volunteer in uganda - volunteer experiences

BLOGS...

Ruth May who is helping develop our Justice and Life Skills programme has set up a blog to keep us all updated on her progress and give us an insight into some of the inspiring tales of life at Kira here.

Sarah Howells has been keeping a blog for The North Devon Gazette while spending 2 weeks in Uganda, read all about it here (highley recommended)!

Sam and Christine Chandler (mid-Devon farmers) spent 9 weeks in Uganda helping out at Kira Farm Feb - April 2010. They let us know how they got on in this fantastic blog detailing day to day life on Kira, Amigos child sponsorship programme and life in Uganda, find out more here

Alison Berridge spent time at Kira Farm and visiting some of our students back in their communites, read all about it here

Nicola

I first met my sponsor child, Bonny, in 2008 after only a few months of sponsoring him. Having only been at school for a short time the young 13-year-old boy I met was painfully shy - he struggled to make eye contact and could only manage a simple “hello” and “thank you for being my sponsor”. When I met him again a year later in 2009, I noticed that not only had his English improved dramatically, but that he had the confidence to look me in the eye and tell me about his hopes for the future. In September this year, I met Bonny and his extended family again and discovered that sadly his parents had both died of AIDS when he was a child, leaving him orphaned. With his head held high and a refreshing confidence in his step, Bonny showed the group of UK visitors around his land and was keen to show off the bricks that he had made for building his very own mud hut (he had been sleeping in a neighbours hut on previous visits). His family’s pride filled the air and there was a great sense of hope for the future. I couldn’t have wished for more from my sponsor child and I am certain that my £16 a month couldn’t have gone to a better cause!"

Miriam
“I don’t think it’s possible to go on a trip with Amigos and not come back different”
It’s difficult to describe my trip to Uganda in just a few words as words seem utterly insufficient! We spent the first few days on Kira Farm doing a personal development program instilling in the girls that they have God given Worth, Strength and Purpose. It was such an amazing privilege to work with them and to see their confidence grow and to know that we had played a part in that. Heading north to Masindi, those of us who sponsor children through Amigos got the opportunity to meet up with them and give them gifts. I cannot express what joy it is to meet with a child living in country where a lack of education means a struggle to survive and know that you are having a direct impact on that person’s life! It’s an amazing feeling!
Visiting some of the homes of these kids and Kira Farm students was particularly humbling and it’s difficult to reconcile how we live in the affluent west with the conditions that these beautiful African people are living in. Seeing it for real and being able to embrace them and talk with them brings the reality of the struggles these families face and what they have been through home, and quite honestly shows up my comparatively luxurious life as shameful! It makes me realise how I need to make it a priority to help however I can. I don’t think it’s possible to go on a trip with Amigos and not come back different. As one of my friends on the trip said “I don’t think we could have had a fuller or richer experience.” He wasn’t exaggerating! This was real Africa!

Sarah
This was my fourth trip to Uganda with Amigos since 2006. I just can’t seem to not go!
Having been involved in sponsoring children through Amigos since it first started and the procurement of Kira Farm, this trip was by far the most rewarding. To stay, as the first visitors in Kira Lodge, was a great honour but even more rewarding was to see Kira Farm in action buzzing with the life and work of the young people staying there and the dedication, hard work and joy of the staff involved in the project.
The group I travelled with all had the opportunity to be involved with the students at the farm and deliver the very successful “Shine Girl” programme discovered by Ann. What a wonderful time we had getting to know the girls and enjoying their company as we delivered sessions on strength, worth and purpose to these lovely young women. It really felt like the most fulfilling and rewarding time I have ever had. We laughed a lot and certainly cried a lot during the trip as this time of sharing and caring took its course. To see the vision that Phil has worked so hard for during the last six years actually happening is amazing.
Please support Kira with as little or as much as you possibly can – it is truly a worthwhile project to be involved in.
Having been a sponsor for two children through Amigos for a number of years now and also encouraged friends and acquaintances to also sponsor children, I really enjoyed visiting four schools during my trip with Amigos in May this year. I have worked in a school in Cornwall for 15 years and to be able to see schools in Uganda in action was a great experience.
The first school I visited was called “God Cares Primary School”. This is school that educates Ivan who is sponsored by the pupils of Ludgvan School where I work.  I was really impressed with the ethos and the clean and tidy appearance of the classrooms and the grounds. The school staff were also very smart and efficient. I was shown to his class by the head teacher and had the opportunity to chat with the class and take photographs to show the children back in our school in Cornwall. It is so encouraging for them to see pictures of Ivan and really inspires them to continue to raise the funds to support his education.
Next was the secondary school that Hussein, the boy that my husband and I sponsor, attends. This was a school of over 1,000 pupils with 60 per class. Again I was impressed by the appearance and dedication of the school staff and pupils. I really felt proud that through such a small amount of money donated each month we have secured a good education making a huge difference to the present and the future for Hussein.
I then had the pleasure of re-visiting two schools where I had been involved in holding holiday camps for many of the sponsor children of Amigos. It was lovely to have been remembered so fondly by the school staff and also to be recognised by many of the pupils. They are looking well and all express their gratitude to all the sponsors who enable them to have an education to give them a future and a hope.

Katie
I am currently studying at the University of Plymouth. I am enrolled on a BA Education Studies course, as part of this course I had the opportunity to take a module called ‘Experiential Education’. We were encouraged to organise a trip overseas where we would experience a different type of education and culture. We then had to write up our experience and explain the theory behind different learning styles.

