Questions and answers

PMCO (Peace Memorial Christian Organisation) has been working since autumn 2018 for poor children in Mityana District in Uganda, Africa. Anyone who takes on a child sponsorship with PMCO helps the poorest children physically, emotionally and socially, in a holistic sense. Our aim is to help the children out of hopelessness by giving them education and hope. When the children realise that we love them and that they are of special value, they begin to blossom in other areas of their lives too.

Very poor families live in the district around our campus. Some work hard so that their children can go to school. Sadly, because of financial hardship, they do not always manage this on a regular basis. Yet the best way out of poverty is education! A child with a good education has the chance of finding a good job and, with it, the way out of poverty. And children in Africa love going to school. They have big dreams and goals, want to become a teacher or an architect, for example, and know that they need a good school-leaving qualification to get there.

Our local staff select a child for the sponsorship programme when the family struggles every day with the consequences of extreme poverty. Girls and boys are accepted on equal terms. At the start, we talk with the parents or guardians to assess the child’s needs and to obtain their consent that the child will be sent to school regularly. Belonging to a particular denomination is not a criterion for acceptance; the only thing that counts is how great the need of the child and the family is. We are glad that our programme already supports many families of different religions.

Uganda has a kind of nursery school, known as the “Nursery”, where the younger children are prepared for school. It is more like a pre-school with two levels, the “Baby class” and the “Top class”. This is followed by “Primary School”, which is the equivalent of a German Grundschule. In Uganda, however, it lasts 7 years and has the year groups P1 to P7. After these seven years it is possible to start school-based vocational training in some fields.

Secondary school lasts 4 years and is called “Secondary School”. In the Ugandan school system the year groups are counted from 1 again here, so the classes are called S1 – S4. An S4 qualification (Ordinary Level, O-Level) is comparable to the German Realschulabschluss, the intermediate school-leaving certificate. With this qualification in hand, training takes two to three years on average, for example at a technical institute or a college for primary school teachers. However, this training is school-based, so the trainees do not earn any money during this time and instead have to pay school fees. Gaining such a training certificate is roughly equivalent to the German Fachhochschulreife, the entrance qualification for universities of applied sciences, so the path to a later, self-funded degree remains open.

Lessons in the schools are taught in English, as this is the official language of Uganda – but with more than 40 Ugandan languages, English is not the pupils’ mother tongue. Boarding schools, called “Boarding Schools” locally, are common in Uganda. The children stay there over the weekends too and only go home during the holidays. Boarding spares them the often long journeys to school, and there are additional lessons in the evening and exam preparation. For children who have lost their parents, for example, the boarding house is a home and a relief for the relatives who have taken them in.

The age at which Ugandan children start school in the first year is comparable to the starting age in Germany. However, there are also children who can only start school late or who repeatedly have to miss a year when the family can no longer afford school. As a result, a class can include children of very different ages.

You decide how much you take on:

• Full sponsorship: €65 a month.
• Half sponsorship: €32 a month.
• Individual sponsorship: an amount that suits you.

The scope is always the same: Whichever sponsorship you choose, it covers nursery school or school, health and everyday support. You do not have to select these areas individually.

Your sponsorship pays the nursery school or school fees and the exam fees, so that your sponsored child can pursue their goal without obstacles. This greatly increases their chance of escaping poverty through education. The child also receives breakfast and lunch and is thereby protected from malnutrition. In most cases these are the only meals the child gets at all. Your sponsorship makes it possible for our social workers to visit the child regularly and for the child to experience attention, love and care.

For the children it is also completely natural to share what they experience and learn at nursery school and at school with their brothers and sisters. That way everyone benefits. You also make it possible for our trained campus staff to celebrate special occasions with the sponsored children several times a year, where they take part in shared activities and experience that they are valued. There they are encouraged in every aspect of their personality, play with the other children, receive extra tuition, celebrate birthdays or write to their sponsors.

Health is part of every sponsorship. It helps your sponsored child to concentrate fully on their education.

There is health insurance in Uganda, but no family in the areas where we work can afford it. As a result, even the most basic medical care, vitamins and the simplest medicines that could prevent something worse are often lacking. Hygiene conditions in the families are often very poor, because the parents were never taught about it.

