Winny & B

Final report.

2010-02-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

I havn't been good at updating this blog. I am still missing the DR like crazy, I think this is the hardest return I've had. To share everything, like I would like to, would be just too long and probably very boring in parts! I also have so many opinions on so many things like education and organizations working in the DR, so I will save those for seperate posts. For now, i'll finnish up telling you about my final days in the DR.

We visited a community called Munoz, which is 5 minutes away from the hotel complex we were staying in. Munoz is very beautiful in landscape, it has a huge running river that goes through it, and when you walk to the top of the mountain you can see an endless sea of green-tress, grass, flowers, etc. In the center of it, is a Haitian batey. The houses are usually made out of tin or wood and some are really poorly put together. We went into one family's home, and it was two small rooms and the roof was leaking and the side of one of the walls was caving in. This is a typical batey house, not from Munoz but a different batey. This one is actually much better built than many of the homes in the bateys.

The thing that really pulled at my heart strings was the schools. Munoz is fairly large, and I should mention it is a mixed community of Haitians and Dominicans. The Dominicans live on the outskirts in rather decent homes while the Haitians live in the center. There's a school in Munoz, a beautiful primary school that when we passed it I asked if that is where the children go. Not quite, that school for for the Dominican kids. I was then lead to the Haitian schools, tiny classrooms run out of small churches and homes. They focus on teaching Spanish, and also French. The kids come and go, and after spending some time with them it was sad to see that many of the children could still not read or write.

We had plans on returning to Munoz but the rain ruined our plans ad the kids do not go to school when it rains. We did managed to keep busy with the street and beach boys!

Our days consisted of feeding the street kids, playing soccer, and reading with them to spending the day at the beach with the kids. The youngest ones collected shells to sell and they always gave me plenty to take home. We had so many in the end it filled up a big bag! After an amazing two weeks in the DR it was time to leave. The friendships formed will be everlasting and I told myself "it isn't good bye, it's see you soon." We had all our bags at the front desk and I kept my purse on me, and went to go say bye to the kids on the beach. I won't go into a lot of details(as I rather remember the good times),but I was robbed. A Dominican teen(16-18) took my purse which had my passport in it. They also took my camera, which probably made me more sad!

We had the tourist police take our information and then send us on our way. Having no where to go(as we had no money!), we were invited to stay with one of the kid's families that we meet. A one day stay, turned into an extra week stay as we sorted through everything we had to do.

I can honestly say, I am so happy that this twist of events, that started very badly, turned out how it did. My friend found her camera on the last 2 days we were there, so we took as many pics as we could of 'our family'. Let me introduce you..

This is my "comere"(co-mother) Lilia and her newest daughter, who is my God-child, Malisa! Lilia is such an amazing woman. She has a small 3 room home(2 bedrooms and one main room). Many of the shoe shine boys live with her, sleeping on the floor. In only one room they have a bed which as many as 8 kids sleep on! During our stay, they insisted we take that room and that even the young children would sleep on the concrete floor. Hospitality doesn't even seem like the right word, it was so much more than that.

This is me and Eveline!

Julie and TiRonald. TiRonald is one of the first boys I met on the beach. He lives at Lilia's but is not her birth child. Julie came to the DR from Haiti 3 months ago, and lives at the home. She helps take care of cleaning and caring for the kids. One day when I returned home I found her washing all my clothes by hand! She is such a sweetheart and loves doing people's make up.

This family is beyond amazing. They care about each other so much, no matter if they're blood related or not, they see each other as family. I can honestly say that I see them as family too!

Part 3: Meeting my sponsored kids

2010-02-05T07:48:00.000-08:00

In the DR, I sponsor with two different organizations. My child with Children International, Nelanda, is in Santo Domingo. We planned on visiting her and then staying an extra day to explore the city but we weren't able to make that happen. She isn't in school, but I wanted to visit the school she would be going too which wasn't possible. Our plan was then to take a taxi to Santo Domingo and leave at 4am so we would arrive by 8am. It was going to be really rush, and a lot of travelling. I decided that on my next visit(which i'm planning for a month) i'll be able to meet Nelanda and also visit the city and make it worth my while.

I still had my Dove kids to meet, which I was so excited about! I sponsor 6 children in the same family who are being raised, along with 11 others, by their grandmother.

We woke up at 8am, and were being picked up at 9am. The day was bright and sunny, unlike the cloudy rainy ones that we were having. We ate a quick breakfast and then waited for our lift. Eveything was on schedual and we made our way to the club, where my sponsor kids take part in activities. I was told not to tell them I was their sponsor, until after they finnished the club as they would be too excited and wouldn't concentrate. We started off by helping sort out vitamins and put them into ziplock bags. We had help from the cutest little girl as you can see below! After that we helped clean the bookshelves, and organize books by language back onto them.

Without letting the boys know that I was their sponsor, I talked with them a bit in my broken spanish. I was so impressed how hard they tried to speak english, so we pulled out a dictionary to help us communicate better in both languages. The girls, Mariely and Viviana, were both really shy but super sweet. When the club finnished, we let them know that I was their sponsor and they had these huge smiles ont their faces! The plan was then to go and eat lunch with the volunteers and then head back to their house for a home visit.

After lunch, we pulled up to their house and most of the kids were playing outside. They were so happy we were there and lead us inside their home. We were greeted by their grandmother and the rest of the family. The youngest member of the family is a little baby boy, who was around 8 months old. His hands were all cut up and looked very painful. The grandmother said that he chews on his hands as he is teething, and from mosquito bites. I had a new pack of two pacifiers by chance in my purse, and that seemed to be the perfect and most needed gift for this baby!

We said our goodbyes and as we left more children came into the home. I still cannot beleive the amount of children being raised by this grandmother! We made our way to Playa Oueste, which is another barrio Dove works in. The homes are made right on the beach, and the trash, filth, and pollution from the big boats is incredible.

(Photo from last year)

It was a great day and I was so happy to meet my sponsor kids. They really were amazing, as was their family. We got in sweaty and tired from the sun(did I mention I cleaned off moldy gourdes in the sun?) and decided to get dinner and call it a day. With dinner, we got a bit of energy so we went on the beach to watch the sunset. As we sat down we saw 5 boys running in our direction..it was our friends! They were so cute and brang us soooo many seashells! They really wanted to bring us to their home, but because of the time we said we would tommorow. We said our goodbyes, and I passed out right when I hit the bed!

Malecon:Part 2

2010-01-27T18:19:00.000-08:00

With four of our new friends- Daniel, Jhonny, Baby and TiRonal we decided to go to the Malecon. The Malecon is right along the ocean and is a long strip of road. Next to it, it has shops, restaurants, church, etc. On Sundays, many families come out to enjoy the day and vendors sell sweet treats and kids toys, they play music, and people show off their moto skills. My mission that day was to find William. William is a boy I met on my last trip to the DR. This poor boy has it rough, his father died and his mother is in Haiti. He lives with his abusive aunt who makes him work as a shoe shiner for income. I had his photo and Daniel took it and brought it to a boy who was selling candies. The boys face immedietly lite up and told us William was only a few minutes away and he would go get him.

He came back with William, and William looked at me for a second and then ran over and gave me a huge hug. I don't think i'll ever forget the expression on his face! We went to see the fort and then just played around watching the boys do flips and other crazy acrobatics. After that, we all went out to eat chicken, rice, and boiled and fried plantain(banann peze). There was a tv in the restaurant playing Godzilla which was a big hit with the boys. After eating, we sent the young boys on their way home and with our friends from the beach went to pick up some items we needed from a departement store before heading back. By time we left the store it was pouring rain and we went to find a taxi. One of the shoe shinner boys we ate with, Tiga, was standing outside with his clothing drenched from the rain. Daniel went to talk to him to ask why he didn't go home yet(I should mention Daniel is amazing with the younger boys.) Tiga lives very far from where we were and further than all the other street boys. He is also a new boy and he didn't know any of the other shoe shinners. We decided to go out for icecream and bring Tiga to learn more about him.

The boys all choose their ice cream and Tiga got a banana split. Whipped cream, sparkles and all that other sugary greatness. But he refused to eat it. The boys thought it was because he already ate and started scolding him for making me buy him something. But Tiga told me that he wanted to take it home to his mother. We explained that it would melt, but he persisted until tears started streaming down his face. So, we bagged it up to go and all took a taxi to bring him home safely.

Tiga has 5 siblings, 2 which have died and 3 which are in Haiti. His father also died, and he stays with his single mother. His mother, although I don't know how, has lost both her legs and is unable to work. Therefore, this amazing little boy works shoe shinning and begging to help keep him and his mom fed.

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We visited the Malecon frequently, and became so attached to all the shoe shinners there. They each have a story that will completely break your heart, but just by being around them, you would never know it. They are funny, smart, quirky, and just like regular boys anywhere. They shoe shine, and also receive the occasional hand out. None of them were in school, although some went on Mondays to local Haitian schools. We brought some creole-english children's book, and paper and pens and had a bit of an outdoor lesson. They absolutely loved the books, and even though the stories were simple they really got into them. Some of the boys were able to spell a few specific words, and others were not able too. One of our "beach boys" who is 14, was not even able to spell his own name. It was easy for us to imagine an amazing future for this boy as he is caring, a leader type, and ethusiastic to learn new things. But seeing him struggle to write a three letter word, was more heartbreaking than many many things.

These boy really want to be in school-good schools. There were some who couldn't afford to go to school because they are required to pay school and uniform fees- often times less than $5. Boys such as Tiga, are also the breadwinner for their families. He would not be able to provide for himself or his mother if he was in school. I would imagine some would also quit school, as it is hard to go into a program when you are so used to working. It will take time and alot of effort to be able to not only put the boys in school, but keep them there and provide the needed aid to their families so they do not have to work.

I'm back! Part:1

2010-01-27T06:26:00.000-08:00

I returned home from the DR a week later than planned, as my passport and camera were stolen. I'm more upset about the camera as it had all the picture I took from the two weeks I was there, including all the amazing friends I made! Let me tell you about them.

We arrived in the DR to rain. The following day, we were lucky to get a bit of sunshine so my friend and I decided to have a beach day and prepare for the rest of the two weeks. As we were on the beach we noticed three young boys, two 9 years old and a 12 year old selling shells. They were very shy and we walked over to them. They looked Haitian so I asked them if they were and if they spoke Creole. 12 year old Peter(Baby) and 9 year old TiRonal arrived from Haiti 3 years ago while 9 year old Ramoun was born in the Dominican Republic to Haitian parents.
We went to get them some food from the hotel and then two more 15 year old boys showed up. They are Daniel(Jesnel) and Yamaica. We soon learned that the boys loovee to sing and dance, so we played around taking videos and letting them watch. It was getting late by now so we parted ways, and they gave us all the seashells they collected that day.(I have a suitcase just from shells..)They asked to come see us tommorow for lunch and we agreed for 12.

The next morning when we woke up, it was pouring! It continued like that all throughout the day and we planned to go visit a school but were informed the kids wouldn't be in school because of the heavy rain. We decided to check to see if the boys came at 12:00, but figured they would be at home because of the rain. To our suprise they were all waiting there right near the bottom of the beach. They asked if we wanted to play baseball, and we agreed. We walked all the way down the beach completely soaked. We then crossed a river that went to my chest to get to the other side. Wet, wet, wet. Neither me or Cat(friend) could even complain the boys smiles wouldn't leave their faces and everyone was just so happy despite the miserable weather. We played baseball with a plank of wood and seaweed for bases. Cat hit home runs and I couldn't even hit the ball. The cutest thing was they would tell me to run to home base and convince me that I hit it all by myself :) That day we met some more boys, all Haitian who have been in the DR for different amounts of time. One boy that stands out is Alexis. He is 14 years old and always tried his best to speak in english and talk about school. If he didn't know a word in english he had to figure it out. He attends a local school on Mondays were he is learning to read and write. If given the opportunity, I bet Alexis would become top in his class in a real school, he is just soo bright. Alexis is like many of the boys, from Haiti searching for a better life with no family. After spending 3 weeks it was obviouse that the boys have created their own family with eachother. The same day on the beach we bought some "kokoye e pistache" coconut and pistachio candies from a boy selling it on the beach. I split half with Cat, and bought four for the boys that were with us. They immedietly started cracking them up into dozens of pieces and shared it with other friends. They didn't have to do this as the other boys weren't even close but one boy named Jhonny told me " he is my brother, everything that is mine is his and everything that is his is mine." And for the rest of my time there, that saying was true everytime.

Update on the uniforms

2010-01-05T21:31:00.000-08:00

All the uniforms needed, that I mentioned about in my last post, have been provided for!

