…to volunteer with children in Africa

Growing up I always knew I wanted to be a teacher and I always wanted to teach overseas, and [One Heart Uganda]  was an opportunity to teach while I was there.

I’m on the board of directors [of One Heart Uganda] and I act as the secretary on the board. I document board meetings and send out emails to other members. There are also sub committees on the board so some of us are responsible for fundraising, trip planning, or donations. We are a pretty small organization and we have around 140 students that we sponsor.

In 2018, we went to visit a priest that someone knew [in Uganda] and he had a school where a lot of our [sponsored] students were at in Lwamata. We spent a week there and went out to other towns visiting other children who were in the program.

I tried not to overthink it because I knew it was going to be a drastic change. We expected the worst so that whatever happened, happened. We really didn’t know what to expect going over there.

I have a student that my family and I sponsor individually. I got to meet all the children in the program because we were responsible for interviewing them, taking photos, and bringing them care packages.

My first reaction was just how loving and intelligent the students are. They are extremely intelligent and really want to be in school, which is different than sometimes what you may see [which] are children who don’t want to go to school. They are very much about going to school and doing well in school.

[The first day] all the children followed us around the school grounds at night and they were laughing and singing and waving their arms in the air, which they call flowers and is a silent cheer. They were excited and had been waiting for us to come.

One of the children that a member on the board sponsors, we happened to go by his house, and his house was a one bedroom brick building with one mattress on the floor that his whole family slept on. He had four other sisters and just his mother. It was an extreme poverty situation that these children lived in. Some of the other children didn’t have houses since their parents died from AIDs and other diseases and they needed somewhere to live so they were able to board at the schools with clothing and food. It was pretty eye opening seeing the level of poverty.

I was responsible for bringing the shoes that grow, which are shoes that grow for 3-4 years, and just the need for shoes was really striking to me. That was the first thing that really hit me. Also, seeing their homes and the countryside and how they really don’t have anything. If they find a piece of garbage they’ll use it to make something else.

I really enjoy going over and being able to see it firsthand. It was always my dream to see firsthand how [aid] is helping and I just love the children. The children are incredible.

My favorite memory was that there was a little girl that I started to talk to every day and got really attached to, and she invited me back to her dorm with her friends. We sat there and played a card game together on the floor and that was really touching. That was really a special moment for me.

It was really rewarding to be there and life changing, and I know a lot of people say that but it really is. When you come home and see all that we have here and just how $500-$600 can change the trajectory of [someone’s] entire life. The first student that went through the program is now a vet and takes care of her mother so it’s really humbling to see.

There were a lot of tears when we were leaving and I think that [the children] just really don’t know if they are going to see you again. In their eyes, when someone leaves they don’t always come back. It was really sad to leave and we promised that we would come back and they really do hold onto those words.

We were going to go back this summer but due to COVID-19 that isn’t happening anymore but there is talk probably within the next year or so. I’m hoping to go back and even bring my family with me.