It all started with a fiery little girl: Winnie. 

Co-founders Ethan and Jenni were working in Northern Uganda, putting on a VBS on a hot Saturday afternoon. Winnie stuck out. She didn't have any clothes on, and she was incredibly upset. She took to Jenni immediately, and it didn't take them long to realize there was something very wrong.

Jenni approached a translator to help, and he quickly filled her in on the story: 2-year-old Winnie wasn't doing well. So Jenni and Winnie set off with about a dozen Acholi children to find her mother, leaving Ethan in charge of 200-plus Acholi children by himself.

The children led Jenni and Winnie back home where a neighbor explained the situation: Winnie was the youngest of three, her father had run off, and Mom was selling maize in the market to make ends meet. Winnie had a life threatening bacterial infection but Mom couldn't afford the life saving procedure she needed. It seemed to be a simple solution for Jenni, "I'll pay for it, let's find her mother and go."                

"There isn't time, you have to take the child to clinic."

And so, Winnie, the helpful neighbor, and Jenni went off to clinic. 

Doctors confirmed it was now or never. The life saving procedure was simple, but painful. Winnie came through it fine and fell asleep. Jenni went to pay the bill. 

$20. All that had stood between Winnie and her future was a measly $20. 

We got to know Winnie and her family and found out that neither Winnie nor her two siblings were attending school. Mom was barely keeping food on the table, and school fees weren't in the budget. This is a common story in Northern Uganda. Education is expensive, and few poverty-stricken families are able to afford the extraneous fees and taxes associated with school. But through it, the cycle of poverty can be broken. Northern Uganda was war stricken for two decades, leaving an entire generation without education and now as they raise their children, they aren't able to send them to school. Our Ugandan neighbors are struggling, but with a boost, things can change. 

So was birthed "Aphoyo," which means "Thank You" in Acholi, the language spoken in Northern Uganda. It is the first thing Winnie's mother expressed to us when we met her with her little girl post-surgery, and it continues to be a sign of gratitude from our students to our sponsors, from the co-founders to our schools, and from all of us to our inspirational students. 

Winnie is thriving along with nine other Aphoyo students who would have never had a shot at an education. We have other children just waiting for the chance at an education. Change their lives and make their day by signing up to sponsor Aphoyo here.