Engeye Teen Connection Partners with Engeye Scholars and Engeye Health Clinic to Help Ddegeya Village in Uganda

Engeye Teen Connection (ETC) is a new partner with Engeye Scholars and the Engeye Health Clinic.  ETC is made up of committed teenagers who want to make a difference in the lives of children and adults in Ddegeya Village. Sara Weinman, a sophomore at Bethlehem High School  and Brian Hickey,  a sophomore at Shaker High School,  started ETC because they wanted to get more involved with the mission of Engeye Scholars.  They felt compelled to help the children of Ddegeya and motivated to truly make a difference in a child’s life.  As a result of their passion and commitment,  the ETC Board of Directors (BOD) was created, consisting of Brian Hickey, Sara Weinman and Adriana King.  Adriana is a fellow classmate of Sara’s at Bethlehem High.  The ETC adult advisor is Misty Richards, part of the Engeye Health Clinic BOD and a medical student at Albany Medical College.  Together, these three teens and their advisor are working to help raise awareness and advocate for the villagers of Ddegeya, many of whom live on just a dollar a day.

Brian Hickey, member of the ETC BOD, got started with Engeye when he met with John Kalule and Susan Nabukenya from Ddegeya Village during their visit to the United States.  John and Susan were flown to the United States from Uganda to help Susan receive proper treatment for severe burns caused by a terrible cooking accident. Sara Weinman, another member of the BOD, was also able to spend quality time with John and Susan when they lived with her family while they were in the US.  Since that time both Brian and Sara became increasingly involved with Engeye Scholars; Brian collected and shipped school supplies to the schools in the village and he created and currently maintains the Engeye Scholars website.   Sara has taken an active role in selling bracelets and raising funds for Engeye Scholars. Adriana King, the newest member of the ETC BOD, became involved after attending an event to raise awareness about Engeye Scholars and their mission. From the energy and momentum gathered from volunteering with Engeye Scholars and their increasing awareness of what life is like for the children and teens in Ddegeya Village, these three teens felt compelled to start their own movement.  This movement would be created and run by local teens with the passion to help children and other teens a world away.  ETC was born and ready to rock!

The teenagers that make up the ETC BOD are giving all they can to really make a difference in the lives of the people in Ddegeya, not just by making their fundraising events a success, but also by using their own money to sponsor  children through the Engeye Scholars program. There are also many teenagers who are helping out the cause by volunteering with ETC and by sponsoring children through Engeye Scholars. Among them are teens, Greg Hickey, Robert Weinman, Bella Rody-Wright, Hannah Kassoff, Sarah King and a local group of girls who call themselves “Girls Who Care.” In fact, the “Girls Who Care” are having a pancake breakfast on March 21^st in Albany to raise funds for Engeye Scholars.  Current fundraising activities of ETC include bringing local teens together to make necklaces to sell and raise funds for the Engeye Health clinic and Engeye Scholars.  Along with the necklaces ETC members are working on obtaining support from local stores to market and sell Engeye bracelets. Sara, Brian and Adriana all hope to visit Ddegeya Village in Uganda within the next couple of years to see the Engeye Clinic in operation and to meet all of the Engeye Scholars.  They also look forward to helping serve the village and the children during their stay in Uganda.

To learn more about the Engeye Health Clinic in Uganda, please look at this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-LqS5j6vVg

About the Engeye Health Clinic

Engeye, a U.S. and Ugandan NGO based in Uganda, was created in 2006 by a dedicated group of medical students to address the disparity in basic health, education and environmental needs of rural Ugandan villagers.  Since its inception, the Engeye team has grown to include lawyers, architects, physicians, public health enthusiasts, engineers and more.  The Engeye Health Clinic provides care for a region in Uganda that is voiceless, despite its substantial need, and that otherwise would not have access to healthcare.  The Engeye Scholars program was born to assist the schools in Ddegeya Village.  Education is highly valued in Uganda and many experts believe education is the key to raising poor countries out of poverty.   Through scholarships, the children of Ddegeya Village have the opportunity to attend boarding school, which delays child bearing, empowers women and provides newfound hope for a child to fulfill his or her dreams. Dr. Stephanie Van Dyke, Dr. Carlos Elguero, John Leisure, Stephen Po-Chedley, Misty Richards and Anny Su comprise the board of directors for the 501(c) (3) tax deductible, nonprofit organization.  For more information, visit: and http://www.engeyescholars.org/