Oceans and Rainbows
**Warning, this post contains enough cheese to make up for the lack of it here in Uganda #sorrynotsorry At our house we have a cement wall with a metal gate around the property, and at night, our guard David makes sure people do not try to rob us. He is a super cool Ugandan who makes a lot of sacrifices to work with us. He lives here during the week and his family is about an hour away. He does not see them very often. In fact, his wife had a baby recently and so we gave him time off to go see his son for a few days, but it was a very short visit. David does so much for us and we love him. He is very funny and easy to trust. So David was hanging out with us one night and Cassie told him to tell us his rainbow story. “Do you know what a rainbow is?” David asked us in his deep voice. He has a thick accent that almost sounds like he is British and is holding a hard candy on the back of his tongue. We were all sitting in our living room that evening and the lights were dim so I couldn't clearly make out David's dark face. I was a little bit confused by his questions, but answered that it is a reflection of light off of water. “Here, when you are a child, we learn that a rainbow is a living thing!” He puts a little emphasis on the word “living” and raises his eyebrows a little bit to get his point across and make sure we understand him. “If you are near it, and go to it, it will kill you.” Some of us laugh at this. It doesn't sound like something you would continue to believe after childhood. Then he started to tell us about a trip he took with some HELP volunteers in 2013. I think the fact that he gave us the year makes it pretty clear how big a deal this moment was to him. They were going to see a waterfall, and David got to it before the rest of the group, but noticed a rainbow! “I ran back to the group and I am whispering, there is a rainbow, there is a rainbow!” He tells us. “And they say where?? and start to yell and cheer because they are happy.” He imitated white girls cheering and yelling excitedly which got me to chuckle. I love hearing what Africans think we sound like. David said to the girls, “What are you doing??” Poor David didn't understand why these Mzungus would be so happy about seeing a rainbow up close. They eventually had to explain to him that a rainbow is just a reflection of light and not a giant killing monster, and convince him to go stand in it. David said he was so afraid he brought his knife out in case something should happen. When he said that his eyes were wide and I see his white teeth in a big, almost sheepish grin. He got a picture of himself with a rainbow and he lived to tell about it! “Sometimes,” he says “I can hardly believe it. I showed my wife the picture, and she can hardly believe it.” The entire story, David has that grin on his face. You can tell it still sounds crazy to him to be so close to a rainbow, but he also understands how funny it is. I love that story. “In order for a man to discover greater oceans, he must be willing to loose sight of the shore.” Saleh gave us this quote on his radio show when we came on as guest speakers. The show was about volunteer work and how locals can get involved in their communities to make a difference. Consider this my plug for all of you to get involved and make a difference. It doesn't have to be big. Cassie tied this into how we not only have to do something like leave our literal shores and come to a foreign land like we did to come to Uganda, but we all have metaphorical shores. Insecurities, doubts, addictions, fears or anything else that might hold us back can be a shore. If we want to discover endless oceans, reach our infinite and eternal potential, we have to abandon those shores. Forsake, overcome, leave behind. Maybe it is a rainbow in disguise. I think by being willing to trust his friends and step into the waterfall, David left behind a shore that was holding him back. What rainbows are we afraid of in our lives? Maybe it's really just a beautiful reflection of light that we don't understand. Maybe it's actually something that would bring us joy to experience rather than something that wants to harm us. How can we know until we try? Are you afraid of taking a class this coming semester? Are you starting a new job? Be willing to leave your shore and discover a little more of your endless potential. Look around you and find something you have always wanted to do. Look for the rainbows instead of the monsters. Leave your shore, and discover the endless possibilities of the ocean. Being here in Uganda has helped me leave many shores and discover rainbows along the way. It's possibly the biggest lesson I have learned from this adventure, and I think that's no small feat. I love talking to people here, but the first day I was scared to look strangers in the eye! Traveling has always been something I have enjoyed, but I have needed people to push me to do it. This trip was very much out of my comfort zone, but I'm thankful for the support I had to come here and I have grown so much from it. I have discovered passions I never knew I had. Staying in America was a 'shore' for me that I didn't know I needed to leave. Now that I am here, I don't want to return! I have so many ideas in my head of how I could do it better, or what I want to continue to work on. But I'm glad I know how I can improve, because it just means I will be more ready to leave my next shore behind. Next stop, finding the rainbows of teaching <3
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It's my last week here in Uganda and I feel like I am just getting started. I finally know what meals are my favorite and how to get around town on my own. I can almost get right into the cold shower without delaying or only doing one body part at a time and I have become friends with locals who I enjoy seeing and speaking with regularly. Not to mention that there are some really amazing projects just getting started that I really wish I could be more involved with. Yesterday I went to teach a self defense seminar to high school girls. Before I came to Africa, my Dad suggested I take a self defense class just to be safe. I ended up really enjoying the class that a friend helped me find, but I never thought I would teach it here! After being here a few weeks, I mentioned to my team that I took this class, and the idea was tossed around that we find some girls to teach as part of some Girls Empowerment classes. I actually got really excited by the idea, but I was working on another project and assisting with others and, not very surprisingly, it is difficult to find people (men) to talk to in Uganda about Girls Empowerment. Lisa and Cassie had a partner at Sironko High School though that is really open to the topic. They decided to work with him and invited me to do a little bit with them before I leave! He understands how influential women are, and how Ugandan communities need to be more aware and respectful of that. So they started to organize doing some empowerment classes including one day of self defense and and ultimate goal of bringing RUMPS to the school. RUMPS stands for Reusable Menstrual Pads. In my post “Just a Mzungu” I talk about how a girls period often stops her from coming to school for the entire time she is bleeding, and how many problems something like that can perpetuate. So Yesterday I showed up in my leggings and my tennis shoes and taught self-defense to maybe 200 high school girls. At first, I wanted all of them to be able to do the moves with me and practice which each other. But as I stood on a chair outside for attention and had the girls stand up, they all began to crowd towards me. Everyone wanted to see and hear and they didn't care how close they had to be to their classmate to do it. I tried to get them to “extend” (spread out) and back up so they could move with me, but it quickly became clear that it just wasn't going to happen. After trying a few blocks with them, I had them all sit down and tried a new strategy. Annie pretended to be my attacker and I discussed form and different moves with the girls as Annie and I demonstrated. When Annie put her arm on my shoulder, I pushed it off and shouted “NO!” I talked with the girls about how they do not have to wait to be hurt. If somebody touches them, and they feel unsafe or fear for any reason, they can make him stop. I encouraged them to be LOUD to draw attention to themselves, and to always stand up for themselves. When I said things like this, the girls clapped and cheered. They were so happy to hear somebody encouraging them to stand up for themselves. We practiced yelling, and after showing them some moves, when Annie attacked me, I had the girls tell me what I should do. Many in the crowd could tell me what the answer was and I could see them doing the motions from where they sat. We talked about the strongest way to kick, and how to get out of several different grips. It was so fun to stand in front of all these girls and see and hear their amazement at what I was showing them. I kept telling them, they are strong and very capable. They can stand up for themselves. Unfortunately it is not something many women in Uganda are taught, ever. After instruction and demonstration, Cassie had the best idea to bring up some girls willing to participate and have them demonstrate what they have learned. The girls were very timid and cute and many were laughing and giggling just like most high school girls. Something I always love to see is that we are all humans, and just from that, we have so much in common. These high school girls have many more worries than we do, different worries at times, but also so many of the same. They have best friends and crushes and are subject to peer pressure. I can't say I know what their lives are like, because I can only imagine. But I do know how it feels to be a teenage girl, and I can relate to them on that level. Look at those smiles. These are the girls who came up to demonstrate, and they were so good at it!
