Buno Buyoka

A week ago today (Wednesday) I had the opportunity to go up into the mountains to help in building a school. One of our NGO partners CFAI were in charge of the production of the school. The village Buno Buyoka is remote and took an hour of hiking to finally reach our destination. 

When we got there, we were instantly greeted my a ton of smiling faces who sang to us for a half an hour. One of these days I will be able to upload the video of them singing. Sadly the internet here in Africa is retarded so that will not be happening at this time.

The people here in Africa love us Muzungos. They love that we are different from them and do whatever they can to make us happy and feel welcomed. 

The children love to come up to you and ask, "how are you." in which the response is fine or ok. They love to come and hold your hand and walk with you to your destination.

I have such a great love for them. They are always smiling, and I love being with them. 

The children were so strong and willing to be a part of building their school. They would gather large stones and would pile them. I came away covered in mud and dirt. It was worth it. 

This experience was amazing. 

Beginning of Projects

Another day in the life of Uganda. 

I have been quite busy shadowing the others in my group who have been here all summer. It is interesting to see how everyone communicates here gets things done. Nothing like how it is done in the states. It is not as organized and the people here are never on time. That is ok; it just shows how down to earth and relaxed people are here.

The group I'm working with is focusing on women's health and CURE (Childrens Hospital) We are also working with a group called Christian Faith in Action (CFA). CFA is an amazing group founded by two girls from Kenya- Tessa and Tabia. Their story is incredible and they are so kind hearted and strong in their beliefs.
 I am mainly focusing on women's health and have taken over educating the women here on breastfeeding. It is a new topic for me, but I am finding it interesting and am excited to teach it. 

These were all taken on Sunday.

1. For Lindsey's Birthday we had rice krispy treats

2. Mbale Uganda Cows are everywhere

3. Mbale Uganda

4. Mbale Uganda The bicycle drivers are the hardest working people here

5. Mone Slums 

6. Kids from Mone which is one of the local slums

7. Mbale Uganda Sunset

8. Mercy our wonderful cook

The First of Hopefully Many

Welp I finally made it. It was a long trip and by the time I got to Mbale I was exhausted. It was a trip of long flights, with long layovers, and a long five hr drive.
Even though I have only been here for a few days, this has already been an amazing adventure. I feel right at home here in Africa. I love the people, I love the culture, and I love the land.
It is so breathtaking, and pictures just don't do it justice.
Enjoy!

1. Addis Ababa Bole Airport
2. Kampala, Uganda
3. Kampala, Uganda
4. Kampala, Uganda They drive on the opposite side of the rode. Our driver's name was Titus
5. Kampala, Uganda
6. Kampala, Uganda Boda Bodas are a main form of transportation
7. Mbale, Uganda This is outside of our compound facing towards the mountains
8. Mbale, Uganda Republic Street
9. Mbale, Uganda Republic Street
10. Our obnoxious, yet cute puppy Simba
11. Our compound (house)
12. Mbale, Uganda Right outside our compound
13. There are chickens, roosters, goats, and cows everywhere
14. The street that our compound is on
15. Mbale, Uganda Northroad Primary School
16. Northroad Primary School Music Competition
17. Northroad Primary School Music Competition
18. Mbale, Uganda
19. Mbale, Uganda
20. Chapatas (spelling?) with rice and beans

On My Way

Hello Hello Hello! So I am now on my way to the experience of a life time... and boy has it already been an adventure. A very stressful adventure. Currently I am in DC at Dulles Airport waiting for my connecting flight.

Let me share:

• So I thought that I was prepared to leave having everything that I needed. Nope, last minute packing is not a great idea.
• As soon as I got to Provo and picked up packages from HELP office my car decided to go kaput and did not want to go any further. (Luckily after much patience and waiting we got it going and made it to Payson without any issues.
• Two hours before I was supposed to head to the airport Delta called to inform me that my flight from Atlanta to Dulles was cancelled. My aunt was amazing and quickly found me a new flight to Dulles. So I flew to New York JFK Airport then to Dulles.
• I get lost in Dulles Airport trying to find Ethiopian Airlines so I can collect my boarding pass to find that when I get there I need my baggage claim before they will give me my boarding pass.

