Hi everyone! I’m Mackenzie Machon and I’m a speech language pathology student at Rush University. This fall, I will be traveling to Uganda with Hope Speaks to provide speech and language pathology services to those who need it most. This is a great opportunity to help change lives, but I cannot do it alone. As a full-time student, the financial burden of a trip like this can be heavy, but with your help I can bring my enthusiasm for helping others across borders, and create a change in people’s lives that will continue to spread through the future.

I chose speech language pathology because it changed my life, and I see it as a great way to give back and help change the lives of others. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity will give me the chance to help bring the joy of language and communication to others throughout the globe. It will be incredibly rewarding to see the years of hard work I’ve spent pay off through such a rewarding and important program.

While I’m away, I will be continuing my studies with Rush University, and I am thankful to all the faculty and staff at Rush who are helping make this possible. I am also so thankful for Hope Speaks and the incredibly important work they’re doing in Uganda, because they are truly creating a change that will ripple through generations. Any donation you could make towards our cause is appreciated, and will go a long way towards helping children who may otherwise be forgotten and overlooked. Thank you so much for your generosity.

Hope Speaks is a nonprofit based in Kampala, Uganda. Their mission is to inspire hope and raise voices of people with disabilities through speech therapy, advocacy, education, and social services. In Uganda, 1 in 7 children are living with a disability. Hope Speaks' main focus is on making speech, language, and feeding therapy accessible for hundreds of children. In therapy, they help children learn to communicate their wants, needs, and ideas, build social skills, and swallow safely, as well as empower and educate families and communities about disabilities and available resources to help people of all abilities reach their fullest potential.  

Many of Hope Speaks' volunteers are Speech-Language Pathology grad students, as well as SLP professionals. Through volunteer partnerships, Hope Speaks strives to build the capacity of Ugandan therapists through training and mentoring. 

Hope Speaks has gone beyond that and also includes hosting other groups who help with projects, food for families, respite care, children's day camps, and serving in the slums.

Every donation is important and will enable me to be present and help children with disabilities to find their voices. Would you kindly consider making a donation? Also, I would appreciate your willingness to share this with others who may want to participate.

Thank you so much for being a part of my life and helping me accomplish something that's important to all of us! God bless you!