After my self defense class, we broke into groups to teach the girls about menstruation. If you think the taboo on this topic is bad in the US, it's nothing compared to here. When a girl has access to better materials to take care of her self during her period, it can be incredibly empowering, mostly because they don't, and people usually don't talk to them about it. It gives them opportunity to stay in school, not to mention stay healthier. As we come to teach the girls, we hope to help them see how this topic should not be taboo. How a period is something natural and normal. So we taught the basic mechanics behind a period and what it is. These girls were actually very educated and well prepared which I have been told is not usually the case. There are a lot of myths surrounding this subject, as well as the topic of sex education. We want to be able to help make this topic something to be discussed without fear or discomfort which in turn is what provides girls empowerment to be more comfortable in who they are. No girl anywhere in the world should feel like their period (barring abnormal, incredible discomfort) is stopping them from living their life. Going into this class, I wasn't sure how well I would do. Not that I don't know what's going on, but it is not something I have practiced teaching or explaining. I was also unsure how well the girls would understand or what questions they had. The questions they had yesterday were actually mostly about what time surrounding their period they could have sex without getting pregnant... yeah. Not unlike the states, many high school students here are sexually active, only HIV/AIDS and STD's are a much bigger problem here, as well as teen pregnancy. Like I said in my earlier post, girls in school who get pregnant are not permitted to continue school and are often shunned in their communities which is a big problem. They also asked a lot about cramping pain and what is normal or not and how to handle it. We talked about healthy diets and being hydrated as well as exercising regularly to help manage these things. Regularity was something we talked about too. That is so hard to say because of course, everyone is different, but sometimes something that is a problem for one girl is not a problem for another. And then, it is even difficult to tell them to see a doctor if they are unsure because that is not something so easily done here at times. We had a really good discussion though. I felt so happy by the end of our class. One girl gave me a note as we were leaving requesting to be my friend. I was able to introduce myself to her and chat a little bit. Her name is Winnie and she was so sweet. You could see on the girls faces how much they enjoyed the time we spent with them, and when we all got back together, Cassie sang them a hilarious song about a moose. They have never heard of a moose before and it was hilarious to watch them watch her and laugh with her as she sang and danced. I left Sironko High School feeling the happiest I have felt in Uganda. I don't feel like I am properly conveying my feelings here in this post, but I was seriously happy. I love teaching. And I love seeing people learn and grow. In the two hours we spent with the girls, I saw their eyes lighten just a little. I loved to see them smiling and laughing. I loved answering their questions and encouraging them to be strong women, to be proud to be a woman. I can't believe I have to leave this place in a week, but I am so glad to have had this experience while I was here. So we live in a house in Half London, like a small area right out of Mbale Town. We rent our home from Resty (Rest-eh) who we call Mamma. We are her Mzungu daughters (and two sons). She has a young daughter who lives with her also named Resty. They have a little shop in the front of our property where we get laundry soap and detergent as well as sodas, and they live in the smaller house in our backyard. This is one of quite a few banana trees in our backyard! Our guard, David, sleeps in the garage during the day and watches the property at night. I feel so safe with David and I'm super thankful for what he does for us! We have a good sized living room with couches and armchairs with sheets over them for cleanliness. The floors are concrete and painted red, so the dirt turns you red if you rest your skin on it. We have two woven straw rugs that add a little color and attempt to keep our feet clean. The small dining room that mostly holds our water jugs and our laundry has a very steep and uneven staircase that leads to one of the girls' bedrooms. The laundry hangs from some lines after drying outside mostly first. We have to bring it in before it is dry because it usually rains in the evening. View of the living room from the font door Past the living room is a hallway with the rest of the house connected. The kitchen is small, but we have a mini fridge which makes a huge difference. We also have a sink, and a portable gas stove with two burners. There is a metal door that leads to the back/side of the house where we keep our compost bucket and trash. Every morning (except weekends) we heat up cold Chapoti for everyone and sometimes fruit too. Next to the kitchen is Troy's room. It's small and he is one of the only boys so he gets his own room. Chris also has his own small room. Then there's two bathrooms. One has separate doors for the toilet, shower, and sink areas and we call that the “boy's bathroom” even though girls use it too. The other bathroom is just one bigger room and that's the “girl's bathroom”. The water is always cold and comes from a tank outside our house which collects rain. At the other end of the hall from the kitchen is the other girl's room. That is where I sleep. I am on the top bunk and Selena is on the bottom. Also in our room is Shani and Katie on a bunk and Kristen and Jenna were in single beds but now also bunk together. We just got two new volunteers this week named Calli and Samantha. They sleep in a smaller room connected to ours. Kinda makes for some interesting traffic through the room! But it's actually a little more open now that we shifted things around so it's really nice :) Our bedroom is less clean than the living room! Those are our mosquito nets over the beds which are a must, here. So on a typical day, we all are up by 8 and in the living room for our morning meeting. We go around and say what we have planned for the day, ask people to come with us so we can honor the buddy system, makes plans, and ask questions. Then we reheat Chapoti on the stove and have that and bananas for breakfast. Everyone tries to be ready and out the door by nine. Typical plans include meeting partners somewhere like a cafe, or in their villages. We all are working on different projects with the locals so that determines where we go. This week some of the projects we had going were: Hygiene classes in Bouyobo for the community and building hand washing stations in their homes Taking youth from a church to the Industrial Yard where they learned to make wooden stools and a table. This group hopes to start their own woodshop. Meeting with an HIV group who want to start a piggary- We are assisting in purchasing the pigs, and educating the group on how to care for them so they can raise the pigs and make a profit from them. Going to a Primary (elementary) school for the deaf to teach them about income generating projects that they can use to help