Let's Change Some Lives

Let's Change Some Lives

My wife Cheryl, my daughter Gabriela and ten other people are going on a two week mission trip in June to help out at the New Hope Uganda Orphanage, which sits in the middle of a battleground and cares for 650 children.

The orphanage has been around for over 30 years. The guy who started this orphanage was a Pepsi exec. He and his wife left their jobs to dedicate their lives to changing others' lives.

How cool is that?

Check them out here:  NewHopeUganda.org


Goal

We’re trying to raise $50,000 or more to help the orphanage. $5000  to cover Cheryl and Gabriela's travel expenses, and the rest to make a big donation to the orphanage, and to sponsor some of the children.

If we can raise more, great. The more we raise, the more we can do.



We Have it Good in the US

Between my Olympic training and my speaking, I've been to over 50 countries. Every time I travel I come home feeling grateful for how good we have it here in the US.

I didn't know anything about Uganda until a couple of months ago. 


Uganda Doesn't Have it as Good - They Need Help!

- Uganda is the size of Michigan but it has four times the population - 40 million.

- There are 3 million orphans because of the civil war and the AIDS epidemic.

- There is no infrastructure. It is basically a country of children because a whole generation of parents was wiped out.

- 50% of the population is 15 years old or younger.
It’s the youngest country on Earth.

- 25% of people over 15 are illiterate. It’s a real mess.

- Life expectancy is only 53 years.


Think About It This Way

To put it in perspective, imagine if a civil war and an AIDS epidemic wiped out a generation of Americans and left the US with a 50% children population and a huge illiteracy rate.  Even with America’s great infrastructure, we’d be in real trouble.

And we'd sure be hoping someone would step up and help.



The orphanage educates kids to be able to help rebuild their war-torn country when they grow up. It’s not about just feeding them, but training them to create a better future.




What the Missionaries will Do

The missionaries will be helping with medical outreach, working at the school, construction, maintenance and technical services. Basically rolling up their sleeves and doing whatever they are asked to do for two weeks.

Gabriela will be using her photo and writing skills to document the whole mission trip so we can raise even more funds in the future.



Together We Can Change Lives

Let's all pitch in so together we can change some lives. Donate as much or as little as you like. Every bit counts. 

Hopefully we blow past the $50,000 goal and raise $100,000. 

Thanks ahead of time for your help. I assure you every penny you donate will be put to good use and will make a difference in the orphans' lives.



Make it an Olympic day!

Ruben Gonzalez - Olympian, Author, Speaker
GetStartedAndDontQuit.com