On May 12th, 2006 my friend Herb Levin and I went to a wonderful Philadelphia venue called The Annenberg Center to see a Children of Uganda (COU) Tour of Light performance.  During intermission, we went into the lobby and spotted several tables with books containing photos and brief histories of Ugandan children in need of sponsors.  We decided it would be a blessing for us and the child to take on this responsibility, so we began looking.

        We knew that these children had lost their parents to AIDS and, since we were going to jointly sponsor one, it was very difficult to choose.   I quietly

A young Paul Zaake as pictured when Georgia first saw him in his profile.

asked God to guide our choice so that our sponsored child would bond with us even over long distance.  I remember turning only a few more pages and getting a warm feeling from Paul Zaake's picture.

        So our long distance "parenting" began and little did we know how much our investment of money and written correspondence would mean to this young soul!  As time went on we looked forward to receiving Paul's letters and I (who love to write) got so much joy in responding!  I recall after about a year that Paul began referring to me as "Mom" in his letters, which made me feel so good.  

        Unfortunately, my dear friend Herb of 34 years died unexpectedly in November of 2006.  I decided to alert my friends that I wanted to partner with someone else to continue helping Paul.  I did not want to abandon Paul as he had already suffered enough loss in his young life.  And so, without hesitation, my friend Rita Roitman lovingly and ambitiously joined my adventure!

       Paul graduated secondary school in June 2011 and was accepted into Gulu University last September to pursue a 3 year course in agriculture.  Rita and I were elated and so happy for him!  Paul informed me that he would be taking a long bus trip in August to visit COU's Kampala office to complete paperwork for his admittance to university.  The thought occurred to me that I could possibly talk to Paul, and then on a bright Monday morning I received the best surprise.  I had a phone message from Pamela Brannon (COU's Executive Director) that Paul was with her and I was to call their office as soon as possible so we could speak for the first time!  That phone call, full of smiles and tears, was one of the best gifts I've ever received.

Paul is all smiles for the camera on the day he got to speak with his sponsor for the very first time.

        To cover Paul's university expenses, Rita and I reached out to our network of family, friends and neighbors for support.  Thanks to the help of Linda and Richard Lyttle, Maxine Chalker-Mollick and Jane Tarnoff Malyn and Maury Malyn we raised the required funds and Paul is now thriving at Gulu University.  He has kept us all greatly informed of his studies, grades and adventures through letters and has sent me wonderful photos of himself and his fellow classmates at school.

       I learned at a very young age that when we reach out to those in need the domino effect is a positive one and those black and white disks create a beautiful design.  I can't speak for Paul, but I feel he'd agree that God brought the right people together on life's stage to create this beautiful story of love, hope, bonding and outreach that has many more chapters to be written.  In fact, at the top of my bucket list is a trip to Uganda to meet my far away adopted son in person.  I know God will provide the means and the way.

Love and Peace to you Paul,

Mom (Georgia Ward)