SOZO Children - Funding Package

Capital Campaign

ALL FOR THE ONE “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders.”

-Luke 15:4-5

STORY OF SOZO

CASE STATEMENT

WHO WE ARE

MASTER PLAN

THE STORY OF SOZO Helping God’s Children Thrive

Sozo children was established in 2010 out of an immediate need to take seventeen children from unimaginable circumstances in Uganda, Africa.

Today, through the support of individuals, churches, businesses, and foundations, alongside proceeds from our thrift store in Birmingham, Alabama. Sozo Children provides care for children on our campus and regularly conducts outreach programs for the local community in Uganda as part of our vision to see all children thriving and all communities transformed.

Sozo Children has grown to care for nearly 150 at-risk boys and girls. The ministry now provides a comprehensive continuum of care consisting of family-style houses, proper nutrition, healthcare, quality education, spiritual development, and life skills to build strong leaders for Christ who will have a positive impact on the next generation of Ugandan society.

TAKING “SOZO” FROM THE GREEK TERM FOR “TO RESCUE,” WE CREATED A DEDICATED FAMILY-STYLE HOME TO PROVIDE CHILDREN WITH A SAFE, FUNCTIONAL, AND NURTURING PLACE TO LIVE AND THRIVE.

WHERE GOD IS LEADING

SOZO VILLAGE

OUTREACH CAMPUS

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CASE STATEMENT

Sozo Children’s efforts to care for vulnerable children has led to a very strong partnership with the Ugandan Ministry of Gender, the national entity responsible for promotion of equality, social protection, and transformation of communities. The Ministry of Gender is similar to the Department of Health and Human Services in the United States and considers Sozo Children a model for children’s homes in Uganda.

The Sozo model involves three stages of care: rescue, restore and replicate.

As each child is rescued from harm, Sozo’s continuum of care restores the child and gives them hope for a better life and a brighter future. The third stage, replicate, has a goal of equipping and training children to be the leaders of the future in Uganda. In order to do this effectively, Sozo must do more than prepare our children to be servant leaders, we must lift up the community where they will serve.

While serving the community immediately surrounding Sozo Village with our outreach programs, Sozo has identified several critical areas of concern which can be radically improved by community- based programs, Christian service and an investment in our broader mission.

Doing Nothing Is Not An Option

Sozo Children is a ministry rooted in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

As such, we do not get to choose our calling, it is our duty to answer our calling with a resounding “yes.” Scripture tells us the religion that is pleasing to God is the one that serves widows and orphans in their affliction (James 1:27). When Sozo was founded in 2010, it was an answer to this calling in the lives of everyone who would ever serve in our ministry. Continuing servant leadership in Uganda is not an option, it is imperative to our growth as Christians mentally, physically, and spiritually and it is critical to our discipleship efforts in the larger community.

It is obedience to God.

STORY OF SOZO

CASE STATEMENT

WHO WE ARE

MASTER PLAN

Transforming Healthcare

Since 2021, Sozo has worked with community-based leaders to offer free medical clinics in the community, reaching 2000-3000 people in need of basic care at each clinic. In Uganda, 42 out of every 1000 children born die by age five. By comparison, the Under Five Mortality Rate in the United States is 6 out of every 1000.

The average person in the community does not have a cell phone to call for help, does not have a car to travel to get care and cannot afford transportation to a medical clinic. Although the nearest hospital is 15 miles away—a full day walk for a healthy person—most people are unable to find care for basic needs.

Building an H4 medical clinic on Sozo property can impact 10,000 lives a year by providing pre-natal care, an overnight maternity ward, and essential medical care and medications. In Uganda, 25% of all childhood deaths under age five are due to malaria, a disease that can be treated with over-the-counter medication that costs only a few dollars.

Transforming Education

In Uganda, only 20% of children remain in school after completing primary school (what we call elementary school in the U.S.). Sozo Children provides the best private schooling available for each of the children in our care. By building a primary school, secondary school, and vocational school on Sozo property, we can dramatically improve the education attainment rate for thousands of children over time, equipping the immediate community with a better educated populace and bringing potential to transform the region with a better workforce, creating more jobs and reducing poverty.