them continue to pay for school as they get older. Visiting the primary school near our home to organize some sports classes for the kids there. I have just about wrapped up my project with the Widows Savings Group, Tobana, where I helped supply them with tools for sewing and baking so they can teach everyone in the group those skills and save more money for their group. The money in the group is invested in bigger projects like buying a photocopy machine, to earn more profits that can be used to benefit the children at the school/orphanage the meet at. All that is left is a goal setting meeting to help them prioritize and come to an agreement on where the funds should be spent and when, as well as some follow ups with my contact for the group, Annette, to be sure that some classes are being taught on those skills. We also meet with locals that we meet throughout our day. There are some people in our neighborhood here that we are getting involved with for maybe some girls' empowerment classes or young mother support groups. RUMPS (re usable menstrual pads) is also a project we are making contacts for right now as well. This is Margret! She is a baker in the Tobana group I have worked with and she is so kind. I love her so much! She has one of the nicest homes I have been in here, and she makes pretty good cakes! So we spend the day out working on these things, going to internet cafes for better Wifi in order to do research or have lunch. We do a lot of planning and there is a project proposal we must fill out with specifics, budget, etc. Unless we are with a country coordinator, we are supposed to be home by 7 or as near as we can make it. Mostly for safety. It is a lot sketchier to have to travel at night here- not my favorite. Once we are in, we have dinner, talk about our days, and hang out! This group likes to have really intense games of catch phrase (we aren't competitive at all lol) and watching movies is lots of fun too. Plenty of shenanigans go on as well, and I laugh a lot :) I love going to church in Uganda. It is the same, but of course also different. The branch here is very kind and is actually being split this month. The building is on beautiful, well kept grounds. Both Sundays we have been here, an announcement has been made about whose turn it will be to clean the building and the members do a wonderful job of it. It's so important to keep up on cleaning here, because the dirt gets everywhere. I am so impressed with the dedication of the members here. Our first week, we got to watch a baptism after the block. I guess it is super common here for there to be baptisms, but retention is the difficult part. Anyway, they have a font right in the back. Just like a giant metal tub on the side of the building! Pretty cool. A few of us after church on our first Sunday, so long ago! The people here have such a love for God. You can hear in their prayers (members and non members alike) how much respect they have for him. Their prayers are so sincere and always fill me with more love for the people here. They are more blunt on the pulpit. People speak out against sin in the most forward, but clear manner. I think it helps that they focus on the simplicity of the gospel. Singing hymns is always fun because my accent stands out and it makes me feel weird, haha. After Sacrament, everyone is so nice and comes to welcome us. We have even been addressed from the pulpit and commended more than once for being present even though it is clear that we are far from home. That always makes me tear up a little bit. We have been out of town some times for church, and not been able to stay for all 3 hours if we go, so whenever we are there, I try to soak it in. It is a good reminder of what my focus in life should be, even (especially) when I am here! I have some goals of how to be better at observing the Sabbath Day here. For all the “inconveniences” here, it is much more difficult for me to keep my routine. But I know that the commandments have been given to all of us, and my efforts are recognized. It was yesterday, after returning from the deaf school (walk along the highway until you get a taxi, taxi for a while, walk a little more to get home) where I just couldn't stop looking around me and thinking about how amazing this place is. Uganda is absolutely breath taking. I love it so much, and 100% would do this again, were it in the cards. These are the pictures I took on my walk home yesterday, just in love with everything I saw: Rice fields, coming back from the deaf school, before we caught a Taxi One of my favorite trees on Republic street, on our way to town Street near where we stay, the man on the bike has limes, and possibly potatoes with him. This is one of my favorite pictures One of the roads to home Saw these cute girls on our walk home... they wanted to see my camera and I was showing them how to take pictures, and then asked for a picture with them They were all in the picture at first, but then they ran! One of many neighborhood children that great us when we come home with big smiles and hugs
So first off, the national language of Uganda is supposed to be Swahili. I guess it's because east Africa is trying to become more unified so everyone speaks the same language. But in Uganda they speak a lot of languages and not many people speak Swahili on the daily. Usually it is English (also the national language?) and another language. So around Mbale where we stay, many people speak Lugisu (loo GHEE soo – really not sure if I spelled it right) and we have picked up a few greetings and fun words. Our country coordinator Chris is super good with the locals and usually impresses them by giving a more traditional greeting when we start our meetings. When he is done they all clap and laugh and it makes them love him. This is how it goes: *disclaimer, I am totally making up these spellings Greeting: “Malembe” → means “Hello” or can even be thought of as, “How are you?” Response: “Malembe” (muh LEM beh) Greeting: “Outiena” → (oo tee EN ah) means more literally “How are you?” Response: “Bulaiyee” → (boo LAH yee) “I am fine/well” Geeting: “Maqwua” or “Kamahooah” → (which one you say just depends on where you are) “What is the news?” Response: “Gassala” → (GAH sah lah)“No news” You say this entire thing in a row and it is super fun. So far I have only succeeded in doing it with the guy who taught it to me as we were hiking to Wanale falls on Mt. Elgon. The next day he tested me and it took a second, but I did it! I need to be braver and try it in front of a group. Sometimes after I greet locals, they ask how I am doing in Lugisu, but I usually freeze and can't think of the correct response! Haha Not everyone speaks Lugisu though. I meet with a group of women that has a few who “are not Malembe” as they put it. So they speak Luganda or Swahili or another language besides English. The English here is pretty good. It is funny and can be tricky to understand just the vocabulary choices. It is adorable to hear the little children on the street shouting “Mzungu! Howareyouu??” The correct response to that question is “I am fine!” That answer threw us the first time we heard it because usually that's not a positive response in the states! You say, “good” or “great” or “doing well!” When you just say “fine” it sounds like something is wrong. But in Uganda, it's what you say! Also just their grammar is funny. When you are leaving someone's company (generally