My Nonprofit Reviews

I have been involved in Village2Village Project almost since its inception- as a sponsor, volunteer, and now as a board member. From the first it has been such a blessing to experience Village2Village Project's approach- how they treat each child and their family members as precious, unique individuals and provide exactly the health, education, and emotional supports each child they serve needs to joyfully become all they were meant to be. Village2Village Project's equally personalized way of connecting with the folks who sponsor the kids- it is so wonderful to get pictures and updates that help each sponsor truly develop a relationship with their child. Village2Village Project really does live out its motto of changing lives "person2person and family2family"!

Village2Village Project is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and I have had the privilege of a "front row seat" for most of those first 20 years. As a sponsor, a volunteer, and now also a board member, I have experienced first hand V2V's life-changing impact on hundreds of the precious lives of children and their family members living in the Serere district of Uganda- a remote rural area of deep poverty and chronic hopelessness. After providing everything needed for them to thrive, including the focused love and attention of our Ugandan staff, V2V has now launched its first cohorts of the children- now healthy and well-educated young adults- whom it began to serve back in 2003. They are already accomplishing wonderful things as doctors, technicians, teachers, skilled tradespeople, and entrepreneurs. Most importantly, they are inspired by all they received from Village2Village Project's staff and their sponsors to give back to the children (currently about 200 in number) following behind them! After its first 20 years, Village2Village Project is beginning to see the realization of its vision to transform the lives of children so that they are equipped to similarly transform the lives of others. It is a constant joy and blessing to be involved in this amazing organization, and I couldn't more highly recommend it to everyone else.

This amazing nonprofit is now in its 20th year of changing the lives of children and families in desperately poor eastern Uganda, and I am so proud to have been connected with it since very close to its beginning, when my family became the sponsors of a 6 year old boy just coming in to Village2Village Project's program. It was both inspiring and humbling to see how much of a difference V2V was able to make in his life with the relatively small amount of monthly support we provided. I was soon moved to start volunteering with them, and now serve on their board, and it has been such a privilege to be along on their journey. Starting with one small location and about a dozen children, Village2Village now has a presence in two village areas and serves over 130 children and their extended families- about a thousand people in all.

In all my experiences with their work, I have never seen V2V fail to be completely respectful of the culture and traditions of the people they are working with. They aren't taking children out of their culture- they are raised in their villages by relatives or well-vetted guardians and our Ugandan staff works in concert with those families to get children's needs met in culturally appropriate ways. The children in V2V's program grow up to find their places in the work and social world of their own country while keeping their connection to each other and V2V through their alumni program. V2V's work in their lives has changed the trajectory of their paths and instilled hope for a better future in them.

The life-changing work that Village2Village Project accomplishes in the lives of children and families in eastern Uganda grabbed hold of my heart from the first moment I learned about it. My family signed on to sponsor a little boy within the first year of V2V's existence, and have gone on to also sponsor a girl we have been blessed to watch grow into a lovely young woman with a bright future before her. V2V's thoughtful approach to grow slowly enough to truly invest the time and resources into nurturing the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of each child in its program allowed us to feel deeply involved and connected to the children we sponsored. It was joyful and humbling to have such detailed awareness of the difference our sponsorship was making in their lives!

This also encouraged me to get involved with Village2Village Project as a volunteer early on, and I have been able to help out in a number of ways that gave me a front row seat into how this organization conducts itself. I quickly came to admire and respect the absolute integrity with which Director Laurie Kroll and V2V's board members approached every aspect of the organization's work. Coupled with thoughtful sensitivity towards the culture of the country in which it serves, the result has earned V2V a position of deep trust and high regard in Uganda. V2V is known for its many efforts to reach beyond just the children and families in its programs to benefit the general community both during times of crisis and in ways that make a difference in the day-to-day quality of life for so many (such as providing a well for an entire village area).

These days I serve on Village2Village's Board and continue to be so impressed with the passion and commitment of the people who are dedicated to growing Village2Village's impact in creating changed futures for children and families who formerly lived without hope. I'm so excited to see what Village2Village accomplishes in Serere, Uganda, in the days to come!

I have been involved with Village2Village Project for more than 10 years now. My family has sponsored two children in the program and I have helped with sponsor communications and administrative tasks over the years, as well as recently joining the Board. It has been an immense privilege to be part of an organization that from its beginning has been committed to absolute integrity and transparency. I love the way the staff invests so much time and caring into each child in the program as well as their family members- they come to truly know and love these kids and support them spiritually and emotionally as well as meeting their physical needs. This kind of compassionate care is raising up young adults who have been enabled to reach their full potential and serve as leaders and role models in their communities.