be prepared

Lugazi, here I come! Lugazi is the town we will live in in Uganda. Uganda prep madness has begun! Fundraising letters are sent, benefit concert is in the works, I've been reading my Uganda Travel Guide book, I'm starting to buy clothes, I've met a few more people going to Uganda...it's actually happening! I'm so extremely excited to go. I know that school is important and that I am learning skills that I can use in Uganda, but I am ready to be there right now. I can't believe I am actually going, I have been dreaming about going to Africa since middle school. I've been working in the HELP office for the past few months and it has been so amazing to hear stories from people who went to Uganda last summer and to be a part of the preparations for this summer. It sounds like an incredible place and I cannot wait to be there!!! This is an idea of what I will be doing everyday this summer, from the HELP International website:

7:00 a.m.

Rise and shine to the sound of roosters. You can go to the kitchen and heat up some water to make oatmeal (most people like to add bananas, honey, and cinnamon), or throw some bread into the toaster (you can find peanut butter and even Nutella at markets in Kampala). If you prefer to eat out, grab a Rolex (chapatti wrapped around egg, cabbage, onions, and tomato) from a stand in the neighborhood for about 600 shillings. On occasion you might decide to shower. It is always a refreshing experience.
Some people would get up earlier to go running. There are flat fields of sugarcane very close to the house that are ideal for running.

8:00 a.m.

Mornings usually consist of manual labor projects (adobe stoves, SFG, or school construction). You may also be going on a home visit for a child with disability, or participating in a support group. As you walk out of the house, get ready to be welcomed by dozens of little kids yelling your name. Many projects will be in walking distance. If you are in a hurry, or if your project is a bit further away you might chose to take a boda boda. A boda boda is a motorbike. If you happen to have a project in Mukono or Jinja, you will take a public taxi. Taxis in Uganda are minivans where they pack on average 20 people.

12:00 p.m.

Many times the partners you are working with will make you lunch. Typical menu items are rice, posho, beans, matoke, chapatti, cassava, and occasionally meat and fruit. Be sure to bring your own water! You also might choose to pick up some vegetables from the market and come back to the house to make your own lunch. Avocado sandwiches and salsa are a group favorite.

2:00 p.m.

Nearly all volunteers participate in 2-4 projects a day. Afternoon projects usually consist of Women's groups, teacher training, choirs, business training, AIDS groups. These groups typically like to meet after lunch, but before women need to begin preparing dinner.

5:00 p.m.

Evenings are a great time to spend time with schools and children's homes. Volunteers start school clubs where they teach important life skills. Also, volunteers have taken this time just to play football with a children's home or sing songs with the neighbor kids.

6:00 p.m.

You should be returning home at around this time to avoid night travel. It is a HELP policy that all volunteers be back at the house by dark. Plus, you will want to hurry home to be on time for dinner!

7:00 p.m.

You will have a great cook making your dinners. Meals will usually consist of a selection of the following items: beans, peas, green beans, potatoes, squash, chapatti, cucumber salad, rice, noodles, bananas, matoke, pineapple, and occasionally meat.

8:00 p.m.

In the evenings you will be busy with: team meetings, project meetings, preparing lesson material, writing reports or project proposals for HELP headquarters, and washing laundry. Often there will be time to work on your blog, read, play board games, or even watch a movie. There is a small disco in our neighborhood, called African Paradise. Volunteers enjoy going there on friday nights to join in on karaoke.

I AM SO EXCITED!