Literacy of Love
Literacy of Love
Efforts to support the children of Uganda set for June 18th at Ellicottville Distillery
Cari Matejka, CEO of Literacy of Love (LOL) speaks about her passion to help those less fortunate than herself. Cari, a middle school teacher, began her journey to Africa through St. Bonaventure University. After visiting Uganda in 2010, she has gone back every year since. By 2016, the African children had captured her heart and she began to build the Literacy of Love (LOL) community, a non-profit organization. The mission is to provide a real home for these children so they can develop a sense of belonging and where they are ensured an education.
These children come from poverty that is unknown to us in rural western New York. The village homes are typically made from mud with one large room and no indoor plumbing. Water is gathered daily from a communal source. Many children who live at the LOL home arrive with disadvantages such as little or no education, malnutrition, disease, and disabilities. Having a real home for these children gives them a stable core, a sense of family.
Most of the children’s families are so poor they cannot provide basic needs. In some cases, the family situation is volatile and abusive. LOL provides structure, counseling, and guidance for the children so that they can see hope for their future. Over this past Christmas season, Cari was at their LOL home and invited a widowed mother to spend the holiday with her two children that live there. The widow told her children and Cari that the home was “Paradise”. Paradise in which her children have a safe home to live, can attend school, have clean clothes to wear and food to eat every day. How very different our lives are when we think of Paradise.
The future mission, says Cari, “is to become an independent community in which graduates of the program help to start businesses, mentor younger students and help change the future for these children and their families.” Cari further noted that graduates are already actualizing their goal with small businesses, such as a barber shop, a welding shop and soon a medical center. With these grown children now becoming productive citizens of Uganda, sustainability is in sight.
Hope for a future for these once destitute children is becoming a reality. Cari notes that she is torn between two worlds, and she works every day to keep the mission growing and moving forward. What can you do to help her continue this important work? Of course, donations are always accepted, but sponsoring a child to attend school is her main focus. Education will help raise these children above their circumstances. If you are interested in learning more, visit Cari through her Literacy of Love website at literacyoflove.org or follow her on Instagram and Facebook by searching ‘Literacy of Love’.
In June there will be several opportunities to learn more about this organization. From June 3rd through June 21st, there will be a photo exhibit called ‘Art from the Heart’ at the Regina Quick Center on the campus of St. Bonaventure University. There is no cost to attend. Then on June 18th, there will be a fundraiser at the Ellicottville Distillery for BeerGanda. A $50 ticket gets you admission to attend the event in which a live band will play while you sample beers from brewers from across New York State. Basket raffles, a silent auction and food vendors will also be there. The event runs from 2:00-5:00pm.
Cari states that “the needs are endless, but the possibilities are endless too.” Her mission breaks the cycle of generational poverty while providing a family that gives these children hope.