Is it bad that I am still not done packing!? I have 2 large luggages for donations, one is mostly filled with soccer jerseys and the rest is for other donations.

I've been following the forecast in Puerto Plata and it's been really rainy. I hope that this will clear up by time I get there! Meanwhile in Santiago it's completely clear and sunny skies and in Santo Domingo the same thing. I'm really excited about starting the soccer program in Munoz. It was last minute, my old highschool had collected jerseys for a project in Uganda but were unable to ship them there, and instead they gave them to me for the DR. Hopefully we can set up a few teams. All i'm missing is soccer balls, so i'm going ot pick some up in the DR.

The biggest thing im focusing on this trip is to look at the education system. I won't be able to figure it all out in two weeks but hopefully i'll learn something! I'm also going to do as much exploring as I can in Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo.

I leave for the airport at 4:00 am so it's time for me to sign off. I'll try and keep this blog updated as much as I can!

Dominican, in 3 days.

2010-01-04T18:54:00.000-08:00

I leave for the Dominican in 3 days. I can't beleive it, and I feel so excited but unprepared! I always feel unprepared before trips, I was completely having panick attacks before Uganda thinking that I was missing something or something I forgot to do.

Last time I went to the Dominican I completely feel in love with everything about it, but there was something about the Haitian batey I visited that completely captured my heart. Life for Haitians is definetly hard in Haiti, but many new struggles arise with life in the Dominican Republic. The discrimination reaches everyone, even the children. I have collected some Creole-English books and French books for some schools in the bateys. The schools were started mostly by local Haitian pastors and community leaders who want to make brighter futures for the children. Ofcourse with no government support and families stricken by poverty, it's an uphill battle.

The school has a strict dresscode and children without a uniform cannot attend. There are 16 children in one particular school in a community I will be visiting called Munoz. All 16 children do not have a uniform. The uniform consists of a checkered dress shirt and pants for boys or skirt for girls. Because they do not have this, the children cannot attend school. Ofcourse as you all know my thoughts on education- this has to change! If anyone would like to help me purchase uniforms that would be great. I wish I learned about this need sooner so I could of tried to get all the children uniforms, but as many as we can get will help some great kids, and best of all put them in school!

The cost is 170 pesos for both boys and girls, which is around $5. Although it isn't for a sponsorship program such as with CUS, I will take a picture of each child who receives a uniform and collect some info on the child, because that $5 is putting them in school!

To make a donation please use the donate button on this page which says "Dominican Uniforms!"

Star Fundraiser for Apac

2010-01-04T11:23:00.000-08:00

I hope you will all help take part in the star fundraiser for Apac! If you have not already read about it, let me explain how it works.

To build the school there's ofcourse a bunch of materials that we need, in total the cost is around $5,000. This will build a temporary 7 classroom school where the children will have classes, learn life skills, and receive meals.

The children at CUS have sponsors and with all the ongoing projects, the donors and sponsors have become extended members to this community. Often times people start up projects that end up failing for a number of reasons. This includes corruption, lack of training, little resources and many in need, and lack of community involvement and support. CUS has always served the poorest children in the community and has been fortunate enough to have amazing support from the international community to do this. Because of this support, the work the school is doing has earned much respect in the community which is crucial.

In Apac the story is a bit different. Northern Uganda has been ignored by the international community for the entire two decades of war. With this school, we hope to help bring the community together for positive change. We also want to invite you, the donors, to be part of this community!

To do this, we are selling stars for every item the school needs. Right now for example we need 6
people to buy stars at $5 each to purchase poles. When you donate to buy a star, please let me know your name, color of the star your would like(2 color options), and your photo(optional), and country or city you live. All the stars will be put together and then hung up in the classrooms in Apac!

For more info go to www.apacschool.blogspot.com

Right now we need 6 people to buy stars at $5 each.

Finnish line

2009-12-30T23:44:00.000-08:00

2009 has been an exciting year. I made my first visit to the Dominican Republic and Uganda, completely fell in love with both. I learned so much more about poverty and charity work, the great to the ugly. I've been able to seperate those two and form strong opinions. I really defined what I want to do, as I was all over the place at one time. Learned I didn't want to be a nurse in Uganda, as I could barely stand taking off a bandaid from a boy who cut his legs. I was a mess, "are you okay. Okay close your eyes. Okay let's breath together. Gimme a sec." I think I made him 100% more nervouse. I would be one slow nurse holding up the hospital and on all sorts of anxiety pills! I taught some basic lessons to some of the kids in Uganda, and got so much pleasure out of that.
In Dubai, on my way to Uganda with best friend Kayla! I learned I am not fond of Dubai's airport or New York. Much prefer smaller ones. It was like worlds apart.. In Dubai we couldn't find out way around and no one would help us. When we landed in Uganda we miscommunicated and had no one to pick us up. First lady we asked, gave us her cell phone to use and refused money for it. I really think Ugandans are the kindest people on the planet. Another highlight is how they use the word sorry. One example- I had some dirt on my leg and was in the car with our driver and Hellen. They continued to appologize and made it into a HUGE DEAL. Stopped the car, pulled over and cleaned my leg with bottled water. Then at Didi's world, I had a tiny cut from scratching a mosquito bite. We were on the boat ride, and when the girls saw my little cut the "sorry's" poured out. I kept explaining it wasn't them that cut me and I am the stupid one for itching it until it bleeds but they explained how it was there fault because it was a Ugandan mosquito!

I've been babysitting twin boys since they were two months old, and they are now over a year. I have found a new found "love" for babies. I always thought they were cute but rather not really needing much more than food, sleep, diaper changing, etc. (Dumb I know. I don't really know how I thought babies learned things like walking, but it just happened?) Wow I was proven wrong. I've watched their first crawls, first steps, and now they are running all over the place. They respond to love and it never gets old. My heart really breaks thinking about the babies in orphanages all over the world who get little attention and stimulation. Milestones don't happen, they have to be encouraged and taught.

Top: Me with baby Jamima in Uganda, Bottom: Me with a little girl in Dominican Republic. Babies like my face:)

Staying with the topics of babies, my best friend's sister had her first baby, a boy named Dylan. I really got hit that, wow times flies. It seemed like just yesterday I was at their house playing with a Ouijji board and she conviced me she was not moving the little triangle piece. Meanwhile, my other friend ran out crying. Anyways, isn't he a cutie??

I realise that there were highlights, but an entire side of rather boring too that I won't go through.

A HUGE highlight is being able to buy land for an orphanage in Uganda. In October it went for sale, we didn't think we could get it. Now we are mising $235. Pretty incredible! I am hoping that we will be able to buy the land in less than 2 days, before the new year! We need $535 to purchase it, $300 of which I will be donating and $235 left to raise. That $13 from only 18 people, or $18 from only 13 people!! Please help us start 2010 in an amazing way, being able to tell many orphan children that they are one huge step closer to having a home. Please make a donation on the website at www.christianupliftmentschool.com/donate

Finally, I want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and may it bring you only all the good things life has to offer!!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T06:57:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is having a great Christmas, surrounded by the ones you love. I just finnished opening some gifts with my family and i'm about to eat breakfast. But before that, I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and let you know that as planned, the raffle winners will be announced today!

So if you get a chance in your busy day to stop by around 5pm, the raffle winners should be up and you may even get another gift! There's also still time to buy a raffle ticket for $2 at http://www.apacschool.blogspot.com/ (Winners will be announced from a video which I will post on this blog and the Apac blog).

Once again, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

The Power of Education. Focus on The Dominican Republic

2009-12-15T05:07:00.000-08:00

I can't beleive I leave in 23 days for the Dominican Republic! I am so excited, yet feel so unprepared.

My schedual is all up in the air and i'm just going to go with the flow when I get there, but I know what i'll be doing and where. I'm very excited to be going to the capital, Santo Domingo, for the first time. My plan is to take the bus out of Puerto Plata in the morning. I should arrive by 12:00 noon. We're going to check into a hotel and then go from there and explore as much as we can. If anyone has any suggestions of places to visit, please let me know. The following day, I will be meeting with my sponsor child Nelanda and spending the day with her.

The rest of my time will be spent in Puerto Plata where i'll be volunteering and visiting with my other sponsor children. I will also be visiting some grassroot schools, which serve in predominently Haitian communities known as bateys. I visited a classroom in Agua Negras(a Dominican/Haitian community),where I volunteered last March. This classroom was one room and very tiny. It taught the children how to speak and write in Spanish, a mandatory skill to live and get by in the Dominican Republic. It did not however(from what I remember) follow a school curriculum with math, social studies, geography, etc. I really don't see how much brighter these children's futures can get with just Spanish.. It's been something that been on my mind(education in general) but just how far can education can really bring a child? Do I beleive it is the awnser to extreme poverty, yes. Do I beleive it is the awnser to poverty, no. Did I just confuse you, yes. ;)

The world bank defines poverty as living on less than $1.25 a day, and poverty or "moderate poverty" as living on less than $2 a day. A picture image of extreme poverty could be a child malnourished living in a mud hut. A child living in poverty could live in a corrugated metal house, not reaching growth milestones and lacking a good diet, but not suffering from severe malnourishment. It's deffinetly not this black and white, and every home has their own situation but that's just to show the slight difference.

How does this tie into education? There seems to be a huge focus on primary school education. This for the most part is happening, and it is good. But is it great? Nope. It would be great if the child could continue and then go on to high school, college and then university, that would be great. But the system in developing nations is being cut off at primary school. It is set up to get the kids out of extreme poverty and keep them in poverty. I don't mean big brother is doing it or a government conspiracy(who knows ..) but "that's just the way it is." And why is that? I have been speaking to some people on the topic of Haitians in the Dominican and how I think too much time and money is being spent in the wrong areas in terms of development, and how WAY more needs to go into QUALITY education. And finding reasons and then solutions to the fact that the Dominican Republic ranks as one of the worst education systems in the Carribean, right after Haiti.

There are laws that Haitians without papers(birth certificates/passports) can go to school up until a certain grade and then it's aurevoir and adios. I'm not sure the complete law so don't quote me there as I don't even know if this is applicable in all parts of the country. But talking to a certain individual, I was told "well it's better than Haiti." I think this is the mentality that is keeping the world's poor from not just escaping extreme poverty, but really succeeding. 40% of Dominicans live in poverty, 70% of Haitians and Haitian descendents live in poverty. So while it is a step up from Haiti, it is no where near a huge leap.

A child will stay in the free government enrolled primary school or NGO school, learning basic math and they may even get a good grasp on English. These are tools that can help provide them with the basic needs of life. The Dominican Republic is a tourist destination but there are only so many hotel workers each place needs. There is also the horrible problem of child prostitution which is booming in the DR, I wonder if basic skills push children into this direction?

In school, I was always taught that when you're writting about a problem, to write about possible solution. The solution is definetly complex but here's my take at it. Sticking with education and correcting the system. I have found a few good NGOs running schools for mostly Dominican children, while the schools targeting the Haitian population seem to be running on quantity over quality. Some NGO have built schools in the area(very nice ones too) but the curriculums are always similar and are focused at just teaching Spanish. Like I mentioned before this is a necesary skill to have, but how far will it take the children? Maybe they can sell more hard boiled eggs are shine more shoes because they feel more comfortable talking to customers? The grassroot schools I plan on visiting are not considered schools in the sense that they are not registered, but they do try and teach the kids a number of lessons. They are generally run out of small rooms in the community or church houses, over packed and understaffed. Where is the happy medium?

Note on the comparison to Uganda..

There are some differences to schools in Uganda and many similarities. The biggest difference that comes to mind is the hours the children are in school. In Uganda, schools starts at 7:00am sharp and ends at 1:00 for the nursery kids. That's a 6 hour day for children as young as 3. From P.1-P.7 school runs from 7:00Am until 5:00Pm. That's a 10 hour day! In the Dominican Republic however, school is usally half days with with children either morning or afternoon students. There is no doubt that there are many schools in Uganda who are poor and suffering many of the same social problems as schools in the DR. In Uganda, they know some children will drop out unfortunetly but the ones who stay and continue into the higher grades are pushed to do better, better, and even better. They are always preparing them for the next level of school, even if they have do not know how they will pay for it they're praying and studying even harder. It's very competitive. Where as the system in poor schools in the Dominican is setting the children up so they will learn what they need to learn to work in the tourist industry.

Thoughts, opinions? Would love to hear them! Leave a comment or e-mail me.

Haitian kids learning Spanish in a Agua Negra classroom.

My first Kiva loan

2009-12-10T22:05:00.000-08:00

Today I made my first Kiva loan, or rather bought a gift certificate for someone's birthday. I am soo bad with remembering birthdays(you don't even want to know how many birthdays I have forgotten) and have no time to get a gift so I thought this would be a good option.

