I start the new year my way, spending the afternoon walking around the Quarter and photographing. I see the heavy dark clouds engulfing me and I know the rain will find me, but I’m not worried. Someone will always welcome me into their home to stay dry.
New Years had come and gone and we were back in our usual work routine. Joined in the office with the PHH team, Jennifer, Mama Oyet, Santina and Sylvia, we waited for the remaining women to come and claim the few and small jewelry orders I had to give.
My home in Uganda is much more than four walls. It’s the tribe of incredible women whom I’ve met whose friendships nurture me. Among my friends in Uganda, I feel a connection that I often lack with US-based friends. It’s a hodge podge mix of ethnicities – German, American, Ugandan, Dutch, Brit – but there’s a connection and familiarity, an understanding.
I knew that I deeply missed my second home, Uganda. I missed my quiet house, my friends, the Project Have Hope family and the Acholi Quarter in its entirety. I missed matoke and gnuts and Dancing Cup’s banana and nutella crepes.
Uganda’s government took swift and strong action when the COVID-19 crisis emerged, enforcing a strict lockdown. While other countries continue to struggle to contain it, Uganda has just over 5000 cases with only 58 deaths.
Project Have Hope improves the agricultural condition in Uganda with the help of local women. We focus on three aspects of agriculture and implementing new elements into local community: the balcony gardens, the greenhouse, and the mushroom house.
Kankanyero’s story is proof that we need to reach out to Ugandan kids and help them, not only because they need the educational support, but also because they are the future of Uganda and will spread the hope for the rest of the country.
The education system in Uganda is understandably much different than what we have in the United States. It is based off of the British system of education, as Uganda was a British colony until its independence in 1962.
Meet Dorcus, a friendly young woman with a warm smile that brings light to all those around her. Durcus currently attends Mbuya College day school, and says she enjoys her time there because of the caring and friendly teachers who always encourage student engagement.
Last semester, I was fortunate enough to spend four months studying abroad in Rwanda – Uganda’s neighbor to the south. While abroad, I was able to spend a few weeks in the part of northern Uganda where the Acholi were devestated by the conflict caused by Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
A common thread that runs through the lives of all the children in Project Have Hope’s child sponsorship program is their understanding of the value of education. Though they are young, they understand that education is the key which can unlock their potential and put an end to the poverty they experience.
