I’m not sure how to even begin this blog post.  You may have noticed my lack of outfit posts these last few weeks, I’ve only been wearing t-shirts and long shorts in the bush of Africa :). I have just returned from spending 17 days volunteering in Uganda.  The trip was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had I don’t feel like I will ever be able to adequately explain it.  But here’s my short attempt…

The trip began with a 30 hour travel day to Kampala, the capital of Uganda.  I had never been this far from home before, let alone gone to a third world country so my nerves were short and emotions high.  The morning after we arrived in Kampala the team set out to explore the city before heading up to the Nakasongola to work in the orphanage. Kampala is crazy — there are no traffic laws, cops ride in the beds of pick up trucks while toting HUGE shotguns and there are people peddling all kinds of knick-knacks and begging on the streets. The leader of the orphanage encouraged us to visit the slums of Kampala during our trip to experience the poverty that so many live in everyday in Uganda. Walking through the slums was a chilling experience – there was so much filth and sadness, mothers were begging us to take their kids to the orphanage as we walked by.  I don’t think I’ll soon be able to forget what I saw while in the slums.

I spent the majority of my time in Uganda at an orphanage called New Beginnings Children’s Village in Nakasongola, a village about three hours north of Kampala.  NBCV had about 80 kids, ranging in the ages of 3 – 15. Many of the kids at NBCV came from heartbreaking family situations – abandonment, death of parents or imprisonment by their parents. Despite their circumstances, the kids at NBCV were full of joy and laughter. They were eager to figure out just who us white people were and why we were there. My good friend Juliana, who came with me on the trip, has braces and the kids kept asking Juliana to take her braces off.

Life at the the orphanage was different – the boys had to go with the leaders to get water three times a day and fill up a giant well-like bucket for the village.

I spent my time at the village loving on kids and helping fix up the buildings at the orphanage. Juliana, who’s a dental hygienist, worked on the kids teeth.

Many of the kids spoke English because it’s the language of the slums so communicating wasn’t too hard. The kids loved to have their pictures taken and I grew quite attached to all of them during my time there. I’ve never been pooped on more, dirty, tired and overwhelmed in my life but still happy and thankful. I hope to have the opportunity to go back at some point but in the meantime I’ll enjoy the smiles and memories of the kids from NBCV.

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