The Youth Outreach Mission

I wanted to take a few minutes to write about an organization that I strongly believe in and support. It is an organization that was created by a group of individuals about the same age of our HELP team and younger. Wilson and Robert now age 21, best friends since primary school, created the idea of the Youth Outreach Mission and developed it into a large functioning organization which supports the youth of Lugazi, Uganda. The main aims of TYOM are to build the community around them, to raise AIDS awareness and to create an AIDS free generation by educating the youth. They are a team of highly dedicated local members who all participate in the organization while engaging in their own schooling or work at the same time. Many of their current projects are a soccer team for the street children and orphans, a well project to increase sources of clean water, building adobe stoves which increase health and decrease energy use, HIV/AIDS education and support, Health and education outreaches with schools and orphans and many other ongoing projects.
I guess you could say I want to bare my testimony of the Youth Outreach Mission. While I was in Uganda we did a lot of great projects, and we worked very hard. This work became my passion and it changed my life. But many of the projects that we engaged in would not have been possible if it weren't for the members of the Youth Outreach. This organization is a strong, honest, reliable organization that desires to only improve the lives of others in a country where so many seek to only help themselves. My faith in the abilities of the members of the Youth Outreach Mission cannot be expressed on paper or in a speech, but it is real. I look forward to continuing my work with the Outreach Mission and building on the projects that they create. They have the knowledge of the needs of the people that we as Americans could never know, and we have the resources that help answer those needs. Together we make a great team and I pray that we can continue to work as a team in answering the call that has been unheard for so many years.

The Youth Outreach has created a blog to show many of their projects, below is their link:

http://theyouthoutreachmission.blogspot.com/

Life Back in the States

It's been a little over a month since I've been back from Uganda and I still haven't exactly adjusted back. I don't think there are words to explain how much I miss Uganda and the people I met there. I made the best friends I have ever had during my time in Uganda. Working in Uganda was the best experience of my life. It changed who I am and gave me new direction in my life. I have discovered more about who I really am and what I want to be in the future, I learned that from the amazing people I was in daily contact with. I learned to value people more than keeping to a timetable and running from one place to another.
When I first got to Uganda there was no adjustment period for me, I felt more myself than I ever had before in my life. I felt at home. Doing the work I did there I was happiest I have been in my entire life. That is hard thing to leave. I did not mind never having running water, no toilets, low sanitation. I wanted to be with the people I loved, doing the work I loved. I won't deny that I do love taking a shower every day, but every time I take one now I remember the days of not showering or when I did actually get to take a "shower." "Showering" was going out to the manual well in our swimming suits and taking turns pumping while someone else splashed water on themselves and lathered up. It wasn't convenient, but we bonded during showers...we became humbled during those experiences. After showers it was laundry time at the same well. And then after dinner we did dishes at the same location as well. Life wasn't easy but it was simple. It was beautiful. I miss it.

