What an inspirational, uplifting organization! CHAT to the Future is one of ACIC’s newest members, ratified at the 2014 AGM this past June. CHAT, which stands for “Care and Hope through Adoption of Technology”, uses 21st Century technology to connect their youth in North America with those they support in Uganda. Through the use of Skype, children are able to meet ‘screen to screen’ to see the faces of those they are helping and, conversely, those helping them.
CHAT connects students in over 40 North American Schools, including 28 in New Brunswick and even schools as far as Florida and Colorado, to their school called “CHAT House” just outside of Kampala, Uganda. North American students create their own “micro-businesses” to support and run the school. All proceeds go directly to CHAT House to provide basic needs (including education) for the children. Through their fundraising, students even pay the small salary of a live-in certified Ugandan teacher to assist with homework, tutoring, and household tasks. Although the schoolchildren do a phenomenal job supporting the students and CHAT House, CHAT is also a registered Canadian charity and you too can play an important role is securing the long term, sustainable success of both CHAT House and the children.
Recently, Adam McKim, Executive Director of CHAT to the Future, traveled to Uganda as the 17 children living in CHAT House celebrated 17 birthdays. In an interview with CBC Shift New Brunswick (link the interview here: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/Maritimes/Shift+-+NB/ID/2489146785/), Adam explained that none of the kids know their birthday. So CHAT decided to celebrate with them all at once!
With the collaborative team work of CHAT staff, corporate sponsors, individual sponsors, North American children, their teachers and their communities, CHAT to the Future has flourished into a phenomenal organization that is ready to grow and help more Ugandan children in need!
For more information on how to connect with CHAT, please see below.
For teachers looking to get involved: www.chattothefuture.org/teachers
Invest in CHAT through their 4 donation options: teach, grow, move, build: www.chattothefuture.org/invest
Connect with CHAT on Facebook: www.facebook.com/chathhs
Connect with CHAT on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CHATtotheFuture
Connect with CHAT on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/chattothefuture
Check out this video of students at George Street Middle School in Fredericton, NB being celebrated as “Everyday Heroes” by Skype because of their work with CHAT, helping a Ugandan boy named Ben. They were rewarded with a private screening of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, but what they didn’t know was Skype wanted to surprise them by facilitating discussion through Skype with their movie star heroes such as Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, and more!