Side by Side Ministries is in Bethlehem in the Kyotera District of Uganda.  War and the HIV epidemic devasted this region and left thousands of children orphaned and destitute.  Pastor Ntale Pius was the founder of Side by Side Ministries.  Tragically, Pastor Pius passed away in March of 2017, leaving his wife, Ntale Brenda, and two daughters, Ntale Jemimah and Namuyomba Jane, to run the thriving ministry.  
Engage Hope partnered with Side by Side Ministries in 2010 and focuses support on the Bethlehem Side by Side Wisdom Center Primary School adjacent to the Bethlehem Side by Side Church.  The school currently provides a Christian education for over 500 children.  Many of these children are sponsored through Engage Hope, but so many more desperately need support.  A donation of $40 per month for a primary student (Pre-K and Elementary) or $55 for a secondary student (High School) provides tuition, food, and minor medical care as needed for the student.  Without support, many children in the Side by Side community will never be able to attend school.

Majunwa Emmanuel

Age: 9 years -- Class: Primary 7

Tuition:  $55 per month

Sharifa Nakajuubi

Age: 9 years -- Class: Primary 4

Tuition:  $40 per month

Namuwonge Hatimah

Age: 10 years -- Class: Primary 2

Tuition:  $40 per month

Nakagwa Sylvia

Age: 9 years -- Class: Primary 3

Tuition:  $40 per month

Nanteza Ronita

Age: 9 years -- Class: Primary 3

Tuition:  $40 per month

Kiyimba Denis

Age: 9 years -- Class: Primary 2

Tuition:  $40 per month

Nabalanzi Brenda

Age: 13 years -- Class: Primary 7

Tuition:  $55 per month

Ssemaganda Leader

Age: 13 years -- Class: Primary 6

Tuition:  $55 per month

Muwanda Emmanuel

Age: 9 years -- Class: Top (Pre-K)

Tuition:  $40 per month

Mujunwa Emmanuel

Age: 9 Years Old Class: Primary 7 Tuition: $55 Monthly

Emma lives with his uncle and his family of nine.  He never met his father, and his mother died in childbirth.  Emma digs cassava to try to pay for his education. 

There is no electricity in his house, and they cook over firewood. 

Emma loves athletics.  He wants to be a mechanical engineer so that he can repair vehicles.   

Sharifa Nakajuubi

Age: 9 Years Old Class: Primary 4 Tuition: $40 Monthly

Sharifah’s mother died as a result of being abused by Sharifah’s father.  Months later, her father was found dead.  Sharifah lives with Pastor Brenda and 15 other children Brenda has taken in.  They cook over firewood and have no electricity.

Sharifah washes utensils to help Pastor Brenda.  She would like to be a social worker to talk to people and guide them through life. 

Namuwonge hatimah

Age: 10 Years Old Class: Primary 2 Tuition: $40 Monthly

Hatimah and her six siblings live with her single mother.  Her mother gardens for other people to earn money, but she does not make enough to meet the family’s basic needs.  Hatimah enjoys science, math, and dancing.    

nakagwa sylvia

Age: 9 Years Old Class: Primary 3 Tuition: $40 Monthly

Sylvia lives with her single mother and nine siblings in a three-room house. Her father has three wives and left her mother because she had the most children, and he did not want to support all of them. Sylvia’s mother cannot pay the fees required for her and her siblings to attend school. Sylvia thinks she would like to be a teacher. She enjoys playing netball and studying both English and social studies.

Nanteza Ronitah

Age: 3 Years Old Class: Primary 3 Tuition: $40 Monthly

Ronita’s family struggles to provide basic needs and cannot pay the fees required to send the children to school.  Ronitah dreams of being a teacher.  Her favorite subjects are English and math.  

Kiyimba Denis

Age: 9 Years Old Class: Primary 2 Tuition: $40 Monthly

Denis lives with both of his parents and four siblings.  His father earned income as a motorcycle taxi driver but had a terrible accident and was paralyzed.  His mother does not work.  They are struggling to meet the family’s basic needs, and there is no money for school fees for the children.  Denis enjoys studying literacy and reading.  He thinks he would like to be a teacher. 

Nabalanzi brenda

Age: 13 Years Old Class: Primary 7 Tuition: $55 Monthly

Brenda is one of five children living with their single mother.  Her dad was violent and officials advised her mother to leave him.  She now struggles to support her family and cannot pay the fees required to send her children to school.  Brenda enjoys social studies and tailoring and would like to be a teacher.

Ssemaganda leader

Age: 13 Years Old Class: Primary 6 Tuition: $55 Monthly

 Leader’s mother left him and his older brother in a rented room when she went to the city to find work.  She never returned.  Leader and his brother struggled to survive.  Pastor Brenda took Leader in to live with her, but she cannot afford to pay his school fees.  Leader enjoys studying science and playing football.  He thinks he would like to be a doctor when he grows up.  

Muwanda Emmanuel

Age: 9 Years Old Class: Top (Pre-K) Tuition: $40 Monthly

Emmanuel, his parents, and four siblings moved from Tanzania to the bush, where they live in a grass-thatched house.  His father cares for another man’s cattle, and his mother gardens for others.  They receive basic things from the money earned by their father but cannot pay the required fees for school.  Emmanuel would like to be a pilot.  He enjoys playing football and learning about health habits in school.