TEEN AIMS TO HELP UGANDAN ORPHANS.

Byline: EUGENE TONG Staff Writer

LA CRESCENTA -- Rosetta Ragusa, 16, has made it her business to raise money and awareness about the plight of orphans in the African nation of Uganda -- a few dollars at a time.

For two years, the Crescenta Valley High junior has spent Saturday afternoons sitting at a table outside the local grocery store to collect donations for housing and rescue programs assisting the war-ravaged nation's youngest victims.

``We get mixed reactions,'' said Rosetta, who has raised about $4,000 over two years for Washington-based nonprofit SOS Children's Villages, which operates 450 orphanages worldwide. ``Some people are just bothered with me being out there, like we should be focusing more with America. But there are some people who are really generous.''

She recalled one encounter with an older couple who wrote her a $20 check.

``They just said thank you for actually caring,'' Rosetta said. ``You're teenagers, and you're not selfish.''

From the murderous rule of Idi Amin in the 1970s to the Lord's Resistance Army rebellion today, decades of conflict and disease have orphaned a generation of Ugandan children. The young often are abducted to serve as laborers or soldiers.

Rosetta said she learned of the quiet crisis unfolding 9,400 miles away on another continent and felt it deserved more attention.

``I was really alarmed that it wasn't as big as it should be in the United States,'' she said. ``Most people don't really know what's happening in Uganda.''

Of the money she raised, about $1,000 came from donations she collected in lieu of gifts for her 16th birthday.

``I did receive a gift,'' Rosetta said. ``I was able to help another person. It was perfect.''

``Rosetta is the kind of person -- once she puts her mind on something, she would continue,'' her mother, Linda Ragusa, said. ``Each year, she comes up with bigger ideas and more fundraisers. It's a commitment for the rest of her life.''

Recently, Rosetta translated her activism into a campus club. Her peers would kid about her mission -- though it's something she thinks all young people are capable of accomplishing.

``They say, `She's going to change the world,''' Rosetta said. ``In some ways, they also wish they can do that. I guess they're just a bit insecure about stepping out of their mode and helping other people.''

Her mother already understood.

``She's always teaching me you have to step out of your comfort zone,'' she said, ``and to see beyond what we're around.''

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Rosetta Ragusa, 16, holds lollipops she sells in front of grocery stores to collect money for SOS Children's Villages, which operates 450 orphanages worldwide. Ragusa has made it her life's goal to raise awareness and funds for Ugandan orphans.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer