Engeye Teen Connection (ETC)
The Engeye Teen Connection is comprised of youth and teens taking action to make a difference for the children and families in Ddegeya village. The group is led by 16 year old Brian Hickey, 15 year old Sara Weinman and 17 year old Adriana KIng. The teens have organized fundraisers, events and other activities to raise funds for education and health care for the youth of Ddegeya. In addition to their fundraising activities, Brian, Sara, and Adriana all contribute their own money to help sponsor a scholar.
Recent News: 7/20/10-Engeye Teen Connection (ETC) a partner with Engeye Scholars and the Engeye Health Clinic held a fundraiser to benefit Ddegeya Village in Uganda. The ETC Café Night was held on Saturday, June 26, 2010 at Journey UCC in Delmar, New York. All proceeds will be used to help develop a craft business opportunity for the villagers of Ddegeya and other related projects.
It was exciting to see local teenagers willing to give up much of their weekend to practice, set up, perform or volunteer to help make the event a success. The Café Night was hosted by ETC Board members, Adriana King and Sara Weinman. Misty Richards, a member of Engeye Board of Directors, kicked off the evening with a moving video showing the daily life in the village of Ddegeya. Entertainment was provided by local teens and included several extraordinary musical performances – including several by Adriana King. ETC used the event to introduce a new wrap bracelet designed especially for Engeye by Sweet P’s jewelry. Proceeds from the sale of the bracelet will also support the craft business and future ETC projects. The room was packed and everyone had a wonderful time enjoying the performances, shopping at the auction or trying some of the delicious baked goods – also donated by the teens. Engeye hopes this is the first of many such events which will give ETC a chance to showcase some outstanding talent while raising much needed funds for their friends in Ddegeya Village. Thank you to all the wonderful teens who helped make the first ETC Café Night a great success.
ETC members believe you are never too young to help change the world. If you are teenager who would like to get involved – please visit engeyescholars.org to find out how you and your friends can join us with our next project or how you can host your own fundraiser!
3/21/10-Engeye Scholars & ETC would like to thank Girls Who Care for their continued support of our programs. On Sunday, 3/21 Girls Who Care sponsored a pancake breakfast at the Buttery Restaurant in Albany, NY. The teens helped seat customers, served breakfast and cleaned up. The restaurant was packed for much of the event. The girls raised over $2, 300.00 during the three hour event. The funds will be used to pay the sponsor fees for their sponsored scholar Jessica and pay for school supplies and uniforms for other children of the village of Ddegeya. Thank you Girls Who Care for your hard work on behalf of Jessica & the Engeye Scholars Program.
2/14/10-Engeye Teen Connection (ETC) is a new partner with Engeye Scholars and the Engeye Health Clinic. ETC is made up of committed teenagers who want to make a difference in the lives of children and adults in Ddegeya Village. 
Sara Weinman, a sophomore at Bethlehem High School and Brian Hickey, a sophomore at Shaker High School, started ETC because they wanted to get more involved with the mission of Engeye Scholars. They felt compelled to help the children of Ddegeya and motivated to truly make a difference in a child’s life. As a result of their passion and commitment, the ETC Board of Directors (BOD) was created, consisting of Brian Hickey, Sara Weinman and Adriana King. Adriana is a fellow classmate of Sara’s at Bethlehem High. The ETC adult advisor is Misty Richards, part of the Engeye Health Clinic BOD and a medical student at Albany Medical College. Together, these three teens and their advisor are working to help raise awareness and advocate for the villagers of Ddegeya, many of whom live on just a dollar a day.
Brian Hickey, member of the ETC BOD, got started with Engeye when he met with John Kalule and Susan Nabukenya from Ddegeya Village during their visit to the United States. John and Susan were flown to the United States from Uganda to help Susan receive proper treatment for severe burns caused by a terrible cooking accident. Sara Weinman, another member of the BOD, was also able to spend quality time with John and Susan when they lived with her family while they were in the US. Since that time both Brian and Sara became increasingly involved with Engeye Scholars; Brian collected and shipped school supplies to the schools in the village and he created and currently maintains the Engeye Scholars website. Sara has taken an active role in selling bracelets and raising funds for Engeye Scholars. Adriana King, the newest member of the ETC BOD, became involved after attending an event to raise awareness about Engeye Scholars and their mission. From the energy and momentum gathered from volunteering with Engeye Scholars and their increasing awareness of what life is like for the children and teens in Ddegeya Village, these three teens felt compelled to start their own movement. This movement would be created and run by local teens with the passion to help children and other teens a world away. ETC was born and ready to rock!
The teenagers that make up the ETC BOD are giving all they can to really make a difference in the lives of the people in Ddegeya, not just by making their fundraising events a success, but also by using their own money to sponsor children through the Engeye Scholars program. There are also many teenagers who are helping out the cause by volunteering with ETC and by sponsoring children through Engeye Scholars. Among them are teens, Greg Hickey, Robert Weinman, Bella Rody-Wright, Hannah Kassoff, Sarah King and a local group of girls who call themselves “Girls Who Care.” In fact, the “Girls Who Care” are having a pancake breakfast on March 21st in Albany to raise funds for Engeye Scholars. Current fundraising activities of ETC include bringing local teens together to make necklaces to sell and raise funds for the Engeye Health clinic and Engeye Scholars. Along with the necklaces ETC members are working on obtaining support from local stores to market and sell Engeye bracelets. Sara, Brian and Adriana all hope to visit Ddegeya Village in Uganda within the next couple of years to see the Engeye Clinic in operation and to meet all of the Engeye Scholars. They also look forward to helping serve the village and the children during their stay in Uganda...Link
ETC Logo Credit: Matt Matott