I also received a corrected information sheet on Nelanda, correcting her gender(they marked her as male) and her hobbie is now playing with dolls. Well, she would of received a cute ballerina Barbie if it's arm didn't happen to not be chewed up by a dog I was watching! I watch dogs and pets part time in my home as a pet-sitter to save up for Uganda! Needless to say, the one day I left my mom alone with a dog for half an hour(she's scared of dogs and dosn't like the big dogs) She locked the poor puppy in my room, and it chewed through my wall...

Can you really stay mad at this face

Oh, and in other exciting news the olympic torch passed by my window. Best part was, I didn't even have to open the front door!

Christmas Certificates!

2009-12-06T22:02:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Christmas, we have these great certificates to support The Apac School Project, as well as one to support the CUS land fund!

What exactely are they?

Well this Christmas, instead of going out and buying something, you can support the building of the school by purchasing a certificate. I really can't think of a better Christmas gift than bringing education to children who other wise would not be able to attend school. Not only the person you purchase it for will be recieving a certificate, but their name will be added to the school's entrance! They will also receive a photo once the school has been built of the plaque with their name on it.

For Apac, we have a whole shopping list of items we need to buy to be able to build the school. When you purchase the item(s) completely, like I mentioned abouve your name(certificate-receivers name) will be be added to the front entrace of the school!

The certificate above is to purchase building tools to build the school in Apac and says:

In honor of_______$112 has been donated to The Apac School Project, to purchase building tools to build the school. In recognition and appreciation of this donation, your name will be added to the front entrace of the school.

The ones for the land fund are for $25 and $75. If we can get 120 people to donate $25 we will be able to purchase the land, or $75 from only 40 people!! We are so close..

To order a certificate. First choose the project, Apac or the CUS land fund. If it's for Apac, please visit www.apacschool.blogspot.com for the complete list of needed items. For CUS it will be up on the blog tommorow. www.cuschool.blogspot.com

Secondly, decide if you would like me to send you the certificate, which will be printed on high quality laser paper and filled out. I will need the name of who it is in honor of. Deadline is December 19th for USA/Canada residents. If you would like to print it, I will send you the certificate via e-mail.

Please send me an e-mail at apacschool@hotmail.com for orders !

First letter from Nelanda.

2009-12-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Miss Bateman,
I am very grateful of you choosing Nelanda your sponsor child. She has a good father and a very hard worker mother. She likes to go to church and she has many friends. She likes pink color and she likes to eat rice and to hand out to people. She likes to share with her friends. With love says goodbye of you Nelanda and her cousin.

We share a favorite color and favorite food!

Missing Uganda

2009-11-28T19:04:00.000-08:00

It's been a really busy week. I have been working overtime, have a ton of papers due and finally booked my tickets to the DR(which I am so happy about.) As I started working on my paper tonight..finally.. I 'managed' to get distracted and go on my youtube account. I have been watching my videos in Uganda and just balling my eyes out. Not because they are sad, in most of the videos the kids are laughing and smiling those big beautiful smiles(like always) but because I miss that so much, I miss them SO much. I also got a message from Hellen, the term is ending and the children are not looking forward to going on holiday. Sometimes with the long break children, especially orphaned children are sent back to Northern Uganda to other relatives to work. Most go to Apac where we are starting The Apac School project(apacschool.blogspot.com) but rite now there is little opportunity for them. Life if much rougher in the bush as they call it, and droughts are frequent and there are no social services or schools. We need to get the school in Apac open for not just the children in Apac, but the ones who have to return.

We have also been talking about an after school and weekend program for CUS and really starting up the school's music program. This would only happen much later on as we have so many projects which need to be completed(first two being the land and office.) Of course Christmas is also coming up, and we would like to raise $500 to be able to throw a Christmas party for the entire community. Not sure if this will happen, but it would really be "a Christmas miracle. "

The need can get overwhelming at times. There are so many projects that would benefit the kids so much, it's hard to decided which ones to start first and not put all of them at once. We have to look at all out the amazing things the school has done in the past, that I thought were difficult or impossible to accomplish. This includes, buying a piece of land where the school is now located on(so no more rent). Having a sponsorship program running and people going above and beyond in caring for their sponsor child. My trip in June confirmed how important the sponsorship program is for the school. It really is it's back bone, and the kids gain confidence and motivation to do well in school. From this, the school is able to feed the children breakfast and lunch and not only posho or porridge but often times fruits, vegetables, meat, nuts, etc. The washrooms have just recently been completed- and not only does the school now have safe and sanitary toilet facilities, but also a bathing area.

We are always in need of more people to partner with us, which can be done in so many different ways. From being a sponsor, making donations for the school and its extra projects and programs, praying and thinking about them, spreading the word, collecting item donations, taking on a specific project, etc etc. Mhmm anyone interested in going to Uganda, now would be the time!! :)

If you would like to support CUS and Apac, here are the 3 current projects we would like to accomplish asap!

1)Right now, the school's priority is to completely buy off the land. I know i've been stressing it out, but being able to fully purchase it and call it OURS will be incredible. We have some 'gift certificates' which are being made and are perfect to give as Christmas gifts. I'll post them up once they have been made with more information on how to get one. Please do feel free to share the land fund's page!http://www.christianupliftmentschool.com/land_fund

2)Please visit www.apacschool.blogspot.com and enter our raffle! It is only $2.00 for one ticket or $5.00 for 3. The prizes have all been donated by a family friend(Thank you Dave!) and more are on the way! All proceeds will go to building the school. Winners will be announced on Christmas by video blog.

3)If you would like to help the school throw a Christmas party for the students and community, please consider making a donation of any amount on our website. Please specify for the Christmas party! With all donations of $10.00+ you will receive a photograph of your sponsor child(ren) on Christmas.

**Christmas Reminder ---> If you are planning on sending Christmas cards to your sponsor children, remember to do so ASAP so that they will arrive in time. Also, somewhere on the envelope mark CHRISTMAS and Hellen will save the package/letter and give it to your child on Christmas day.

The Apac School Project

2009-11-20T19:07:00.000-08:00

The blog for The Apac School Project has finally been launched! There's still a lot to do with it, but hopefully you guys will follow the work were starting in Apac. We have been debating when to officially start the new project(origional plans were different). There has already been some work done with washroom facilities and many meetings with the local community have been held.

With so many projects starting at Christian Upliftment, we kept putting our plans in Apac on hold. We have decided to go ahead and start fundraising to build the school for numerouse reasons.

Apac is considered one of the poorest districs in Uganda. It has suffered directly from the war, which thousands of children were abducted and left as orphans. We have registered 400 children to attend school, of which 302 of them are complete orphans( both parents have died.) How can a society properly work when it is being 'run' by hurting children? There are no resource centers for the children to go to, and so many have been traumatized by the war.

Our vision for the the school is for it to be a community center. Our goal is to not only educate the children, but help them grow into healthy and caring adults by a number of extra services. This will include two meals a day, a sponsorship project like at CUS were each child will know that someone cares for them, youth club were children can talk about topics that affect them, and a lot more which I will talk about on the blog.

So, please do check it out when you get a chance!

www.apacschool.blogspot.com

Necklaces for your CUS sponsor kids!

2009-11-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

A sponsor Heather, who sponsors 12 CUS children, has taken on the project of making some adorable braceletes and necklaces for her sponsor kids. The necklaces are made with the school colors and the bracelets can have the child's name added. The best part is, Heather is willing to make and ship a bracelet or necklace(or both) for your sponsor child! She will be shipping everything out on Saturday.

More more information, please go here
http://childrenaretheworld.blogspot.com/2009/11/christian-upliftment-primary-school.html

All of the money raised through sales will go towards an IGP(Income Generating Project) for Heather's sponsor child, Jonathon. You can learn more about Jonathon and how this IGP will help him live a better life. I think rather than continually helping poor children and their families with one time donations of food or clothing for example- "educating and employing " are really the way to go!

Please take the time to check out Jonathon's fundraising page below.
http://www.firstgiving.com/igp4jonathan

Tis' the season, for the flu

2009-11-07T15:11:00.000-08:00

I've been down for the past few days with the flu. Sore muscles, headaches, fever, the works. With all the H1N1 hype i'm hoping(and think?) it's just the regular seasonal flu. From what i've heard, it's not much more dangerous than the regular flu except if you have a low immune system. But now there's cases of healthy people getting extremely sick. It's all so confusing! And i'm split between getting the vaccine. What are you and your families doing?

Before getting all flu-ish, I was busy getting some Christmas gifts together for my sponsor kids. For the Dominican kids i'll give them to them when I arrive a bit after Christmas. For Nelanda I got her a pair of jeans(need to get a top), hygiene stuff, a doll, and hair accessories. For the six I sponsor with Dove, I got underwear, hair accessories, hygiene supplies and a few outfits. I'm hoping to plan a day to be able to bring them swimming at the hotel i'll be staying out for an outing. For my Ugandan kids, I'll be buying them each an outfit which Hellen will have the tailor make, and then i'm sending them each a card. The dollarstore has these adorable small cards, 4 in a package, and they come with mini envelopes. I'll put them all in one envelope and then they can be distributed.

I have some great Uganda related news that is so hard to hold in, buy i'm trying to until in official! It really is great:)

Visiting Nelanda&Other DR news

2009-10-26T19:52:00.001-07:00

Even though Nelanda is my newest sponsor child, it will be great to meet her in person this winter. I sent in a request to the visiting coordinator, and received a reply back today. I wanted to meet her on her birthday, but it lands on a Saturday or Sunday and they are closed on those days. I can also only visit for one day for a few hours, which is a bit dissapointing. With my Ugandan kids and my other Dominican kids that I sponsor with Dove Missions, I can visit them as much as I would like and volunteer with the programs they take part in. Not that I plan on continually stopping at their house or anything, but it's nice to not have time constraints and get to know the kids personalities, go shopping for things they need, plan some activities, etc. I would like for them to see me as their friends rather than their sponsor. Asides from that, I am excited to meet Nelanda and spend some time in Santo Domingo as i've never been before. My plans are still all up in the air but, i'm thinking of spending 3 days in Santo Dominigo. Most likely January 3-4-5. The rest of my time will be spent in Puerto Plata, which I am really looking forward too! I sponsor 6 kids with Dove, which is a family fee that goes for food vouchers. I've started collecting their Christmas presents, and seeing as it's Christmas and all i'm planning to get them each a nice outfit. The 'problem' is 4 of them are boys! I always find a million cute girls dresses, skirts, blouses, the list goes on and on but not for boys. Maybe it's because i've never really looked? And what does a 12 year old boy want besides clothing? Help!!!!!!!!!!!!

The joy of booking a flight

2009-10-25T20:28:00.001-07:00

I have become a bargain hunter when it comes to booking flights. The tax is SO expensive, it kills me! But as I was playing around tonight, I decided instead of booking a round trip to look at seperate tickets. It turns out it's a lot cheaper and there are so many better options. I also found a great return ticket with$ 1 tax? How is that even possible!? The only problem is it has a layover in Toronto, and my dad who's in the flight industry says Toronto is known for really bad flights(delays, cancelations, snow storms they shut it down, etc) I'm going ot search around a bit more, and if I don't find anything better I think im going to go ahead and book it and just hope i'll have a good experience in TO!

Nelanda

2009-10-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

As I was leaving the house this morning, I received a package from Children Int. with information on my sponsor child, Nelanda! Isn't she adorable? They mixed up some of the information, and often called her "he" but it was great to learn more about her family, and ofcourse receive her beautiful photo.

She is 4 years old and lives in Santo Domingo, Domincan Republic. I was hoping she would live in Santiago, which is closer to Puerto Plata where I spend time doing volunteer work. After I looked into the distance, it seems Santo Domingo is only 4 hrs away which is managable. Montreal to Toronto is about 8 hrs. It will also give an excuse to also try and explore more of the DR.

Nelanda has one sister who is 8 years old named Neli and she lives with her parents. The father is a daily worker and the mother is a home maker. Her birthday is January 2nd, and I will be in the DR at that time so I am really hoping that I could arrange to meet her on her birthday!

I'm off to send her a letter along with my Ugandan kids!

The Land Fund

2009-10-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

Life has been very busy, but that good busy! I'm off to painting class, but I have to share some amazing news first. Last night, we received a donation of $2,500- enough to make a downpayment on the piece of land that we want to buy next to the school!! This land will be used to build a children's home for the orphan and abused children in the community, especially the current students of CUS. Part of the land will also be used for income generating projects, such as farming and gardening. The actual cost of the land is $8,000, which will be payed as we fundraise for the rest. I am hoping that we can raise an extra $500 to make the first payment at $3,000.To achieve this, we need your help!!I have started a pledge to collect $9.30 from 50 people. If there was ever a time you could spare $9.30, this would be the moment! This will help us get one step closer to buying off the land, which will bring us another step closer to opening the children's home.(For some of the most amazing kids you can ever meet, I should add!)