a stranger you won't see again but it works for friends too) instead of saying something like “Have a good day!” you say “nice time!” The other day I was visiting some widows who are a part of the savings group I meet with. They each have some wonderful skills and they were showing me their homes and the things they make and what they do for work. One woman named Jane was telling me about the beautiful shirts and dresses and bags she makes. She wore one of her dresses to a meeting in the past and they were describing it to me. Instead of saying “She was wearing it at the last meeting.” They say “She was putting that one on last time” and even said “The one she was putting on” to reference the one she made. It makes me laugh and love them even more. Similarly, when they talk about going to get something, they use the word “pick”. For example, if they ask a child to get the guest book for us to sign, often the say “You go and pick it and bring it back.” Or when we tell them we need to get supplies, they tell us to “pick it”. They also use the word “move” in a fun way. When we go visit somewhere like a school or health clinic, we meet in an office or something first and then when they want to give a tour of the grounds to us, they say “can we move around?” Or “Let us move.” That's one of my favorite ones. I understand what they are saying and have tried my best to communicate clearly with them as well! It has definitely been a learning curve. Some funny words they say here are “branch” to turn. So when I am directing someone taking me home, I tell them to branch left and branch right. They also use the word “extend” to get someone to move forward or back. We were helping to paint a school and the children were crowding around us watching us mix the paint. When I tried to move in and get them to back up, one of the older girls stepped back and told the kids in front of her to extend back and make room. When we ask drivers for change, we ask for “balance”. That's probably my favorite one! We hear them taking group pictures at the school we visit sometimes. You know they are taking a picture because, instead of saying “cheese!” to get you to smile, they laugh. “Ha! Ha! Ha!” Like big laughs all together so that the picture looks more natural I guess. It is kinda weird but really amusing to listen to! The food here is great. Pretty much they eat staple foods for every meal. The variety is not nearly as much as it is in the states, but there is still plenty to choose from! So we have a woman that we have hired as a cook for us. She makes us dinner Sunday-Thursday. Then on the weekends we are on our own. Breakfast is also provided for us, so during the week we only have to pay for lunches ourselves. So for breakfast, we usually have Chapoti (pretty sure I have spelled that differently every time I write it [chap OT ee]) All it is is like a really thick and kinda greasy tortilla! It is delicious. And one, or 1.5 is usually enough to fill me with a little banana or mango or pineapple on the side. We eat those fruits a lot and they are SO GOOD here. I normally do not like really ripe bananas, I like them more green. That's more how ripe bananas taste here and I love it. Lots of people like to put honey or jam on their chapoti and it is pretty good, but I also really like it plain. This is Jamima in our kitchen making Chapoti for us! She taught me how as well but I didn't get a pic For lunch we can go get street food which is super cheap, it's usually chapoti or beans and rice and avocado. You can also get street rolex which is something we also like to order at our favorite cafe, Casa. Rolex is just a chapoti with an omelet rolled into the middle. They make the omelets with onion and pepper and tomato and then just put it on the rolex and roll it up! It is really yummy. At Casa, they chapoti is less greasy and the egg is a bit more substantial, and you can get it with “gravy” which is just this sauce that I think is tomato based and has like some Indian spices? I don't know but it is too good. Chapoti at Casa! We drink a lot of soda here. Everything in glass bottles, so the Coke is delicious. It also helps to have a coke with a meal you are unsure of the safety level on so it can maybe kill some bacteria that might get in your stomach. Mostly the soda choices here are Coke, Sprite, and Orange Fanta. But there is also Ginger Beer, and berry Fanta which is sooo good. Also there are some other brands of soda I haven't seen anywhere else and one of them is Mirinda. It is a fruit soda kinda like Fanta and there is a red/purple berry one very similar to the Fanta that is probably my favorite. I'm gonna have to see if I can find it in Provo when I get back. Usually when you get a soda here, you give back the bottle so it can be recycled/reused. So two people could order a Coke or something and the labeling on the bottle could be totally different. Haha, makes you wonder how many times that bottle has been used... Soda tastes great though! I am sad there is no Dr. Pepper but I guess I can appreciate it that much more at home ;) Our cook, Jamima, makes some delicious food. I can't really pick a favorite. But I love her samosas. It's like a fried triangle full of meat or veggies. She makes them with chicken and some veggies. I requested cabbage and guac with those the other day and it was great. Her cabbage was not as good as the cabbage we had in a village earlier in the week but it was still good! “Irish potatoes” are very popular here. Most people tell us that is one of their favorites. They are just normal potatoes as far as I can tell, but yellow instead of white? And I have liked them a lot more! Super flavorful. We eat lots of rice and beans here. Pretty much every meal comes with avocado here and it is way better than any avocado I have had in the states. Tonight we had rice and peas. Sounds so gross because I do not like peas, but this was surprisingly quite good. The peas were almost in a soup or broth more similar to how beans are prepared and they had onions and carrots mixed in too, just mostly peas. I liked it! And the pineapple we had on the side was delicious. More unique to Uganda would be foods like matoke or posho. Matoke is plantain which I had never had until I came here. It is kinda bland by itself but it goes great with Jamima's chicken and g-nut sauce. G-nuts are ground nuts, or peanuts. They make peanut butter, and g-nut paste which is a little thinner, and also g-nut sauce which s my favorite. It's super thin and actually like a light purple color. Depending on who makes it, it doesn't even taste a lot like peanut butter, but it is perfect on the side of some of the more bland foods we eat here. Posho is just corn flour mixed into boiling water until it gets super super thick. I would compare the texture to leftover cream of wheat, and it holds shape like it too! The one time we ate it, we had it with beans and it was fine, until I was full, and then it was really hard to finish. It is filling and easy to make and most anyone here can afford it. Posho is possibly my least favorite Ugandan food. It's just not very flavorful. Samosas and cabbage and pineapple! This was a fish dish that was absolutely delicious and we had it with sweet potatoes and something called Casava. I don't know what Casava is except that it's a vegeatble and looks a little bit like a potato and almost tastes like one but not really? It went great with the fish.
