Celebrating 2024 Achievements and Vision for 2025
Dear Esteemed Donors,
As we reflect on the journey of 2024, we are filled with gratitude for your unwavering support, which has made a transformative impact on the lives of the children and communities we serve at Lasting Smiles Uganda. Your generosity and partnership have enabled us to achieve remarkable milestones, and it is with great excitement that we unveil our plans for 2025, a year brimming with potential for even greater transformation.
2024 Achievements: A Year of Progress and Hope
In 2024, we reached significant milestones that reflect our commitment to fostering sustainable change:
Fundraising Success: We raised a total of $413,469.99 in 2024, our best fundraising year ever, empowering us to deliver impactful programs and services.
Education Programs: We supported 598 primary and 38 secondary school students, enabling them to pursue education and secure a brighter future. Notably, 31 students completed their Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), and two successfully graduated from Senior 4.
Feeding: Through our feeding program, we provided thousands of nutritious meals to the children in our care.
Teacher Support: For the first time, we ensured our teachers were fully paid and consistently on time, bolstering their morale and dedication.
Health: We are immensely grateful that 2024 saw no deaths among our children and staff, a testament to improved health and safety measures.
Infrastructure Development: We dug a new, modern machine-drilled well, providing a reliable source of clean water for the school.
Spiritual Growth: Our discipleship programs have seen a remarkable increase in attendance at church, and we’ve witnessed a positive change in behavior among our primary school children, inspired by biblical teachings.
Looking Ahead: Vision for 2025 and beyond
Building on the solid foundation of 2024, we are approaching 2025 with renewed optimism and ambitious plans to elevate the impact of Lasting Smiles Uganda:
Chess Training Program: We kicked off the year with a week-long chess training for both primary and secondary students. This initiative aims to nurture critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and resilience—life skills that will empower our children academically and beyond.
Infrastructure Expansion:
Construction of additional houses for teachers, providing them with comfortable living spaces to enhance their well-being.
We started the pursuit of extension of electricity to the village where our school is. Working with Government officials to get electricity to Kyajja so that the children can have access to modern educational tools like computers, projectors, and internet connectivity, enhancing both teaching and learning experiences. It also improves infrastructure, such as lighting for extended study hours and power for essential facilities like libraries, laboratories, and clean water systems, fostering a conducive environment for academic excellence.
Long-Term – Next 2-5 Years
We plan to build two dormitories—one for boys and one for girls—to provide a secure and nurturing environment that promotes learning and personal growth while shielding the children from the social injustices prevalent in their communities. This initiative will allow us to spend more time mentoring them, instilling Christian values and positive behaviors, and enabling them to focus fully on their education and future success.
Establishing a library and computer lab to enrich learning opportunities and prepare students for a technology-driven world.
Constructing a kitchen and dining hall to improve meal preparation and dining experiences for our children.
Developing a community medical clinic to address health needs and promote overall well-being.
As we embark on this exciting journey, we recognize that achieving these ambitious goals requires collective effort and deeper collaboration. We invite you to continue being advocates for Lasting Smiles Uganda and consider the following:
Advocacy and Leadership: Join our mission as advocates or board members to guide and support our vision.
Visit Us: We warmly encourage you to visit us in Uganda to witness firsthand the profound impact of your support on the lives of the children and communities you are uplifting.
Together, we have achieved so much, and with your continued support, we are confident that 2025 will be a year of even greater transformation and lasting smiles. Thank you for your unwavering commitment to changing lives and creating a brighter future for the children we serve.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Semei Ziva
Founder, Lasting Smiles Uganda
Steiner Trip to Lasting Smiles Uganda
Hello dear friends! Chris and I (Jeff) had a productive trip to Lasting Smiles this past November. The primary objective of our visit was to assess the current status of the school and develop a strategic plan for its future. I’m pleased to share that we achieved our goals.
The school is still in the early stages of growth, and we are addressing several challenges: making critical staffing decisions, improving staff accommodations, determining the optimal number of students to enroll, and finding ways to build on the foundation laid over the past few years. In discussions with other large nonprofit organizations, Lasting Smiles has been identified as a "retail philanthropic" nonprofit, meaning we currently generate 100% of our revenue from a small but deeply compassionate and engaged group of donors. This donor base provides us with flexibility, but it also presents challenges in meeting our financial needs. To all our donors, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for partnering with us on this incredible mission.
In the coming weeks, we’ll release our first-ever annual report for the 2024 calendar year. This report will highlight our giving achievements, spending allocations, and special stories from our teachers, as well as our primary and secondary students. I’m thrilled to share that Lasting Smiles ended 2024 with the highest contributions in our school’s history! These funds have been a tremendous blessing, enabling us to expand teacher housing, purchase needed equipment, and enhance our infrastructure to better serve our students.
One highlight of our trip was a visit to the Sports Outreach Ministries (SOM) Chess Academy in Kampala. While many of us have played chess at some point, the SOM Chess Academy uses the game to teach critical thinking and life skills to young minds in Uganda. Robert Katende, the founder of the academy, is an incredible individual, and we’re excited to announce their commitment to bringing chess to Lasting Smiles. On January 13, Robert and his team arrived on our campus for a five-day program to introduce chess to our students. This partnership will open opportunities for our students to compete in national chess competitions. If you haven’t seen the Disney movie The Queen of Katwe, which tells the story of Robert’s academy and one of its extraordinary students, I highly recommend it.
An incredible amount of work has been done at Lasting Smiles, and I am both proud and humbled to be part of this beautiful journey. At the same time, there is still so much to accomplish. With your continued support and the help of new partners, I am confident that God has amazing plans in store for us.
Keep an eye out for our 2024 Annual Report, which will be published in mid-to-late February. On behalf of our 600+ students and 25 dedicated staff members, I thank you for supporting us in doing God’s work every day.
In His Name,
Jeff Steiner
Board Chairman
New options to support our scholarships
We are working on a new way to support our scholarship program that will be easier to navigate for our donors and more structured for our students. This restructuring of the Secondary Student Sponsorship program will start with support cost of each student’s education at $85/month. We will be moving away from individual child sponsorships to a pooled fund that helps each classroom need and student supplies to succeed at school. Our webpage is under construction and we should have it up and live in the coming weeks. We will follow up with social media posts and email all our donors once it launches. More to come!
Support Lasting Smiles Uganda
We finished out an amazing 2024 and our grateful for all the donations and prayers to support our work in Kyajja, Uganda. A new year brings opportunity for more growth and expansion of the ministry and school. Without the generous support of donors like you, it is impossible! If you are a current partner, we value your continued support. There are ways you can help.
How can you continue to support LSU?
1) Through a monthly contribution, consistency is vital
2) Give a one time donation to our ministry
3) Share with family and friends about supporting Lasting Smiles Uganda
4) Connect us with a business or church
5) Pray!
Tax season is upon us, so remember...Lasting Smiles Uganda is a registered 501c(3) non-profit organization. Your donation is tax deductible.
We wish you a very Happy New Year and pray that 2025 will be the best year yet! God bless and thank you for supporting our efforts,
Aaron Hall
Director of Development
Lasting Smiles Uganda