For more details please go to,
http://www.cuschool.blogspot.com/

Please help spread the word :) THANK YOU in advance

Dominican Republic

2009-10-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting on announcing the news until it was certain, but it looks like I will be spending some time over the holidays in the Dominican Republic! My plan was to go to Uganda for Christmas, but that wasn't possible. So it looks like I will be there for the majority of next summer! I knew that after I visited the Domincan last March, I would be back. I was able to volunteer with a great organization called Dove missions, and I absolutely fell in love with the children they work with. They work in a few different communities, or "barrios" that are very poor. Most of the houses are tin shacks with no running water. Sewage is a big problem when it rains.

I'm really hoping to find two shoe shining boys I met on my last trip, William & Jimmy. They are not taking part in the programs available to them with Dove, but it would be amazing to see them. I spoke no spanish on my last trip(and can now only say a few things!) So William acted as my translator. He is origionally from Haiti so he speaks creole, and somehow with my broken creole we managed to get by!

I am SO excited to meet my Dominican sponsor children for the first time! I sponsor 6 of them with Dove, and in the family there are 17 children in total! All being raised by their grandmother, Lola. I'm trying to collect some stuff to give them, like sheets, clothing, hygiene supplies, and food(peanut butter!) A new store opened up in Puerto Plata called "La Sirena" which is like Walmart. It was under construction while I was there but now it's open and apparently a big hit. I'll probably do some shopping there for the family. I will also get to meet my sposnor child with CI, Nelanda! I wrote her letter yesterday and i'm going to send it out today. I'm not sure where in the DR she lives, so it may not be possible to visit her on this trip, but i'm crossing my fingers that it can happen! I bought the cutest pair of jeans at winners that I have for her. I just need to get her a cute matching top!

I have also been in contact with a Canadian woman who rents out apartments in a community called Munoz. The majority of the community is Haitian, and they have a few church run classes for the children. They ahve a lot of needs, especially teaching the children english, french, and ofcourse spanish which will open up more doors of oppurtunity. I'm hoping to do some english teaching in the mornings and learn more about this community.

Children's Vitamin Drive

2009-10-12T18:14:00.001-07:00

This Christmas, my friend Nikki(www.heroholiday07.blogspot.com) is travelling to the Dominican Republic to do volunteer work. She is going ot be setting up a children's vitamin program, and needs your help! This program will involve putting kids on a 6 month vitamin plan, where they will receive a vitamin each day. So many of the children are frequently sick and malnourished, so the vitamins will help keep the kids healthy. She is collecting Shoppers Optimum points to be able to buy the vitamins, which she will bring with her when she goes. If you have any Shoppers Optimum points you could donate, PLEASE consider donating some!

It's easy to donate the points- Just go to the website, on the link below. Go to Transfer Points, where you will enter your card's information and you will have to enter some digits from her card. 893 742 330
(http://www.shoppersdrugmart.ca/english/optimum/transfer_points/index.html)

Happy thanks giving!

2009-10-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

A lot has been happening both here and in Uganda. I'm about to get ready to sit down to a delicious turkey, and received a suprise thanksgiving gift from my aunt. She sponsored a little Dominican girl for me! We talked about doing a co-sponsoring a child in the DR before, but I didn't talk to her for a while and I found a family that needed a sponsor with Dove Missions(http://www.dovemissions.blogspot.com/) and decided to take them on myself. She sponsored a little 4 year old girl, Nelanda, with Children International for me. I have never had any experience with them or any larger organizations, so i'm excited to see how it unfolds. I already started on my letter, and a bunch of letters to go to the kids in Uganda.

In Uganda, we are SO close to having the washrooms completed. $549.00 away to be exact!

Please consider making a donation!! www.christianupliftmentschool.com/donate

News

2009-09-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Right now i'm running off of 3 hrs of sleep. I went to bed at 6:00am, for some strange reason my body refused to sleep(which is VERY odd as I could sleep all day if I had that choice!) I tried reading, listening to music, nothing worked. Ultimetly I know what has keept me up.. Uganda. I am SO stressed out for Christmas to come and all the plans. I'm taking on my third job and going to school which is deffinetly the most i've done at once..ever. I always think to myself "there will be a way" and that will keep me going. But I don't know if I can push through this time. The tickets for Christmas are extremely exspensive, I have been looking everywhere and the best priced ones I can find is $2,300. I have less than half of that already. And now in Uganda, the school is in need of intense repairs, let me rephrase that, rebuilding. The ministry of education recently visited(they evaluate schools across Uganda)They saw that the washrooms were under construction which they were pleased about, along with the merry-go-round. What didn't impress them was the condition of the school, for obvious reasons. It really is being held up by metal sheets, cardboard, and a whole lot of hope!

More than anything, I wanted to provide these kids with a good Christmas, one they will remember. But I also know that with the washroom fund needing to be completed, the office(more on that later), starting to build the new school and having the ministry of education come check in November to detemine if they will allow the school to stay open, the projects in Apac... I don't think I can get any fundraising in more myself. I knew even when planning for Christmas that I would be returning to Uganda for two months next summer(either June/July or July/August) but I really wanted to be there in December, with everyone for Christmas. Unless a huge donation comes in ($1,500, and I also have to help my friend fundraise) I just don't think it's going to happen :(

I am not going to forget the kids at Christmas, far from it, so I'm going to talk with Hellen and see what we can do do help them have a special day.

Ugh, I'm off to work. And it's raining, wow that's unusual..

Humanity

2009-09-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

I realise my post title is quite eccentric, but I feel the need to share an incident which happened last night. Be warned, it may be a bit of a rant!

As I was returning from work yesterday, where I babysit a 2 year old and a 7 month old, I was sleepy and my knees were soar from crawling around and playing on the floor with the kids. Never the less, it was nice out and my metro ride was quick. I was ready to get in and attempt to study some spanish(emphasize on the attempt) I got off the metro and made my way to the bus stop which brings me from downtown Montreal back to the West Island, where I live. It's a highway bus with no stops and takes 15-20 minutes. The line up is always huge and I gave up my hopes of having a seat. As I stood up, along with many others, the lady next to me was an elderly woman. She had two huge bags and and could barely walk. She looked around for a seat, every one was taken. The one right infront of us was taken by 3 young people(16-20) I waited as one would get up to give this woman a seat with no luck. They saw her and just continued to tune into their ipod or stare. With every bus turn, I though the woman was going to fall, and she just held on so tightly probably praying really hard that she wouldn't fly across the bus! She looked like she was in pain, and I asked her if she wanted to sit, and as I didn't have a seat she just thanked me for being kind. I nicely asked the 3 people if "someone would be nice enough to give up their seat so this woman can sit." Well apparently I was riding on a bus full of hearing impaired people? As we were 2 minutes away from getting off the bus, when people usually stand and go near the doors ready to get out, a girl got up, and as the old woman was about to sit this other woman pushed her daughter(who was probably 10) into the seat. Ohh people are funny creatures.

Sleepless Fridays!

2009-09-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

Who dosn't love Fridays? Friday has always been my favorite day of the week. It's still technically "thursday night" for most, but tonight i'm up like an owl. So many things are running through my mind. Fundraising is a big one, and I'm thinking of ways to raise the remaining money needed for the washroom fund. It would be amazing to see the washroom fund completed on my visit in December. And then there's that, raising money for my volunteer fund. I know it will all come together, sometimes it could just feel so tough. I have been thinking of doing an "a-thon" or organizing one. I did a bowl-a-thon, which managed to raised enough money to get clean water at the school. The though of a marathon came into mind, which is sort of hilariouse if you know me personally. I am not a sports person, and always failed gym. I used to play cards in gym, using the excuse that I was working out my fingers. I did however run for the entire Terry Fox marathons which we had in school every year, and raised some great pledges. So i'm really playing with the idea of something along these lines, as I know it would deffinetly push me to my limit.

On other completely seperate news, I ordered a mannequin head to practice doing hair. I wouldn't call it a passion, but I love playing around with hair styles and stuff like that. It is a de-stresser for me. Here's a pic of my cousins hair I practised on a while ago, and tonite I am trying to master my mannequin head. The hair is curly and thick but is actually a bit easier than "loose hair" i'm finding. I'll post a pic upon completion tommorow.
That's if it's done by tommorow!

My Chip In, and other fabulouse news..

2009-09-14T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have just officially started fundraising for my Christmas trip to Uganda! There's a lot of things I want to accomplish on this trip, but the main one is celebrating Christmas day. I have always had an amazing Christmas growing up. Even when I was young, I would take family over the gifts(and yes I did love the gifts, and there were plenty) and ofcourse that deliciouse Christmas turkey. It was always a memorable day filled with laughs and togtherness. When I was visiting Uganda this June, I came to learn that a lot of the kids dread Christmas. The children who are living with relatives are often 'overworked' on Christmas forced to prepare the perfect day for everyone else. Gifts are not a big part of the day, as no one can really afford them- but it is the day for the family to not work and spend it together. Having no family can make this a very sad day.

After I left Uganda, I knew I had to return. It was especially hard for the first two months being back home. I miss them so much, and just feel almost useless over here. Continuing to fundraise for the projects really helps keep my mind in gear. My plan is to return to Uganda for 2-3 weeks this Christmas. Not only do I plan on having a Christmas celebration for the students, but during the rest of my time there I will be able to check up on the washroom fund(which is $959 away from being completed!) as well as run a "day camp" as the kids will not be in school during my visit. The day camp will basically be run everyday for the 2 week I am there. This will include organized sport games, arts and crafts, tutoring(espeically in reading and english), etc. If everything is stable, I will also be able to visit Apac. Security is an issue and it can change at any moment, but the peace they have been experiencing has been for quite some time now. I'm really hoping to be able to make it up there on this visit.

My family is sad that they won't be spending this Christmas with me, but understand that providing Christmas to these kids is a good reason for me to not be there! My mom, who came with me to Uganda really understands how much it would mean to the kids, and is pushing me to go. She is donating half of my airline ticket as my Christmas gift(!!!) It is up to me to raise the other half as well as the cost of each extra luggage I am bringing(around $25 each) The luggages will all be filled with gifts for the kids and I am not sure how many extras I will need just yet.

Please consider chiping'in, which you can do so at the top right hand corner of this page! Thank you!!

Let's shop!

2009-08-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

We have been really lucky to get a local company to donate some of it's overstock items to support CUS! See what you like and place an order at apacschool@hotmail.com or in the comment box. Everything comes in it's origional packaging, perfect for yourself or for gift giving :) All the money raised with any sales will go towards the washroom fund!

Red studded belt from ALDO

$4.50

Fashion Belts in white or black
$4.00

Clear Bracelet

$2.50

Semi-Precious stone "Cat’s Eye" Bracelet

In Grey Silver, Dark Purple, Baby Pink

$2.00

School, tommorow?

2009-08-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

I can't beleive school starts tommorow. This summer has been great, the best part was going to Uganda ofcourse! I put a picture of me and Zaituni, my sponsor child below. I am so happy I was able to meet her and all the other kids. They really are amazing. I'm planning the next trip to Uganda for December!

I'm off to buy school supplies now for myself and the school. I have a list of things needed at CUS and i'm planning to do some crafts next time I go. The kids lovveedd to draw but it's not an activity they can do often as it requires paper and crayons. I'm sure the few boxes of crayons we brought are almost done. I also want to do some crafts with the nursery kids involving cutting/glueing and making something cute. This way it can be an activity to improve on english in a fun way(learing shapes, colors, animals, etc). If anyone has any good craft ideas, for 4-6 year olds and does not require too much equipment, please let me know. Post a comment! (Nothing with paint either.)

Also some crafts that would be suitable for older kids, 7-10 and 11-14, I am cluless!!

Dominican Sponsorship

2009-08-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

Just like Uganda, the Dominican Republic has stolen a place in my heart after I visited in March. I volunteered with an organization called Dove Missions who works with kids in different poor parts of Puerto Plata.

I recently decided to sponsor a family with Dove misions. They are a family of 17 all being raised by the grandmother, Lola! The money fromt his sponsorship goes directly to food vouchers that can only purchase food.

