Community Corner
Lake Catholic High School Director Takes on Humanitarian Role in Uganda
Debbie Jarosz has transformed from somebody who has never been to Uganda to a board director on a nonprofit organization dedicated to support the residents of the country. Sponsored by Grape-Nuts.
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For Debbie Jarosz, who has traveled to Uganda to build homes and improve medical care and education in Uganda, one of the most difficult parts of her philanthropic efforts is asking for money to fund to support those goals.
“I understand that everyone has different priorities regarding issues that need to be addressed, and where their hard-earned money should go, but I am determined to convince others that this is a worthwhile endeavor, and that their sacrifices to help these people will be used efficiently and with great care,” Jarosz said.
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Her involvement in Ugandan humanitarian efforts began in January 2005, when the mother of two of Jarosz’s former students spoke at Lake Catholic High School in Mentor about her experience in Uganda with Habitat for Humanity.
“[She] showed slides of children, that had a profound effect on me,” Jarosz said. “Before the day was over, she had me on the phone with Donna Weir, who was the Habitat leader of the group … and my daughter and I were on the list for the Summer 2005 Women’s Build in Masindi, Uganda.”
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Jarosz has returned to Uganda every year since 2005, and plans to continue as long as she is able. In 2009 she became a member of the board of directors for GuluHelp Foundation, whose mission is to identify and address the challenges of communities in the Gulu region, and she is serving as president of the board.
“This has been an enormous challenge,” Jarosz said. “There is so much need in the region, but the determination of the Acholi people to rebuild the peaceful society they once knew, inspires me to move forward, to build awareness and to provide assistance where it is desperately needed.”
When faced with the question, ‘Why help people on the other side of the globe, when so many are suffering right here?’ Jarosz says simply that what she’s seen in Uganda during her annual trips has left her deeply connected to the country and its people.
“I cannot fully explain that, and I do not deny the needs of the poor in the U.S.,” Jarosz said. “But I was somehow called to the little country of Uganda in East Africa, and I will never be able to ignore what I experienced there. My goal is to be bolder and braver in expressing my passion for this cause, and to learn more about fundraising in order to more effectively help the people of Uganda.”
To learn more about GuluHelp Foundation, to get involved or to donate, visit guluhelpuganda.org.
