CHI KATI! HI!

update from Uganda...

Last week we continued to be introduced to partner organizations and projects that we will have the ability to work on. We met with a women's group that the HELP volunteers last year set up a savings and loans program with them. They are basically a group of neighbors from young mothers to grandmothers who meet together once a week to visit and support one another. The volunteers last year helped them to establish a savings system where each week they are required to save a minimum amount (1000 shillings; $.50). They put this amount into their group safe and then they can take loans out from this amount to pay for their businesses, children's school fees, medical costs, etc. They must pay the loans back in full with intrest. At the end of the 6 month period, their savings are returned plus intrest earned and then they start over again. It is an awesome mini version of micro-finance loans that is of great assistance to the women's ability to provide for their families and also teach them the basics of how to track and save money.

FRIDAY:
On Friday we met with a man named Wilson. He was such an inspiring man. He is a native Ugandan and student, and only 22 years old. He has started his own organization in Uganda called The Youth Outreach Mission to educate children about HIV/AIDS, and to help teach street children and bring them hope and purpose in life. He started up a soccer league with the street kids and paired it with educational lessons, and has created a great program to go around to schools to fight agains AIDS and teen pregnancy. It is amazing to see how someone with so little is doing so much to give back to their community. What have I done with my life? Have I done anything great for my fellow men? Will I ever be able to do something great like this man?
I began to feel very overwhelmed that even though I'm here in Uganda this summer to serve the people, I don't know how to make a difference or make a meaningful change in anyone's life. Just then the scripture Alma 37:6 came to my mind, "By small and simple means are great things brought to pass." I may not be able to accomplish anything as great as this man, but if I can create a meaningful change in the life of one person, that is enough. I can make one person smile every day. I will do all I can to forget myself and get to work; to give all that I have to bless the lives of those around me.

SATURDAY:
Party in Jinja!
On Saturday we were tourists. We went to Jinja, a larger city about an hour East of us that is the Source of the Nile. We went shopping through the souvenier markets, ate a CHEESEBURGER, and even went swimming at one of the hotels in the area. It was a nice break after a long week of work, and I've never tasted a better cheeseburger!

SUNDAY:
Back to Jinja for church. Church in Uganda is awesome! The members there are fantastic! I went to Young Women's this week and the girls in there are incredible. There are at least 10 of them in the branch. They were so smart and willing to participate... well half of them that is... the others are super shy. But needless to say, I was very impressed! I'm sure that many of them are new converts or the only members in their families, and still they had such strong testimonies. I have much to learn from their examples.
Going to church here, or in any foreign country, makes me think a lot about serving a mission. I still have a year to go, so it's hard to know if that's really what the Lord has in store for me, but I'm definitely considering it. I want everyone to have the joy and peace of the restored gospel in their lives that I am so blessed to have. As a team, we keep talking about development and what projects we can do this summer that will be most beneficial to the people of Uganda. Everytime we talk about it, I just think about how the gospel is what they need. I'm not here to serve a mission, but I'll do all that I can to share the light of Christ with the people I meet. As for the next year, I'll prepare like I'm going to serve a mission, because whether or not I end up serving, I will in turn be prepared for whatever the Lord throws at me.

MONDAY:
Cut the reigns and set us free. Our country directors set us loose today. We're on our own now to create our projects and start getting into the community and serving. For my primary project, I'm planning on doing some type of physical therapy/rehabilitation with my friend Alex. We started off by going to the hospital and talking to the Public Health director Josephine. I was a little discouraged at first wondering how we were going to fit our plans to the needs of the community, but I think we found some great leads. Josephine introduced us to the Physical Therapist at the Hospital, Nakakawa Grace. We talked to Grace for some time about her practice and the needs of the community, and then she let us observe her working with one of her patients. She is very qualified and runs a great practice, but it is shocking how old and limited her equipment is. She does a great job with what she has though. I hope to be able to shadow her once a week and maybe be her assistant so that I can get a better feel for Physical therapy and see if it is really what I would like to do as a career. Then Josephine introduced us to a young man named Emanuel. He is a health officer who does outreaches in the surrounding villages for those who cannot travel to the hospital in Lugazi. His main focus is HIV screenings and therapy and work with the elderly. The elderly! Of course! Our partners have all expressed a lot of concern about the elderly in Uganda. There is no Social Services program here to care for the elderly and there is a great need for care here. Our team was stumped as to what we could do for the elderly, but I think this is a great start. We could provide physical therapy for them and build friendships with them along side that. I'm excited to meet with Emanuel today to get more ideas from him and see if my plans will work.