Today we got a chance to visit an orphanage/school for children with disabilities. This was definitely a touching experience. Here in Uganda, many parents of these disable kids feel that this is a curse from God so they abandon their children. The children here were deaf, blind, mentally challenged as well as some physical mutation disabilities. Although these kids were disabled, they were all unique and full of joy. This school is not entirely made up of disabled children. The ratio of “normal” to disabled children is 5 to 1. For every 5 “normal” children there is one disable child. The main goal of this is to educate youth early how to function with students with disabilities. In America as well as other parts of the world, there is a negative stigma stuck with children with disabilities. This school is designed to expose children early to the disabled kids so they won’t think they are outcasts in society. This school even eliminates the negative labels given to disabled children. The children who are “slow” or have learning disabilities here are called time takers because they aren’t slow they just take their time learning.
This was really a beautiful place. The head instructor was disabled himself so this really motivated him to help these children. This school is all about making these children find their niche in society. The instructor stated, he isn’t trying to make these children job seekers in society but job creators. The instructor (Francious) was very passionate about these kids. He really touched all of us with his huge heart.
There was one girl in particular who really stood out to me. I cant recall her name but she had no arms but just a finger on each shoulder. This mutation was very hard to look out without shedding a tear or having pity on the girl. I then realized why have pity on this girl when she doesn’t pity herself. Instead of looking at her like she is disabled look at her like a gift from God who was sent here to touch others. This is how I felt about every child here. This girl in particular had a special gift of writing! She would write with her feet. The instructor said she was the best writer in the school and I definitely was a non believer until I saw her work with my own eyes. This child who was 10 at the most, picks up a pencil with her foot and begin to write sentences. Her “foot-writing” (handwriting) was amazing. She wrote better with her foot than most people do with their hands. A child like this in American would have been wasted and told she couldn’t write but this school helped her develop her talent. I have a picture of her writing as well as a video of her writing so I will be able to show you later.
There was another Kid named Peter who was in a wheel chair. This wheel chair was so old that the rubber tire was off on one wheel so he was wheeling around on the rim! However this kid was so optimistic and happy you would have never known he was suffering. He really touched me. Another guy who was actually an instructor was writing a syllabus. He was writing a paper in brail because he was blind. This was really interesting to see, I was amazed! I didn’t know what it said but I could feel his passion for writing. I also got a video of this!
Overall, this school made me realize how blessed I am for my health. These kids are disadvantaged so much but still are making life worthwhile. I admired these children’s heart and courage. In this cruel and ignorant many people would look at them as curses and miss the beauty of these children. Today has made me a better person and more aware of the disabled children and the potential they have in this world.
I will talk to you guys later
Matthew
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Primary School
Today was awesome! We got the chance to visit a local primary school. While there we painted the interior and exterior of their library to commemorate a fellow Drake student whose mother passed form breast cancer. It was hard work but it was for a good cause. The kids there were simply amazing. They all ranged from the ages of 5 to 18. Some children are far older than others in their same class. I met a 18 year old who was a P7 which is equivalent to a maybe a 6th grader. It is many children like this whose families couldn’t afford to send them to school until a lot later or they were orphans. The students were very shy and soft spoken at first but as the day went along they became more outspoken.
The school was a small property with a few buildings which were all in bad condition. They all had holes in the sheathing ceilings and water damage. Inside the roofs were bats and rat nests. It was unimaginable that a place so run down is where these kids enjoy coming to learn. They don’t know of anything better.
When we arrived we had an assembly with all the students. They sung their national anthem to us and we sung ours to them. We then had question and answer period with the children. These kids touched me in a way today that they will never know. One day I would love to come back to Uganda and help less fortunate kids in some way. This experience today made me more appreciative. There were many kids there who were orphans and didn’t have shoes to wear. I have never seen a child walk barefoot because they can’t afford a single pair of shoes. I have a few pair of shoes in my closet that I refuse to walk to class in scared to get them dirty yet these kids have no shoes.
The small things we take for granted in the United States these children would cherish. A fourteen year old boy pulled out a prized possession of his which was a single American dollar bill. The bill has been weathered and looks very dirty and old but he cherished it. It was his motivation to come to one day come to the United States. He said if God willing he would definitely make it to the States. This was very touching. If I had the resources, I would quickly sponsor this kid. He was a dynamic person and would benefit from the American Schooling system.
