Our 2nd Trip to Uganda-March 2022
This visit started by traveling east to Bududa with Adolf and Christopher, two of the Ugandan Board of Directors. Another school, Arlington Junior, is located in Bududa, and with almost twenty years of history, we learned a lot from their experience. They welcomed us with open arms and lots of smiles and dancing. We spent two full days talking with faculty and students. Keith, a retired Air Force Pilot, and Karen, a retired Army Logistician, discussed the importance of staying in school and their careers in the U.S. military. Gathering many lessons learned, we travled back on their two day journey to Fort Portal.
We were greeted by the beautiful children of the Kaguma Education Centre with song and dance, and we were made to feel so very welcome. They have a special spirit about them. Keith and Karen visited all the classrooms and gave out school supplies to the students. The students just loved touching us, giving us high-fives, etc. They were so sweet and full of smiles.
We partnered with Run4Water, a non-profit that brings water to communities in Africa, we desperately need it. They did an assessment of our land and determined that the community does need a well and they are going to do some fundraising so that they can build one in May 2023.
Run4Water also put on two programs: 84-Day Training and Real Men Training. The 84-day program was designed to teach girls ages 12-18 years old about their bodies and hygiene and to provide the supplies that they need to stay in school during their menstrual cycle. We trained over 250 girls in KEC and the Secondary School! The other half of the training was self-defense. While this training was going, the Men took a class called Real Men Training, where we partnered with them to inspire the young men to be better citizens, sons, husbands, etc. We trained over 70 young men, on a day where they came into school during their holiday!
Karen made bracelets with the students, and they loved choosing multi-colored beads or their school-colored beads. They like doing craft work and always seem to love making the bracelets.
Keith played soccer with the boys and enjoyed watching the competitiveness of the teachers who were also the coaches and players.
Karen interviewed all the teachers and got to know a little bit about each one of them. She was surprised how good their English was! We will showcase our teachers in our new website soon.
Keith gathered about 6 men and showed them how to make a rabbit cage. They were going to get some rabbits from the offspring of the ones we donated a couple of years ago.
We were able to walk our land and see just how large and beautiful it was. With great surprise, we found ourselves saying WOW, we have come to the land of milk and honey! It was just the most gorgeous piece of land around and will someday provide great views for the students of Kaguma Education Centre.
We visited the local District LC5 Chairman which resulted in him providing some additional textbooks, and he volunteered the use of his heavy equipment when we begin to build the school. He also said that they would grade the road going to the village, so travel was more comfortable.
We visited the tailor in Fort Portal and saw the difficulty that the school is having in getting uniforms made. There are not enough seamstresses, so we must wait our turn and be patient. Still so many of the children had new uniforms because of our donations this year.
We learned a lot during our first visit and even more during this visit, and we look forward to working with our team on the ground in Uganda now and in the years to come. We thank them for their hospitality and for those who took off work while we were there to support us!
