During this season of giving, my heart is with a big family in Uganda- with more than twenty children- in a community that is my second home.

The kids are now siblings, but they don’t share birth parents. They were tragically orphaned over two years ago and were taken in by a family whose love knows no limits. This family said “yes” even when they didn’t know how they’d manage. Love is their guiding light. This family embodies a heart of gold. This is also my chosen family- Morice, who I’ve been friends with for nearly ten years, his wife, Collins, their daughter Rosamond, whose name sake is my own mother.

We are currently under construction on the Rwenzori Support Center in the heart of Maliba village in western Uganda. It will be a secure home for these children; a safe, warm place with a roof that doesn’t leak, a dining hall for shared meals, triple-decker bunk beds for every child, and proper bathrooms instead of a latrine. It will house a larger Sisters Outreach center, where members of Sisters in Circles sew pads for donation and clothing to sell, and offer support to girls and women about health and hygiene. The building will ALSO house the region’s (yes, region) very first community library. One batch of books has arrived. It was a video of Joan, reading from The Anthology of Birds, that took my breath away and made me realize the true impact of access to resources that have never been seen- or imagined- there. 

If you also have a generous heart and a lot of love to give, you can help us build this dream - the Center will be the heartbeat of the community.

There are several creative and special ways you can give.

Consider honoring someone you love with a donation, and I’ll send them a card that shares the story of the Rwenzori Support Center. (link, and maybe more info on amount and how to pay- check?) These donations must be received no later than December 10th to ensure cards arrive in time.

You can help grow the library by choosing from this curated list of books. They will be shipped to me and taken to Uganda by myself or friends traveling there.

Shop! We have napkins and bags sewn by local Afghan women, earrings by Mayan craftswomen, and more- all of which make great gifts and a positive impact on the artisans.

No matter how you give, you are becoming part of this family. While we are constructing a physical building, we are also establishing a strong foundation of safety, care, and connection. That will endure for generations, transforming the lives of each person that passes through its doors.