Overall this experience was definitely life changing. I think I have grown into a more appreciative person after this.
Talk to you guys later
Matthew
The school was a small property with a few buildings which were all in bad condition. They all had holes in the sheathing ceilings and water damage. Inside the roofs were bats and rat nests. It was unimaginable that a place so run down is where these kids enjoy coming to learn. They don’t know of anything better.
When we arrived we had an assembly with all the students. They sung their national anthem to us and we sung ours to them. We then had question and answer period with the children. These kids touched me in a way today that they will never know. One day I would love to come back to Uganda and help less fortunate kids in some way. This experience today made me more appreciative. There were many kids there who were orphans and didn’t have shoes to wear. I have never seen a child walk barefoot because they can’t afford a single pair of shoes. I have a few pair of shoes in my closet that I refuse to walk to class in scared to get them dirty yet these kids have no shoes.
The small things we take for granted in the United States these children would cherish. A fourteen year old boy pulled out a prized possession of his which was a single American dollar bill. The bill has been weathered and looks very dirty and old but he cherished it. It was his motivation to come to one day come to the United States. He said if God willing he would definitely make it to the States. This was very touching. If I had the resources, I would quickly sponsor this kid. He was a dynamic person and would benefit from the American Schooling system.
Overall this experience was definitely life changing. I think I have grown into a more appreciative person after this.
Talk to you guys later
Matthew
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Equator Experience Uganda
Hello Family and Friends
Today (Sunday) has been a super LONG day! Woke up at 8 15 am and ate breakfast with the Uganda Students. Then we hit the road and headed southwest to Kebele. On the way there we stopped by the equator shops. It was raining extremely hard today on the equator so I didn’t get a chance to get any pictures. I bought many items at the shops today. Items here are priced fairly expensive, but we are advised to bargain with the shop owners to get a better price. Today I might have spent 140,000 Ugandan Schillings which is about 70 US dollars. I bought some great pieces of art! The trip was a LONG one. Kebele is only 175 miles away from Kampala which is equivalent to the distance between Des Moines and Kansas City. It takes me only 2.5 hours to drive home but due to the poor roadways here it is a 4 hour trip! After the Equator shops we headed to Lakeview National Park which is a smaller national park. I saw a couple of animals such as antelopes and warthogs. It was really cool! Tomorrow we are heading to Lake Bunyoni where we are just going to relax. This should be nice and peaceful.
I will try my best to keep you all posted,
Talk to you later.
Matthew
Today (Sunday) has been a super LONG day! Woke up at 8 15 am and ate breakfast with the Uganda Students. Then we hit the road and headed southwest to Kebele. On the way there we stopped by the equator shops. It was raining extremely hard today on the equator so I didn’t get a chance to get any pictures. I bought many items at the shops today. Items here are priced fairly expensive, but we are advised to bargain with the shop owners to get a better price. Today I might have spent 140,000 Ugandan Schillings which is about 70 US dollars. I bought some great pieces of art! The trip was a LONG one. Kebele is only 175 miles away from Kampala which is equivalent to the distance between Des Moines and Kansas City. It takes me only 2.5 hours to drive home but due to the poor roadways here it is a 4 hour trip! After the Equator shops we headed to Lakeview National Park which is a smaller national park. I saw a couple of animals such as antelopes and warthogs. It was really cool! Tomorrow we are heading to Lake Bunyoni where we are just going to relax. This should be nice and peaceful.
I will try my best to keep you all posted,
Talk to you later.
Matthew
Uganda Tour Update
Hello Family and Friends
Sorry I haven’t been updating as frequent as I should but the internet here is scarce and we have to share with every student here which makes it more difficult. These past two days have been amazing! Friday was full of education. Friday morning I woke up and took a great shower with our cottage gecko. Yes, a lizard was in my shower while I was using it. We then went to Makeeree University to eat breakfast with the students. Breakfast was great! After breakfast we went downtown Kampala to tour the Ugandan Parliament. This building is equivalent to the capital building in Washington D.C. This is where the Uganda Government passes laws. We got to look inside the actual cabinet room. This room is sort of like the American House of Representatives where all of the State of the Union Address is taken place. It was really cool to see inside of this room where few are allowed to enter.
