TORORO, UGANDA

The location of Uganda in Africa presents its own unique set of challenges and benefits for the people living there. Uganda borders Sudan, Lake Victoria, Tanzania, Rwanda, the Congo and Kenya. This is the area where Give Us Wings is present—in the eastern town of Tororo along the Kenya border. Meet the people of Tororo—the farmers, the widows, the orphans in Kayoro; the men and women with disabilities in the Mari Group; the women and children in Ngiyo Ber who have created a new life outside of the slums and the member of the Hare Group who hope to do the same; the beekeepers, the people selling vegetables, the women digging with hand held hoes to make a few cents in the fledgling Dio Chuny and Katona Mbera Groups. Each has their own story. But they are bound together with common threads of desperation, determination, care and hope. They are all looking to Give Us Wings, and to each other, as their only hope of giving their children a life of safety, health and education.

NGONG, KENYA

At 7,000 ft above sea level, the Ngong Hills in Kenya are lush, beautiful, desirable and expensive land.  Some people are familiar with scenes of the Rift Valley and the Ngong Hills from the movie Out of Africa. Of course, the reason for the lush green is the cold and damp climate, which is particularly true at night. In Ngong’s horrific dilapidated Rongai slums this just adds to the sense of misery.

For the Maasai mothers and their children living in down in the Rift Valley, who want a literacy training and to expand their goat-sharing business, the harsh dry climate is just one component in their harsh reality. This is where you’ll also find Grace Kingatua, the farm she and her husband run, and the children they care for.

NYAOGA, KENYA

Meet the people of Nyaoga. The Women’s Group who helped make the Nyaoga Medical Clinic and Nyaoga Water Project a reality; the Victoria Young Women’s Group who understand the intrinsic value of education, and the Women Living Positively who, together, are working to support each other and lessen the stigma of HIV/AIDS. Together they represent the success that is possible, and the power of hope. But there is much work to be done.

UKUNDA, KENYA

At Give Us Wings, when we refer to “Ukunda” we’re really referring to an area of the Kenyan coastline from Mombasa down through Likoni and Tiwi and down to the community of Ukunda.  It’s an area of dichotomy-- poverty and serenity. A travel website reads: “The beautiful Kenyan Coastline is lined with pristine white sandy beaches fringing the warm, inviting waters of the Indian Ocean.”  True. Yet keep looking, beyond the tropical soft white sands and gentle sea breeze of Diani Beach, and meet the people who call “the coast” their home. Young and old, many tribes and religions, their eyes glassy, their feet and hands calloused, and their bodies weary and malnourished. Together they have designed a network that manages small loans for each other: the Tiwi Young Women, Tiwi Midwives, the Mawazwo Women’s Group, Malewano Women’s Group, and Family Group with their small business enterprises like cafes, poultry, kanga selling, small wood carvings, and tailoring, as well as health care and support.