Hello from Jinja, Uganda!
Today we traveled from Kampala to Jinja. We spent the day at the rural village where we met with the people and discussed the new clinic we would like to build for them. Drake University, and the funds we make will be used for the building of the desperately needed clinic in this village. Also, we have paired up with a non- for- profit organization that has offered to help and match whatever we end up fundraising.
When our professors went to go meet with the "elders" the students broke off and went to play with the children. I chose to play soccer with a group of the guys and girls. Let's just say I am more than out of practice. But it did make me miss playing all the time when I was growing up. Dad, I am not opposed to getting a ball and going to pass around at the park, like old times, when I get back. But these kids were outstanding! They were so quick and had no problem to come right up behind you and slide tackle you for the ball. I had a great time!
After the long day, we got back on the bus and headed to Kingfisher Resort, also in Jinja. We are here for two nights, really just to relax and enjoy the days. We have a great pool and service, and amazing food. The room that we stay in are shaped like huts that are really cute and pretty cozy. The resort is right on Lake Victoria, which is absolutely gorgeous! A group of us is waking up at around 5:30 in the morning tomorrow to watch the sun rise over the lake. Then we are going to have a presentation about the different cultures and learn how to basket weave. We will have a pretty early afternoon just to relax and hangout by the pool. I can't wait, especially because we have been so busy the past few days.
With Love from the "Pride Lands"!
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Candy!
Here is one of the pictures that I got from today's rural visit. I ended up passing out some candy to the children, they were extremely excited!
With Love from the "Pride Lands"!
With Love from the "Pride Lands"!
Life Goes On?
Hello Family and Friends!
Hope everything is going well for everyone! I can't express enough how happy I am to be here. Mom and Dad honestly thank you is not enough to tell you how grateful I am to be here. The past two days have been the most impacting yet.
We went to The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) which is the largest indigenous AIDS related NGO in Uganda. It has provided support to over 200,000 clients since 1987. The organization works to provide drugs to HIV positive people and also counsels their clients on how to overcome the social stigma associated with being HIV positive. We had the chance to tour the organization and see a lot of the clients.
This experience overall was really eye- opening, inspirational, sobering, and I have really learned a lot. We learn about HIV/AIDS in the United States in what I feel is a way too casual way. We depend on the social stigma and movies to tell us on how we should react and treat people who are positive. Personally, my perspective has changed after going to TASO. We toured the facility and met with many counselors who help patients to cope with their disease. All around us people sat waiting outside, in the halls, everywhere. Everyone was able to see the other people waiting to go in, it was as if no one had any privacy. After we went to the counseling offices we went to the labs where we went with doctors and they explained how people are tested and how HIV/AIDS really affects the body.
After that, we went outside and went to see the Children's Centre. This is where affected mother's and children, including infants, go during the day while they are waiting to meet with the doctors. It was so incredibly sad to see this. The children looked so sad, helpless, and sick. It actually hit my friend Mary pretty hard and she ended up passing out. It was really scary, but she is doing much better now. But we ended the day at TASO by listening to a few of the employees who are also HIV positive sing songs about the hope and fight against AIDS, that there will someday be a cure. It was very inspirational and moving. I truly wish the best to all of the employees and patients of TASO and hope they stay strong and continue to fight.
With Love from the "Pride Lands"!
Hope everything is going well for everyone! I can't express enough how happy I am to be here. Mom and Dad honestly thank you is not enough to tell you how grateful I am to be here. The past two days have been the most impacting yet.
We went to The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) which is the largest indigenous AIDS related NGO in Uganda. It has provided support to over 200,000 clients since 1987. The organization works to provide drugs to HIV positive people and also counsels their clients on how to overcome the social stigma associated with being HIV positive. We had the chance to tour the organization and see a lot of the clients.
This experience overall was really eye- opening, inspirational, sobering, and I have really learned a lot. We learn about HIV/AIDS in the United States in what I feel is a way too casual way. We depend on the social stigma and movies to tell us on how we should react and treat people who are positive. Personally, my perspective has changed after going to TASO. We toured the facility and met with many counselors who help patients to cope with their disease. All around us people sat waiting outside, in the halls, everywhere. Everyone was able to see the other people waiting to go in, it was as if no one had any privacy. After we went to the counseling offices we went to the labs where we went with doctors and they explained how people are tested and how HIV/AIDS really affects the body.
After that, we went outside and went to see the Children's Centre. This is where affected mother's and children, including infants, go during the day while they are waiting to meet with the doctors. It was so incredibly sad to see this. The children looked so sad, helpless, and sick. It actually hit my friend Mary pretty hard and she ended up passing out. It was really scary, but she is doing much better now. But we ended the day at TASO by listening to a few of the employees who are also HIV positive sing songs about the hope and fight against AIDS, that there will someday be a cure. It was very inspirational and moving. I truly wish the best to all of the employees and patients of TASO and hope they stay strong and continue to fight.