Transforming Lives

Sozo is called upon to rescue 30 or more children per year and currently provides care for 150 children and many of their families in the local community. Sozo’s vision guides us to see every child thriving and all communities transformed. Our current homes can house 64 children in our residential care. As local government leaders call upon us more each year to take children from critical situations, building more homes to house 190 children will allow us to expand our capacity in-house and within the community to rescue children who might perish without assistance.

WHERE GOD IS LEADING

SOZO VILLAGE

OUTREACH CAMPUS

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OUR VALUES As a mission-based ministry, we serve God by serving others. By meeting the needs of children once trapped in generational poverty, we equip them mentally, physically, and spiritually to become strong leaders for Christ who will transform their communities for the next generation.

Child-Focused - Our children come first.

Christ-Centered

- It’s all for God’s glory.

Collaborative-Driven - We are better together.

Servant Leaders - Others before self.

Difference Makers - Living with purpose.

STORY OF SOZO

CASE STATEMENT

WHO WE ARE

MASTER PLAN

OUR MISSION

Our mission at Sozo Children is to empower vulnerable children to become thriving leaders for Jesus Christ.

OUR VISION

All children thriving. All communities transformed.

OUR PURPOSE

Sozo Children provides at-risk children with proper nutrition, healthcare, quality education, spiritual development, and life skills guided by a team of Ugandan caregivers to build strong leaders for Christ who will have a positive impact on the next generation of Ugandan society. We work in partnership with local leaders in the communities we serve to empower those we serve to be true leaders for Jesus.

WHERE GOD IS LEADING

SOZO VILLAGE

OUTREACH CAMPUS

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SOZO MASTER PLAN

OZO CHILDREN

Secondary + Vocational School Student Housing

Primary School Student Housing

Primary S Guest House

Staff Housing

STORY OF SOZO

CASE STATEMENT

WHO WE ARE

MASTER PLAN

STEWARDSHIP THROUGH PARTNERSHIP

Secondary + Vocational School

Sozo Children is working with Third Lens Ministries, a nonprofit organization which manages the design-build process in order to ensure a successful building project for ministries. CMH Architects has volunteered and donated architectural design services for this capital campaign, greatly lowering design + planning costs.

Transitional House

Outreach Center Med Clinic

Staff Housing

School

WHERE GOD IS LEADING

SOZO VILLAGE

OUTREACH CAMPUS

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WHERE GOD IS LEADING

Rescue In 2018, Sozo Village became a reality with 8 family-style children’s homes equipped to hold as many as 64 children. Currently, Sozo provides care for 150 children, many of whom live off campus. With the construction of the next phase of children’s homes on our campus, we will be equipped to care for approximately 190 children in residential care in addition to our community-based care.

STORY OF SOZO

CASE STATEMENT

WHO WE ARE

MASTER PLAN

$3.5M Total costs for rescue WHERE GOD IS LEADING

SOZO VILLAGE

OUTREACH CAMPUS

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SOZO MEDICAL C

WHERE GOD IS LEADING

$1M Total costs for medical STORY OF SOZO

CASE STATEMENT

WHO WE ARE

MASTER PLAN

CLINIC

Medical In Uganda, 43 out of every 1000 children die before age five (compared to only 6 in 1000 in the US). Malaria, neonatal diseases, and lack of access to care are major factors in this alarming statistic. By building an H4 medical clinic, we can provide overnight maternity care, regular access to doctors, and treatment for preventable disease in our community, changing the future of healthcare while providing hope for a healthier future for as many as 5000 people per year.

WHERE GOD IS LEADING

SOZO VILLAGE

OUTREACH CAMPUS

JOIN US

WHERE GOD IS LEADING

Discipleship Sozo’s outreach into the local community impacts the broader community through entrepreneurial training, medical camps, kid’s club, and the delivery of food packs. The Discipleship aspect of our new Outreach campus will provide a permanent location for our programs while reaching more than 5000 people in the community annually for Jesus Christ.

