FAQ
What does ACT do?
Initially formed as a child sponsorship organization, ACT has the primary goal of funding education and skills training. We feel that education provides the youth of Rakai with the tools to help them break the cycles of poverty and disease and helps ensure they are able to provide for themselves.
Why Rakai?
The Rakai district of Uganda has been termed "ground zero" of AIDS. The first case of the virus was discovered in 1982. More than one million orphans have been left behind and are in dire need of care, medical attention and both basic and HIV/AIDS education
Sponsorship and Donations
What does child sponsorship entail?
When you sponsor a child ($35 monthly when they’re in primary school, $75 monthly when they’re in secondary and boarding school) your donation is used for tuition, school supplies and incidental health care (mainly malaria treatment). You can also continue to financially support the child through their post secondary education. You are welcome to write letters to the child you are sponsoring, and you will receive updates about their well-being.
What are donations used for?
All funds received by ACT—either in the form of a check at our PO Box, PayPal, Mighty Cause, or other employer payment platforms—are sent directly to AIM Uganda. AIM then spends the funds as most needed or as allocated by their donor. Donations go directly to services; ACT and AIM operational costs are raised separately.
How are donations allocated?
Contributors are in full control of their entire donation. This means that 100 percent of all donations are used per the donor’s wishes. If no details are specified, funds are used where they are needed most.
How do I help the most?
You may select where your funds go but we encourage child sponsorship. Our goal is that each child receive a solid education, life skills and training about HIV/AIDS.
How else can I help my sponsored child?
When a family has a major crisis such as a death or serious health problem, ACT may reach out to the sponsor to see if they would like to participate in helping the family with additional costs. Offering the opportunity to donate additional funds is a judgment call on the part of ACT.
Some people have chosen to improve on or build a new home for their child’s family. Others have paid for funerals or emergency food supplies. Still others have purchased land and plant crops—even chickens, goats, pigs or cows.
I don't want to commit to a monthly donation or sponsor a child. How can I still help?
One-time donations are welcome. Unless otherwise specified, the funds are used where they are needed most, such as for the following: mosquito nets, water tanks, latrines, shoes, clothing and so on.
Beyond Child Sponsorship
What is Hope Again Women?
AIM Uganda founded Hope Again Women because they recognized the extraordinary efforts made by women, often grandmothers, to care for not only their young relatives but also many other orphans who have no one to turn to for assistance. AIM felt that supporting these women would help change a culture that may be prone to marginalizing women.
ACT supports the entrepreneurial efforts of these women by promoting the sale of handmade jewelry, baskets and soccer balls. Proceeds are divided up according to how much product each woman supplied. The women use the proceeds as they see fit—to pay for tuition, health care, antiretroviral medications, housing, clothing, etc. Some women have been able to start their own business such as a small store, a pineapple farm and a chicken-raising operation. They also contribute money to various AIM Uganda causes such as buying bedding for orphans.