Moving Abroad//3 Months Volunteering in Uganda

In 2016 I set out on my first ‘solo’ adventure. I’d applied to volunteer as a team leader for the International Citizen Service, supporting a group of national and international volunteers. From the list of places they worked in, I was leaning towards Asia as I had a teenage of dream to visit at some point. 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 was at a place in life where I had set fire to my life and was keen to figure out just how does one start over, particularly moving to another location.

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 be possible to start anew. I was grateful that the project took care of the logistical details for me in return for some fundraising (read more here…) to show I was committed for the full three months.

(Now it feels worth stating that yes there are questions around the ethics of some of these programmes, concerns that they may do more harm and reaffirm white supremacy, a hang over for the colonial days. In addition to this I am actually the daughter of a Christian Reverend who went on to do missionary work in Central East Africa. These are just reflections of the experiences I have had and connections that I made.)

Having previously visited Rwanda with my Fathers Charity (read more here….), I could anticipate the long flight but we would be living in the villages, based in local communities with a host family. This would be a very different experience from staying in a hotel (I have stayed in the actual “Hotel Rwanda”, where the owner offered safety during the genocide).

For starters we didn’t have chaperones as I was used to in Rwanda, a driver, an interpreter - a security guard essentially. Now I was getting on a plane with some brits, others 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 of other cultures, another country first hand, living with locals, connecting with people, being at ‘home’.

I lived with a host family where the mother appeared stern, strong and firm but from time to time you could catch her smiling, making jokes, laughing. The Aunty lived there too after her husband passed and she would wake at 4am to pray. The Father worked away most weeks returning a handful of times during my three months there. There were siblings, the cousins, the families who rented homes (one room), 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 who would come to play in the front garden, an open piece of lawn where the house was set back a bit.

The thing about the volunteering element of programmes like this is that you always get out what you put in. There were targets that teams were given which suggested meeting with local community groups and members to find out their needs and offer solutions. Training was undertaken early on to equip volunteers with skills they would need to undertake their work but essentially it was a great big opportunity for personal development with some infrastructure thrown in for good measure so that communities might actually benefit for this set up. It was my role to support them, to help iron out any challenges with the team dynamics and I was in my element.

I didn’t have a phone when I left the UK but I ended up buying one out there as we needed some method of communication with the volunteers who would be placed with different families across the district. I ate plant based everyday with fresh delicious fruits available balanced with wholesome grain filled meals. I read so many books to during down time which was from 6:30pm everynight 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 in life here. The days were equal what with Uganda being on the equator and days off were spent dancing on the porch or playing football with the neighbourhoods’ children. I remember thinking to myself that I felt the most at peace I had - 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 that was too strenuous.

Throughout my time there 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…). Within this community members can explore building confidence through music, dance, sports and education. The platform offer educational events, pop-ups where community gather to clean up the streets and advocating for the young peoples voices to be heard and to support individuals who may otherwise end up down a path of crime.

All this wonderfulness is built out of resistance. The employment rates in Uganda are low and there is no benefit system so people need to make an income. However no one in +256 Youth Platfrom is paid, everyone is a volunteer. There is no memebership fee as this would be a barrier for the young people to access a safe(r) space for them to thrive in. They eat together, if they need a place to sleep then there is also space. It is a very special place but it is run from a place of love in individuals hearts. But 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.

Something I continue to ponder is what a sustainable, ethical and supportive way to help this incredible community group would look like. If you would like to help continue support for the young people of this community to grow and develop valuable skills that encourages individuality and creativity then please consider donating here.

Jan 23// Well there’s a group of young girls in Uganda and they have already thought about this. They don’t want hand outs, they don’t want donations. No. Instead they decided that in order to gain a sustainable income, to be able to pay their school fees and support others to return to education too (in particular teenage mothers), they want to learn. The vocational skills training that they organised helped them to make products and items to sell. The group is innovative and they didn’t stop there. After arranging a day of vocational training with different manufactures, they then decided they would like to expand, to set up shops so they can offer support to a young man they met in a wheel chair who was struggling as well as the girls who fell pregnant whilst still in school. They are motivated and we just need to ensure that for all their efforts these incredible humams are still able to complete their own studies.

My wish for these sparkling individuals is that they can flourish, they can continue to have space to grow, look inwards and connect with others to seek solutions to some of the challenging external factors. Ones that follow in their shoes will know that life can be of their making and dreaming rather than restricted to an oppressive, restrictive existence. I am sensing big doors opening for this community, full of abundant opportunities. I can already taste the celebratory jack fruit.