If I learn nothing else from spending 8 weeks on the other side of the world in a country very different from my own, I will at least learn patience... from waiting for Facebook to load on our internet that is incredibly slow when everyone is trying to use it. Seriously, how did we survive on dial up?! This post is mostly just to detail some fun/interesting cultural differences here, and “African Time” is one of them. The same guy I mentioned in my first post, Saleh, is also the one who brought up African Time. He mentioned having appointments and being on time, but taking as along as it needs and not confining that time. So when he went to London to set appointments, he made many appointments in a row, thinking they would all be very close to each other. He soon found that he would be missing many appointments that day because he didn't give himself enough time to get to all the places he needed to be and spend the time he wanted in each meeting. In fact, most locals do not “keep time” well, and often come quite late to appointments. Here in Uganda when you go to a cafe for lunch, your food may take an hour or two to arrive. Seriously, a few days ago I asked for just a BLT (Yeah they have some different food here, but also lots of normal stuff, I will get to that) and it came almost 2 hours later. Not because that is how long it takes for it to be made, but that is how long it took them to get to making it (which takes about 6 minutes) and bringing it out to me. So when we go to get lunch, if we want it to be fast, we get some street food. That is plainer and faster because the cooks are not doing anything else. I just had street food for the first time on Friday and it was delicious. Many other dishes made on the street I have had made for me at home or by other hosts. Like a combo of beans and rice or potatoes with avocado. If we are not pressed for time, we all bring internet devices to catch up on stuff at home, and chat with each other for a while before our food comes. It is nice to have time to just sit and socialize in a comfortable place. Most of our group on the roof at Casa, enjoying the company! The taxis here are more like mini van sized vehicles, though they look a little different, and they have four benches in them. On the end of each bench is a seat that folds up so you can get all the way to the back. When everyone is in their seat, there is no moving! Each bench technically has 3 or 4 seats on it, but they always carry at least one more person than there are seats on the bench. Everyone gets packed into this mini bus and you're off to your destination. There is a place here in Mbale (and I am guessing other cities as well) that is a taxi park. You can go there to find a taxi going pretty much any place around, but you can also find taxis on the streets. They park on the side and they don't move until they are FULL. Like really full. So if you get in an empty one, you may wait an hour or so before you leave. Everyone pays their own fair, and some people might be getting off a little before you are. There is a “conductor” who is not the driver but he recruits the passengers and negotiates the price and it is who you pay. He also the one who sits with his head and arm out the window and hits the side of the taxi shouting their destination for people to get on. Our country coordinator Chris said it is his dream to get to be the conductor and he asks if he can but they always say no. Just the other day they allowed him to do it and he pretended we were going to Kampala (the capital) and was shouting it like a Ugandan conductor would. Everyone in the bus was laughing so much but most people on the street were like “What is that Muzungu even doing?” Some people laughed though. It was great. Some of the group nice and squeezed in the Taxi When we have gone to meet with potential partners for projects, they love to show us their facilities, introduce us to groups they have organized, and tell us all about Uganda, the customs, and how the way people live impacts their organizations. We visited Cure Hospital in Mbale where they do surgeries for children with spinal bifida and hydrocephalus as well as some other physical conditions. The hospital has developed a different method to avoid using a stint that can get infected for hydrocephalus patients, and their facility and staff is amazing. While we were getting a tour, we were standing for a long time and a lot of us were (still are) getting over jet lag. So occasionally we would sit down in an area to hear him talk, or stand apart from the group because some of us had a harder time with seeing the patients than others. Facilities at Cure Hospital, a very very nice place comparatively.
So when we debriefed a little later, our country coordinator Cassie told us that the tour we took was actually pretty short. That was surprising to us! It was a long time that we were walking around and talking with him and listening to things he shared with us. Cassie told us that he thought we were in a hurry just because of how we were acting around him. Here it is important to look very engaged and they really like it if we have a notebook out to write things down. Rather than passively listening and occasionally asking a question, we should be engaged with them and SHOW them we want to listen to them and be present. Living on African Time is obviously different from most places in the states and how people run their lives. I find that I thrive on a busy schedule where I have things to do and can hold myself accountable to being productive. However, I think some of these things can be brought to life in valuable ways besides just being seen as cultural quirks. Waiting two hours for a meal to arrive is rough. But whenever we go to eat, we have time to enjoy each other. I think when time like that it is presented to us, instead of complain about the timing and how you are being held back or getting hungrier, it is much better to enjoy time with those around you. Family meals are not all about eating the food (which is important of course) but the time spent together is vital. Appreciate those around you and take time to get closer to them. It is pretty annoying to wait for a taxi to fill if it takes an hour and you have somewhere to be, but I have found when I am taking trips or making plans to go somewhere, rushing out the door often results in leaving something behind, or just unnecessary stress. The funnest trips I have been taken are ones where we can be efficient (think of how many people are packed into that taxi) while also just enjoying our time and not being worried about a deadline. We get there when we get there and we enjoy the journey. I think the last example of being engaged is the one example of African Time I have learned the most from. In physical real life settings we should show our interest and engage in what we are doing. Be fully involved and present in order to put our best selves in to what we are doing. Not only that, but also in our spiritual lives. When we can show Heavenly Father we are fully engaged in what He has called us to do, we will get more out of it. Taking notes of impressions in the from the spirit and asking questions gives us more inspiration and learning opportunities. It has been a goal of mine this past year to be more present and aware and this example has only encouraged me to do better. Of course I want to be prompt and productive, but I think I will try a little harder to live on African Time and be thorough and attentive to the things I do and the people around me. I love what the people of Uganda have taught me so far <3 When we arrived at the airport, we were taken just 10 minutes drive to a hostel where we stayed the night. When we got up in the morning we all piled into a big bus with all of our luggage (except mine which was still in Amsterdam) and we began our drive to Mbale. This is overlooking some of Mbale Town from the roof of a Cafe we love to eat at Mbale is on the east side of Uganda, close to Kenya, and in the more mountainous area. The drive is about 6 hours with good traffic which brings me to my first point about Ugandan things! The right side of the road in Uganda is the left side. People drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheels are in the right side of the vehicles! There are no traffic lights here that I have seen, only roundabouts. Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way, and there are lanes, but they more of guidelines really... see what I did there? Ha, anyway I have seen videos of crazier traffic, but the traffic here is quite crazy. Big trucks- full of lumber, or bananas, and workers sitting on top- spit thick black smoke from their tailpipes. Giant, double-decker YY buses (YY is like the brand or company) are swerved around by speeding boda-bodas with broken speedometers and 15 seater taxis packed with 20 people. A boda-boda is just a cheap motorcycle that you can squeeze three people onto and get around town and out to villages more quickly than waiting for a taxi to fill up. The taxis look like they come form Japan when they are done with them. They have 4 rows of seats that should fit only 3 people but they put 4 or even 5 to a row and they don't leave until they are full. Honking is a prevalent way to say “I'm here, don't hit me”, “Stay to the side, I'm passing”, “Hello there friend”, “Hey you get out of my way” and “Look at me, Mzungu!” haha They honk a lot here. On our way to Mbale on the big bus, we stopped at a place called Lugazi where the Musano Women are. They are a group that was started through Help International a few years ago and have had great successes! They employ struggling women to create jewelry and sell it for prophet. They have a children's library organized there and it was amazing to see what humble circumstances they live in. They are ina small village off the main highway and where they stay is off a dirt road, with three or four small structures that are very simple. The dirt is everywhere here. It seems near impossible to keep out and off of everything. While we were with the Musano women, they made us a very filling lunch of posho and beans. Posho is just corn flour mixed with boiling water and mixed until it is thick and very stiff. The texture is slightly rough, the taste nonexistent. The beans complemented it well, and it was very filling. I had an incredibly hard time finishing my huge portion they gave me and many of the girls couldn't which was hard because we saw what humble circumstances they were in. All of the very limited furniture was wooden. There is no running water and where they cooked the posho and beans was in big metal bins over like a rudimentary stove on the ground. One that looks like it's more portable for camping. On the drive, we got to see a lot of Uganda. We drove through forests and thick green plants- palm trees and pine trees and all kinds of bushes and other trees. In those jungles we could occasionally see monkeys in the trees! In the city is lots of cement and brick roads and buildings. The sidewalks are all half done and usually uneven. The gutters look like they are under construction but have likely been that way for many years. They are very deep and often so wide they have to put concrete or wooden bridges across. I only know of one trash can in a public place in Mbale. That's in Cafe Arebica and it is a tiny little one which looks like its more just for cigarettes. Consequently there is trash all over the streets. Often it seems to be in designated places, like- this corner is where you leave your garbage! It is mashed into the dirt and degrading as much as it can right there. You can find all kinds of shops up and down the streets and there are plenty of street vendors for food. We can get fruit if it is fruit you peal, and it is recommended you watch them do it so you know how long it has been sitting. Street vendors just have simple wooden stands or just burlap sacks or mats laid out and covered in fruit and veggies. Bananas, mangos, pineapple, tomatoes, potatoes, and more. This is a small house and some bricks at the edge of town, banana trees in rows to the left Street vendors also sell meat in lots of forms and cuts, and that is more dangerous because of cleanliness and how long it is cooked, etc. As we drove to Mbale that first day, our bus driver pulled over where a ton of vendors wait for people to come and buy chicken and beef on sticks, or soda bottles which are very popular here, probably because the water is not good to drink. When we pulled over, they stuck their food in our faces through our windows, and pulled the windows open more than they were to fit everything through them. You just have to tell them no and stick to it because they ask a few times usually. This place we stopped was especially crazy because the cars would be SWARMED with people trying to sell their products. It happens in town when you're in a taxi too, but people sell a variety of things, cakes (hard ones) or nail clippers or soda or jewelry and they mostly just walk by your taxi while you wait for it to fill up before you can leave. Car vendors seen through the front window of our bus. They squeeze in as close as they can get! My favorite thing that street vendors sell is Chipote and Rolex, as well as rice and beans. Chipote is like a thick greasy tortilla which is truly delicious. A Rolex is a Chipote with pretty much an omlet on top and rolled up. At cafes you can get it with gravy that is tomato based but has really yummy seasoning and it is delicious. The egg is usually cooked with like peppers and tomato and onions and it is really filling too! Street beans and rice can sometimes have pebbles in it, but they serve it with avocado which is pretty common here and super yummy. I don't know how they make food I have always thought of as “Mexican” taste so not Mexican! It must be the spices I guess, but I like it! The smell of Uganda was something I noticed right away. The city smells like smoke (from burning trash and cooking food) and exhaust (the gross trucks are the worst) as well as a unique Ugandan BO... and of course when you walk down the streets you get smells of food or very potent fruits which can be a little overwhelming. I know when I first got here, I felt like my nose was being assaulted, but I know I got used to it quickly and it is only the extreme smells in very select places that I notice now. Going to a cafe is nice because you pretty much just smell the food! It's so hot here though, that pretty much all doors are kept open all the time. AC is definitely not a thing here, and fans are not terribly common, though we have one in our house! Thankfully the breeze is a cool one here and it comes pretty often. It is incredibly humid so you sweat just getting dressed in the morning-seriously. The heat is okay but the sun is pretty intense and the humidity just makes it feel heavy. Because it is so humid, we usually get an afternoon pouring of rain. Rolling thunder and sometimes a little lightning but mostly just buckets of water dumping on us from 30 minutes to over an hours times. It is not every day, but certainly most days. The rain is cool, but not cold. In Uganda they have shillings (UGX) that they use, and about 3,325 UGX = $1.00. A street rolex costs 1,000 UGX usually. A bottle of coke is about the same. A cafe we eat at often called Casa gives you a dinner plate full of rice and a deep bowl of vegetable curry for 9,000 UGX. It is amazing here how prices compare and how much can be done for so cheap. We take transport into town or other villages for just a couple thousand shillings every day. The food is good, and the money is fun, but my favorite thing about Uganda is the people. I feel more safe talking to strangers here than I have in many big cities in the US. Most everyone here is willing to help you and answer your questions. It took some getting used to, but on the first day in Mbale after we had settled in we went around and had to find things in town, which took a lot of asking around and now it is much easier! Also, shaking hands with a Ugandan is like doing a secret handshake. You first grasp hands the normal way. Then you turn your hands so your thumbs are still hooked but now your fingers are on top, and then you go back to the normal way. It's fun! When you ask them how they are doing, a Ugandan's typical response will be “I am fine.” In America a lot of us would take that as though somebody is not doing very well but don't want to say. But it is a typical response here just like when Americans answer with “good”. We have fun saying it to each other in our Ugandan accents which is a new thing all together. It is best if we speak more clearly and sometimes it is tricky to find the right vocab. Funny vocab difference here are things like “branch right” instead of turn, and when you need change for a purchase you ask for “balance”. Then of course there are the children. Right next to where we live is where many children, some orphans some not, hang out. When we come home they come running out to the road and great us with hugs and pleas to “carry me up!” If you pick them up, they never want to be put down so we try not to do that. But I have been teaching them “Twinkle twinkle little star” After a request to teach them songs. Another volunteer heard them trying to sing it the other day so that was cool. They are too cute and too skinny, but have the biggest smiles and the loudest laughs. “Princess Melody” Many of the children of a village we visited and taught them thumb wars and duck duck goose and the macarana! (ignore Troy's arm)
I hope to build more relationships while I am here and make some friends with some of the amazing people here. The cities and countryside are beautiful in their own ways and fascinating to see. I am loving learning about these people and am humbled every day. Uganda is pretty cool! Muzungu is the word for “white” and it is what we get called all the time when people do not know our names. It is their way of saying “I do not know you, but I want to address you, and you are different from me.” Children shout it out as we drive by and they wave to us excitedly. As a Muzungu, I have very little knowledge about this country and the people, but I am learning!
