My name is Barbara Berk. My close friend Miriam Menya is from Jinja, Uganda. Uganda is all about bribes and the rich having what they need and the poor do not. The government has no programs to help the poor or to help educating its children. Miriam’s husband abandoned her and her children several years ago. Miriam has moved to Toronto Ontario Canada the end of September in hopes of getting citizenship there and to eventually move her children there where education is free like it is in the USA. Please pray that she will be able to get Canadian citizenship and then be able to bring her 4 children to Canada. It would be absolutely devastating if she got deported. We won't know her status for at least 1 year and maybe more. She will be eligible to get a work permit during her time there, but she has still not yet received her work permit. The children are still in Uganda living with Miriam's sister. Since currently Miriam has no job and no way of making money she needs help paying the Tuition for her 4 children for the school term that will begin in January, 2024. THERE ARE NO FREE SCHOOLS IN UGANDA. In Uganda the quality of education varies by how much you can pay. The amount requested is not for an expensive school; it is for a basic, descent, adequate education. The children were able to be in this school environment for the last 5 terms and have been thriving. Total cost for Tuition in the past was $532. We just found out that all schools significantly raised their tuition. We think the costs will be about $850 for the term beginning in January. We will correct this if we find out differently. So, we are asking for $850 for the tuition for Miriam's 4 children; 2 in high school and 2 in elementary school. The Canadian government is taking good care of Miriam and the other Ugandan immigrants that she is with. They are providing free housing, free 3 meals a day and beginning in November she began receiving $300 per month for her expenses while in Canada. They have moved her several times. She landed in Montreal and quickly moved to Ottawa. Later they decided to move her to a suburb of Toronto where she still resides. She is now at her 3rd location in the Toronto area. At this time she is still waiting for her work permit so she can get a job there. Miriam hopes that she will be able to become a Canadian citizen and then she would love to go to nursing school. We discovered that the Ontario province has a program that will pay completely for the education of someone in nursing school as long as they commit to remain in Ontario for at least 2 years. This would be ideal for Miriam. She can't apply for this grant until she is a citizen of Canada. We value all your prayers that all of this will be possible. I, Barbara Berk, traveled to Toronto in November to see Miriam. It was our first meeting and we got to hang out together and go shopping. I, Barbara Berk, will be collecting all the money in my bank account and will send the money to Miriam's sister, who is taking care of the children, shortly thereafter via Western Union. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Background data: Miriam is a single parent of 4 children; 3 girls and 1 boy. Two of the girls are in high school; and two of the children are in elementary school. Miriam's husband abandoned his family for another woman. He has no contact with Miriam or any of his children. He is a school teacher and has no desire to support his children or to try and educate them himself. There is just no contact. As stated above, there are no free schools in Uganda. The quality of education is determined by money. When Miriam could not afford a good school, her second child had to go to an inferior school and academically she paid the price of the lack of education. The most important thing to Miriam is the education of her children. She has picked schools that aren't the cheapest, because the cheapest are an inferior education. She has picked ones that provide a descent education with a more minimal expense. However, even the horrible schools there are not cheap. We are very spoiled in America with our public schools because everyone in America has the right for a free education. Miriam's children do not have that right and their education is dependent on what their mother can afford since their father has abandoned them. Friendship Miriam Menya has been my close facebook friend for almost 3 years. August 21, 2024 is when our relationship really started. I remember the date because it was her birthday. Anybody who has been facebook friends with me for a while knows I say a whole lot more than Happy Birthday when it's a friend's birthday. Miriam did not just do the customary thank you or show appreciation of what I wrote she wanted to talk about what I wrote which was about growing in her relationship with God and reaching her full destiny. That is how our friendship began. Since then we talk nearly every day; at least 4 times a week if not more which is sometimes difficult with an 8-hour time difference. We have gotten to know each other pretty well as we talk about all kinds of personal topics. We talk about ourselves, our countries, our cultures, our politics, our relationship with God, and business projects for Miriam. We talk about what it is like to live there and what it is like to live in the U.S. We also pray together and share our prayer needs. During the entire time that I have known Miriam she has never asked for money and has never made any attempt to try and get anything from me. She has been honest and genuine and when asked tough questions she has been very forthcoming. When I first met Miriam she was struggling to find work. She had lost a couple of jobs cooking and cleaning for some people because of covid. She got by financially by cleaning houses, but it really was not enough money for a family of 4. Miriam dreamed of being able to have her own business so that she could be more financially stable to support her children. She had connected with other woman who had some businesses and was learning how they got them when we met. Miriam always described herself as hardworking and so wanted to provide opportunities for her children. Though Miriam never asked for help, I nevertheless had an interest in helping her if I could. So I would ask questions about what she hoped to do and what she wanted to achieve and how much money that would take, etc. During this time I learned a great deal about her. I learned that she is very smart. I learned that she is quick to learn and willing to absorb information on running a business. I also discovered that our personalities are very much alike which is why we bonded so well. She is assertive, forthright, honest, smart and quite capable. She is very rational and logical and yet sensitive, caring, and compassionate. She is well-organized, very resourceful, very good at connecting with people such as learning a business from other woman. She has all the skills needed to be a good employee, but there are just no opportunities in Uganda unless you are willing to pay for bribes or have money to have a college education. Her government has no policies or any funds of any kind to help her with her predicament. Past history of self-employment via fundraising. Financially I wasn't willing nor able to provide money to her to facilitate her dreams on my own, but with involvement from others I felt it was feasible to help her out. She wanted to start a chicken business. Buying chicks, raising them, and then selling them for meat to restaurants. She had a good grasp of the business and when asked to do a business plan, she produced an impressive result. When asked, she stated the money that she would need was $350. So I and some others helped Miriam start her chicken business. We actually raised $450. She did very well. She made $200 profit. Covid, however, hit Jinja hard at the same time and the president of the country shut down the country after Miriam had already purchased her next batch of chickens. Now with all businesses closed and the police were not allowing any form of travel except getting food, Miriam had no way of making money, she couldn't even go and clean people's houses because of the quarantine. So she had to live on her $200 profit which meant she couldn't put that money back in the business and be self-sustaining as we had planned. Furthermore, because she already had purchased her 2nd batch of chickens she now had no source to sell them too for profit. As a result Miriam did lose some money because of the situation, but she did everything she could to minimize her losses and she tried to sell as many chickens as she could to the local people because that was the only source available. During this time, I learned that Miriam did not exaggerate her skills. She is a hardworker. She is very entrepeneurial. In fact, I don't think I've met anyone who is so entrepenurial as Miriam. She is always thinking ahead coming up with possibilities and how to achieve them and having a business become successful so she can have employees. As of right now Miriam is running an off-the-road restaurant selling chicken, fries, and sausages. I am using my tithe to help support Miriam’s business. I have full confidence in Miriam’s ability to work hard and be a productive member of society. It is a shame that Uganda lacks opportunities for someone without college and who is not willing to pay a bribe to receive a job. Summary In summary we need $532 to cover all school costs for the term in September, 2024. Miriam will need $377 for clothes, shoes, suitcases which she hopes to purchase in Uganda as they are much cheaper there than in Canada or USA. Then she will need some spending money until she gets her first paycheck. Asking for $600 that will also include credit card fees from this LFEBridge. So in total we are asking for $1,600. Hopefully this will be the last time we are asking money for tuition. I and Miriam will be most appreciative of your assistance in this matter. Miriam and I are fervently praying for your support as she cannot do this without your help. Prayer is also requested that Miriam will easily transition to life in Canada, and find a job immediately so that she can become self-sufficient.
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