After the Ugandan Parliament tour, we then stayed downtown and went to lunch. Downtown Kampala is NUTS! Imagine it as New York City without driving regulations such as traffic lights, pedestrian signs or a speed limit. I witnessed many people coming close to being struck by taxis.
After Lunch, we then headed to the Buganda Kingdom. The Buganda were once the most powerful tribe in Uganda. They have been in existence for over 700 years. They are still a very proud tribe. There are many present day Buganda here with us who are descendents of the original Buganda. The first stop in the Kingdom of Buganda was their parliament. We got the chance to meet and visit with the Minister of Education of the Buganda Kingdom. He was a very interesting man. After we toured parliament, we headed up a mile long hill which they call the Royal Mile to the King’s Palace. The King’s palace was pretty large! The palace sits atop one of the largest hills in Kampala so the view of the city is amazing. The king has many acres. He also has servants who work as peasants on his land. These people are dirt poor but they consider it an honor to be on the royal land in the presence of the king.
After the palace visit, we headed back downtown to eat at a Chinese restaurant called Fang Fangs. Yea, I didn’t know there were Chinese people in Uganda either. But the food was great and we ate on the rooftop terrace so we had a great view of the clear Uganda night sky. After dinner, we went back to our cottages and called it a night.
Saturday was just as awesome! We started off with breakfast with the Uganda Students. After breakfast we then got to meet one of the richest men in Uganda. He is a multi-millionaire. He is an entrepreneur who got his fortune from providing cell phones to the people of Uganda. He didn’t stop here; he is also involved in many other industries. He owns plenty of real estate, almost half of Kampala. He owns all of the upscale neighborhoods that are occupied by ambassadors and politicians and other highly wealthy citizens. He has recently built a hotel which was NICE! It looks like a hotel that we see every day in the US. He is extremely wealthy. He is currently working to revitalize Uganda’s most historic school which has gone to the dumps. He lectured us about entrepreneurship. I found this insightful and inspirational because my second major is Entrepreneurial Management. After this session, we went to lunch. At lunch a local artist came and brought many of his paintings. I bought a ton of pieces of artwork from him. They are really beautiful paintings! He would make a ton of money selling his work in the US.
After lunch, we went to a soccer game. Uganda played its biggest rival, Kenya. I thought the Chiefs games were exciting. American Football has nothing on soccer here in Uganda. The game was the least entertaining compared to the crowd dancing and chanting. It was amazing! I have plenty of pictures and videos. After the game we headed back to the cottages to eat dinner.
Sunday we will leave Kampala and head down south to Kabala. We will go on a four day adventure there. I believe the first stop tomorrow is to the equator. After the equator we will go to the source of the Nile River. Tuesday we will head to the National Park to see many animals.
I will try my best to keep you all posted,
Talk to you later.
Matthew
Sorry I haven’t been updating as frequent as I should but the internet here is scarce and we have to share with every student here which makes it more difficult. These past two days have been amazing! Friday was full of education. Friday morning I woke up and took a great shower with our cottage gecko. Yes, a lizard was in my shower while I was using it. We then went to Makeeree University to eat breakfast with the students. Breakfast was great! After breakfast we went downtown Kampala to tour the Ugandan Parliament. This building is equivalent to the capital building in Washington D.C. This is where the Uganda Government passes laws. We got to look inside the actual cabinet room. This room is sort of like the American House of Representatives where all of the State of the Union Address is taken place. It was really cool to see inside of this room where few are allowed to enter.
After the Ugandan Parliament tour, we then stayed downtown and went to lunch. Downtown Kampala is NUTS! Imagine it as New York City without driving regulations such as traffic lights, pedestrian signs or a speed limit. I witnessed many people coming close to being struck by taxis.
After Lunch, we then headed to the Buganda Kingdom. The Buganda were once the most powerful tribe in Uganda. They have been in existence for over 700 years. They are still a very proud tribe. There are many present day Buganda here with us who are descendents of the original Buganda. The first stop in the Kingdom of Buganda was their parliament. We got the chance to meet and visit with the Minister of Education of the Buganda Kingdom. He was a very interesting man. After we toured parliament, we headed up a mile long hill which they call the Royal Mile to the King’s Palace. The King’s palace was pretty large! The palace sits atop one of the largest hills in Kampala so the view of the city is amazing. The king has many acres. He also has servants who work as peasants on his land. These people are dirt poor but they consider it an honor to be on the royal land in the presence of the king.