Yesterday I learned some facts that got my brain turning. We went to a cafe where the owner, Saleh, works in Entrepreneurship and Tourism to provide jobs for people to give them better lives. He is very educated and helped to give us some perspective on how we can help and what is most beneficial to this country. 80% of the Ugandan Population is under 15 years of age 7 in 10 girls do not finish Primary School Only 12% of girls finish Secondary School Pregnant girls are not allowed in school because they set a bad example Menstrual Cycles are the number one cause for girls dropping out of school I began to think about how huge a problem this is. Girls have very little empowerment here. It just is not in the culture. And even still, something that is part of their biological make-us is getting in the way of their education and opportunities because they lack basic hygiene essentials. My mind was reeling. I knew that Uganda is a third world country before I got here, but I definitely did not get to realize the extent. So we talked about sustainable projects to do and skills we could teach them to allow them to make a profit and support themselves and their families. Especially so they can afford schooling for their children. Almost no scholarships are offered in the entire country, so if a student cannot afford school, they do not go or their families go into a lot of debt with outrageously high interest rates. If a family has to choose between a son going to school or a daughter, they will choose the son. He will return to the family with the benefits of his education but the daughter gets married and goes away. As he talked about these problems and what the children need, I was feeling more and more inadequate. I am just a math teacher (with no real career experience even under my belt yet) and I have never taught anything else! I don't have skills that will help them change their lives. What was I doing here? I can't make a difference. But I know that Heavenly Father wanted me to come here. So there has to be something I can do, right? Saleh talked about how just taking the time when we go help at clinics or other places to just talk with some women one on one can help. Instead of just passing out supplies with a smile and taking some cool Instagram pictures, we should talk to some individuals and get to know them. Tell them about ourselves and ask about them. He said that when we tell women about our various degrees and things that we have done in our short lives, we will here girls say “wow!” He said “The wow comes from the heart.” They are thinking, She is a woman, and she goes to university. She is going to be a doctor or a teacher or a business woman. She has an education and the ability to support herself, feed her children, accomplish her dreams. We were told that the best way to find out what we can do for them is get to know them. “You won't know what they need until you ask them.” The fact that pregnant girls cannot attend school struck a lot of us in the group. Her lack of education is more likely to be perpetuated in her family. If we can teach them some simple, marketable skills, it could make a difference. Saleh explained how educated mothers makes such a difference! “When you educate a mother, you can educate a nation.” I firmly believe that and feel very passionately about it. Elder D. Todd Christofferson said in his October 2013 address, “The Moral Force of Women”: “In all events, a mother can exert an influence unequaled by any other person in any other relationship. By the power of her example and teaching, her sons learn to respect womanhood and to incorporate discipline and high moral standards in their own lives. Her daughters learn to cultivate their own virtue and to stand up for what is right, again and again, however unpopular. A mother’s love and high expectations lead her children to act responsibly without excuses, to be serious about education and personal development, and to make ongoing contributions to the well-being of all around them. Elder Neal A. Maxwell once asked: “When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses?” ” So some girls and I started talking about some ideas. We hope to find ways to educate some young mothers in various things that will be helpful to them. Or find ways to raise awareness in schools. Help with sex education, or girl empowerment groups to encourage them to pursue an education. Even just providing menstrual pads for girls can make a huge difference in their education! A few girls here are more medically involved than I am and have already made a connection at a maternity clinic. That could be the perfect starting place to find young mothers (or soon to be mothers) and learn of needs they have we can help them fill. We are only in the beginning stages of planning but by the end of our talk with Saleh I was feeling more excited and passionate about helping than I have since I started this process. I still wonder if my math background will even be necessary or helpful, but I have been told that even that could really be beneficial in the right setting. We will be visiting some schools this week and I am looking forward to that! What got me started on this adventure:
First of all, I had a question: What would God have me do this summer? I spent this past semester working for no pay. I've been student teaching and living off savings/small loans and plasma money. I was anxious to get a job and work my tail off. No school this summer (finally!), just work. Hard hard work and lots of fun in my free time. I started thinking about and looking for jobs by the end of February because I couldn't stand how much free time I had (blasphemy I know). However, no matter what kind of job I explored, nothing seemed right. Nothing fit. Have you ever been shopping for clothes, clothes you really need, and you find some things that fit okay, and they're kinda cute, the price isn't great but it isn't outrageous... you need these clothes, mind. But they just don't FIT. They aren't quite right. You decide you can get by without these clothes for just a little bit longer because maybe something better will come along. You'll get that “I love it and I have to have it” feeling and not regret your purchase one bit. Maybe it's just me, but if I buy clothes I don't love, I never wear them. But I never get rid of them because I bought them and I don't want to waste my money! But I keep wearing that shirt with the pit stains (They aren't THAT noticeable right??) because I LOVE it and that other shirt just isn't my favorite! So it takes up space for years because I bought it but I didn't love it... Well that's how I felt about all of these job options. Nothing fit. Nothing was right. And it really bothered me. So I had a question that I prayed about. I tried to have faith that Heavenly Father would guide me to where He wanted me to be. I trust Him. On March 26th, I was sitting in the General Women's Session of General Conference in Salt Lake with my former roommate and best friend Katie. I was so excited to be in the Conference Center to hear so many wonderful women speak. If you're not LDS, General Conference happens one weekend (with the exception of the Women's session which is the weekend before) every April and October. It consists of six 90-120 minute sessions composed of speakers who each give something similar to a TED talk. They talk about God and Faith and Love and Forgiveness and Families and Individuals and everything in between. It's kinda like Super Bowl weekend for Mormons where we get to hear from the Prophet of the Lord and His Apostles and we love it. So, I sat through this session specifically focused towards the women of the church where they talked about service A LOT. They spoke about how Christ served, how we should serve those around us, and specifically how we should serve refugees in our area who have fled hardships and discrimination in the their home countries. We were reminded how the pioneers of our own faith were at times refugees and how the women of the world have been blessed with compassion and empathy in order to bless the lives of others in need. The last sister who spoke was Linda K. Burton and she spoke specifically about a program called I Was A Stranger that the church has put together to help us all find ways we can serve locally. “It is our hope that you will prayerfully determine what you can do—according to your own time and circumstance—to serve the refugees living in your neighborhoods and communities. This is an opportunity to serve one on one, in families, and by organization to offer friendship, mentoring, and other Christlike service and is one of many ways sisters can serve.