KEY POINTS:
Ugandan broadcaster Jackie Nakabugo is an ambassador for a dying breed - a sponsored child in a poor country whose education was paid for directly by an individual rich-country sponsor.
Mrs Nakabugo, 25, who married Ugandan pastor Jonathan Sewava last month, was sponsored from the age of 9
by an elderly American, Alma Hagedorn, through a Christian charity called Compassion.
She is in New Zealand to advocate for Compassion's local affiliate, Tear Fund (The Evangelical Alliance Relief Fund), which is now the only New Zealand charity still funding individual children in poor nations.
The other two that advertise child sponsorship, Child Fund and World Vision, have stopped funding individual children on the grounds that it's unfair to other youngsters.
But Mrs Nakabugo says money that directly funds individual children allows them to work for their communities.
Her case was extreme. When her father died of Aids when she was 9, she was the eldest of 11 children by three wives. By local custom, the father's house in their small fishing village did not go to his children but to his brothers.
"Our uncles came to our house and said, 'We need everything. You need to get out of the house'," she said.
"We ended up in a dilapidated small house where we had a bed. There were six of us on the bed and the others were sleeping on the floor. When it rained the water would come in and fill up the house and everyone had to stand on the bed till morning came."
The whole family helped with the mother's roadside stall selling charcoal and samosas.
"At that time, all we needed was a chance to go to school. I thought, if I get a chance to go, I'll be the one helping my family," she said. She got that chance because her mother was Christian and her church became involved with Compassion. The charity called in local children to have their photos taken for potential sponsors. At first, Mrs Nakabugo was pulled out of the photo queue because she had long hair.
"When you have long hair they think you might be doing well," she said.
But when everyone had been photographed, there were two places left. Mrs Nakabugo got one of them and three months later was matched up with Mrs Hagedorn.
"She was the lady that I call a hero in my life," Mrs Nakabugo said. "I met her in 2000 for Compassion's 50th anniversary in Colorado Springs. She was 85. I don't know if she's still living.
"She was a lady who sent letters every month. Those letters changed my entire life.
"She said, 'Jackie, I have your picture on my fridge and when I look at it I see a different woman, I see a lady who is going to change people, I see a woman who has a dream'."
With Compassion's money, Mrs Nakabugo went to a boarding school in Kampala. She did well and Compassion funded her through university in its leadership development programme. She has become a public relations consultant and broadcaster.
"They train us to become leaders who are going to change their nations to the glory of God," she said. "Many of the students who went through the programme are achieving today.
"I can use my voice to speak out for the voiceless, to speak out for the poor. So today I act as an advocate for children living in poverty, to tell people they can make a difference in the life of a person."
CHILD SPONSORS
Child Fund: Allocates children in greatest need to sponsors, who pay $44 a month, write letters, can visit their child and can give money to buy gifts for their child; but their regular payments go to the child's community, not the child. Originally called Christian Children's Fund, but now not aligned to any religion.
Save the Children Fund: Stopped child sponsorship in 1996.
Tear Fund: Sponsors choose a child to sponsor for $40 a month, write letters, send gifts and can visit their child; money goes to the child's church to pay for the child's education, healthcare and other needs. Openly evangelises.
World Vision: Sponsors choose a child to sponsor for $40 a month, write letters, send gifts and can visit their child; but their regular payments go to the child's community, not the child. Christian-based but says it does not evangelise.
* Mrs Nakabugo speaks on Sunday at Howick Community Church at 9.30am and Mt Albert Baptist Church at 7pm. www.tearfund.org.nz
