I begin the summer of 2009 a perpetual optimist...

Hello all...

With two weeks before my departure, I'm plagued with insomnia and complete failure to prepare myself for what's ahead. I'm truly thrilled, although I might have tried to pack too much into this summer. Leaving NY behind was tough after seven years, countless memories and individuals I'm lucky to call friends. Alas, a new chapter begins...

Many have asked why I'm going back to Africa and why the particular programs. For those of you I've discussed this with and for those of you who have experienced Africa personally, there just hasn't been a comparison in terms of personal enrichment. The awe inspiring skies, the vast landscape, the wildlife, the wonderful people, the rich culture, the deafening nighttime silence, the lessons I learned... these are just a few of the reasons I had to revisit the continent. I've never been able to articulate the sense of personal clarity I felt when I was in Kenya in 2005. While I know that the children and people I'll be working with will be in some small way touched by the work I intend to do, I am much more aware of the impact their lives will have on me. I only hope that the exchange that I'll participate in will help further the organizations' missions and inspire the Ugandans/Kenyans I work with to continue their diligent grassroot efforts.

Additionally, I'll take a moment to explain what I'll be doing and with whom.
-I'm going to be spending the first month in Uganda working with the Uganda Rural Fund, a grassroots organization I discovered in 2007 when I was doing research on the country's most vulnerable children as a continuation of my thesis research on street children. They facilitate a wide array of projects, which include several sustainable development programs, an orphanage and a school. One of the reasons I was captivated by the organization is because they have a very realistic approach to the way in which they operate, they rely on volunteers and local people to run the organization, the funding is very wisely used for programs that work. While I'm there I will be working at the orphanage/school, as well as helping to develop their women empowerment/leadership programs within the community. The organization works with roughly 150-250 Ugandans on a regular basis in rural south eastern Uganda, primarily the Masaka district. Their website at www.ugandaruralfund.org has more information about their initiatives and current programs.

-In Kenya, I'll be going back to teach at a community school on the outskirts of Nakuru. In rural areas of Africa, because of the high cost of school fees/uniforms, and the distance to most public schools, local teachers or individuals, sometimes international organizations, have created community schools as a way to help provide the most basic education for children that would otherwise remain victims of cyclical poverty. The school has about 100+ students attending on a regular basis. The school's leaders/teacher recruit the students from nearby slums and the local trash pit. Because of the poverty and disease, many are orphans and earn their living and find their meals in the local trash pit, getting small change for plastic. As a response, the school provides fellowship with other children, two meals a day and classes for all ages, even a few high schoolers. The program is very rudimentary and simply a worthy cause that does its best to help give these children a brighter future. I'll be teaching the younger class here, and was certified as an English teacher in 2005 before my last trip.

Pictures from my 2005 Trip