“ We do not need to do something extravagant, but we must find ways to serve, and there are many. This site can point you in the right direction for what you can do to help serve. As she spoke, the thought was brought to my mind by the Spirit that I should look into going abroad to do some service. A humanitarian trip. I know that this was the Spirit prompting me in this mainly because this is something I have NEVER ever thought about. As much as I have thought about travel, it has only been for selfish reasons. I never thought of myself as the “type” to go and do service in another country. I also know it was the Spirit because I was so urgently constrained to act. Though I tried to brush off the idea- I even wrote in my journal "I likely wouldn't make any money...maybe not travel right now?"- I couldn't let it go. The more I thought about it, the more I had to do something to move forward with this idea RIGHT NOW. In the book of Mormon, the prophet Alma describes the promptings of the Spirit of Truth as a seed that we nuture, and if it is good, “it will begin to swell” and we will say “within [ourselves]-- It must needs be that this is a good seed, of that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding” Alma 32:28 This is how I felt. The idea was enlightening, it was growing within me from the moment I heard it. My soul was enlarged and I knew that it was good. It was undeniable. Though I had been trying to keep my phone put away during the meeting in order to stay focused, I couldn't wait for the meeting to be over. I felt impressed to text my bishop (the head of the congregation I attend) who had previously lived in Uganda and told him about this prompting. I said it was a “little weird” and I had no clue where to start, but I wanted to do some service abroad and could he help me? I also texted my dad and asked if this were a financial possibility for me/us. Only the day before I had been emailing back and forth with him and my oldest brother about my financial situation and the goals I have for the future with my job and salary starting this coming fall. I had written out some goals for the summer and made a plan for the money to save and budget. This definitely was not in that plan... By the time the meeting was over, Katie and I were leaving the conference center in a sea of women and I told her about my impression. I was shaking with the adrenaline of the Spirit and the power of the impression and probably also my own shock and surprise and nerves. This is kind of a crazy idea! But I could not deny that I knew this is what Heavenly Father wanted me to do with my summer. Moving forward - The next week things happened rather quickly though it didn't feel that way. By Saturday night, my dad had found a few organizations for me to look into and Help International was one of them. On Sunday I saw my Bishop at church and he gave me some great advice. I was told to ask a lot of questions about the projects that were being done. He advised that it would be much better for me to go with a group that has been to that specific place before and had seen success. I should look into what was being done and the effectiveness of the projects. We want longevity and something the people will actually use. A good idea might seem nice, but may not be accepted by the culture. At this point, I had no idea what country I wanted to visit, and Help has a lot of options. So the advice helped me narrow my choices. On Monday I was student teaching and couldn't even wait to get home to start making calls and asking questions. I grabbed a pen and some scratch paper and used my 25 minute lunch to call and talk with someone from Help. All the while my dad is sending me more links to other awesome organizations. I took lots of notes and had to let my class in right as the tardy bell was ringing because our conversation was that good! She was excited about my education background and the opportunities that could provide my potential team. I was happy with the answers to my questions even if I had to sift through some of them to be sure I could have a quality experience. Throughout the week I sent some emails and made another phone call to another organization. I talked with a few friends who gave me new recommendations to look into but Help was feeling right. My dad was a huge support in this process and we talked a lot. Especially about cost and how we could manage. He sent me a link to this video that really touched me. I could relate to the feelings this boy had as he made the decision to spend his summers in Honduras. And I know the Lord will provide means for me to do so just like He did for Brandon. I was feeling like I finally found that outfit I loved and needed! The seed was still swelling. I wanted to be sure that I was doing everything I could, and another program I looked at also had a lot of potential, so I applied for both. By this time, I decided Uganda was the best program for me to go with through Help and I knew the best fit would be to stay until July at least. I applied on the 1st of April. By Monday the 4th I had a call asking me to come in to Help International's office for an interview! On Friday I went in for the interview and had a great time chatting about what I could do and who I could serve in Uganda. At the end of the interview I was accepted to the program to go to Uganda from May 12th to July 7th. Eight weeks of doing nothing but thinking about other people. Working with an amazing team and in country partners to give the people something better. I am so excited to learn about this culture very different from mine. I am ready to love the people that I meet and I am so excited for the opportunity to use what I have learned about education to better the education of children in Uganda. I hope to participate in some tutoring or teaching programs as well as building programs and health programs. I am so excited for what I am sure will be many difficult challenges and new situations. This is not something I ever imagined for myself but I know that it's what God has planned for this part of my life and I don't want anything more than to do what He asks. This time it's something REALLY exciting :) Where you come in: This is something I feel so passionate about. I am giving my time and money this summer to go to Uganda and I am so excited. But this trip is not cheap. I need to raise at least $2000 to pay my airfare to and from Uganda, immunizations, visa cost, and in country expenses like food when the program isn't feeding me. I am currently looking for small jobs to do to save extra money before I leave in one month. I am willing to work hard to reach my goal. I am hoping that some of you will feel like you have means enough to donate to this cause. Any donations will go to helping me get to Uganda and serve the people there. Anything helps. If you are able you can send donations to: Brittany Pike 2879 S Hansen Dr. Gilbert, Arizona 85295 If you have an odd job or some babysitting or anything you need done that you would like to pay me for, please just let me know! You can email me at [email protected] Finally, if you know ANYBODY willing to donate to my cause please pass this along. Links: Help International General Conference I Was A Stranger Service Video I plan to be updating this blog regularly while I am in Uganda to keep everyone posted on my adventure! Thank you for reading this and for any help or support you lend. <3 |
AuthorMe of course! Britt.any :) This is my blog all about my trip to Uganda and the awesome work I get to do there! |