With Love from the "Pride Lands"!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Oh Uganda Food...
Uh Oh!
Yesterday was not my day... I am trying so many new foods and really trying to be as open as possible with the Ugandan food. I have found some meals that I like and some.... well I could do without. But I made a promise to myself to take at least a bite of everything. I guess it is fair to say that I took the wrong bite of something. I unfortunately missed the trip to the Secondary School, which is the Middle/High School. But it was great to catch up on some sleep and really relax because we have had so many busy days in a row.
Please don't worry tho Mom and Dad! I am feeling a lot better and went made it out with our group today. I can easily say that I am ready for some good home cooked American food when I get back :) hint hint
Hopefully I have given all of you enough to catch up on but please feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments! I would love to hear from family and friends! I miss you all so much!
With Love from the "Pride Lands"!
Yesterday was not my day... I am trying so many new foods and really trying to be as open as possible with the Ugandan food. I have found some meals that I like and some.... well I could do without. But I made a promise to myself to take at least a bite of everything. I guess it is fair to say that I took the wrong bite of something. I unfortunately missed the trip to the Secondary School, which is the Middle/High School. But it was great to catch up on some sleep and really relax because we have had so many busy days in a row.
Please don't worry tho Mom and Dad! I am feeling a lot better and went made it out with our group today. I can easily say that I am ready for some good home cooked American food when I get back :) hint hint
Hopefully I have given all of you enough to catch up on but please feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments! I would love to hear from family and friends! I miss you all so much!
With Love from the "Pride Lands"!
Did You Know?
Mujebaleko! (Hello)
I LOVE UGANDA! I had one of my best days on Sunday since I have been here! Every morning we start out at MUBS for breakfast and just some light conversation. But after that we had the chance to go to the Ugandan equator line. How cool is it that I straddled the Northern and Southern hemisphere!?
Did you know that on one side of the equator the water goes down clockwise, then the other side it goes down counter clockwise, and then if it is directly on the equator the water goes straight down! At the equator there were a ton of tourist shops with some great souvenirs, so get excited family!! ( I found some good stuff)
Everyday something surprises me. Everyday I learn something new. Everyday I find some new perspective on the way I see my daily life.
I am falling a little more in love with Uganda everyday! But don't worry I will be back!! PROMISE!!
I miss Mac N' Cheese too much! :)
With Love from the "Pride Lands"!
I LOVE UGANDA! I had one of my best days on Sunday since I have been here! Every morning we start out at MUBS for breakfast and just some light conversation. But after that we had the chance to go to the Ugandan equator line. How cool is it that I straddled the Northern and Southern hemisphere!?
Did you know that on one side of the equator the water goes down clockwise, then the other side it goes down counter clockwise, and then if it is directly on the equator the water goes straight down! At the equator there were a ton of tourist shops with some great souvenirs, so get excited family!! ( I found some good stuff)
Everyday something surprises me. Everyday I learn something new. Everyday I find some new perspective on the way I see my daily life.
I am falling a little more in love with Uganda everyday! But don't worry I will be back!! PROMISE!!
I miss Mac N' Cheese too much! :)
With Love from the "Pride Lands"!
Patrick Bitature
Olotya! (Hello, how are you?)
I'm so sorry that I haven't been posting everyday, we are working on getting some better internet connections. Also it could take almost an hour just to post a single picture, so I am not sure I will be able to post any.
The other day we went to listen to a speaker by the name of Patrick Bitature. He is an entrepreneur that was the co-founder of Simba Telecome. It is one of Africa's largest cellular phone companies and local entrepreneur as his latest venture, Hotel Protea. We actually had the opportunity to go to his hotel for his lecture. It was extremely nice and looked like a typical resort in the United States.
Something that I really took away from his presentation was his definition of entrepreneurship. He said it was, "the feeling that you need and desire to make your dreams into a reality. That you need to take your desire, drive, leadership, and dream to fulfill your passion." I may not want to create my own business but it has really given me the opportunity to think about my dreams in life. I believe that entrepreneurship allows you to embrace all of your God given talents and those other skills acquired and apply them to whatever you want to see come of your life.
I am learning so much and really am starting to take a lot from this trip. It will be interesting to talk more with everyone when I get back.
With Love from the "Pride Lands"
I'm so sorry that I haven't been posting everyday, we are working on getting some better internet connections. Also it could take almost an hour just to post a single picture, so I am not sure I will be able to post any.
The other day we went to listen to a speaker by the name of Patrick Bitature. He is an entrepreneur that was the co-founder of Simba Telecome. It is one of Africa's largest cellular phone companies and local entrepreneur as his latest venture, Hotel Protea. We actually had the opportunity to go to his hotel for his lecture. It was extremely nice and looked like a typical resort in the United States.