Uganda Update

I have been really bad at updating my blog, mostly because I never can get a good internet connection long enough to write, but today I am going to try and update well enough that I can paint a good picture of some of my great experiences here. First of, one of the most dramatic parts of my experiences here has been a little health scare we had. I can write about it now because it is pretty much over and so I know it's going to be OK. I had been sick for about ten days and so finally my country director Melissa made me go see Dr. Nyombi. He is the man who we rent our house from. Right before I went two others from the group went and tested positive for malaria. They made a total of three cases of malaria in the group, thus our decision to finally go to the doctor. We went and he said we needed to do a blood test but that my vitals were all very good, not the numbers of someone sick, so at least I had a strong heart. We got the test results back and were shocked to find out that I had not only malaria but typhoid as well. He promptly gave me the medicine we needed and we went home. I went back and forth between wanting to cry and wanting to laugh because this is classic me, I can't just get malaria, I had to get typhoid too. But I have finished the malaria pills and the malaria is all gone. The typhoid has been a cause for debate in our house because after I was tested we decided that everyone in the house should be tested for either disease and after testing almost everyone we had 13 or so cases of typhoid. Then we learned that if you get tested for typhoid within 6 months of typhoid immunizations your test will come out positive. So most people stopped their typhoid pills but I talked to my doctor in America and he said I had all the symptoms of typhoid but it would be very hard to test for and so I should continue taking the medicine because if it isn't typhoid it is something else that this medicine would cure and I can't risk going off the medicine. I am doing much better now, I am able to go out on projects and actually able to get up and walk to the gate surrounding our house without getting exhausted. I actually feel really good other than pains in my stomach which still could be a problem but we are looking into it.
Other than health problems life has been awesome here. I couldn't ask to be in a better place this summer. I am working on a huge project which will be the largest festival that Lugazi has ever had and it will be an Aids awareness festival as well as combining small and large scale agricultural projects that we have been working on all summer that we have been teaching the people and also having the womens groups I have been working with and they will be able to sell their crafts there at the festival. It will be amazing and so far the Minister of Health is coming, the Prime Minister and hopefully the Ambassador. This is a huge event and I can't wait to head it up.
So much is going on but I don't have a lot of time to write more about it. I will try and post again soon. To sum it up, I love Uganda and the people here. This is the best summer of my life and I am the happiest I have ever been. I miss my family very much but I couldn't ask to be doing a better work or to be serving a better people.

How Many Miles to Namagogo?

It's been hard to get on here to update my blog but I finally have made it and now I don't know what to write about, not because I have nothing to say, I have TOO MUCH to say! We'll start with the most recent. Yesterday was Martyrs Day here in Uganda. Millions of people travel for months from Kenya and Rwanda and other neighboring countries to come to a church where 130 years ago some Christian missionaries were slaughtered. This mass pilgrimage occurs every year and we decided that we should participate. So, we started off in the morning from Mukono and walked all the way to Kampala City to the village of Namagogo about 10 miles. I'm not going to lie, to was not enjoyable. But it was a good experience and it was great to open our eyes to the dedication of the people to travel for months to honor these martyrs. Originally we were told that the walk would be 45 minutes from Mukono. After 45 minutes we started wondering why we hadn't seen it yet...so we then asked again. They told us "Oh about 2 more Kilometers" Ok we can do that. 2 hours later we are still searching for Namagogo. We ask again. "1 more Kilometer" Hmm...I'm starting to think they don't know where it is. Here comes the down pour. Ugandans are terrified of the rain so we have to stop and get under shelter. At this point we have at least reached the mass of people and we have been traveling for 3 1/2 hours. Once the rain stops we continued traveling and after 4 hours (NOT 45) we reached Namagogo. So the real question is, how many miles is it really to Namagogo? I have no idea...

New Address: Lugazi, Uganda!!!!!