New Blog Link

2009-07-21T09:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.cuschool.blogspot.com/

I realised that this blog was being taken over by things related to CU school so I decided it would be best to make two seperate blogs. This one will follow my daily happenings, other volunteer work/organizations I am involved with, etc. While the new one will be dedicated just to CU school

:)

Meet some more kids!

2009-07-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

I think meeting my sponsor children was one of the best parts of the trips. I had many sponsored kids ask me when their sponsor was coming to visit them! They really cherish the letters they receive and could see the hope in not only their eyes, but their parents and relatives. I really want all of the kids to get that same feeling and motivation- they really deserve it. Here are some of the kids in need of a sponsor(who are fabulouse, if I do say so myself ;)

And a BIG thank you to Hellen. I don't know how she does it. I was there, I was watching and I still don't know. She is amazing.

Aisha Namaggua. She is in P.2 She looooveesss playing netball and was really good! She also really likes dancing, and at Didi's world was excited when they opened the dance floor. Her ambition is to become a doctor.

Nakaiza Vanesa. She is in P.1 and is 7 years old. Such a little goof ball! She loves drawing and her ambition is to become a teacher. I can deffinetly see that happening too.

Here I am with Balamuzi Clinton! He is in P.1 and is very sportive. He loves to play soccer and games that involve running(which I paricipated in with a nice jog) He is doing well in school, and if memory serves me correct

Aprons!

2009-07-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned on the last post, the first project we're going to be fundraising for is to complete the toilets and add on the washrooms. This will not only help improve the hygiene of the children, but also ensure that the older girls don't have to miss school because of their period.

Here are our models Denis, Latica and Zaituni modeling the aprons for sale. Don't they look adorable!? They are all made by the children and staff of the school and the sizes are from baby to teen. Since they are all handmade, they are all slightly different. All the money raised through the apron sales will go towards the toilets/washrooms.

How to order

Leave a comment or send an e-mail to apacschool@hotmail.com

This should include how many you want, and the sizes. You can pay online at http://www.christianupliftmentschool.com/donate They are not priced and any donation would be appreciated!

Next Up!

2009-07-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a process settling back into life in Canada. First off, the weather has been horrible, rain rain and more rain. But most of all I miss the kids. Looking at the pictures makes me miss them even more. I am still waiting to upload the videos, I can't seem to figure it out. I manage to get them on the computer but do not know how to go from there.
After the time I spent in Uganda I saw that there was progress since I first started helping the school 6 years ago. A big one was the well. The water was filthy and water borne diseases where rampant. Now the school and community has access to safe water which has proved to be a great accomplishment. The number of sponsors has also risen which has been able to keep the school open and running, providing free education to children in need. This is a great success.
After much discussion in Uganda with Hellen and the staff we came up with a plan of what needs to be accomplished, and when. This was no easy task! When one project seemed desperately in need, there was another just behinde the corner. Here is the list..
1)Completion of the toilets and office
2)Establishing a children's feeding center
3)Produrement of text books
4)Establishing more income generating projects at the school and with families in the community.
5)Construction of permanent classrooms
6)Establishing a sick bay/clinic.
This is what I hope we can accomplish starting this year. I will go into more details on each one as we get there, but the first is to complete the toilets and the school's office. One of the reasons we put this first is because they are both half way to being completed. I think the driving force behinde the toilets for me is deffinetly the older girls. During their period, they do not go to school. This is a really big problem because so many of them have so much potential and need to be in school studying. When exam time comes around they are not preparred and end up failing. Hellen is noticing a trend with the younger kids as well. They do not wash at all. My first thought was a flash back to me being a child, I hated bathing! But for them it's a little different. Because so many of them are neglected their hygiene ofcourse goes neglected too. When the kids return from the school holiday's, Hellen says the dirt on them is so bad they have to scrub them 3 times before it comes off.

The toilets are half way there. 6 for the boys and 6 for the girls. The construction of them has to be finnished to ensure that they are safe and hygienic for the kids to use. We are also adding on washing rooms as often times the kids do not bathe at home. The older girls will especially benefit from the washrooms during their menstruation, which keeps them at home. Here is what it will cost to complete the washrooms
Lime=$16.68,Doors(metallic and wooden)=$344.70,5 bags of cement=$83.00, Labour=$83.39, Water pipes=$88.95, Water tank=$277.98, Soak way pit& Septic tank=$833.95
Total of $1,659.97! I will be selling some things from Uganda to raise funds for the washrooms/office so check back to see if anything interest you! Ofcourse you can always make a general donation on our website or on the link on this page.
We will also be making a plaque with all the names of contributors to each project. If you would like to 'buy' on of the needed materials you can find the exact prices above.

2009-07-07T15:52:00.000-07:00

Community Party

2009-07-04T05:04:00.000-07:00

As we drove up to the school today, I felt so many mixed emotions. This was my last day to be with the kids. I made so many friendship in this short time, so many people I will never forget. I tried to just enjoy everything that was going on without thinking of the goodbye coming up later on.

The school has two sections, one building is for P.1, P.2.P.3(left) and nursery the other is for P.4-P.7(right). The older grade building was transformed into a church and parents, relatives, students and all the teachers where there. The desk where placed all facing the podeum, and purple and white fabric was placed around the walls. We had a guest pastor speak, Hellen, and then heard some testimonies. It was really nice to have a lot of the parents there. Hellen was even shocked as when it was time for their arrival it was pouring rain. Despite this many came out to hear me talk as well as see their children. I was called up to do a speech, I hadn't prepared anything and my stomach was turning. I introduced myself, and then I spoke about the children- how bright they are and how they can become anything they want to be. I told them how my role was to find sponsors and support the school. When I talked about the sponsors making so many of the emenities available to the school(uniforms, school supplies, food etc) one mother got up and started clapping with tears in her eyes. The rest followed, it was like nothing I have ever experienced. Their gratitude and appreciation was touching.

The children performed dances and songs(which I will upload the videos later) which was a lot of fun. When the kids walked into the room and saw all the people, their faces just lit up. They are always the main care givers so they where so happy to see someone coming out to show them support.

By time it was time to leave, the sky turned dark grey it was windy and the rain was forsure going to come. I think this made the goodby even more hard. All the younger kids kept asking"will I see you tommorow?"I think it was hardest on the older girls, who I have grown so close to. They where so down. I saw one girl, Rebecca, started to cry and she wouldn't come to say bye. When I went over to her I couldn't hold back my tears, I tried to tell everyone this was a see you soon and not a goodbye. So that lead us to 'banning' the word bye and the kids muttered see you soon.

I know I will be back. See you soon Uganda

Get to know them..the boys!

2009-07-03T06:31:00.000-07:00

Here is Steven on donation day. This boy is such a sweetheart! He made sure all the younger children got gifts before he received anything for himself. He studies hard in school and would love to also have the school uniform.

This is Alex. He is shy but very creative, you can see in his picture he is holding the toy he made! He was the first child to get sick at Didi's world, and ended up being diagnosed with malaria.

Nickname:Twinkles! He can make you laugh instantely. He loved to play soccer, so was very excited when we brought 3 new soccer balls to play with. He is in nursery class.

Here are some pics from Didi's World!

2009-07-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

Get to know them! The girls..

2009-07-02T20:03:00.002-07:00

It's hard to write about 150 kids idividually so I usually stick to writting about our daily events as a group. But today I am going to focus on a few kids who stick out, and are in need of a sponsor!

Juliet! This little girl is in nursery and is 4 years old(almost 5). She has learning disabilities, and her speech is underdeveloped. You wouldn't be able to tell though as she is just an amazing little girl. Very shy and cautiouse at first, when I got to know her and she felt safe- the biggest smile came over her! It was deffinetly worth the extra work :)

Agnes! This picture suits her perfectly, the eccentric little clown! She is easy going and loves to make people smile, and just be silly. Watching her at the amusement park was probably one of the highlights of the day.

Alice, is one of the sweetest people I know. She studies so hard in school and earns good grades. She is also a cook, cleaner, and babysitter and does all of this never complaining(even when it was pouring rain.) She is very soft spoken and gentle with the other kids, never getting impatient. A sponsor would do wonders for her, as many of the other kids in her grade have sponsors.

www.christianupliftmentschool.com/sponsorship

If you feel you cannot sponsor a child at the moment, please consider buying a uniform for one of the students. Just by getting the uniform it gives them a greater sense of hope and that they are part of a community. Uniforms are $7-9

These are from the Good Samaritan orphanage I visited on my trip to Jinja, as well as the famouse nile.

A trip to Jinja

2009-07-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

Jinja is a city 1.5 hrs away from Kampala. This is one of the places you can see the famous nile river. We decided to make a day trip there and left at 10. The drive there war nice, we passed through small towns and along side the biggest forest in Uganda(forgot the name). The scenery really is stunning and green. Our driver, Vincent, kept us entertained with his stories- how a local woman gave birth to a snake. Some think of it as old wives tales but many Ugandans are very superstitious and he was convinced this woman existed. Some say she's dead or moved to another city..guess we will never know.

Once we reached the nile they had a little market we got spent some time in. The crafts here are really nice. They have batik paintings, which are paintings on fabrics, clothing, all types of wood crafts and more. Finally, we walked down to see the nile. It is so big! We decided to go on a boat tour of it, and see point zero. There where tons of birds on the vegetation growing in the water, really nice ones too! These beautiful tall white birds, little ones with colorful feathers, and orange beaked ones. I even found a crab!

The next stop was to visit an orphanage called Good Samaritan Home. We met with the directors on the road side and then we walked with them deep into the village. We found the home with 4 rooms- a living room, and 3 bedrooms. Conditions where under basic. The kids pack into the rooms, one for boys and one for girls. They sleep with a few thin mattresses and worn out blankets to share among themselves. It really was heart breaking. Resources are thin but even food, blankets, school supplies will not change the fact that these kids are living in an institution with no mum or dad. On the ride home I just felt such a sense of helplessness there are so many kids in need, from towns, to districs to countries. I have to admit, despite the challenges and poverty, CU school is a happy and hopeful place. I feel the hope beeming out of those kids everytime i'm there. The community itself is holding itself together on a thin string-alcoholism is everywhere and disease is spreading like wild fire. But on the plot of land for CU school it's another world. It may look the same- a school made of metal sheets like many of the houses, there may not always enough food for meal time, but there is hope. These kids are hard working and just amazing to be around. When I think of the path so many teens in my own community take- trying drugs, over drinking, rebelling- "just because." The kids at CU, esp the older ones, have the opportunity to do drugs and drink often parents/relatives encourage it. No one is forcing them to go to school in the morning or making sure the study. They just have such a drive in them.. I know i'm probably repeating myself but I am so proud of all of them. Take one boy Denise 6 years old living with an abusive aunt. She makes him clean the house, fetch the water, take care of her baby, etc. He does all of this, and then makes sure his uniform is clean, face is washed and arrives to school on time. 6 years old. I'll say it a million times, sponsorship is vital for these kids. Hellen has even noticed that the kids with sponsors generally perform better in school. They know someone cares, that any dream they have won't be cut short. Because of this, we would like to buy all the children school uniforms. Sometimes it takes a while for a child to be sponsored. By having all the kids in uniforms, it will create more hope for all the kids. The kids are very self conscious, and I have been asked by so many kids if I could get them a school uniform(not to mention one girl, Hope, is at the puberty stage and her dress has missing pieces. She holds her arms to her chest all day.) I think it will be good for them and give them more a sense that there is a community they belong too- despite if they have a sponsor or not.

Robin's Drive

The total cost to get all the kids in uniforms is $249. A junior child's uniform cost $7 and a senior child's cost $9. If you would like to make sure a child has a school uniform please go to our website and make a general donation. You will get a picture of the child who has received a uniform thanks to you. I am naming this fundraising event 'Robin's Drive' as she is a little girl at CU and when asked if she could have anything in the world, all she wanted was a school uniform like the other kids.

Didi's World!

2009-06-27T10:34:00.000-07:00

Today was the day all the kids where looking forward to, the day at the local amusement park- Didi's World!! We planned to meet at 9am at the park. The day before the children where informed of where we where going and told to wash their uniform, brush their hair, and be at school for 8. Then 3 buses picked them up and off to the city they where.

The nursery class arrived first. Their excitment was contagiouse. We first lined them up to go on a car ride, basically a bunch of cars on a track. They couldn't stop laughing. We then went to the 'monorail" which is like a little train ride thats elevated. As we got the first set of kids on the ride, the rest of us waited below. When it started, one girl Agnes just held her hands in her face and with such excitment said "oh mama!!" Oh oh ohhhhh." The kids do not even have electricity in their community, so you can imagine what an illuminated children's ride looks like to them. The rest of the buses came and soon enough everyone was there.

