HUGS - Hope for Ugandan Students

Download our 2007 Annual Report (PDF, 1 MB)

Message from the Co-Presidents

Dear Friends,

Tailoring graduates receiving sewing
machines from HUGS

Thanks to you, this has been an amazing year for Hope for Ugandan Students (HUGS). It's been just over one year since HUGS was incorporated as a nonprofit organization on January 12, 2007.

You may know that the idea for HUGS was born when Sally Shapiro, after nine months volunteering in Mbale, Uganda, returned home to affluent Fairfield County, Connecticut and was struck by the contrast with life in her newly adopted home of Uganda. The running water, free schooling, not to mention an overabundance of food and entertainment that we take for granted, would be a dream beyond imagining for her friends in Uganda.

Special Needs class

HUGS is based on the idea that a small sum of money, by U.S. standards, can help jump start a young person's life in Uganda. By sponsoring students to receive vocational education we can give them the chance to support themselves and begin to reverse the cycle of poverty. The vocational sponsorship program is the heart of HUGS' efforts. In addition, HUGS has been helping establish a special needs school for young children in Uganda, one of the first in this part of Africa.

In HUGS’ first year, over 100 supporters donated a total of $32,200, far exceeding our initial goal. Working with Foundation for Development of Needy Communities (FDNC), a grassroots organization in Uganda, HUGS accomplished the following:

Sponsored 30 students to attend the Innovative Talents Vocational Skills Training Center run by FDNC in Mbale, Uganda;

Provided 200 anti-malarial mosquito nets for all students at the Vocational School, both to use at school and to take home, for years of protection from malaria;

Provided supplies and equipment for the Vocational School departments;

HUGS-sponsored carpentry students

Provided funds for 12 sewing machines for graduating tailoring students and 10 sets of carpentry tools for graduating carpentry students at the Vocational School;

Supported the Kisayke Memorial Special Needs Education Center, including helping to fund teachers' salaries and finish the construction of a school building and latrine;

Through the Gifts that Give program, provided specific support to schools and families including livestock, clean water projects, school furniture and tuition for special needs students, AIDS testing, and seeds for community vegetable gardens;

Provided FDNC with general operating support;

On September 12, 2007, HUGS received 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, allowing all gifts from U.S. citizens to be fully tax-deductible.

We at HUGS are proud that in 2007, 100 percent of donor contributions went directly to programs that support students in Uganda. All administrative costs of both HUGS and FDNC in administering HUGS's programs, including transfer fees and exchange rate costs, were covered by a special fund supported by the Board of Directors of HUGS. Two HUGS Board members, Sally Shapiro and Roman Stearns, were able to travel at their own expense to Mbale in 2007 to oversee HUGS's programs there.

Children in Natondome village, one
of the communities participating in
FDNC's Rural Community
Development Program

Our goals for 2008 are to (1) match 50 Ugandan students with U.S. sponsors, (2) improve communication between sponsors and students, (3) expand our donor base to 300, and (4) explore innovative ways to raise funds.

Last year we began selling greeting cards designed by FDNC artist Pison Masaba, and hand made by him and his students. Board member Robert Israelite was very successful selling them at a holiday craft fair. They have also sold well in one retail outlet. We hope to expand our greeting card project in 2008.

The happiest surprise for us in the first year of HUGS was your enthusiasm and generosity. We were excited about HUGS and the possibility of changing lives, and you all jumped right in with us. We are not alone! Please let us know what you would like to see HUGS doing in 2008 and beyond and let us know how you want to be involved. There's lots to do, and we need all of you and more.

Thank you, from us and from your friends in Uganda.

Sincerely,

Clara Shapiro
Co-President

Sally Shapiro
Co-President