My name is Victoria and I am a high school student, a founder of Escape Eviction, an organization that helps prevent homelessness in my hometown of Dallas, TX and the chair of the junior board of Big Dreams Children’s Foundation an organization that helps children in need globally, where I have been volunteering since I was 12 years old. I am a journalist for my school’s newspaper and several other publications, a certified human rights consultant and certified anti human trafficking consultant with the US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights, and a recipient of several Presidential Volunteer Service Awards and US Congressional Awards.

My Mission

One of my first missions at Big Dreams was to collect and package donations of clothing and school supplies and ship to the Home of Dreams. I communicated with Wanume and children to learn about their needs and felt deeply connected to them. His and kids’ gratitude after receiving each package was so genuine that it made me realize how difficult and uncertain life was for them. I wanted to do more. To create a permanent solution. My vision was this: a sustainable orphanage on a farmland with an on-site water source, owned wholly by the Home of Dreams.  Wanume and his children would then have a stable foundation, eat nutritious meals, drink clean water, and prioritize school attendance with minimal distractions or ongoing survival costs. When I found out that an acre of farmland in that area costs about $5,000 I realized that raising this amount money was a reachable goal for me.

In about two years of fundraising, I was able to raise $15,000, enough to purchase three acres of farmland in Uganda for the Home of Dreams. In 2023 the land was purchased and the orphanage has moved into a small house on the property. For the first time, they had land where they could grow their own food and Wanume could focus his fundraising efforts on school tuition instead of food and shelter.