Staff Spotlight: Pauline

We want to introduce you to our beautiful staff - The people who are dedicated to making instrumental change happen here in Uganda. The patience, love, and passion they exhibit are constantly transforming the lives of our girls.

This week we present Pauline Amony, our Project Director in Gulu.

Pauline is confident, independent, and compassionate woman. When it comes to her work, she is a force to be reckoned with. Pauline has a fiery passion for our girls and other girls in the community with similar backgrounds. Though she appears to be small and fragile, she’s tough. She walks into the slums and ghettos with authority and has the ability to soften even the most hardened teens.

This loving woman is the perfect mother figure for our girls in Gulu. She shows love in ways that only a natural mother could and knows more patience than most could dream of. She truly believes in the goals of our project and was even reaching out to this demographic before Purse of Hope came into existence.

Our girls see her as their adoptive mother. Though many were abandoned or orphaned, they’ve found the consistent love they’ve longed for in Pauline.

When asked about her role as a mother to the girls Pauline responded, “I feel blessed to be a mother of so many lovely girls. It’s something I had only ever dreamt of.”

In addition to her long list of skills (which include, administration, managing staff, loving our girls, organizing programs, counseling, etc.), Pauline is a gifted conflict mediator. She has a heart for reconciling the girls back to their families. Though many of the families are the cause of the hardships in the lives of our girls, Pauline is dedicated to helping them change.

This task is not an easy one, but when accomplished, can change their entire course of a girl’s life. The shame, neglect, and abandonment they feel can disappear when a family member asks for forgiveness and admits fault. Though this takes time, Pauline has the patience and perseverance to continue the work and we’ve seen many instances of reconciliation in the past few months.

Pauline hopes to see the girls become educated, responsible women of their nation. And we’ve already seen this dream coming true. Purse of Hope is beyond blessed to work with this incredible woman whose love knows no end.

A Brighter Future

This week Juliet and Beatrice started Secondary School (High School).

Beatrice spent the last year repeating Primary 7. She was faced with adversity each day as a 17-year-old in Jr. High. But thanks to the encouragement of our amazing Project Director, Pauline, and her Purse of Hope sisters, Beatrice found the courage to study hard to have another chance at passing her exams. The weeks leading up to the release of the exam scores was filled with nerves. Both Juliet and Beatrice were totally freaking out. This news could make or break the future of their education.

Upon receiving the news that they passed, they both broke down in tears. Before coming to Purse of Hope, they never thought they would set foot in a Secondary School. Their hopes had been shattered by war, abuse, and abandonment. But on this day the hopelessness of the past was broken. Juliet and Beatrice have a second chance at life with Purse of Hope. They have the chance to be kids, to be students, and to be loved.

Thank you for supporting these girls and cheering them on as they walk bravely into a brighter future.

Healing Transformation

An important part of the healing process for the Purse of Hope girls is moving from feeling victim to circumstances to feeling empowered as an agent of change in their community. After a year of growth, transformation, and healing, the Purse of Hope girls are truly becoming empowered young women.

A few months ago they began asking us if they could begin ministering to people in their community. Now, they have not only participated in community outreach activities such as cleaning wells and bringing food to poor families, but they have also chosen to volunteer at St. Jude's, an orphanage in Gulu town.

In addition to these activities, they have also started leading activities for their sisters in the home. The Purse of Hope mentors, or "aunties," challenged the girls to begin leading bible studies and devotions in the home. The girls have stepped up to this challenge and excelled! This week, Annet (pictured above), asked the aunties to teach her a worship song so that she could teach her sisters. It was a beautiful lesson to observe.

The girls sat attentively under the mango tree while Annet fearlessly taught "Hosana" to her sisters line-by-line. The beautiful voices of the girls soared over the compound wall and into the neighborhood. Before they knew it, children were climbing the trees and fences to catch a glimpse of their lesson, shouting "sing it again!"

It is these moments that take hold of my heart and reveal that these girls will bring hope to a land that has been plagued by war, violence, crime, and poverty. They will be agents of change that will forever change a generation.

Not Your Typical Teenage Girls

What comes to mind when you think of your average teenage girl? Maybe a girl consumed by her social media devices: texting, facebooking, etc. In fact, the average teenage American girl sends 1,500 texts per month! Or maybe it’s a girl busy with after school activities, shopping, and watching Gossip Girl in the evening. However, the American perceptions of teenage girls do not hold up with the girls at Purse of Hope: these are not your typical teenage girls!

The Purse of Hope girls in Bwaise are out of school on break until their next term starts in February. Of course, many would think, a house of 11 teenage girls on break from school would mean: sleeping, eating, maybe arguing with each other, and lounging around. This is not the case!

The girls have been spending each day with purpose and discipline. They wake up early in the morning for devotion time with each other and then spend several hours cooking, cleaning, and accomplishing their daily chores. During the day, they are focused on learning new skills such as: bead making, hairdressing, and improving in their studies to prepare for their next term. The girls also decided to have a daily-designated time to pray and worship together. This devotion time was entirely the initiative of the girls! Everyday, faithfully at noon, they gather on the roof to pray and sing and thank God for His provision in their lives. It’s incredible to see how faithful these girls are with the opportunity they have been given, and how incredibly disciplined they are in working towards their future dreams and goals.

In the midst of their hard work and time-off they are finding time to be girls: to play, to sing, to dance, and laugh together. Purse of Hope’s mission is: "To give children the chance to be children.” We are seeing that happen daily. We are seeing a youthfulness, a child-like awe, we are seeing them dream, and love and trust. We are seeing these girls thrive in an environment that is safe, structured, and loving.

-Kati Martin (Purse of Hope Volunteer)

Purse of Hope Thanksgiving

As families in America joined together and celebrated Thanksgiving, so did the Purse of Hope family in Gulu. However, our version of Thanksgiving was a slight bit different than what those in America experienced…

The Turkey Hunt. Instead of driving to the nearest grocery store and picking up a nice frozen turkey, our girls went on a “Turkey Hunt.” They walked to town to find out if anyone was raising turkeys. Once they found a nice big one, they negotiated a price, paid the owner, tied it up, and brought it home. Here it roamed around the compound and was fed some last minute food to fatten it up. Early the next morning, Joyce, our catering expert, killed the turkey, gutted it, seasoned it, and began cooking it over a charcoal stove.

The Décor. Juliet and Scoiva were determined to find a Christmas tree to decorate the house. Using their creativity, they bound together branches of pine trees and decorated the tree with flowers from the garden and toilet paper to look like snow! Autnie Susan played DJ and kept the house bumping with Christmas tunes.

The “Aunties” and “Uncles” of Purse of Hope joined the celebrations in the early afternoon. Uncle Sean taught the girls how to cook garlic mash potatoes and it was a huge hit! Other guests brought stuffing, fruit salad, sweet potato casserole, and delicious desserts.

The night ended with LOTS of singing, dancing, and tons of appreciation. Personally, I’ve never experienced a better Thanksgiving or a group of teenage girls who are more thankful than the Purse of Hope girls.

Journalist Elizabeth Reports

Out of the Compound