One little boy started vommiting, and they had a rest room/first aid so I put him to sleep in there. By the end of the day 10 kids had been in the first aid. They went in for sore tummies, and the nurse ended up diagnosing them with other things- 2 had malaria, and one with worms.

A favorite among the older kids was the "octopus" a ride for 12+. I went on it with one girl Susan and she could handle it a lot better than me! What a lot of the kids where looking forward to was swimming. First the boys went in, and they just loved it. They went down the waterslide and splashed around and where quite good swimmers. They boys will sometimes swim in rivers and lakes so they have more of a feel for the water. Then it was the girls turn! This was fun. We had two fish, Alice and Rebecca who just belly flopped in and practiced right away. The next girls came in slowly .Susan, jumped in after watching the first two but she could not swim so she ended up getting water in her nose which scared her. I took the next girls one by one(it was a shallow end so all could touch the bottom) They thought it was just hilariouse! I would get them on their bellies and then tell them to kick. Darphine just wrapped her arms and legs around me so tight and refused to let go. They all loved the water! None where enthusiastic to go down the water slide except Alice. The rest just watched her in amazement.

After we all got changed we prepared lunch. Posho, beans and fish! They ate it up quickly excited to get back to the rides. They had a dance floor so we decided to go in there. You should see those kids dance! They looovveedd it and the music. We had 3 little boys who somehow got up on the dj's table and started to just dance as if there was no tommorow. Soon a bunch of kids where up there and everytime I took some down more climbed up.

The day turned out to be amazing. It was good to see the kids enjoying themselves and being just kids. They are so thankfull to everyone who donated to make this day happen. A big hug to all of you!!!

Another day at school

2009-06-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

The internet went down here yesterday after a pole went down. We spent the day at the school, with the main goal of getting all the new unsponsored kids names and information to find them sponsors. They where excited, and most of them have ambitions of becoming doctors, nurses, lawyers, drives and even a police man! We also collected more information on their home life. Many live with relatives who mistreat them and would rather them stay home to do chores than go to school.

There is a large group of children I call "children by the fence" these are community children who are not in school. The school simply has no room to take in more kids. They look in all day and watch the other kids. When we organized a game we would invite them to play and they where so happy. When I talked to them, one girl expressed how badly she wanted to go to school. She was holding her baby sister and you can see the pain in her eyes. One of the many projects we talked about is a saturday feeding center. This would be for both the school children and the community children. The CU kids only eat at school- which is why it is so important we can get them nutritiouse food like beans, rice, fruits, etc. On the weekends they go hungry. Some of the kids where caught stealing from gardens which is a big problem as the owners tend to take things into their own hands. Hunger is such an ugly thing, i'm sure we've all felt really hungry at one point or another but nothing compared to going 2 days without food. How do you function without nutrients, protein, vitamins, a full belly? Still, they are the most loving compassionate kids I have ever met.

We bought 3 soccer balls which was a huge hit. There are deffinetly some future socer players in the crowd. They merry go round we put up was also ready. We had to dig a hole and cement it and then wait for it to dry. The kids where so eager to get on, we ended up having 2-3 kids per chair. It started to rain, drizzle lightly and then pour..did that ruin the fun. Ofcourse not! The kids just laughed harder and kept spinning. When it wouldn't stop we ran back to the classrooms. It was time for lunch, and despite the heavy rain the older girls where out there getting soaked(you can see right through the uniform) getting the food ready, washing plates, etc. I have so much respect for these girls, they work SO hard. They study hard, and then on any break they get it is spent taking care of the younger ones and cleaning.

My heart is heavy for Uganda!!

2009-06-25T23:29:00.000-07:00

We went off to didi's world today to rent the buses and pay for the children. It is much nicer than I expected. It reminds me of how a amusement park would be in the 80's. There are about 15 rides, a huge water slide with a pool. We rented 3 buses which will take all the kids to and from the school.

Then we where off to the school to help the kids write their letters today. First it was lunch time, they all wash their hands and lined up for lunch, youngest to oldest. Then the process is repeated until everyone has eaten. After lunch we gathered the kids back into their classrooms and started writting and drawing. All the donations of pens and crayons came in handy! They where so excited to draw and very proud of their creations. They would run up to you "teacher teacher(sounds more like teachah!) "look at my pictcha!" They are excited for their sponsors to get them. The older grades wrote very nice letters. For the newly sponsored children I gave them their sponsors name and that in itself was a gift. My heart broke when a child, Alice, came up to be and shyly asked about her sponsors. This girl has been waiting for so long. She is amazing, that is an understatement. Her attitude and outlook on life boggles my mind considering what she has been through.

There has been a outbreak in the village, some sort of skin problems. It seems to be quite bad and a lot of kids have lesions. There is also a little girl who we think has a moderate form of down syndrome. She is very sweet but the help that she needs to atleast develope to her full capacity is simply not there. Maybe someone can help me out... she is very slow(mentally) her eyes are yellow-this can be totaly seperate maybe a liver problems?, she seems to be okay phyically. Her speech is very delayed(im not even sure she can talk?) The teachers say even in her native language she says few words. Let me tell you though, when she smiles, she smiles!! And it can bright up the darkest room. Her name is Apolo Juliet, and she is still is one of our children already on the website who have been waiting for a sponsor.

The biggest other problems seems to be malnutrition..hopefully with the lunch program up and runig this can change! Also HIV..more like full blown aids. This comunity is not liked very much by the rest of the city because the people are from the north. HIV meds are free but have to be obtained in the hospital. Some people think they are givig placebos to the refugees. There is also a big problem with simply testing for HIV. Parents are dyeing but refuse to go for meds because the stigma is still so great. Then they leave their children, who are often born with HIV. These children do not get tested and then they end up passing away. There is one little girl at school who the diretor is certain that she has AIDS. She has lesions all over her back, her skin is very ashy and her hair is falling out. Her parents died from the disease and she is 3.

I'm off to the school to go and see the kids. Today I will be doing updating and getting info on all the new kids-there are MANY!

Day 2

2009-06-24T10:43:00.001-07:00

Woke up early. I have been having a really hard time sleeping. I wake up every night so far at 3 am and can't fall asleep for another 1 1/2 hours. My mind just starts-what to do, what am I fogetting, who to give things to etc, etc.

We met with Hellen this morning and decided to go to the market to buy the school food to last them 1-2 month. Not just porridge- beans, rice, posho, fish, vegetables,oil and salt! After being at the school yesterday I could see just how badly the situation is. None of the kids eat at home, all at the school. No sponsors, no donations =no food. This was the case very very often. A lot of the kids are severly malnourished and it is blantantly obviouse. The experience of being in an African market was fun. We let Hellen do the buying as we would of been charged triple as there is a notion of mzungus(whites) being filthy rich. My mom picked up a baby that was wondering around, which ended up peeing on her which was pretty funny. We then headed off to the school. We had to hire another truck to take all the food. The drive up the CU school is about 10 minutes from the main road. The roads are bad and it is all an uphill drive. There are some small shops, cows, chickens and goats, and tons of kids which chase your car. Once we reahced the school we started to onload. When the kids saw all the food from their classrooms- screams litterally poured out. They where ecstatic. We prepared everything and then it was time to eat. The nursery kids eat first and the older ones help them wash their hands and serve
them. They lined up and got their plate of posho, beans and sauce. They where happy to have a change and began singing songs of praise.

We handed out some of the parcels I received for specific kids in the office after lunch(nursery and younger grade stay in school till 1pm, and the older ones until 5!) Even the chatty kids who recieved a parcel turned silent. Complete disbelief. The poverty here is so bad, the community(all refugees from the north often with a different culture/language than the south) they are so in their own world, while Kampala is a bustling developing city with sky scrappers, fancy restaurants, etc. Many of the parents have witnesses the atrocities of war, if they are still living, and have turned to alcohol and drugs. There are many many alcoholics in the community and the children are totaly on their own. It got to me today after one girl, Rebecca, came in the office where I was sorting donations and she took my hand and went on her knees and said "thank you aunty for everything. I am so gretaful" I gave her a hug and she just held on. This girl is so smart, and helpful. There is always a baby on her back or a child she is washing. Her family situation is not great, living with relatives who abuse her. It's angering. Why her, why anyone? And why be so greatful for receiving a few pencils and a toy when there are such bigger needs. But I quickly learned the awnser, because even the littles things are appreciated. Acts of kindess go far when there is none at home.

After lunch, we left the school to go into town and buy a playgym set for the school. It sits 12 kids and is a merry go round type of thing. When we drove up with it the shrieks where so loud. Everyone was running around like a chicken without a head!

"Tommorow" we go to Didi's World( the amusement park) to book and rent the buses needed to transport the kids. This should be fun.

Uganda, I made it!

2009-06-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

Day 1

After running for planes(no joke!) and hours in the aiport, we have made it to Uganda. It is beautiful here. The people, the culture, the land..breath taking. Kampala is a bustling city, building are going up and buisness is taking place. Many fancy areas with beautiful mansions. We met Hellen on a busy main road. We then drove up, up, up, turns, turn turns, and we soon we're in more of a village setting. The children would spot us in the car and scream "MZUNGU" meaning white person. It was hilairouse, and they would crack up. The hill was bumpy and filled with holes. We finally reached CU school. I got such a burst of excitment. We went to the classrooms, starting with P.2. The children rose and said "Hello visitor, we are hapy to have you here" and sat back down. The classrooms are small and filled to the rim. Nursery, Middle and Top are all in one class. The youngest child is 3 and the oldest is 8. You can imagine the chaos!

The chickens that Hellen bought(30) are now getting big! This is great news for the school as they can become more self sufficient. As Hellen opened the pen for me to see them one came out. I tried to put it back and it pecked at my hand..hard! So I tried to sort of 'direct' it with my foot and jogging after it. One child..(M. Joshua) no more than 4 years old came, with a seriouse face, picked it up by the wing and put it back in the pen.

We went to Hellens house and sorted through the donations. We gave them out today(will write more on blog post 2) We where greeted by Hellen's mother who came down to see us as well as a friend of hers and her grand daughter Janet. Janet is a cute little 3 yr old who hid for some time as she was scared of the white faces. I opened the luggae filled with stuffed animals, and motioned for Janet to come choose one. After I showe her a bear with a little pink dress on, she was sold. She started jumping up and down and screaming and laughing hysterically. I wish I caught it on film!!

For all sponsors, the kids at CU are great. The conditions at the school and community are really not good. SO many of the kids are malnourished and sick. Alot of sunken faces, big bellies and orange tinted hair. Children are often left to fendfor themselves when their parent pass away, or are taken in by relatives who abuse them. The school is really a haven for all these kids. They are so greatful of your support. Will write more on day 2 so stay tuned!

Made it to DUBAI!

2009-06-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

It's 10:29 local time here in Dubai. I am already sick of airports and we've all had our stressed out moments! The flight went good however, and I slept for a good portion of it. Tommorow we leave for Uganda at 8:45 with a quick stop in Ethiopia!! Next post will be from Uganda!

12:40

2009-06-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

It's officially JUNE 19! I'm leaving for Uganda today, much later today but it's still finally come! I'm going to get some shut eye, if possible, and then get ready for tomorrow!

See you all in Uganda :D

2 more days!

2009-06-16T06:13:00.001-07:00

On Sunday night the watoto children's choir performed at my grandmother's church. It was a really nice show, and it made me even more excited for the upcoming trip.

Only 2 more days until we are off to Uganda! I'm spending the day packing(still not done!) and then heading off to get some last minute things. Any good book reccomendations? The flight will be long so I'm trying to think of things to keep me entertained. I usually sleep on flights, all the ones i've taken have been 4 hrs max so it will be different with 2 days of travelling! We have a 12 hour layover in Dubai but we get there at 7:45 pm so there will be little we can do and see. Then we stop in Ethiopia for 1 hr to drop people off, and then off to Entebbe airport in Uganda!

18!

2009-06-12T21:12:00.000-07:00

Well, i'm sitting here- 12:00am finally done all the things I had to do today. And now i'm 18! It's only been 15 minutes and I feel the same. Like every year..

I have a garage sale planned tommorow, finnish some stuff up to do with packing, shop for some Uganda related things, then a birthday bbq. The next day bright and early I have to get ready for my fundraising bbq! This getting up at 8am sleeping at 2am- and being productive throughout the day is tiring me out. So my birthday gift to myself is 2 hours of extra sleep

:) Good night!

Ugandan Jewellery!

2009-06-10T05:57:00.000-07:00

10 days until Uganda! I am so excited. I am officialy done all my vaccinations/medications(except malaria pills)I took the last dose of Dukoral this morning and it was gross. Things are packed too! I finally brought my luggage up and started to put donations in it.