After the palace visit, we headed back downtown to eat at a Chinese restaurant called Fang Fangs. Yea, I didn’t know there were Chinese people in Uganda either. But the food was great and we ate on the rooftop terrace so we had a great view of the clear Uganda night sky. After dinner, we went back to our cottages and called it a night.
Saturday was just as awesome! We started off with breakfast with the Uganda Students. After breakfast we then got to meet one of the richest men in Uganda. He is a multi-millionaire. He is an entrepreneur who got his fortune from providing cell phones to the people of Uganda. He didn’t stop here; he is also involved in many other industries. He owns plenty of real estate, almost half of Kampala. He owns all of the upscale neighborhoods that are occupied by ambassadors and politicians and other highly wealthy citizens. He has recently built a hotel which was NICE! It looks like a hotel that we see every day in the US. He is extremely wealthy. He is currently working to revitalize Uganda’s most historic school which has gone to the dumps. He lectured us about entrepreneurship. I found this insightful and inspirational because my second major is Entrepreneurial Management. After this session, we went to lunch. At lunch a local artist came and brought many of his paintings. I bought a ton of pieces of artwork from him. They are really beautiful paintings! He would make a ton of money selling his work in the US.
After lunch, we went to a soccer game. Uganda played its biggest rival, Kenya. I thought the Chiefs games were exciting. American Football has nothing on soccer here in Uganda. The game was the least entertaining compared to the crowd dancing and chanting. It was amazing! I have plenty of pictures and videos. After the game we headed back to the cottages to eat dinner.
Sunday we will leave Kampala and head down south to Kabala. We will go on a four day adventure there. I believe the first stop tomorrow is to the equator. After the equator we will go to the source of the Nile River. Tuesday we will head to the National Park to see many animals.
I will try my best to keep you all posted,
Talk to you later.
Matthew
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Uganda Day 1
Hello Family and Friends
I have finally arrived in Uganda. It was a long trip! I can’t believe I was on 3 continents in 24 hours. The flights weren’t that bad. I just watched many movies to occupy my time. Amsterdam was very beautiful. I plan to visit somewhere in Europe later down the road. Uganda might be the darkest place, i had ever seen. When landing into the airport, it was nothing but pitch black. Uganda is very different than home. It didn’t take long for me to realize this.
First, people drive on the wrong side of the road! It freaked me out a little when riding on the bus, the driver would make a turn into the wrong lane. Ugandans drive crazy!!!! Most of their roads are two way highways. The most common transportation is motorcycle type scooters. These are brave people who drive these. They weave in and out of traffic fearless often driving into oncoming traffic in the opposite lane and swerving to their proper lane at the last minute. Ugandan drivers are almost always slamming on their horns to prevent hitting these motorcyclists. Second, there many people outside just walking around. Ugandans love to “hang out” and socialize outside. Many people can’t afford televisions and all the things that keep us inside. These people are brave!! There are no sidewalks in Uganda so people often walk on the shoulder of the highways. Imagine walking on the shoulder of I-70 while cars are racing past you at 60 MPH, that is what it looked like.
I am very exhausted. I think I slept like 4 hours last night. I was woken up to monkeys screaming and a choir of roosters just cock-a-doodle-doo-ing away. It is hard to sleep here with all the background noises. I think I should have prepared myself by sleeping with the animal planet channel blasting in the background.
Today we met up with students from Uganda. This was really fun! The Ugandan people are really soft spoken so it’s kind of weird talking to them especially since I am soft spoken. The food here is good especially the fruit!
Today we got the chance to visit the Market. This was an eye opening experience. Many poor people were there selling all kind of items. This experience was surreal. It was like everything that you see on TV came to life. I was shocked and really soaked it all in. Words can’t really express how it was! I almost got hit by numerous of motorcycles today! Uganda roads have no pedestrian lights or walkways. It felt like running across a highway. Tomorrow we are visiting the Uganda parliament as well as the Buganda Kingdom!! These both will be a blast.
Well I am getting ready to eat dinner.
