These past two days have been a little more low key and not as much going on as it has rained both days at the times the rain came I had made plans to visit the University and walk around, which made it a day for staying inside. Once on Monday that I pushed back to Tuesday and then it got rained out again on Tuesday. When it rains its very hard to get around, since I don't have a car and the boda bodas have no cover. I got sit in on the office meeting for Cornerstone which was good to see everyone in one place and to hear what's going on.
The crazy cool thing that has happened though is that someone gave me the contact info of an engineer that was doing some projects here and also needed a place to stay so I said he could jump in my room for a couple nights as there is an extra bed in it and all the other guest rooms at Cornerstone were taken. After meeting up with him yesterday and having lunch and talking about what he's been doing, after a couple hours later when I finally mentioned my last name and it turns out that our families know each other as we were in the same homeschool group when we were younger. His name is Kaben Kramer if you know him, but it was awesome to meet up these past two days and hear about what he's doing. I got to tag along with him to his meeting with UNICEF with the person who is in charge of the WASH program in Uganda, which is Water and Sanitation Hygene. It was a short meeting, but it was good to see some of the things they are doing on a bigger scale in Uganda.
Last night I also got to join some of the other Americans that do a monday night TED talk night which is from what I gathered a little bit from are videos from TED conferences (Technology Entertainment and Design) that they then talk about afterwards. The one last night was about developing countries which was cool to talk about and learn about.
So that's some things that are going on here, tomorrow I will be heading to the ranch they have north of Kampala for a couple of days.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Days 3 and 4
Day 3:
Yet again I woke up at 3 in the morning which started off a really long day. I had time to skype with some friends and read before starting the day. At 8 I got to tag along with Richard as he went to visit some business's and see how they were doing as Cornerstone loan's money to help get small business's started for people to make an income. We visited one that raised chickens for eggs and two others that raised chickens for meat. I got to see more of the country outside the capital of Kampala and see the smaller villages where they don't see many white people and little kids would point and yell with smiles on their face "Mzungu" as we drove by. I finally got to have some chicken on a stick! After going around with Richard, I went with Councellor to pick up kids from around the city from their youth corp homes and take them to a show that an orphanage was putting on to raise money for their food and other needs. Total I spent about 6 hours driving around this day as it had started to rain too on top of all the places we had to go which caused traffic jams. The show was very good to see, they had dances, songs, and a fashion show. This specific show was for the other schools around Kampala. Afterwards some of the children from other schools came up to me and asked for my autograph or just wanted to say hi or if they could be my friend because of my color, which I was not expecting. Then after, we had to drive around again dropping the kids off at their homes and finally I had time to get some dinner around 830!
-I have put some pictures up on facebook, but because of the amount of data it takes to do that I won't be able to put more up on their or here until I get more data on my internet stick as you pay by the amount of data you use for internet.-
Day 4:
I finally got a full nights rest and got used to the time difference! I went with Richard to church at Watoto Church, which is more modern and western as the people that go there are mostly youth and college students and about 10 percent of the people that attend are white. The speaker was very good and enthusiastic and the worship time was very lively as people were dancing and singing and they had a big choir singing on stage. After church Richard took me too a restaurant that's called I love New York. I got to have some pasta and will definitely go there anytime I'm missing American food when I have the chance. Then I got to meet up with a student at the university who is going to school for social work and got to share with him why I am here and he brought his friend from school who also went through school at cornerstone and is studying Mechanical Engineering at the University and I got to share with him as well and he is going to take me around the University sometime today. It was good to talk with them and here their opinions and advice about Americans coming and trying to help who come and start organizations. The main thing that they highlighted was that the focus needs to be on teaching and building up Ugandans with leadership and give them skills that they can use the rest of their life. The reason being is that Uganda lacks leadership and even when organizations come to help and are here for while when they leave a lot of things go back to the way they were. Or they help certain needs of the people but do not focus on leadership and eventually things will be miss managed or fall apart because of the corruption in the government or with the people that lack integrity in leadership roles. It is important to instill leadership and character so that they will prosper the rest of their lives and impact the country and not just a quick temporary fix that some organizations bring.
-The past two days have been very impactful and I look forward to the rest of my time here and what will happen and what I will learn.-
Yet again I woke up at 3 in the morning which started off a really long day. I had time to skype with some friends and read before starting the day. At 8 I got to tag along with Richard as he went to visit some business's and see how they were doing as Cornerstone loan's money to help get small business's started for people to make an income. We visited one that raised chickens for eggs and two others that raised chickens for meat. I got to see more of the country outside the capital of Kampala and see the smaller villages where they don't see many white people and little kids would point and yell with smiles on their face "Mzungu" as we drove by. I finally got to have some chicken on a stick! After going around with Richard, I went with Councellor to pick up kids from around the city from their youth corp homes and take them to a show that an orphanage was putting on to raise money for their food and other needs. Total I spent about 6 hours driving around this day as it had started to rain too on top of all the places we had to go which caused traffic jams. The show was very good to see, they had dances, songs, and a fashion show. This specific show was for the other schools around Kampala. Afterwards some of the children from other schools came up to me and asked for my autograph or just wanted to say hi or if they could be my friend because of my color, which I was not expecting. Then after, we had to drive around again dropping the kids off at their homes and finally I had time to get some dinner around 830!