We use this part of your sponsorship to give the sponsored child basic medical cover, to buy the hygiene items they need regularly (especially for girls), to put together a small home medicine kit, and also to teach the family good hygiene practices. If anything is left over because the child stays in good health, it goes into the health pool so that we can help other PMCO sponsored children quickly and effectively in an acute emergency. In the event of an accident or an acute health problem, the child can be taken to hospital straight away, because the health pool allows us to act in an emergency quickly and without red tape.

Everyday support is part of every sponsorship. It helps your sponsored child to concentrate fully on their education.

Most of the adults our sponsored children live with are ill or too old to earn a living for the children left in their care as well. As a result, the small huts often lack the simplest everyday things.

We use this part of your sponsorship to provide your sponsored child with the basic essentials. This includes the cost of clothing, shoes, shoe polish, a blanket and food for weekends and school holidays. It also secures all school supplies such as pens, exercise books, a school bag, a plate and a cup and many other items. If any money is left over, it goes into the everyday support pool so that we can help other PMCO sponsored children or their families immediately and effectively in an emergency.

100% of the sponsorship contributions reach the sponsored children. All administration and advertising costs incurred here in Germany are financed by other donations and contributions. Whether it is a full, half or individual sponsorship, your contributions are used as follows:

• Nursery school and school: 100% of your sponsored child’s nursery school or school fees are paid.
• Health: Your sponsored child is provided with everything they need for their health. If anything is left over because the child stays in good health, it goes into the health pool so that we can help other PMCO sponsored children quickly and effectively in an acute emergency. We guarantee that all funds in the health pool benefit our PMCO sponsored children.
• Everyday support: Your sponsored child is provided with everything they need. If anything is left over, it goes into the everyday support pool so that we can help other PMCO sponsored children quickly and effectively in an acute emergency. We guarantee that all funds in the everyday support pool benefit our PMCO sponsored children.

We are delighted that you have decided to take on a sponsorship. Go to “Sponsorships” in the menu at the top. There you will find a form in which you choose a full, half or individual sponsorship. Once you have filled it in and sent it off, you will receive a confirmation email from us within the next three days. You help us enormously if you give us a direct debit mandate, as this is processed automatically.

The sponsorship ends automatically when the child leaves school or the training centre, at around the age of 20.

You can end your sponsorship without giving reasons, with four weeks’ notice to the end of any school term. In that case we try to find a new sponsor to continue the sponsorship with the child. The school year is divided into three parts, known as “terms”: January to April, May to August and September to December.

We always have to transfer the nursery school and school fees to Uganda in good time in advance, as otherwise the children cannot be admitted. If a sponsorship is cancelled, the child can no longer go to school in the next term. Please bear in mind that this is not just any contract – it is about the lives of children.

Within the next three days you will receive a confirmation email from us. Within a week you will receive a second email containing your login details for your personal area on our website. In this area you will find a recent photo of your sponsored child with their details, and later also letters and school reports.

You will also receive a framed picture by post of your sponsored child. Every six months we add new pictures and school reports, and once a year a personal letter from your sponsored child, to your personal area on the website.

In addition, you will receive a donation receipt that you can use to claim tax relief, as PMCO e.V. is recognised as a registered charity. You will find regular updates on the website and in our newsletter about all PMCO activities in which your sponsored child is involved.

It is lovely that you want to write to your sponsored child – they will be very happy to hear from you. For many children, the sponsor’s letter is a precious treasure that is read again and again and carefully kept; for some it is even the first letter they have ever received in their lives.

A few more tips from us:
– Try not to overwhelm the child with lots of questions, as they are not used to being asked for their own opinion. Tell them about yourself, your joys and worries.
– Please note that letters are exchanged in English only.
– Stickers and pictures are very welcome, but please do not enclose gifts.
– The envelope should be no larger than A5, and please use our charity’s address as the postal address; we will forward your letter. Or send it to us digitally at juli@pmco-uganda.org.

Your sponsored child will write you a letter at least once a year, which you will find in your personal area on the website. You might also like to think about visiting your sponsored child and combining your holiday with a meeting.

As PMCO Uganda e.V. we have decided that we are happy to pass on earmarked donations for presents or special occasions for your sponsored child, but that we will not send or take any items to Uganda.

With your earmarked donation, our team in Uganda will find out what your child would enjoy. They buy suitable things for your sponsored child and hand them over in your name. Of course, pictures are taken and sent to you. This ensures that the presents are culturally appropriate and fit the family’s current situation. Often there are very pressing needs such as mattresses, blankets, clothing or hygiene items. Our aim is also to support the local economy by buying locally.