STORY OF SOZO

CASE STATEMENT

WHO WE ARE

MASTER PLAN

$1.5M Total costs for discipleship WHERE GOD IS LEADING

SOZO VILLAGE

OUTREACH CAMPUS

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WHERE GOD IS LEADING

$7M Total costs for education STORY OF SOZO

CASE STATEMENT

WHO WE ARE

MASTER PLAN

Education Only 20% of Ugandan children move on from primary (our elementary school) to high school or vocational school. By building a primary school in the community we serve, we can provide the best care for our children and impact the lives of hundreds of families around Sozo Village. Building a secondary school and vocational school will help us serve the needs of the entire community, providing an education for 700 students a year and equipping their families and the community to change the dynamic of educational attainment for future generations.

WHERE GOD IS LEADING

SOZO VILLAGE

OUTREACH CAMPUS

JOIN US

SOZO VILLAGE CAMPUS SOZO VILLAGE CAMPUS NEW CONSTRUCTION 1. Primary School 2. Dining/Assembly Hall 3. Kitchen 4. Sports Pavilion 5. Volleyball Court 6. Basketball Court 7. Football Pitch 8. Staff Pavilion 9. Staff Housing 10. Guest House 11. Children’s Homes 12. Barn 13. Farming 14. Ministry Office

EXISTING STRUCTURES A. Guard House B. Multi- Purpose Building C. Generator House D. God’s House E. Playground F. Children’s Homes G. Storage Containers

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11

G

F

11 10

12 13

STORY OF SOZO

CASE STATEMENT

WHO WE ARE

0’

90’

0m

30m

MASTER PLAN

18

CHILDREN’S HOMES Children’s Homes DISCIPLESHIP Discipleship EDUCATION Education

Completed

7

4

C

6

5

2

1

3 14 B

D

E

A

8 9

80’

270’

60m

90m

360’ 120m

450’ 150m

WHERE GOD IS LEADING

SOZO VILLAGE

OUTREACH CAMPUS

JOIN US

OZO OUTREACH CAMPUS

OUTREACH CAMPUS

9 7

7

8

STORY OF SOZO

CASE STATEMENT

WHO WE ARE

7

0’

60’

0m

20m

MASTER PLAN

120’

40

0m

DISCIPLESHIP Discipleship EDUCATION Education MEDICAL Medical

1 5

3 4

6

180’ 60m

240’ 80m

1. Outreach Center 2. Grilling Pavilion 3. Guard House 4. Medical Clinic 5. Transitional Housing 6. Staff Housing 7. Vocational School 8. Basketball Courts 9. Football Pitch

300’ 100m

WHERE GOD IS LEADING

SOZO VILLAGE

OUTREACH CAMPUS

JOIN US

JOIN US!

To impact 5,000 lives annually

through Sozo Village, we need to raise $12.5M

STORY OF SOZO

CASE STATEMENT

WHO WE ARE

MASTER PLAN

Letter From The Founder Sometimes, it is hard to wrap my head around how much has changed in the last fourteen years since we first rescued the initial 17 children in Uganda.

Even as Sozo has grown to support more than 150 children, we feel strongly that this indicates the need for Sozo in Uganda is greater than ever.

Each year, we are contacted to rescue an increasing number of children from the local community. These children come to us from a variety of circumstances, all of them unfathomable. These children come to us from extreme cases of abuse, neglect, abandonment and human trafficking.

In order to meet the increased demand for care in Uganda, we have developed a four-part campaign centered around specific actions: rescue, medical, discipleship and education. Each of these action items blend together into the master plan for our upgraded campus design.

Whether God is speaking to your heart about rescuing more children, educating more children, providing medical care for more families or discipling more children and families for Jesus, we ask you to prayerfully consider joining us in this next phase of our adventure in Christ.

Thank you for taking the time to read this campaign brochure and we look forward to the opportunity to speak to you about any aspect of it that speaks to your soul. Thank you also for loving our Sozo children and for supporting this ministry in the past, present and future as we work together to transform communities for Jesus.

WHERE GOD IS LEADING

SOZO VILLAGE

OUTREACH CAMPUS

JOIN US

All children THRIVING

All communities TRANSFORMED