I will get back to you all later
Matthew
I have finally arrived in Uganda. It was a long trip! I can’t believe I was on 3 continents in 24 hours. The flights weren’t that bad. I just watched many movies to occupy my time. Amsterdam was very beautiful. I plan to visit somewhere in Europe later down the road. Uganda might be the darkest place, i had ever seen. When landing into the airport, it was nothing but pitch black. Uganda is very different than home. It didn’t take long for me to realize this.
First, people drive on the wrong side of the road! It freaked me out a little when riding on the bus, the driver would make a turn into the wrong lane. Ugandans drive crazy!!!! Most of their roads are two way highways. The most common transportation is motorcycle type scooters. These are brave people who drive these. They weave in and out of traffic fearless often driving into oncoming traffic in the opposite lane and swerving to their proper lane at the last minute. Ugandan drivers are almost always slamming on their horns to prevent hitting these motorcyclists. Second, there many people outside just walking around. Ugandans love to “hang out” and socialize outside. Many people can’t afford televisions and all the things that keep us inside. These people are brave!! There are no sidewalks in Uganda so people often walk on the shoulder of the highways. Imagine walking on the shoulder of I-70 while cars are racing past you at 60 MPH, that is what it looked like.
I am very exhausted. I think I slept like 4 hours last night. I was woken up to monkeys screaming and a choir of roosters just cock-a-doodle-doo-ing away. It is hard to sleep here with all the background noises. I think I should have prepared myself by sleeping with the animal planet channel blasting in the background.
Today we met up with students from Uganda. This was really fun! The Ugandan people are really soft spoken so it’s kind of weird talking to them especially since I am soft spoken. The food here is good especially the fruit!
Today we got the chance to visit the Market. This was an eye opening experience. Many poor people were there selling all kind of items. This experience was surreal. It was like everything that you see on TV came to life. I was shocked and really soaked it all in. Words can’t really express how it was! I almost got hit by numerous of motorcycles today! Uganda roads have no pedestrian lights or walkways. It felt like running across a highway. Tomorrow we are visiting the Uganda parliament as well as the Buganda Kingdom!! These both will be a blast.
Well I am getting ready to eat dinner.
I will get back to you all later
Matthew
Monday, May 17, 2010
One Day Until Departure
Wow, I can’t believe that I leave tomorrow for Uganda. I am excited yet very nervous. It is beginning to sink in that I will be traveling halfway across the world. This is definitely out of my comfort zone. This is a little intimidating but my faith will definitely get me through. I am finally finished packing and the last item I packed was my bible. I placed it on top so it will be the first thing I see when I open my suitcase in Uganda. It will be a reminder of who has control and that I shouldn’t fear anything.
Tomorrow is going to be a super long day. The total travel time is estimated at 24 hours. I am flying out of Des Moines and will connect in Detroit. From Detroit, we will then fly to Amsterdam and from there to Uganda. As you can see it is going to be a long busy day so I am heading to sleep
Goodnight!
I will be in contact with you all tomorrow. Keep me in your prayers!
Matthew
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Matthew's Trip to Uganda (3 days before departure)
Hello family and friends!
It is a rainy Saturday morning in Kansas City, MO but the sun is shining in Kampala, Uganda.
First, I have to thank GOD for blessing me with this opportunity to embark on a journey of this magnitude. With him all things are possible. Second, I have to thank my mother for basically forcing me to go as well as my father for providing the support and encouragement needed to make this possible. I am currently ripping and running around with my parents getting my last minute items before I leave. I am really ecstatic about this trip. It will be a great learning experience.
I will be tagging along with about 23 other students and three faculty members from Drake. Upon arrival in Uganda we will meet up with local students from Makerere University to experience a great summer adventure.
Uganda is mostly a Christian based country. Eighty-four percent of the population profess Christianity. I don’t know how much time I will have to actually attend church but I am sure the Ugandan Students and I will have time to fellowship together.
While in Uganda I will be learning about Sustainable Development. Sustainable Development is the relationship between the environment and its inhabitants and how these inhabitants use the environment to meet human needs while still preserving the environment. This course will provide me with a hands-on learning experience of Uganda’s economy, culture and political stability.
Please keep me in your prayers!
God Bless,
Matthew
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