I'm having two small fundraisers this weekend so hopefully I can get a bit more money. The needs are still tremendouse but I know we can make a difference in some way! These are some of the things on the list...

-Supplies/Food for the school.

-Helping the poorest families with food, matresses, mosquito nets, and vaccinating the children.

-Activity Days. Enough to cover all the children on atleast one of the planned excursions(swimming/amusement park)

-Hospital visits. Taking and paying for local sick people to be brought to the hospital to receive proper care/medication.

-Setting up the library

-Building a proper roof on Hellen's mother's house(she is over 90 and cares for many of the orphan children)

-and the list goes on!

There is still time to help me help the people of Uganda! Consider buying one of these beautiful handmade necklaces from Uganda. They are all made by CU school children and the local community.

Set 001: Small Necklace

These are really cute. A simle necklace that can be worn for all types of occasions.

Available in: Pink, Yellow, Mint Green, Forest Green.

$7.00

Set 002: 12"-15" long necklace.

These ones are very fun. They are great to wear long, or wrap it once or twice.

Available in: Yellow, Blue, Mint Green, Turquoise

$10.00

Set 003: 3 Piece(Necklace, Bracelet, Earings)

This is a really beautiful complete set.

Available in: Pink(1 Left!!)

$14.00

Set 004: 2-3 Strand Necklace.

These necklaces have 2 to 3 strands on them. They can even be worn to a more fancy event or diner. The colors are much more vivid than shown.

Available in: Pink, Forest Green, Mint Green, Yellow/Gold, Dark Red, Black.

$10.00

I also have these beautiful handmade table cloths. The small details are amazing and these pictures really don't do them justice. They fit on square and rectangle tables, and even my own kitchen table which is a circle. My grandmother uses it on her coffee table which is a unique idea as well.

Set B: This set is lilac purple with white flowers and white trimming. It comes with one table cloth and 4 napkins. $25.00

Set B: This set is green with orange flowers. I love how this one is cut, the outside of the cloth is curvy which is a nice added detail. $25.00

Please send an e-mail to apacschool@hotmail.com with the set # and color you would like to buy. Thank you for helping the kids and families at CU school!!

19 more days and...i'm going to Africa?!

2009-05-26T18:49:00.000-07:00

Today, I got 3 of my 6 vaccinations needed to go to Uganda. My left arm is killing! Other than that, i've had no other side effects which I am SO happy about(knock on wood). I have a few more appointments and then i'm good to go. It deffinetly made it feel more real. I'm going to Uganda..I still can't beleive it. Someone pinch me.

I started to wrap all the donated books in plastic covering so hopefully this will keep them in good shape for a long time. My room is a disaster, i've been organizing all the donations but still it's a mess. I really should just bring up the suitcase and start packing. I don't think it's hit me how soon i'll be there! My carry on is going to be used for my personal things, so it looks like i'll be doing some intense clothing rewearing.

I'm still collecting donations for variouse little projects in Uganda. I really want to have all the kids take part in atleast one of the activity day events(swimming and amusement park.) It won't be possible to keep it a secret and just the though of kids being turned away is really devestating. The bus we need to rent cost $168x2= $336. If anyone wants to make a donation towards the bus for all the kids that would be amazing. Or sponsoring a child's activity fees who is not covered is another great option. I will send you photos and video from the activity day. Many of these kids have never left their compound/been in an automobile so it should be a fun experience.
If you would like to make a donation, please go to http://www.christianupliftmentschool.com/donate

I'm going to get back to organizing and hopefully i'll be a step closer to going!

Back, back, back!!

2009-05-06T07:51:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted on here. I have been really sick, just when I though I was better it would hit again. My dad thought I had swine flu(which I don't) I would like to appologize for any e-mail I havn't responded to in a timely matter, as I usually check my e-mails daily(okay sometimes hourly, it's bad!) but I just had no energy to even turn on the computer at times. On top of it, I had a final math exam to study for. I am BAD in math, no matter how hard and how long I study I always find myself not making the bar or just passing. It gets so fustrating at times. If I did not pass this exam though, I would not be eligible for college in September. I would have to redo the class- in June, right when I planned to be in Uganda. I am very happy to say that I passed, with an 88%! Uganda here I come.

Over the past week I have received numerouse donations of books, bathing suits, school supplies, etc etc etc! This is absolutely amazing. I receive e-mails from Hellen weekly about children in need. Children found on the streets, children sick with no hope of getting better. All the donations will not only bring a smile to a child's face but I hope it will bring them hope. It will let them know that someone far away cares enough that they have a book in their hands to read, a pair of clean underwear to wear, a teddy bear to cuddle when they sleep at night.

If you would like to send anything to your sponsor child, please e-mail me. There is still a bit of room left to carry on some more donations. Everything will have to arrive before June 16th.

Two month's yesterday

2009-04-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

I've been sick all week with really bad stomach pains. It's finally going down, and I started drinking gatorade which is really helping. I also started a spanish class last thursday, and love it! Wasn't able to make it yesterday though.

Two more months and i'll be in Uganda! I found amazing priced tickets today so i'm feeling good. Once we have our group meeting, we're going to book. Hopefully next week. We'll be there for 18 days, and 17 nights-not including travel time which is estimated to take 2 days! I've never been on a flight this long, my flights have always been between 3.5-6 hours. Any tips from travellers?!

The only luggage I will have with me is my carry on and purse. My carry on will be all my clothing and personal needs as we're all using our main luggage for donations. I plan on bringing each of my sponsor kids a filled backpack, with school supplies, a church outfit, books, etc. I really want to spend a few hours with them doing an activity but i'm not sure what?! All the kids will take part in the amusement park and swimming, but i'm sure i'll be busy watching over everyone(after all, the majority of the kids have never left their 'compound', or have been in a car!)

Donations are still very much needed, and appreciated, for the volunteer fund. http://www.christianupliftmentschool.com/volunteer_fund

It costs $9 to pay for a child's activity day at Didi's World, and $7.50 for swimming. We still have many children who are not covered and I really want them all to be able to participate. You can donate on behalf of an unsponsored child, and you will receive their pictures from their activity day. They will be so greatful to you!!

Bigger steps!

2009-04-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

I am writting this on a very good note. Things are really moving forward with Uganda, which is absolutely amazing. My biggest concern was who was going to travel with me. I don't want to announce anyone yet as things are not 100%, but they include a nurse and physcologist!
I am still in the process of fundraising for my ticket, as well as projects to set up in Uganda.

If you would like to make a donation towards my volunteer fund, please use the link below! You can also send me a note(by e-mail or on comments) of the name of your sponsor child and as a thank you I will be sure to video tape them in school, at their home, and with their family! This will give you a great opportunity to really see what it's like for them and how you're helping.

http://www.christianupliftmentschool.com/volunteer_fund

Althought the main purpose of going is to really make a positive difference with things that are in great need, such as building a library, setting up a mobile clinic/bringing children with seriouse illnesses to the hospital, identifying children's needs and meeting them, start work in Apac.... I do plan on doing some fun activities with the kids! Their stories are heatbreaking, we have 4 students who are often not at school because they want to be with their mothers on their last days on earth(all are dyeing of AIDS), kids who watched loved ones get murder by the LRA, orphans with no one to care for them. Although fun activities will not return their parents, or heal the sick, for a few days I just want them to be kids! One of the plans is to take the kids to "Didi's World" an amusement park in Kampala, as well as a day of swimming at a hotel pool. If you would like your sponsor child to take part, please consider making a donation on their behalf.
By e-mail or comment, please include the child's name with the activity you chose. If you would also like to make a donation on behalf of an unsponsored child so they to can take part, that would be amazing! You will receive their pictures from activity day.

Didi's World Amusement Park: $9 This includes the all day entrance fee, transportation both ways as well as a hot lunch!

Swimming Day:$7.50 This includes the entrance fee, transportation both ways, as well as lunch. We have received a generouse donation of new bathing suits so that is all taken care of! How amazing!

Progress

2009-04-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went out to eat for my dad's birthday. Since it's a birthday, I had to buy a gift! I went over to Dix Mille Villages, the fair trade store. They have everything from candles, foods, books, decorations-all fair trade. I ended up buying this really nice Indonesian windcharm for my dad, as well as something for me to bring to Uganda. The book caught my eye right away. It's called "One Hen- How one small loan made a big difference." It takes place in Ghana, West Africa where the main character, a boy named Kojo gets a hen. It goes to say how he was able to change his life and future because of the gift he received.

Slowly, some of the Uganda plans are coming together. This is actually the start of 'my house' in Uganda! After I leave, it will be an office, storage room, and a guest room for future volunteers! As you can see, there's still progress that need to be made but it's coming along.

LRA

2009-04-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

Last night when I got home from work, I turned on the tv to watch one of my favorite shows- Law&Order SVU. It turned out to be themed about the LRA in Uganda. Basically, they where looking for someone who had tried to kill a girl. They looked for someone who was a devil worshipper, and it brang them to a church where many parishers where African refugees. They looked into a man named Elijah. He addmited he was in the LRA, recruited when he was only 7 back in Uganda. He was forced to kill with guns, machetes, and fire. But it ended up being another Ugandan, who was a warlord. This man was hiding in America under a false name and saying he was a former teacher in Uganda. They managed to bring him in and the international
court took over. They also took in Elijah, because since he was in the LRA he is considered a murderer. Sad. This is happening right now in Uganda. The former child soldiers need so much help, especially mentaly and they just arn't receiving it. People are scared of them because of what they did in the bush.

Our child of the month for sponsorship, is a little boy who had to go through what I saw on t.v. He is real and he is one of the thousands. His name is Orebo Ivan. He is 8 yrs old and still in nursery. He is a refugee from northern Uganda, where he watched his father be murdered by the LRA with machetes. When I see the numbers(30,000 abducted to serve as child soldiers in Uganda) I think how crazy the world is. How can this happen? But knowing this one child, who loves to play hide and seek and is described as one of the kindest boys at school it becomes all more shocking. His mother also recently passed away due to yellow fever, and he is now a complete orphan. An ideal sponsor would be someone who could not only sponsor him financially($35/year) but also write him letters and let him know that someone, even far away, cares about him.

To sponsor Orebo Ivan, please visit www.christianupliftmentschool.com

Help me get to Uganda!!

2009-03-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

I'm off to Uganda this July to volunteer with CU school and visit Apac. Some details still need to be sorted out, but slowly everything is making sense again! I've been working a part time job all year long to save money to go to Uganda, but I'm coming up a little short, and can use some help! I've created a chip in, which you can use to donate any amount(found on the right hand side) If I manage to get over my target, all the money will go towards The Apac School Project to finnish buying the land/starting building the first classroom.

I'm also in need of item donations ...

-Children's Books(there's a list on a previouse post to some good ones)

-First Aid supplies(Bandaids,Neosporin/Polysporin, Tweezers, Rubber Gloves)

-School supplies(pencils, sharpeners, notebooks, glue, etc)

For CU Sponsors... For all sponsors who donate towards my volunteer fund, please send me the name of your sponsor child/ren. As a thank you, I will be sure to take video footage of your sponsor child and send it to you upon my return!!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

On step at a time

2009-03-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

After feeling completely down, I still havn't solved my problem but for now i've decided to focus on what needs to be done, rather than on missing details. The positive- kids are finding sponsors! I received photos of sponsor children in their new uniforms, and as always, they look great. I've been involved with CU school for almost 6 years! The feeling is always the same when I get the pictures of the newly sponsored children in their uniforms. These children come from living nightmares. Many of them are abused, homeless, and sick- all live in extreme poverty. Without sponsorship they have no chance of staying in school, no chance of having an education, no chance of a future.

This is my HUGE thank you to every sponsor for opening up your hearts and caring! One child at a time, we CAN make a difference!

Bummer!

2009-03-23T09:00:00.001-07:00

Today, i'm feeling a little under the weather. For one i'm sick (flue, again!) and I received some bad news about Uganda. My best friend won't be able to travel with me because he has to finnish a summer class. I'm so bumed out! I also wanted to visit the DR but who knows now. I spoke with my bf's parents, who just got back from Haiti(all the donations where distributed back from November) so I was really happy to hear that. They want us to go to Haiti, which I would love..but nothing seems to be cheering me up rite now. I can't speak for Haiti, but in the DR there was poverty, there was a lot of heartbreak but there was a lot of hope. Strategically, because of it's location(a hot spot for vacationers) people are regularly taking time off their resorts and bringing down donations. There are tons of mission groups building everything from schools to houses. There is positive change going on. In Uganda, I plan on volunteering with CU school and visiting Apac. There are amazing organizations in Uganda, but everyone has there own place/group of people there helping. The country is also suffering from a dramatic rise in HIV(more children are being orphaned) as well as the unrest in the North. The needs are overflowing. Some of the projects I would take part in include..constructing a library(and bringing books to fill it with)- there are currently none. Setting up a safe house for our girl students who live in abusive households(this includes bringing donations for the girls such as clothing, sanitary napkins, soap, etc.) Looking into a vocationol school for our future students who cannot go to secondary(as well as trying to figure out a way we can get local secondary schools to take the brightest students who pass the exams) visiting Apac and interviewing the local community. The list goes on and on.

