What do two dispatchers, an audio engineer, a retired pub owner, a nurse assistant, and a construction worker have in common? They all plan to travel to Uganda in September to impact young people, families, and communities in need.
The Uganda Project team is made up of Mylene Lacroix, Julie Pare, Jacob Lacroix-Cardinal (Mylene’s son), Roger Lee, Karen Lee (Roger’s daughter), and Michael Ogborne. This will be Roger’s ninth trip to Uganda since 2007, and Mylene’s third trip with Roger.
“Over the years, I have been involved in many programs, from house building, pig farms, chicken farms, goat projects, reusable pads for women and many, many more,” shared Roger, “The thing I like most about being a member of a small dedicated team is that 100% of the funds we raise will go to where it will do the most good with NO middle man.”
Mylene Lacroix started sponsoring a Ugandan girl named Betty in 2017. Lacroix met Betty on her first trip to Uganda in 2018. Lacroix’s family started sponsoring Betty’s little sister Mary when she entered the program mid 2018. Mylene got to meet Mary on the second trip.
“Our trips were organized through Touch Ministries out of Alberta, but they ran into problems with their Ugandan representative in 2020,” shared Mylene, “I’ve been supporting the girls (with the help of my family) on our own with the help of a local since May of 2020. We pay for their residential school fees, their trips home during school breaks, medical expenses and birthday cake and presents for their birthdays.”
The group is currently planning their next trip to Uganda in September and are raising funds to offer the most assistance possible during their trip. The five main projects they are funding include:
- Sanitary pads so women can attend school and work.
- Mosquito nets to prevent the spread of malaria.
- Providing rural communities with clothing and underwear.
- Improving the health of patients by donating to the nutrition program at the local hospital.
- Covering miscellaneous needs such as mounting medical expenses, bicycles for children travelling long distances to school, foam mattresses for families who sleep in the dirt, food, schoolbooks, and more.
More details on the team and projects can be found at https://www.ugandaproject.ca/.