I'm living in Africa!!!! I'm here safe and loving every second of it...well maybe not every second, the only thing I don't love is the squatters, but we won't talk about that. Uganda is the most beautiful place I have ever been in my entire life. I love it here. The people are beautiful and wonderful. The most welcoming and loving people, probably on earth. Every time we walk down the street the children will come out of huts, bushes, ditches, everywhere to shout, "MAZUNGU!!! MAZUNGU!!! HOW ARE YOU?" Mazungu means white people. Many of the children will run down to us to shake our hands, give us a high five (now that we taught them what that is), or just to touch us. They are so adorable. So far I have gone to see the source of the Nile, BEAUTIFUL, boated through it as well as Lake Victoria, danced at the local dance club called African Paradise and began our projects. I just became the project lead over the Women's Group projects where we will be doing projects to empower the women in these groups teaching them new skills to enable them to increase the income of the family so they can bring in more food, send their children to school, and improve their quality of life. There is an amazing village in Kawoto of women from Northern Uganda which I have fallen in love with. The women only speak Swahili or Aboli so I have to take a translator with me in order to communicate but I cannot wait to begin really working with them. There are so many projects to do with them. I just got out of a meeting with the Mayor who asked me to conduct a census of the women in Lugazi because Lugazi does not already have a census. So I will be creating the first census in Lugazi. It's a big project but I'm excited to be heading it up and it will be a great help for the village. We have spent many mornings at the Faith Orphanage where we play with about 25 children. It is a small orphanage for Uganda. There is a young girl named Sandi who has grown attached to me and calls me Mammy Becca. She wrote me a very sweet note which I will cherish forever. It amazes me how much I can love these people already and it's only been a week. Let me tell you about some of the people who affect our lives daily. David is our night guard and is such and a sweet and amazing man. He is from Eastern Uganda where his family still lives. His wife and daughter are actually coming to visit this week but he only gets to see them about once a month. It breaks my heart that so many families are split up due to poverty and other reasons. He is trying to be baptized into the church but cannot afford the taxi into Jinja to attend church and so myself and some of our friends in the group are going to pay for him to get to church. Mary is our cook and is from Sudan. She is probably the sweetest lady I have ever met and does way more than she needs to. She escaped the genocide in Sudan but her children and husband are still trapped there. She is waiting until the wars are over so she can get them out. We are hoping to be able to teach her to read and write in English. I am looking forward to her teaching me to cook Ugandan food (especially my favorite chipati and sweet potato with peanut sauce mmmmm so good!!!) She is also helping the Mazungus learn how to wash our cloths by hand. Ivan is our best friend who is 18 years old and is always with us helping with projects, leading us around the town and just hanging out with us. He just made me an awesome bracelet and is a great friend to all of us. I don't have much time on the internet left so I need to stop writing but I am doing well. I love Ugandan food, I love the weather in Uganda. IT rains about everyday and the lightning storms at night are amazing. The people here are the most loving I have ever met. I hope to learn to become more like them every day. I hope everyone in America is doing well. I love it here so much and am so happy I am here. Did I mention I LOVE UGANDA!!!!

Welabe!!!

11 Days and Counting

Well, it's officially count down time. I cannot believe it is almost time for me to leave America and head out to Uganda. After all that has happened this semester, I can barely believe that I am finally going to actually make it to Africa. I am so excited but so scared at the same time. I feel completely unprepared even with all the training, but I don't really think that I can fully be prepared for this summer until I actually get there and start working. I really am so excited and so unbelievably grateful to all those who donated and helped to make this possible. I cannot wait to meet the people I will be working with for the next three months. I will be writing from Uganda and updating this blog as frequently as I can. The internet in Uganda is not reliable and secure but hopefully I will be able to update it semi-regularly. In our village of Lugazi there is an internet cafe just a block or so down the street from our house where I will be able to send emails and update this blog. It will be interesting to learn to live without the things that we take for granted in America. This will be a huge blessing in my life and I can't wait to share the things I learn from this experience.

A introduction to HELP-International

Here is the official DVD put out by HELP-International. Anyone who is wondering who HELP is will get a good feel by watching this short video and a good understanding of a few of the projects we will be doing even though there are quite a few more we will be doing this summer once we get in country.

A taste of my upcoming summer

Here is a video put together from last years team. They were located in the same village that I will be in which is Lugazi, a small sugarcane village. Near the beginning of the video you will see a house with a gate around it, that is the house my team and I will be living in. Here is just a little taste of what my summer will be like, I can't wait!

Just copy and paste this link, there maybe a way to actually put this video on my page, but I'm new to the world of blogging and I haven't figured it out yet. If you know how, let me know :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwWJNTw8Klk

It's been a bumpy road . . .

