"All promises are empty here"

When I first arrived in Lugazi, Uganda I traveled to a village called Kawoto. This is possibly one my favorite places on earth. After speaking with the head woman of the village, Rose, I got ready to leave and began speaking with a group of young girls. They spoke English very well and I asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up. One said she wanted to be a secretary, another a doctor, and the last an engineer. These were such beautiful goals. These girls lived in a village who worked as laborers to a man named Mehta who owned almost all of the sugarcane fields of Lugazi. Their families lived on about 75 cents a day. They had a school in the village but no teacher due to a lack of funds to pay them. Without schooling, the dreams of these beautiful girls would never come true. As I said goodbye to these girls with my mind racing with thoughts of what work we could do with this village one asked if I was ever coming back. I said that I would like to very much. She stared into my eyes and boldly stated, "All promises are empty here."

For this young girl promises had been made and promises had been broken. This was a life changing moment for me. I vowed to myself that I would not break my promise to her.

I returned about a week later and began working with her village. By the end of the summer, our team and her village together had implemented a small jewelry making business and a income generating cabbage farm.

The projects were not what changed my life. It was the vow I made on Kawoto Hill. The people I met and came to love more than life itself. After meeting amazing people like the girls from Kawoto Hill I knew my life would never be the same. When I returned to the U.S. Kristen Daniels and Melissa Sevy got together and Co-Founded a nonprofit organization, Musana Jewelry. This has drastically changed my life as I am still a full time student, work as many hours as a student can, and try to run a nonprofit at the same time. People ask me all the time why I am doing this. It may not make sense to them, but they didn't meet the girls on Kawoto Hill, they didn't see the look in her eyes when she said, "All promises are empty here."

My promises can NEVER be empty.

Re-entering the blogging world

I created this blog to write about my adventures in Africa. When I got to Uganda I realized that emailing my family on the very slow internet was more important than trying to get blog posts to upload. Now that I'm back in the states I decided that I would try my hand at blogging again. We'll see how it goes. I've decided I'm not a very good blogger. Why did I come to this conclusion? This is attempt three at this blog post and it's still not very good. But, no one is really going to read this so it doesn't really matter. I basically want to write about what is going on in life, how one experience changed my entire life and how life is 100% different than what I ever though it would be. So, blogging world, here I go...

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!!!