Peter’s Heart Enrolls 30 New Students

Thanks to our successful fundraiser last October, Peter’s Heart has enrolled 30 new students in the program. It was a busy end of 2025 for our staff, who identified children in the slums of Sembule and Kikubamutwe, met with their mothers or guardians, conducted interviews, and completed paperwork to officially welcome these families. Among the new students are refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and children who struggle with food insecurity, parental abandonment, drug exposure, and unsafe living conditions. 

The process of enrolling new students involves many moving parts. Our team always identifies more children than we can enroll, and we must narrow the list to those most vulnerable. The Peter’s Heart team follows established procedures and guidelines and then consults with leadership in the slums, who can concur with our selections and recommend others we may not be aware of. Two forms submitted to local magistrates validate each child's vulnerability. 

A child qualifies for Peter’s Heart sponsorship if they meet the international standard of child poverty, which is when two or more of the following basic needs of a child are not met: nutrition, health, water, sanitation, shelter, education, and information. We give special priority to children who have the potential to progress in school, live in a life-threatening condition, or are orphaned, abandoned, or exploited.

Building Trust

Because of sex trafficking and child labor, we work hard to build trust with mothers, magistrates, and government officials. We also rely on our relationships with both day and boarding schools to help us place students in the most appropriate educational setting for the coming school year. Our mentors facilitate assessments and interviews for the children at various schools. In addition to their school tuition and supplies, the children also receive medical check-ups, including dental care, eye exams, and vaccinations. 

To support our increased enrollment (now 119 students in the program), we are adding a new mentor to the Peter’s Heart staff, bringing the total to 11 highly qualified and caring Ugandans. Mentors hold orientation meetings with the families at our center, where the children also receive hot meals. For many of these children, it will be their first time attending school, having three meals a day, owning a new pair of shoes, and having their own bed to sleep in at night.

It can be heartbreaking for our staff when they cannot enroll all the children that they come to know and love in the slums. We know that for those who do join the program, the transformation is life-changing. When a newly enrolled little girl tried on her school uniform, her mother broke down crying, saying, "I never thought I'd see this day."

The children are so excited to start school. One child said it was like a dream to have a mattress when she saw her bed.

What a privilege it is to bring new children into the program.