Boy this has been so stressful, and I may have had a panic attack yesterday as I became super stressed and overwhelmed with everything that was going wrong. Never the less though, I am doing much better and and so excited to get to my destination. 

Welp I'm about to get onto my flight to Addis Ababa Bole. Wish me luck! 

Fundraising Letter

As many of you know, I am travelling over to Mbale, Uganda to do humanitarian work and I am hoping to have it count as my internship. I am very excited for this opportunity to make a difference in the world. 

Below is my fundraising letter. It is also available in the above link labelled Fundraising. I would most gratefully accept donations. Donations would not only go towards my trip, but would also be used for the projects that will be done to help the poor. There is a link on the side that directly links to the donation page.

Throughout my experience over in Uganda I will be keeping this blog updated. I hope that through this blog I can share my experience and help others understand what is going on over in Uganda. 

Thank you so much for your donations. 

Dear Friends and Family,

This summer I have a wonderful opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others over in Mbale, Uganda. I will be going abroad with HELP International (www.help-international.org) to help the poor there this summer.  I’m really excited and am looking forward to spending my summer abroad, helping people around the world, and making a difference, but I need some help to do so.

HELP International is a non-profit organization started in 1999 in response to Hurricane Mitch. Since then, HELP has expanded their work across the globe, empowering local community members by teaching self-sustainable skills that can be passed on to others. Currently HELP is working with impoverished communities in eight locations around the world—Belize, El Salvador, Fiji, India, Thailand, Uganda, Tanzania, and Peru.

As a volunteer I will have the opportunity to initiate life-changing, sustainable development programs. One of the first projects that I will be involved in is bringing awareness to the importance of good personal hygiene, and supporting those with HIV/AIDS by teaching them how to keep their bodies healthy even though their immune systems are damaged.  I am confident that I can make a difference in the lives of the Ugandan people.

Uganda is a country in Eastern Africa where over 75% of the population lives below the poverty line. HELP’s program allows volunteers to participate in substantive projects which (1) assess needs in country, (2) ascertain local buy-in, and (3) develop innovative poverty alleviating programs which allow for opportunities of growth and development. Projects in Uganda include; adobe stove building, microfinance, square-foot gardening, micro-credit initiatives, English class teaching, public health and hygiene education, orphanage work, among others. All projects are done collaboratively with locally operated NGOs in Uganda. Projects taken on require commitment from the community they are aimed at helping, thereby not only securing more sustainability, but also increasing effective program transferability.

Non-profit organizations like HELP International rely heavily on volunteer program fees and fundraising. As a volunteer, I have the opportunity to raise funds that will go directly to these great projects, changing the lives of potentially thousands of people for the better. My goal is to raise $4,500.00 by July 1^st, 2011.

While money is tight for everyone, especially during these difficult times, the amount of good that can be done for the people in Uganda increases significantly with even a small donation. Understanding how the economic crisis has affected us in the United States, we can hardly imagine how much worse it has devastated those in impoverished countries. We are inviting you to join us and HELP International in serving the people of Uganda by donating $35, $50, $100, $250, $500 or whatever you can*. Checks should be made payable to HELP International with “Kaylen Lawrenson” in the memo line. Donations can be mailed directly to HELP International, or through PayPal online at: http://help-international.org/donors.html, including “Kaylen Lawrenson” in the comments section. If you’d like more information please visit the HELP International website www.help-international.org, or email me at kmlawrenson88@gmail.com, or you can call me at (253-227-1381).

I thank you in advance for your support as you are now invested as a partner in this noble work to help alleviate suffering of poverty throughout the world. I would like to keep you and your family informed on the progress of the various projects. Here is a link to the blog I will keep this summer: http://kayleninuganda.blogspot.com/. Please include your email address with the donation so that I can just send you the blog by email.

Thank you!