Absolutely, send your letters and/or family photo to:
God Cares School
P.O. Box 26977
Kampala, Uganda
East Africa
Make sure you write your child’s first and last name at the bottom right hand corner of your envelope.
2. May I send a gift package?
There are some issues in sending packages to Uganda. Shipping is very expensive on both sides. After you pay shipping costs, there is also money required on the Uganda side to retrieve the package from the post office. Often times, these “fines” are collective and increase as the days go by that they sit in a Ugandan post office without any notification given. This has caused a financial strain on the ministry in the past. The preferred method of getting a gift to your child is to simply send an additional amount to your monthly sponsorship pledge and designate the gift cost (suggested $25 or so for your specific child. Then, the social worker will buy the child what he or she needs) But, if you really want to send a personal package, we suggest sending fed-ex to the above address. Please add the following info to the address – the school is located on Gaba Rd. Kansaga Mutesasira Zone. Many times, fed-ex will send straight to the school rather than the post office. Please also write your child’s first and last name on the bottom right hand corner of the package.
3. What are the Guidelines in Sending Gifts?
We would suggest small things that would fit in a padded yellow envelope. Some ideas might include: soft covered books, crayons, colored pencils, pens, pencils, coloring books, small toys, costume jewelry, warm weather clothing, such as a T-shirt or light weight shorts or dress. No sweets, please. Money and electronic devices should never be sent through the mail, nor should any mail or packages be sent to the PO Box in California. Please make sure you note your child’s full name on the package when you send it to God Cares School. Please don’t contact Buyamba Inc or Uganda about your child’s shirt or shoe size. We do not have enough man power to keep track of the kids’ clothes sizes but a larger guessed size is better. Keep in mind, the most cherished gift that the children love to share are your photos!!!!
4. Will I get information on my child?
Pastor Dongo loves when sponsors communicate with their children and we are increasing our ability to get out letters and report cards to our all of our sponsors. The children cherish your letters and pictures. Thank you for praying and supporting them. We will be taking new photos of the children every couple of years to send out to our sponsors.
5. Why doesn’t my sponsored child have a birth date listed?
Birthdays, in Uganda, are not celebrated the way we do in the United States. Unlike children in the states, if you were to ask a child in Uganda when their birthday occurs, they might not even know! This poses a problem for us in the United States when we are trying to keep track of our record keeping, but it is not such a big deal in Africa. When a child is orphaned, or moves around form one care taker to another, this background and birth date information may become even fuzzier. I often get asked by sponsors what they should get for their child’s birthday. Many sponsors also worry that they are “late” in sending their child a present or card for their birthday. There is no need to worry about this at all. There is no expectation on the part of your child to receive a birthday present in the mail. BUT, they do love to receive your gifts any time, so go ahead and send one if you would like.
6. Can I sponsor an older child that needs help?
Recently, we have been blessed to be offering sponsorship to some older children. These are kids struggling in the surrounding areas of God Cares. They are children who may not have had the money to go to school continuously in their childhood, but they are hoping to go to a trade or technical school to make a life for themselves. These sponsorships will go for $50 a month to cover the cost of these trade schools. Please email julie@ugandabuyamba.com for details.
