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My name is Washi Ronald, a lawyer by profession, and holder of a Bachelor's Degree in Laws from Islamic University In Uganda and an undergraduate Diploma in Law from Law Development Center, and currently waiting for my post graduate legal practice certificate results from Law Development Center.
The impact CROSO has made in my life need no explanation. I dare say that without CROSO scholarship in my life, I would have been a nobody without hope for bright future.
Richard has a background in education that aligns with CROSO’s vision perfectly. From 2002-2017 he was working at Child Restoration Outreach (CROSO’s partner organization in Uganda) supporting children that had been living on the streets and taking them back into schooling. Richard has known about CROSO since it first started in 2007 and continues to have long-standing relationships with many of CROSO’s scholars and graduates. The past 5 years he has monitored and evaluated at an organization called Spotlight on Africa Uganda foundation whose mission included supporting poorer communities to access quality education, economic empowerment, health services and good hygiene.
As we begin a new fiscal year for CROSO, we face a large leadership transition for our board of directors. I wanted to share this post to express our deep gratitude for the incredible leadership of our outgoing board president, Beth Lampson, and to share our optimism as we look ahead to the future with our new board president, Elsa VanHove.
CROSO has been so fortunate to have incredible leaders serve as board members over the past 13+ years. One of the greatest strengths of our organization has ben the collaboration of people with different perspectives, skills, and experiences.
We have space for a few new board members in 2021 and we’re welcoming interest.
During this time when so many of our lives have been turned upside down, we have been in close communication with our scholars in Uganda. As supporters of our CROSO Scholars, I want to share updates about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts them and how CROSO continues to support them during this time.
As I write this, there have been 44 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Uganda and no recorded deaths. We began communicating with our scholars about this issue prior to any confirmed cases of the outbreak there. We provided all of our scholars and graduates with trusted online resources (World Health Organization, CDC, and the Ugandan Ministry of Health) so they could be prepared before the pandemic spread to their country, which we assumed would be a matter of days or weeks. On March 18th (before there were any confirmed cases in Uganda), President Yoweri Museveni addressed the nation and announced that starting on March 20th, all schools would be closed for 30 days. We immediately contacted our scholars and provided funds for individuals traveling back to their home areas and covered additional needs for housing and food during this unexpected time away from school.
We are re-starting a series of social media posts where we will be asking our donors and volunteers why they give to CROSO. As I think about this, I can’t help but be reminded of one of our graduates who asked me a similar question on our most recent visit to Uganda. During a gathering with some of our graduates in Mbale, we were all sitting around a table having dinner. Unlike most of our trip, this dinner wasn’t filled with action items that Meg and I had to accomplish. This dinner was just a chance to catch up with some of the graduates. About halfway through dinner, Longora John asked a series of questions that I found so thoughtful and it all began with the question, “Why?”
Written by Dawson Vandervort, CROSO Intern from the University of Dayton
Since our CROSO donors are so generous, and probably curious, this blog post is all about how exactly CROSO’s finances are used to support scholar needs. CROSO’s scholarship expenses can be split into 5 vital groups: Academic, Internship, Holiday, Graduation and Management Fees. In 2018 we spent a total of 254,695,450.00 Ugandan shillings, or $70,542.52 USD.
Written by Molly MacCready, Executive Director
When we started CROSO 10+ years ago, we had this big idea that if these C.R.O. “kids” I had met in Uganda (all former street children) had access to higher education, they would become incredible leaders in their communities. We believed that each one already possessed the passion, talent, and many of the skills necessary to be an agent of change… and that with the degree, diploma, or certificate that they earned at a university or college, they would be able to transform their communities. These were big ideas. And while we believed them to be true, we knew we would not be able to test our hypothesis for a while… not until our scholars had gone through their programs, graduated, and had some time to grow their careers.
Written by Elsa VanHove, CROSO Board Member
“New year, new you!” is the lighthearted phrase plastered all over American media every January, encouraging us to start the year off right with a set of resolutions. This year, we asked some of our scholars what their 2019 New Year's resolutions are, and they vary from personal to professional, and social. Francis, like a lot of us, will try to set an exercise routine “for improving the activity of the brain and heart.” However, he also is taking a more mindful approach to his studies and career by “being focused on what has taken me to campus.”
As we wrap up 2018, we feel so grateful for all the amazing people who make this work possible — our scholars, our graduates, our donors, and our volunteers! Many of those folks are featured in our top 5 moments of this year.
Written by Elsa VanHove, CROSO Board Member
Like many others, I take this season to reflect on the year, especially things that have given me joy. While there have been a number of personal and professional landmarks in my year, at the top of the list is undoubtedly my whirlwind trip to Uganda in October as a CROSO ‘Ambassador’.
It is while reflecting on this CROSO trip that I want to share…
Written by Nora Shepard, Marketing & Communications Committee Member
CROSO celebrates innovation.
Not only is our organization incredibly innovative in how we envision global education, but we like to reward innovative thinking whenever possible. Some might say our approach is lofty; we think our idealistic approach is necessary for progress. The truth is, we need a certain level of idealism to move the world forward—to create a world we’re all proud to live in. But that idealism has to be paired with creative strategy in order to work. We’re so fortunate to work with some of the most innovative thinkers in not only Uganda, but the world.
Dear CROSO Community,
I’m writing to share some exciting news! After a lot of thoughtful consideration, I will be leaving CROSO at the end of September. I know this will be a big change, but after 16 years of leading CROSO I feel confident this is the right moment for this change and a great opportunity for growth - both for CROSO as an organization and for me personally.