CROSO has been so fortunate to have incredible leaders serve as board members over the past 13+ years. One of the greatest strengths of our organization has ben the collaboration of people with different perspectives, skills, and experiences.

We have space for a few new board members in 2021 and we’re welcoming interest.

During this time when so many of our lives have been turned upside down, we have been in close communication with our scholars in Uganda. As supporters of our CROSO Scholars, I want to share updates about how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts them and how CROSO continues to support them during this time.

As I write this, there have been 44 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Uganda and no recorded deaths. We began communicating with our scholars about this issue prior to any confirmed cases of the outbreak there. We provided all of our scholars and graduates with trusted online resources (World Health Organization, CDC, and the Ugandan Ministry of Health) so they could be prepared before the pandemic spread to their country, which we assumed would be a matter of days or weeks. On March 18th (before there were any confirmed cases in Uganda), President Yoweri Museveni addressed the nation and announced that starting on March 20th, all schools would be closed for 30 days. We immediately contacted our scholars and provided funds for individuals traveling back to their home areas and covered additional needs for housing and food during this unexpected time away from school.

We are re-starting a series of social media posts where we will be asking our donors and volunteers why they give to CROSO. As I think about this, I can’t help but be reminded of one of our graduates who asked me a similar question on our most recent visit to Uganda. During a gathering with some of our graduates in Mbale, we were all sitting around a table having dinner. Unlike most of our trip, this dinner wasn’t filled with action items that Meg and I had to accomplish. This dinner was just a chance to catch up with some of the graduates. About halfway through dinner, Longora John asked a series of questions that I found so thoughtful and it all began with the question, “Why?”

Written by Dawson Vandervort, CROSO Intern from the University of Dayton

Since our CROSO donors are so generous, and probably curious, this blog post is all about how exactly CROSO’s finances are used to support scholar needs. CROSO’s scholarship expenses can be split into 5 vital groups: Academic, Internship, Holiday, Graduation and Management Fees. In 2018 we spent a total of 254,695,450.00 Ugandan shillings, or $70,542.52 USD.

Written by Molly MacCready, Executive Director

When we started CROSO 10+ years ago, we had this big idea that if these C.R.O. “kids” I had met in Uganda (all former street children) had access to higher education, they would become incredible leaders in their communities. We believed that each one already possessed the passion, talent, and many of the skills necessary to be an agent of change… and that with the degree, diploma, or certificate that they earned at a university or college, they would be able to transform their communities. These were big ideas. And while we believed them to be true, we knew we would not be able to test our hypothesis for a while… not until our scholars had gone through their programs, graduated, and had some time to grow their careers.

Written by Elsa VanHove, CROSO Board Member

“New year, new you!” is the lighthearted phrase plastered all over American media every January, encouraging us to start the year off right with a set of resolutions. This year, we asked some of our scholars what their 2019 New Year's resolutions are, and they vary from personal to professional, and social. Francis, like a lot of us, will try to set an exercise routine “for improving the activity of the brain and heart.” However, he also is taking a more mindful approach to his studies and career by “being focused on what has taken me to campus.”

The Year in Review

As we wrap up 2018, we feel so grateful for all the amazing people who make this work possible — our scholars, our graduates, our donors, and our volunteers! Many of those folks are featured in our top 5 moments of this year.

Written by Elsa VanHove, CROSO Board Member

Like many others, I take this season to reflect on the year, especially things that have given me joy. While there have been a number of personal and professional landmarks in my year, at the top of the list is undoubtedly my whirlwind trip to Uganda in October as a CROSO ‘Ambassador’.

It is while reflecting on this CROSO trip that I want to share…

Written by Nora Shepard, Marketing & Communications Committee Member

CROSO celebrates innovation.

Not only is our organization incredibly innovative in how we envision global education, but we like to reward innovative thinking whenever possible. Some might say our approach is lofty; we think our idealistic approach is necessary for progress. The truth is, we need a certain level of idealism to move the world forward—to create a world we’re all proud to live in. But that idealism has to be paired with creative strategy in order to work. We’re so fortunate to work with some of the most innovative thinkers in not only Uganda, but the world.

Written by Molly MacCready, CROSO's Executive Director

We are so excited to announce our new CROSO Scholars who will be starting their academic programs this year! Stephen, Sam, Derrick, Mercy, Brenda, Denis, and Brian were the top applicants this year and we are thrilled for them to be starting their programs. 

Written by Molly MacCready, CROSO's Executive Director

On behalf of the Board of Directors of CROSO and the Annual Benefit Planning Committee, we would like to invite you to join us for the 11th Annual CROSO Benefit to be held on the evening of Thursday, October 4, 2018. This year, we will be moving the event downtown, to Germania Place, a beautiful 125-year-old historic landmark building in the heart of Old Town and Lincoln Park in Chicago.

Written by Molly MacCready, CROSO's Executive Director

Namasobo Lydia graduated with her bachelor's degree in 2012 from Uganda Christian University. She was one of CROSO's first female graduates. While studying at U.C.U., she met the man who would become her husband and the two got married in 2013. In 2015, little Esther was born, making them a family of three. During the 2016 CROSO visit to Uganda, I had the opportunity to meet Lydia's daughter, Esther. This was the first time I'd ever met one of our graduate's children before and I was surprised by what a powerful experience it was for me.

Written by Molly MacCready, Executive Director

Dr. Natalie Hudson, director of the Human Rights Studies program at the University of Dayton, spoke as part of a panel this past Thursday at the United Nations on "The Role of Global Citizenship Education in the 2030 Agenda and Beyond." She shared with the panel the approach that UD's Human Rights program is taking as well as opportunities that are being made available for cross-cultural dialogue. And this is where CROSO comes in!

Written by Sally Ryan
 

     Our driver turned off a busy street early one morning in June 2016, and drove down a street/alley in Mbale, Uganda. We drove into the courtyard of C.R.O., Child Restoration Outreach, an organization about which I had been reading for several years in the applications of our CROSO scholars. C.R.O. is an NGO in Uganda that provides physical and social support to street children, helping to reintegrate them into the community. Despite the primitive play equipment and the dusty grounds, I knew that we had just arrived in a sanctuary for children off the street.  To reinforce that feeling of safety and refuge, I heard the voices of children singing their morning greeting songs as they gathered to prepare for school with their teachers. Most of the children wore their orange C.R.O. signature t-shirts, and they seemed to be of one voice, ready for the challenges of their day.