As I live in North Devon I knew a little bit about the local charity ‘Amigos’ and decided to explore the possibility of visiting Uganda through this charity with two friends from University. We wanted to learn more about Amigos and how it helps young people around the same age of ourselves. We were very lucky to be able to able to visit Kira Farm in Uganda in April this year (2011).
We set off on 4th April filled with a mixture of emotions. I felt nervous, anxious and excited all at the same time, having never travelled to a developing country I was unsure of what to expect. After an overnight flight we arrived and were met at the airport by Joseph who works for the charity. It was very hot and we were all extremely tired from a restless night on the plane. We packed our bags into the car and headed towards Kira Farm, about an hour and a half away.

As we drove through the capital it was very busy and dusty. Ugandans drive very differently, there does not appear to be any rules, if there is a space they will drive into it! Cars drive so close to each other with Buda Buda’s (Ugandan scooters) driving in and out of the cars, these might be ‘kebab style’ having up to four or five people on each one.  We discovered that traffic lights do not play a very important part in the capital, however there were many police officers directing the traffic. This was an incredible experience, even if we did feel that the car may not make it to Kira Farm in one piece. 
We arrived at Kira Farm and were welcomed by the students and staff.  We were amazed with the surroundings and could not get over how green the land was. We were taken to our dormitory where we rested for a while and settled in. We were then called by the cook, Mary, for lunch served in the main house. Here we met Christine and Sam, two other English travellers who were staying at Kira Farm for three months. We really appreciated having the opportunity to talk to people who had experienced the Ugandan culture having come from the same western background as ourselves. They offered us an insight into the way that the farm is run and how the Ugandan culture differs from our culture. Although this was not the only way that we wanted to learn about Uganda and about Amigos, it still proved very helpful and welcoming for us.

A couple of the students then gave us a tour around the Farm, it was obvious how proud they were to be there and wanted to show us everything they were doing at the Farm. Throughout the two weeks at Kira Farm we got to know some of the students really well and enjoyed learning about their lives. I was fascinated to learn that most of the students owned some land at their family homes and it soon became clear that the farming skills learnt at Kira Farm would be really helpful in enabling the students to fully utilise their land to help provide for their families.

We really wanted to get involved with all of the activities at Kira Farm. We wanted to work alongside the students and help with the farming. We planted beans, which was a real challenge in such heat and for me especially being a pale red head, I went through a lot of sun cream! We also helped to weed a large area of the farm with hand-made Ugandan hoes that were so heavy I could hardly pick them up. The students found us very funny and they made the work look very easy. We joined in with many of the lessons to see what the students were being taught and what equipment was available. We shared with the students some craft ideas with materials that we had brought from England. This was a really nice way of getting to know each other. The students were very keen to teach us some of the crafts that they have been taught by their family members.

In the second week of our stay we visited a town called Masindi in northern Uganda, about 4 hours away from Kira farm. This large town is home to many children who are sponsored through Amigos. With Joseph, we visited a small village outside of the main town, Amigos employs a lady to cook lunch for some local school children. After travelling for half an hour, through what could only be described as ‘the bush’, we arrived and were met by some very excited school children. They all came to shake our hands and pulled over benches for us to sit on. We helped to serve a lunch of beans and a local dish called ‘poshu’ to each child and then ate our own packed lunch with the children. This was a great experience, and the children seemed to enjoy us being there. We were so lucky to be with Joseph throughout our stay as he is involved with all of the sponsored children in Masindi . It was obvious how much he was appreciated and loved by the children.

After serving lunch to the school children we set off to visit a family, home to three children, two of whom are sponsored through Amigos. It was here that we learnt what life is really like for many Ugandan people. We met the mother, an amputee and a single mother of two school aged boys and one baby girl. She used crutches to enable her to show us around her ‘mud house’ which consisted of three rooms.  She showed us where her two boys used to sleep before their sponsor provided extra money to buy a mattress. It was a raised bed made out of twigs and branches and we could not believe that two young boys used to sleep there. This really shocked us and showed how sponsorship can completely change the lives of a family. The family showed us the outside kitchen and their animals. They owned two small piglets and some chickens which had also been bought by their sponsor in England. From the smile on the mothers face is was clear that she was proud of her home and loved showing us around.

During our visit to Masindi we also visited three family homes of students staying at Kira Farm. Our first visit was to a large family whose 20 year daughter is staying at Kira Farm. The family live in a small hand built brick house. We were shown around by the mother, she explained where everyone slept. The mother wanted us to know that it was unusual to own beds and they felt privileged to be able to show us their sleeping arrangements.  This particular visit really made us think about the inequalities in the world, how I have never considered how lucky I am to have my own bed. I was really moved by this whole experience.
Living on Kira Farm taught us about the students and how the charity is helping to improve the lives of these young adults. The visit to Masindi gave us the opportunity to witness firsthand how some people live in abject poverty. During our stay we also had the chance to visit traditional markets, we ate in a Ugandan restaurant, took a boat trip on ‘Lake Victoria’, hiked up ‘Merchant Falls’ and went on a river safari and game drive.

The whole experience has shown us how Amigos is literally changing many lives in Uganda. Personally, we have made some wonderful friends and feel privileged to have met such inspirational young people. We will always be so thankful to everyone who helped to make our visit so special.
It was encouraging to see young people so eager to learn practical skills that will help them throughout their lives and to see how their Christian faith played such an important part in their stay at Kira Farm.

Since returning home I acknowledge that it has taken me a while to absorb and understand this whole experience. I returned to University the week after my visit to Uganda but could not stop thinking about everything that we had seen. I have written up my experience as required for the module and in doing so I realised just what an impact the experience has had on me.

I now know that I want to continue supporting this charity, helping young people to improve their lives because I have seen firsthand the importance of this work.