2.12.16

Moving Abroad//

Three months volunteering in Uganda

In 2016 I set out on my first ‘solo’ adventure. I’d applied to volunteer as a Team Leader for International Citizen Service; supporting a group of national and international volunteers. From the list of places they worked in I was leaning towards Asia. I had a teenage dream to visit after seeing some stunning photos of Thailand, taken by couple of guys I went to college with. However, I wasn’t disappointed when I found out I would be sent out to work in Uganda for three months. At 17 and again aged 21, I had visited neighbouring Rwanda with my Fathers Charity.

I had set fire to the conventional life I’d known for a decade - and was keen to learn how one starts over. A few months prior, I’d left me previous life; my partner, my home, my job - in search of living a life more aligned with me. I just wasn’t sure who ‘me’ was and I had no idea if it would work. I really wanted to know how to do life differently.

I was grateful that the project took care of the logistics in return for some fundraising (read more here…) to show I was committed for the full three months.

(Now it’s worth stating that there are questions around the ethics of some of these projects, concerns that they may do more harm than good and reaffirm white supremacy - a hang over for the colonial days. I’m also the daughter of a Christian Reverend who went on to do missionary work in Central East Africa. These are reflections of the experiences I had and the connections that I made.)

The first flight I took was to Rwanda aged 17 with my Fathers Charity (read more here….), I was prepped for the long flight but instead of hotels (I have stayed in the actual “Hotel Rwanda”, where the owner offered safety during the genocide), our accommodation would be living with a host family, based in local communities, in the villages. This would be a very different expereince.

Firstly we didn’t have chaperones as was the norm in Rwanda. No driver or interpreter to act like security. Now I was getting on a plane with some Brits I’d only met a handful of times. We arrived in Entebbe following a changeover at Ethiopia and were met by the in-country team, and our Ugandan counter parts who we would be working and living with. ‘Welcome home’ they said as they greeted us. This was it, I had just ‘moved’ to Uganda and I was ready for the cultural exchange - to learn about cultures, another country, different ways of life first hand, living with locals, connecting with people, being ‘home’.

I lived with a host family with a stern mother who seemed tough and firm but from time to time you’d catch her smiling, making jokes and laughing. Aunty lived there too after her husband passed and she would wake at 4am to pray loudly. The Father worked away most weeks and returned a handful of times during stay. There were siblings, the cousins, and the families who rented one room homes in the compound, the boys who bunked up in the dorm, AKA in the garage, and there was us, two national and one international Team Leaders sharing a room with our host sister whilst she was home from University. There were also all of the children who lived along the street. They would come to play in the front garden, an open piece of grass where the house was set back.

The thing about the volunteer element is that you get out what you put in. There were targets that teams received that suggested meeting with local community groups and members to find out their needs to start coming up with solutions. Training was on arrival to equip volunteers with the skills they would need to undertake the work. Essentially it was a huge opportunity for personal development for the volunteers with some infrastructure thrown in for good measure to hopefully help some communities benefit from this set up. The Team Leader role was to support the volunteers with any challenges that arise - personally and professionally. Team dynamics - I was in my element.

I left the UK without a phone but I ended up having to buy one out there so we had some method of communication with the volunteers who would be placed with different families across the district. I was eating plant based food everyday, fresh delicious fruits available all day, balanced with wholesome grain filled meals - I felt so good. I read so many books too. Down time was from 6:30pm every night which we spent in our room due to our curfew - it helped me adopted a much gentler life. The warmth of the sun on your skin, the laughter and shouting of children playing outside the window - there was a sense of ease to life here. The days were equal due to Uganda sitting on the equator and days off were spent with the neighbourhoods children wither dancing on the porch or playing football. I felt that I was the most at peace I had possibly ever been - and that was despite there being no privacy, family members praying loudly at the crack of dawn and being miles away from my family & friends. I had a sense of community, my basic needs were met and I had a purpose that was worth getting up for in the morning and I was well rested.

We would attend events hosted by +256 Youth Platform and their work inspired me so much I actually decided to return the following year to volunteer with them (read more here…). Member in this community can build confidence through music, dance, sports and education. The platform offer Menstrual education, health awareness events and community pop-ups where people gather to clean up the streets whilst advocating for young peoples voices to be heard, and to support individuals who may otherwise get involved in gangs.

All this wonderfulness is built out of resistance, this is a group of activist volunteering to create change. The employment rates in Uganda are low and there is no benefit system. People need to make an income yet +256 Youth Platfrom everyone is a volunteer, reflective of what they get out of being part of this community. There is no membership fee for participants to avoid any barriers to young people wanting to access this safe(r) space and thrive. They eat together, no one is turned away and when needed there is a place to sleep.

Iganga is a very special place reflective of the hearts of the individuals there.

People need to make a living. People need to be able to pay their bills and they need opportunity to develop skills, find their community and have a chance to thrive.

Sometimes I wonder how to make this incredible community group sustainable. The dream is to make it possible for them to continue supporting the young people in the area to grow up safely with an education and to develop invaluable life skills, encouraging individuality and creativity. Please consider donating here.