Physical Health United States Project #23239

#savethebabies: Help Children Rise out of Poverty

by Jake's Network of Hope

#savethebabies: Help Children Rise out of Poverty

Project Report | Mar 12, 2021
Distributing Dignity in Uganda

By Stephanie Bowers | Founder, Executive Director

Over the past three years, thanks to your support, we’ve been providing reusable cloth diapers to Ekisa Ministries. Located in Jinja, Uganda, Ekisa supports children with disabilities so they can thrive in families and communities. Most recently, they received cloth diapers for six kids in their Transitional Home, bringing cleanliness and dignity to the children Ekisa serves.

Ekisa recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary, and Kristen, their founder, shares this letter:

It is hard to believe that it has been exactly ten years since Ekisa first opened its doors as a residential home. It still feels like yesterday that we drove across town to pick up 3 children from another children’s home and introduce them, and one little one who had already arrived, to the Ekisa house. That first night with only 4 children and a handful of staff members, I don’t think any of us would have been able to imagine how much Ekisa would grow and change over the next decade. Not only have we cared for over 40 children in our residential home but we have had the opportunity to work alongside hundreds of families in Jinja as well as starting to extend our reach further to provide support and training for other organisations around the world.

It has been such a privilege to be a part of the story of Ekisa, and to have a front row seat to see all that God has grown it into over the last ten years. I think everyone who has worked at Ekisa would agree that it is not always easy; there have been heart-breaking and difficult times along the way, but I doubt anyone has left without being changed for the better by these children and their families. I know that is true for me even now that I’m not able to be a part of day-to-day life at Ekisa.

While so much has changed since that first night, the heart of Ekisa still remains the same, we want to celebrate each child for the unique and amazing people they are and we want to see every child grow up in a family and community that sees their worth. If I think back to those 4 children I tucked into bed that first night, I never could have guessed what God would do in each of their lives. They are all teenagers now and each has a different story, but they have all been given gifts and talents that make the world a better and more joyful place and I’m so grateful for each of them and all of the other children and young people that Ekisa works with.

I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you, whether you have supported us since the beginning or if you have joined the journey just recently; Ekisa would not be what it is today without your prayers and support. Thank you for being a part of this story, and I look forward to seeing all Ekisa can achieve in the next ten years!

Sincereley,

Kristin, Co-Founder, Ekisa Ministries

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Mar 8, 2021
'I Found Life Hard," Keeping Families Together

By Lyssa Schmidt | Communications Director

Jake’s Network of Hope partners with Abide, a Uganda nonprofit, to provide cloth diaper kits to parents struggling to provide basic needs.

Monica, a 24-year-old single mother, fed her infant sugar water and black tea as a last resort - all the while wondering whether this is how raising her son would go.

“On a lucky day, well wishers from my community would give me cow's milk for the baby," she told Abide Family Center Uganda, a Jake’s Network of Hope partner. Monica believed that her son Henry belonged with her, the organization wrote on this Facebook post. She wanted the best for him; however needed additional support to achieve this important goal in her life.

"I found life hard," Monica recalls. “I used to think, is this going to be my life? Is my son going to grow up this way?"

After connecting with Abide, the organization explains what happened next:

Monica received formula (she still does) for her son Henry.
She was enrolled into our business and parenting class where she graduated and received certificates upon graduation.
After graduation, Abide worked with Monica and helped her start a second hand clothes business which is doing very well.
Monica's goal to stay with her son and be able to take care of him has been achieved.

Monica’s little boy also received cloth diapers from kits sent by Jake’s Network of Hope.

Abide works with parents to help them achieve self sufficiency. Over 80% of the children living in orphanages in Uganda have at least one living parent, being raised away from their families because of poverty, not because they are unloved or unwanted.

Our cloth diaper kits provide an additional resource so that more parents like Monica can afford to better their situation and take care of their children. It won’t be long before another mom like Monica walks through their door, and we need your help.

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Feb 4, 2021
Cloth Diaper Donation Inspires New MKE Partner

By Lyssa Schmidt | Communications Director

“I’ll never forget how thankful she was. It was a truly beautiful experience.”

Meagan Johnson taught cloth diaper basics in Milwaukee for a couple years, but in spring 2020 met a mom that would shift her trajectory.

“She was a single mom of a baby boy, and she couldn’t afford the start-up cost of cloth diapering,” Meagan said. “But, her baby had severe eczema, and disposable diapers made it worse.”

The mother was looking for someone willing and able to donate cloth diapers to her. Meagan said she had a “large collection” of diapers herself, so she compiled a kit and dropped them off on the family’s front porch.

“Her gratitude and the relief she felt was overwhelming,” Meagan said. “She felt a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, because now she wouldn’t have to worry about budgeting for diapers, and most importantly, her son’s skin could now heal.”

This memorable experience inspired Meagan to dig deeper into diaper need. In Milwaukee, the poverty rate in 2020 was 25.4 percent, while the national average sat at 9.2 percent, she said. The hard truth was that 68% of families with children in Milwaukee qualify for low-income status, and there were not resources to meet diapering needs..

“I decided to launch a small cloth diaper lending program, but when I started looking for a local diaper bank to partner with – there wasn’t one,” Meagan said. “After that realization, and doing a lot of research about diaper banks around the country – I knew this needed to be something bigger.”

That’s why Meagan launched the Milwaukee Diaper Mission, one of Jake’s newest Network of Hope partners. The program distributes disposable and reusable diaper and period product kits through a handful of community partners.

“The majority of the families we serve are Black and Latinx, and most are living well below the poverty line,” Meagan said. “Access to basic needs items was already difficult for these families, and the pandemic has made it even more of a challenge. Families are regularly having to choose between food or diapers, and government assistance programs do not offer diapering support. With 1 in 3 families struggling to afford diapers, and 1 in 4 menstruating individuals unable to afford period products, we are an essential organization for this city.”

Jake’s sent its first shipment to Milwaukee Diaper Mission in early 2021.

“We just received a large shipment today and we cannot wait to get them out into the community! Thank you so much for this amazing support,” Meagan said.

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