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Published: April 7th 2007
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It didn’t take long to readjust to travel life. I’ve felt more comfortable during my 12 hour layover in London’s Heathrow Airport then I have since my return from travel last year. I love the airport environment because it is one where no one has to fit in. Everything from culture, currency, fashion and language vary. Where most people would cringe at the layover I sat happy and content giving my mind and body the proper time to transition from the chaos of philly life to the chaos of travel life. Using my backpack for a pillow I leaned back and watched the world go by without an interruption of a text message, phone call or email.
It took 2 days for me to arrive to my destination in Jinja, Uganda. But before I begin blogging about my experiences, here are a few notes about the country:
The country of Uganda is in East Africa and slightly smaller than the state of Oregon. It is surrounded by Rwanda, Congo, Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya and along the South the large Lake Victoria.
Uganda achieved independence from the UK in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi Amin (1971-79) was responsible
Nappies
One row, out of many, diapers drying on a line... for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton Obote (1980-85) claimed another 100,000 lives. During the 1990s the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections.
The country suffers from poverty and the after effects of the war. Turmoil around the northern border remains unresolved, and children are still kidnapped and used as child soldiers. The growing number of people infected with AIDS/HIV has also added to a lower life expectancy, lower population and growth rates. The life expectancy is 45 years (est.).
The town I have chosen to stay in, Jinja is one of the more “touristy” towns. Now this term is relative. My definition of touristy means that there is electricity (well, sometimes), internet access, English spoken/understood and Western medical treatment and food are accessible. Jinja is famous because the town lies at “The Source”, or the beginning of the world’s largest river, the Nile. It is from here that the river begins its great journey to the Mediterranean through Sudan and Egypt (4130 miles or 6650 km). There are a handful of “mzungus” (white people) here and it seems that all of the mzungus are either backpackers, volunteers, missionaries
Amani Baby Cottage
(photo copyright Amani Baby Website) or those brave enough to raft the Nile rapids.
I have only one month and I spend the first week scouting out a handful of humanitarian organizations. I want to see first hand how they are run, where and how the funding is used, etc., sort of my interview. It's also a good way to begin to understand the culture. Before I even start on that list I find that there is one just down the road.
The Amani (meaning PEACE) Baby Cottage is currently home to almost 60 children ages birth to 5 years. Many are orphaned when their parents die due to AIDS, birth complications or other factors. Some are abandoned in the hospital after birth or found abandoned at taxi stops, in latrines, or on the street. Some are there temporarily if the family cannot afford care.The goal is "that each one of them will find a place with a loving family". Amani seems extremely "well run" and westernized as we notice the line of baby Oral B toothbrushes neatly lined up next to the sink. Amani employs about thirty Ugandan workers to care for the children, they also have assistance from a number of volunteers from around the world.
The founders of Amani are from United States. Danyne and her father Corky (from Texas) had initiated the organization in 2003. I met Danyne since she is the wife of the owner of the guesthouse where I am staying (follow that?). Danyne tells me she was a “freelance” volunteer for years (like me) until she and dad decided to start an organization themselves.
Although the children are adorable, the age group is a bit young for me, there is massive amount of diaper changing and crying, and then more diaper changing...and crying. I did spend Tuesday morning at Amani just long enough to play with the children, talk with the volunteers, take some fun photos and come back with my pants full of baby dribble. There are many orphanages/foster homes out there, the challenges are all the same. Finding homes for the orphans, providing education, and teaching awareness and providing medical care for HIV/AIDS. It quickly becomes clear which organizations are run by westerners and which are run by locals. But I rattle over in my head which ones are really providing the best solutions? And what are the most effective solutions? I spend the rest of the week as a sponge...absorbing everything around me, asking questions, talking with everyone from local street kids, pastors, western volunteers, restaurant owners, school teachers, taxi drivers. Already one week has gone by. It will be tricky to learn and offer something from Uganda in such a short amount of time...and also to keep enough downtime for myself, so I don't return home as burnt out as when I got here.
Amani Baby Cottage stats:
131 children have been cared for in the home (20 of these have been reunited with extended family member)
28 have been fostered into new families
12 have been transferred to other ministry placements
There have been 5 children since 2003 that did not find a family by age 5 (they are then transferred to an older children’s orphanage).
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leslie jane
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SO GLAD TO HEAR
how your first week has been! i can see that the month is going to fly by before you even can blink! LOVE the sweet photo of Dribble. ok i know that is not the child's REAL name... :)