It's been an interesting juggling act trying to get ready for Uganda this summer, keeping up with school, and dealing with some medical problems that have come up recently. Over the past few weeks I have had a few medical scares that made getting ready for this summer a very rocky roller coaster. At times I thought that I would not be able to go, other days I was told that I could. It was really difficult for me to not know what was going on, to never have a sure answer from my doctors. But then I remembered the most important thing. I had already received my answer months ago. When I originally contemplated going to serve the people of Uganda I prayed about going and my answer was a very firm "Yes." My parents received the same confirmation. Through the tough times of the past few weeks it has been a faith building experience for me to rely on my answer to prayer rather than the 'arm of flesh' or simply the unreliable answers of medical doctors, which in my case were changing every day.
Every day my desire to be with the people of Uganda grows and grows and my faith in what we are going to be doing strengthens. I already have developed such a love for these wonderful children of God, I cannot wait to actually meet them face to face and serve them for three months. Originally the trip was to be four months, but these medical circumstances have changed that and it has been shortened to three. But that just strengthens my desire and drive to make those three months count and work as hard as possible to accomplish as much good as possible while there.
The main goal of HELP International is to empower the people so that when we leave they are able to continue doing on their own the things we taught them. I know this will be an amazing experience for myself personally, but even more than that, I hope that I can at least help in the life of someone in need in Uganda and be of service to one of God's beloved children in need.

The Training Begins

Oli Otya! (Hello!)
This past Saturday marks the first day of training. I went through 9 (long, but interesting) hours of training. The first set was Program Planning and Implementation and the second was Orphanage and Recreational Therapy Training. I learned quite a few things that really got me excited, some that got be nervous, and some that really just touched my heart. The school that I will most likely be working in in Lugazi, Uganda houses over 900 children, orphans, AIDs victims, and disabled individuals of any age. This was a situation I was not prepared for and am glad that I learned about before I got in country. Hearing the stories of some of the children there was so touching and broke my heart.

We aren't able to really plan our projects until we get in country. Once we get to Uganda we will spend the first week going into the villages of Lugazi and other surrounding villages and doing problem assesments and just talking to the people as well as our partners there in an attempt to find out what we can best do to help the people in the short 4 months that we are there. While that 4 months seems like a long time to us, it is not long enough. I hope that we will be able to a great work there that will really help the people be more independent and that what we do is what the people really want, not just what we think they need. That is exactly why we really get to TALK to the people and have them help us with the projects and work side by side.

The rest of this month is full of training sessions and meetings in attempts to prepare for the trip of a lifetime. Along with all of that I still have to balance school and attempt to mantain a semi-normal life. We'll see how that goes. But I can't wait for the chance to be with the people of Uganda.

Mweraba! (Goodbye!)

Preping for the Biggest Trip of My Life

I have just recently been accepted to the Uganda team for HELP International and I can't wait for May 6th to arrive! I will fly out and after traveling for about 24 hours I will arrive in Uganda where I will start my volunteer work for the next 4 months. What I'm heading into, I'm not exactly sure but I cannot wait to find out. I will be doing various activities such as working in the orphanages there, building adobe stoves and gardens, teaching health awareness and anything else that the people need. We really are there for what ever they tell us they need at the time. For right now it's been an experience trying to balance school, finishing my job, and getting ready to head out to Africa. I have been trying to learn about the country, what immunizations I need and how to get a passport! (Can you believe I have never been out of the country and now my first time is to Africa, and I'm going alone!) Sometimes I stop and wonder what I am doing. And then I remember. I'm going to serve some of God's most innocent and suffering children, and I can't wait to get out to serve them. I have been looking at the pictures of where I'll be living, the people there, and the places I will get to see, and I am already filled with such a love for this place. I can't even begin to imagine how much I will love them and Uganda when I actually get to meet them, and see it, in person. For now, the prep is taking up so much time, but I know it will be worth it! Even all 10 (or more...yikes) vaccinations are going to be worth it...even though I will probably be saying something very different when I come home from the Health Department the day I get them. But words cannot express the deep gratitude I feel that I am blessed enough to be able to have this opportunity to go to Uganda and meet, work with, and serve the people there. The blessings in my life never cease to amaze me, and this is one more example of God's hand in my life.