equivalent to the U.S. 1st grade) and is doing much better. Patience needs an Ewange sponsor to cover her caregiving needs to remain in the Life Home Village.
If you'd like to help keep Patience safe, just click HERE.
- SAMUEL KADDU -
Samuel is a quiet 10-year-old boy who has been living in the David Life Home since 2021. He had previously lived in the community of Luweero with his stepmother; his father had abandoned them both. His mother had mental challenges and could not care for Samuel - sadly he was often left alone without supervision with no one to care for his well-being. He had been a lonely boy who had never been to school when we met him. Now Samuel is in Primary 2 (equivalent to the U.S. 2nd grade) and doing much better. However, he needs an Ewange sponsor to cover his caregiving needs so that he can remain in the Life Home Village.
If you feel God tugging at your heart to sponsor Samuel, just click HERE.
Copyright © 2025 Align International, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Align International
27525 Puerta Real Ste 300 # 426
Mission Viejo, CA 92691-6379
Our website is:
https://aligninternational.net/
Below are the stories of some formerly sponsored children who are giving back to their communities.
Catherine Namulwinda
Cathy Namulindwa was picked up in 2011, unsafe from the belief in rural East Africa that taking an albino’s body parts to a witchdoctor earns one supernatural wealth. She stayed indoors at the home of her struggling aunt to keep herself safe not only from witchdoctors but also from the sun which damages her skin and eyes. Once she received sponsorship, the Align program provided the treatment and healthcare required for an albino to survive in the sunny Uganda environment along with daily food, clean water, mental health care and an education.
We are proud to report that Cathy received a certificate in Fashion and Design from Lady Valeria Vocation and Business College in May 2025. She immediately returned to her home community of Kakooge where she is now sewing uniforms for the Donela schools. She also helped make choir and Christmas production outfits for the church. Cathy will soon go back to school to attain a full diploma, but in the interim, she is helping to teach tailoring to the staff, students and church members in Kakooge. Besides being a pioneer teacher for the Donela schools and her church community, Cathy is also a core member of the church’s worship team, and a right-hand helper to Jennifer Lokol who heads all our operations in Kakooge alongside her husband Angello. Align is thrilled to give big kudos to Cathy for overcoming the odds!
Bob Ogula
Bob entered the Life With Hope sponsorship program in 2011. He was struggling to make it through each day, heavily dependent on his single and sickly mother. Today, out of gratitude in his heart for the hope he found through the sponsorship program, he is giving back. Bob is now working as a professionally qualified teacher at Donela High School. He also serves as a mentor providing inspiration and wisdom to those who are currently in the sponsorship program. In addition, Bob is the mobilizer of our Ugandan partners' "Elimisha" program. This is a local initiative in which those who have benefited from sponsorship are encouraged to financially support someone else struggling to go to school. Bob also serves as a language translator and program coordinator for PAG Bombo church services and gatherings, where he occasionally plays drums as part of the worship team.
Treasure Mutesi
Without family and nowhere to turn for meals and basic survival, Treasure was added to the Life With Hope Sponsorship program in 2012. She did well in high school and graduated in 2019. She was then added to our scholarship program and received a degree in early education in 2023. Today Treasure is a professional kindergarten teacher serving at the Donela Bombo pre-school. She also serves as a language translator for the church. Treasure plays a major role in coordinating our Ugandan partners' "Vision Casting" - a large gathering to kick off the Donela school ministry activities and calendar for volunteers and helpers which help to build momentum and enthusiasm for the coming year. There, she gives her testimony to inspire the younger beneficiaries, while also helping to coordinate the program.
Dress A Girl Around the World
We want to give a shout out to the Dress-A-Girl seamstresses who have funded the tailoring training program for the last several years. Three former students, Jovia Nansubuga, Mary Achen, and Fiona Nakalabe, all received certificates from our tailoring class, and returned to make uniforms and meet other tailoring needs of the Donela Schools and PAG churches. Today Mary and Fiona serve with our current tailoring training class learners, and they voluntarily help Teacher Joan, inspiring the current class.
POSTPONED - Align Pickleball Tournament
Well the bad news is we had to postpone our 4th annual Dinkin' for da Kids pickleball tournament. The GOOD NEWS is the tournament will now be held Saturday September 20, 2025, and Alex and Millie Ojera will be playing with us! We hope you will join us as we play pickleball, have some tasty tacos, frosty margaritas, win some awesome raffle baskets and/or auction prizes, and make new friends while helping those in Align's Life With Hope Sponsorship Program. Monies raised will support children and widows waiting for sponsors - currently there are over 60 sponsorships needed.
We can use donations for the raffles and live auction, as well as volunteers the day of the event. Just email Barbara at [email protected] for questions and more information. Thank you for helping at-risk children and widows in Central Uganda.
PRAYERS ANSWERED!
Alex and Millie Received Visas to Visit the U.S.
We're thrilled to report that Alex and Millie have received their visas and have scheduled their flights to visit the us this fall. The Ojeras will be in the U.S. from Tuesday September 16 through Monday October 6. Please contact Barbara at [email protected] if you would like to meet with the Ojeras while they are here.
Annual Visit to Uganda
Joe and Barbara Jackson will be visiting Uganda July 29 through August 9 and they ask for your prayers. They plan to visit and inspect all the capital projects at the Donela Schools at Bombo, Wobulenzi, and Kakooge as well as the Life Home Village. They will also spend time with some of the sponsored children and widows at all locations. They may even give Alex and Millie a couple of pickleball lessons! Stay tuned as they will provide an update via newsletters. Feel free to reach out to them at [email protected] or [email protected] if you have any questions about Align specific projects and programs in Uganda. They truly hope you will join them on a future trip.
Sponsored Children of the Month
This month we are highlighting two young children in our Life Home Village, Patience Atugonza and Samuel Kaddu. Both were added to our sponsorship program during the COVID shutdown. Both need an additional sponsor to cover the costs of caring for them: a loving home with a house mother and brothers or sisters; daily food; medical/mental/spiritual health care; and an education that includes the opportunity to learn a job skill.
- PATIENCE ATUGONZA -
Patience is a lovely 8-year-old girl from Luweero who was conceived out of an assault and then abandoned by her teenage mother who couldn’t face what had happened to her. She is a very active little girl that is fighting deep-seated feelings of rejection. She was taken in by a woman that failed to meet her needs and ended up leaving her homeless and helpless. Patience was moved to the Esther home in the Life Home Village in 2021. She is now in Primary 1 (equivalent to the U.S. 1st grade) and is doing much better. Patience needs an Ewange sponsor to cover her caregiving needs to remain in the Life Home Village.
If you'd like to help keep Patience safe, just click HERE.
- SAMUEL KADDU -
Samuel is a quiet 10-year-old boy who has been living in the David Life Home since 2021. He had previously lived in the community of Luweero with his stepmother; his father had abandoned them both. His mother had mental challenges and could not care for Samuel - sadly he was often left alone without supervision with no one to care for his well-being. He had been a lonely boy who had never been to school when we met him. Now Samuel is in Primary 2 (equivalent to the U.S. 2nd grade) and doing much better. However, he needs an Ewange sponsor to cover his caregiving needs so that he can remain in the Life Home Village.
If you feel God tugging at your heart to sponsor Samuel, just click HERE.
Copyright © 2025 Align International, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Align International
27525 Puerta Real Ste 300 # 426
Mission Viejo, CA 92691-6379
Our website is:
https://aligninternational.net/