Uganda Children’s Project - A Brief History
The Uganda Children's Project (UCP) began in 2001 when a nurse visiting the United States from Uganda learned that her brother-in-law had died and that another child would be joining her already over-crowded family. Although there is an extensive public education system in Uganda, it is not free of cost to parents. Things like school uniforms, books, food and local administrative fees are the responsibility of parents and guardians. With her own four children and three other AIDS orphans she had taken in, she could not afford another child. A man from a local church agreed to help with the expenses of this child and Lisa and Jim Steele – now the directors of the project – agreed to route the money to Uganda.

Within a few weeks of the nurse returning to Uganda, the Steeles received a package with fourteen pictures and stories of other children in desperate need. The package included a tiny note upon which was written, “these kids need help too.” Jim and Lisa found sponsors for those kids and within a few weeks received fifty-eight more and one-hundred fifty-four more soon afterward. The Uganda Children’s Project was born.

Today the UCP has grown to over 300 sponsored kids living in urban Kampala and several small rural villages in southern Uganda. A staff of two Ugandan employees administer the project in Uganda with David Wahlstedt, pastor of Crosspointe Church in Carrollton, TX  joining the Operating Committee in the summer of 2002. Jim, Lisa and David travel throughout the US raising awareness about the need in Uganda and matching sponsors with needed children. As a missional partnership of Crosspointe, the UCP enjoys frequent visits from church partners who sponsor kids and others from the community.  Jim, Lisa and David also lead teams to Uganda two to three times yearly. The next trip is in August 2010.

UCP Christmas Shoe Project
Each year the Uganda Children's Project buys shoes and socks for orphaned and needy children in Uganda.  The shoes are bought in bulk from wholesale suppliers in Uganda both to support the local economy and be cause the cost of transpo rting shoes into Uganda is prohibitive. The cost for a pair of school shoes and socks is $15. Shoes represent hope for desperately poor children in Uganda because without them they cannot attend school. Many children are kept from the education they desperately need simply for need of a pair of shoes. This coming Christmas will be the sixth year for the Uganda Children’s Shoe Project. Last year Jim Steele and David Wahlstedt delivered 820 pairs of top-quality Bata shoes and socks to children in Kampala and in rural schools outside the city. Every dollar given goes directly to the purchase of shoes.