-I have put some pictures up on facebook, but because of the amount of data it takes to do that I won't be able to put more up on their or here until I get more data on my internet stick as you pay by the amount of data you use for internet.-
Day 4:
I finally got a full nights rest and got used to the time difference! I went with Richard to church at Watoto Church, which is more modern and western as the people that go there are mostly youth and college students and about 10 percent of the people that attend are white. The speaker was very good and enthusiastic and the worship time was very lively as people were dancing and singing and they had a big choir singing on stage. After church Richard took me too a restaurant that's called I love New York. I got to have some pasta and will definitely go there anytime I'm missing American food when I have the chance. Then I got to meet up with a student at the university who is going to school for social work and got to share with him why I am here and he brought his friend from school who also went through school at cornerstone and is studying Mechanical Engineering at the University and I got to share with him as well and he is going to take me around the University sometime today. It was good to talk with them and here their opinions and advice about Americans coming and trying to help who come and start organizations. The main thing that they highlighted was that the focus needs to be on teaching and building up Ugandans with leadership and give them skills that they can use the rest of their life. The reason being is that Uganda lacks leadership and even when organizations come to help and are here for while when they leave a lot of things go back to the way they were. Or they help certain needs of the people but do not focus on leadership and eventually things will be miss managed or fall apart because of the corruption in the government or with the people that lack integrity in leadership roles. It is important to instill leadership and character so that they will prosper the rest of their lives and impact the country and not just a quick temporary fix that some organizations bring.
-The past two days have been very impactful and I look forward to the rest of my time here and what will happen and what I will learn.-
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Day 2
Yesterday I wasn't able to go see any of the homes yet, because one of the kids they had was really sick with diabetes and so I ended up going to the hospital with Councellor to visit and to be with the kid's brother and sister. From the short time I was in the room that he was being treated I saw a room full of tables that various cases of sickness were being treated, it was very different from our hospitals. I also had my first Uganda meal of the trip, meet and rice.
Driving around Kampala is a very big adventure itself. Taking a boda boda, which are scooters, can be one thrilling ride as they weave in and out of cars. Even the cars themselves are all over the road and it feels like there are very few rules on the road, anything goes to get where you need to go almost.
My sleep schedule is still off from traveling as I have woken up at 3 and 4 in the morning the past two days. It gives me time to read and write some before starting the day...
Today I will be scheduling the time I'm here with cornerstone and share a little more about what I want to see and do while I'm here.
I am trying to remember to take pictures where I go, I've never been a picture taker so I will work on that, I will hopefully be able to post some this weekend.
If you can keep praying for health as I was getting over a cold on my flights here and am feeling a little better but not 100% yet. Also for the conversations I will have with Ugandans that they will go well and I will have the right things to say and ask the right questions!
Driving around Kampala is a very big adventure itself. Taking a boda boda, which are scooters, can be one thrilling ride as they weave in and out of cars. Even the cars themselves are all over the road and it feels like there are very few rules on the road, anything goes to get where you need to go almost.
My sleep schedule is still off from traveling as I have woken up at 3 and 4 in the morning the past two days. It gives me time to read and write some before starting the day...
Today I will be scheduling the time I'm here with cornerstone and share a little more about what I want to see and do while I'm here.
I am trying to remember to take pictures where I go, I've never been a picture taker so I will work on that, I will hopefully be able to post some this weekend.
If you can keep praying for health as I was getting over a cold on my flights here and am feeling a little better but not 100% yet. Also for the conversations I will have with Ugandans that they will go well and I will have the right things to say and ask the right questions!
I Made It!
After 3 flights totalling 23 hours of in flight travel I have made it to Uganda! I arrived 5 in the morning Ugandan time on the 22nd. The time is 10 hours ahead of California and I didn't get much sleep on the plane so I slept for most of the day when I got here. I don't have too much time to give a full update of the travel and what has happened so far but I will hopefully be able to write another post later today. After I woke up Richard (he has been my main contact here at Cornerstone and picked me up from the airport) introduced me to some people around the office. I met Councellor who is in charge of overseeing the homes and I had some time to talk with and I am going to meet with him again today to share more in depth and he is going to take me around to see some of the homes that they have. Yesterday was just a recoveryday and today they will be showing me around. Thank you for all your prayer and support!!
Monday, June 13, 2011
1 More Week!
In a little less than a week I will finally be leaving for Uganda! Thank you all for your prayer, support and encouragement! Through your support I have reached my goal! I know this is going to be a challenging trip for me, but I am excited to see how God works in my life through this and the opportunities He opens up for me. I would love to keep in contact as there are going to be some tough and growing times and it will encourage me to hear from you. I will be posting as much as I can while I am there.
Here is a list that you can specifically be praying for:
- Opportunities
- Health
- My eating habits (I am a picky eater and it will affect the above prayer topic as well as my mood)
- To build relationships with Ugandans
- Safety
- Understanding of how to help the country with my skills
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