Something that I really took away from his presentation was his definition of entrepreneurship. He said it was, "the feeling that you need and desire to make your dreams into a reality. That you need to take your desire, drive, leadership, and dream to fulfill your passion." I may not want to create my own business but it has really given me the opportunity to think about my dreams in life. I believe that entrepreneurship allows you to embrace all of your God given talents and those other skills acquired and apply them to whatever you want to see come of your life.
I am learning so much and really am starting to take a lot from this trip. It will be interesting to talk more with everyone when I get back.
With Love from the "Pride Lands"
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Red Chili, MUBS students, and Owino Market
Hello from Africa!
Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, our internet connection hasn't been the best. It has been a crazy couple of days to say the least. When we first landed in Uganda it was about 11pm here. Then we drove to our hotel, The Red Chili in Kampala. It is pretty nice here, we all have our own villa like homes that myself and three other girls share. We have a living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, and bathroom. I am confusing a few of my days but one of the nights we had dinner at Red Chili, it was amazing firestone pizza. It was really cool to watch the pizza being made right in front of us and it was delicious!
But every morning we head over to the Makerere University Business School (MUBS) where we meet with and share this entire experience with 10 of the students from the university. I am learning so much from these students. I really made a connection with one of the girls, her name is Daisy. She is a Accounting major here in Uganda and lives in the hostels right by campus. We talked a lot about the differences between the cultures, families, school systems, etc. in Uganda and the States. Something that I found a little weird/different/interesting is the family aspects and morals. All of the girls that I talked to came from families of six or seven siblings and all plan to have five or six children of their own one day. I don't know about everyone else but to me that is A LOT of kids... Also, although they have all of these children, they do not believe in a community family or looking out for one another as we do. Every child is to be on their own, to provide for themselves, and to fend for themselves in any harms way.
After eating breakfast and lunch and really getting to know the MUBS students better we started to prepare for the Owino Market. I don't think there was any way to prepare myself for this experience. Daisy taught me my first two Ugandan words before me left. The first being kendenzako, this means to reduce the price. The second word was abazu, this mean white person. First of all thinking that I was going to actually purchase things in this market, was completely ridiculous. Second, this is the first time in my entire life that I have been stared at or judged because I am white. It was a really eye opening experience and I've really come to some new perspectives. This market was something that I have never experienced before ever. I am trying my best to describe this for everyone but this market is the most overwhelming, crowded, and I would have to say scary. There were extremely narrow paths and vendors left and right, everywhere! The vendors grab on to trying to get you to buy from them. The market had everything from clothes, wedding dresses, tools, fruit, smelly fish, and so much more. Sorry Dad, but also while we walked through multiple men asked Daisy and our other Ugandan friends to buy us in order to marry their
I really am having a great time, I miss you all!!
With Love from the "Pride Lands"!
Sorry I haven't posted in a few days, our internet connection hasn't been the best. It has been a crazy couple of days to say the least. When we first landed in Uganda it was about 11pm here. Then we drove to our hotel, The Red Chili in Kampala. It is pretty nice here, we all have our own villa like homes that myself and three other girls share. We have a living room, two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, and bathroom. I am confusing a few of my days but one of the nights we had dinner at Red Chili, it was amazing firestone pizza. It was really cool to watch the pizza being made right in front of us and it was delicious!
But every morning we head over to the Makerere University Business School (MUBS) where we meet with and share this entire experience with 10 of the students from the university. I am learning so much from these students. I really made a connection with one of the girls, her name is Daisy. She is a Accounting major here in Uganda and lives in the hostels right by campus. We talked a lot about the differences between the cultures, families, school systems, etc. in Uganda and the States. Something that I found a little weird/different/interesting is the family aspects and morals. All of the girls that I talked to came from families of six or seven siblings and all plan to have five or six children of their own one day. I don't know about everyone else but to me that is A LOT of kids... Also, although they have all of these children, they do not believe in a community family or looking out for one another as we do. Every child is to be on their own, to provide for themselves, and to fend for themselves in any harms way.
After eating breakfast and lunch and really getting to know the MUBS students better we started to prepare for the Owino Market. I don't think there was any way to prepare myself for this experience. Daisy taught me my first two Ugandan words before me left. The first being kendenzako, this means to reduce the price. The second word was abazu, this mean white person. First of all thinking that I was going to actually purchase things in this market, was completely ridiculous. Second, this is the first time in my entire life that I have been stared at or judged because I am white. It was a really eye opening experience and I've really come to some new perspectives. This market was something that I have never experienced before ever. I am trying my best to describe this for everyone but this market is the most overwhelming, crowded, and I would have to say scary. There were extremely narrow paths and vendors left and right, everywhere! The vendors grab on to trying to get you to buy from them. The market had everything from clothes, wedding dresses, tools, fruit, smelly fish, and so much more. Sorry Dad, but also while we walked through multiple men asked Daisy and our other Ugandan friends to buy us in order to marry their
I really am having a great time, I miss you all!!
With Love from the "Pride Lands"!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)