CROSO's History

It all started when...

A question by Koba George in 2006. George, a former street child from Mbale, Uganda, was invited off the streets back in 1992 by Child Restoration Outreach (C.R.O.) - a Ugandan social services organization for street children. Through C.R.O., whilst overcoming insurmountable odds, George found support to complete primary and secondary school. In 2006, with the dream to become a social worker, George was accepted into a local university certificate program; however, neither C.R.O. nor George’s family had enough funding to afford tuition, and room and board at the university. George missed his first semester which made him feel hopeless about his prospects. In November 2006, during a conversation between George and Molly MacCready (an American study abroad student volunteering at C.R.O.), George asked “How can I tell you what my dreams are for the future if I don’t know if I’ll even be able to do this course?” 

That simple yet difficult question sparked a fundraising effort in the U.S. In 2007, George officially became the first scholar sponsored by Child Restoration Outreach Support Organization (CROSO). Today, George is a social worker with a penchant for seeing and supporting the good that others possess.

This is when CROSO came in. In 2007, CROSO (Child Restoration Outreach Support Organization) was founded as an Illinois 501c3 organization dedicated to ensuring a brighter future for Ugandan street children through access to higher education. CROSO started by supporting just one scholar, Koba George, and grew slowly over time. Over the following 15 years, CROSO has made it possible for more than 50 former street children to achieve certificates, diplomas, and degrees from Ugandan colleges, universities, and technical schools. While the nonprofit ran as an all-volunteer organization for the first eight years, in 2016 CROSO was able to hire a staff person, which enabled significant growth. Since then, CROSO increased fundraising success and put better structures in place to support the scholars both financially and emotionally.

George’s question not only opened doors for his dreams, it also inspired the creation of an organization that would open doors for many other students. CROSO was officially founded in 2007 in the United States as an Illinois 501c3 organization dedicated to ensuring a brighter future for Ugandan street children through access to higher education. Although it started by supporting one scholar in 2007, CROSO has made it possible for more than 50 former street children to achieve certificates, diplomas, and degrees from Ugandan colleges, universities, and technical schools. While the nonprofit ran as an all-volunteer organization for the first eight years, in 2016 CROSO was able to hire a staff person, which enabled significant growth. Since then, CROSO increased fundraising success and put better structures in place to support the scholars both financially and emotionally.