Anyone interested in volunteering in Uganda? Anywhere from 2 weeks to 1 month?

I guess 'everything will fall into place' just at the moment i'm stressed!

41/2 months!

2009-03-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

I've been home from the Dominican for almost a month, but still think about it daily. I miss everything about it and I wonder how everyone is doing. Is William is still shoe shinning? Is Isabella still hungry? I feel I already know the awnsers. The trip opened my eyes on a lot of issues and even changed some opinions I previously had, on 'foreign aid.' Well next up is Uganda! 4 months and a bit..mostly I will be working with CU and visiting Apac to make some progress there, and hopefully visiting another project.. but my lips are sealed until I get more details!! I am so excited to meet all the kids at CU, especially the ones I sponsor! One of the big projects i'll be looking into is a vocatinol center, right now it's just an idea, but I think it would do wonders. I really think that the saying "giving a hand up not a hand out" is right on point.

CU school currently has no children's books! They have workbooks and they learn to read, but nothing in the sense of children's story books. Can you imagine? We're going to open a small library in July, and hopefully we can fill it with books. I think this will get the kids alot more motivated to read. There are a few bookstores in Uganda but they don't carry many good books, especially for children. Hellen was thrilled to find out all the different topics we have in books available in the west. Here is a list of books geared at elementary school children on topics such as hiv/aids, peace, and abuse. These would be amazing to donate!! If you have a copy of one you can do without or would like to buy any of them(second hand ones on Amazon start at$ 2!) this would really be great. I think these books are the #1 thing on the list of items needed...(I personally read 'The Heaven Shop' and it's an amazing story about a girl in Malawi, Africa. I think some of the older girls would connect so much with this book.)

The Heaven Shop-Deborah Ellis
Aids&HIV the facts for kids-Rae Simons
Africa for Kids- Harvey Croze
Beatrice’s Goat- Page McBrier
Watch out, he’s got AIDS- Mikey Handis
Alex, the kids with AIDS-Linda Walvoord Girard
My Body Is Private-Linda Walvoord Girard
I Can make my world a safer place- Paul Kivel

Other things needed: Children's bathing suits(sizes 2-16), baby blankets, school supplies, hygiene supplies, basic medications(tylenol, cough medicine, band-aids, etc)

We still have many children in need of a sponsor! Here's a picture of the newest group, none of them have a sponsor. It's $35/Year and can be found on http://www.christianupliftmentschool.com/ The other large project i'm working on is building a primary school in Apac. I would like to completely buy off the land plus build 1-3 classrooms before I actually go. This would be ideal. The website is going to get a new design soon, but for now it can be found at http://www.apacschool.com/

Isabella&Jessica

2009-03-10T08:52:00.000-07:00

After a good 10 minutes of driving up hill, I arrived on a hot and beautiful day at Las Algodones, the Haitian batey. I got out of the car and a little boy came to see who I was. He was adorable, wearing rain boots and a big t-shirt. Here's a youtube clip Liz took- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dd4TryDkR0&feature=channel_page

We walked around a little and saw the batey and the progress they are making at improving the lives of those who live there. There is a nice clinic, church and school. New houses are being built for the people, much better than the shacks of tin they live in. Still poverty thrived there, work was limited and because of their Haitian identities, they are underpaid. I also got the impression that they are very isolated. I'm not exagerating when I say they live WAY up a hill. The kids where funny and one little girl caught my attention. She came and sat next to me in the church service and told me her name was Isabella. On my lap was little Jesica, a little baby that loved to be held but didn't smile. She looked weak and slept through the entire service. Her nose was runny and her hair fragile, I was scared to touch it as afterwards I would find little pieces in my hand. After the service was done, I handed out donations of toys to the kids. Note- don't bring bouncy balls. Even after I clearly explained ot them it was not food, they ended up in their mouths! The boys loved marbles and I only had a few sets and gave it to one boy because he said Please. After a while, they caught on and for a good 20 minutes "sivouple kate!" was all I could hear. I gave Jessica a little hair kit and that she liked. She whispered in my ear giggling "i'm bringing this home, don't leave!" She ran off and came back. When she came back she told me she was hungry. I'm they all where. When I asked the missionary there, he said the kids receive a meal if they go to school, which she does, so she should be good. I still am trying to figure out this whole concept. Many of the teen girls also suffer from anorexia, or they call it that. It's not so much a physcological disease like here in Canada, but they literally eat the same thing everyday- white rice. They get so sick of it, their bodies start rejecting it. The human body is not made to eat white rice everyday, once a day. I remember being in grade 9 class, cooking, and we did a 'food' quiz. Apparently, I didn't eat enough 'wheatat products' and my teacher went on to describe why I need more. Fruits, veggies, meat, bread- rare in the batey. I'm almost positive if they had a better diet, they would not get sick as much. Many people infected with HIV are also 'sentenced to death', because their weak bodies/immune system can't fight off any other illnesses.

William

2009-03-05T07:17:00.000-08:00

I got up early last morning, ready to go do some volunteer work with the street boys. I quickly got my things together and then headed down the long road that lead me out of my hotel. I tried to explain to the gate opener that I needed to take a guagua(small taxi-bus) to Puerto Plata. He pointed to me where I was to stand and I walked over. Cars came zooming by me, and I would later find out this was just the beginning of some crazy road adventures! A white van came towards me and made a quick stop. The door flew open and I said "puerto Plata?" "Si, Si!" I jumped in the front seat, squished between the driver and two other people. The driving is nothing like in Canada. I think I saw 1 set of traffic lights in the whole city. Cars and motorcycles zooms towards your car and then quickly zoom out. When I finally arrived at my destination, Parko Central, I felt accomplished that I made it alive. The same feeling I got when I walked off my very first roller coaster ride. I made a quick call to Liz, the woman I was volunteering with. She gave me an hour to explore the city before she was to pick me up. I sat down and thought about which direction I should go, when a few seconds later, a shoe shinner boy caught my attention. He was walking fast, dragging along his feet in his worn out flip flops. Immedietly I knew. It was William! I have never met him before, but I saw him on the organization photo listings. I immedietly wanted to help him, so before I left for the D.R, I made him a little pack(food, durag, hygiene supplies, school stuff). When I went out to see if he was home the day earlier, only his aunt was there and she said he was out working. I walked fast up to him and taped his shoulder. He turned around, I went speechless. "Ou pale kreyol?" Do you speak creole I asked him. He quietly said yes and I asked if his name was William. He said yes again, looking a little confused. I expalined who I was and that I knew Liz. He was so quiet and I asked him he wanted to get something to eat. We walked over to a little cafe on the ocean and ordered juice and chicken and fries. Slowly he started opening up to me and told me his mom is in Haiti and his dad died. He works everyday shoe shinning trying to make what little he can to help his family. A little boy walked by the window and he immedietly jumped up and called him in. They boy who walked in was 7, a tiny little thing. He wouldn't crack a smile and he just sat down looking so sad. When William's food came, he pushed the plate in front of the boy. His little hand took one frie and he slowly ate the food. I got a call from Liz saying to meet her in Agua Negra at the kids center, where they do crafts and english lessons. We packed up the food and left, but as we were leaving another shoe shinning friend of William was across the street. He wanted me to meet him so we went over. His name was Jimmy and he was also Haitian. He was on a job and William quickly helped him with the other shoe. Jimmy asked if I would take a picture of him, and so I did. When I showed him it on the screen he smiled and went back to work. When that was done, all three of us jumped in a taxi to Agua Negra. When we got there, we by the back crumbling stairs to reach the little room where they get art classes and english lessons. A bunch of other boys where there too. They introduced themselves and I did my best to do the same in my limited spanish. William would act as my translator, as I could ask him things or tell him something to say to someone else in kreyol. The spanish speaking kids kept saying "haitiano?" and not really understanding how I was Haitian, which I had to explain to them I was not just knew hot to speak the language. They still didn't understand the concept. As they sat down to start making their bracelets, William whispered in my ear that he was going to bring the leftover food to his little brother. I said ok and continued with the art project. The director asked where he went and I said home, she let me know that he would not be coming back. That was just his excuse to get out and go back to work. I was really upset but continued to do the art. About 5 minutes later someone tapped my back, it was William! We finnished the art project and then he went to show me around for about 2 hours. Jimmy and another boy Yourdin tagged along. Agua Negra is where these boys come from and it's basically a slum. Houses are shacks made of metal and garbage and no light gets in them. When it rains, it floods. Sewage is everywhere along with garbage. We walked around and talked alot. William's living conditons are really bad and he is mistreated. Despite this he is so caring and funny. Some guys would start "hissing" and he would tell them to get lost and take my hand and walk away. He's probably shoe shinning right now on an empty belly. I can only hope that he continues to be brave and caring and that he will be able to rise up.

Dominican Republic

2009-03-03T20:00:00.000-08:00

I'm back from 1 week in the DR and I already miss it. I'm trying to put my thoughts together still and I feel a little 'defeated'. There's a lot of areas of need but there was great progress too. The people, the weather, the flow.. i'm in love! I volunteered with an organization called " Dove Missions" and their main focus is an area(slum) called " Agua Negra." The director, Liz, works a lot with the street boys and has some great programs for them like art lessons, and english classes. They have sad stories behinde them, but they are just amazing and funny! I also visited a batey called "Las Algodones." This is where Haitian immigrants live. It's up a huge hill that takes a good 10 minutes to get up(by car). They have a really nice clinic and school built there and they're constructing new houses. HIV/AIDs and certain other illnesses continue to be a big problem. I brang a lot of baby things and they where put to great use- so many babies! One little girl, Jessica, won't leave my mind. She waddled over to me before we went into the church to watch some children's programs. She put her little hands up to be picked up, and that's what I did. As we where seated, I looked down and she was fast asleep all curled up. Another little girl, Isabella, stayed by my side. She whispered in my ear "mwen grangou" which means, I am hungry. Despite the hunger and poverty, people do find joy in the small things and are so greatful. After I named some of my favorite Hatian artists, the woman couldn't stop laughing and where trying to figure out how I knew them. I was put to the test, to sing. I sang my favorite songs by Carimi "Haiti Bang Bang" and "Bo Kote'w" I will never forget that! More posts are on the way!

A few more hours and i'm there!

2009-02-23T13:31:00.000-08:00

I am so sick of packing!! Just the thought of it is literally making me sick! But thank God it's all done and packed in the car ready for 6:45 departure. I have to wake up at 4 tommorow, get ready and then head off to the airport with my mom and brother(fun) I actually like airports, because then it's all real. I also enjoy plane rides, and trips to the Carribean no longer seem as long as they did when I was little.

I'm going to be filling all the pencil cases when I arrive there. I made my last trip to the dollarstore today and stocked up. Finally, some of the spanish books I ordered arrived which i'm really happy about. I also have 2 creole books, but the set of 20 I ordered are on back order, which is really frustrating. I guess it will give me more of a reason to visit Haiti this summer!

I'm hoping there's some place where I can get on a computer and update everyone at this link. If so, I hope you come along for the journey! Have a great week!

5 more days!

2009-02-19T11:30:00.000-08:00

It's official, 5 more days till i'm in the Dominican Republic! I'm so excited, but I feel like there's TONS left to do before I go. I ordered 20 children's creole books and a few spanish ones-they never arrived! I e-mailed the company and they said it still hadn't been shipped from their warehouse to their location. Gah! This is very frustrating, i'm going to try and get my money back as I have no use for these book. I'm still collecting bits and pieces of things, mostly school supplies and medicine. The pencil cases will be filled(pencils, eraser, crayons, etc) I'm going to distribute them to two diffrent schools, which have a total of 65 kids combined. The school is run out of a local church. It serves Haitian children who are not able to attend government run schools as they are considered "illegal immigrants" and many do not have a birth certificates. If there's internet available I will try and keep everyone updated while i'm there!!

Uganda news: Here are two pictures of my sponsor boys, Benedict and Enock. How cute are they!? Most of the kids are all back in school and getting in the swing of things again. A few are sick or visiting relatives far away so we're expecting them to return during the first week of March. If we didn't already have enough kids needing sponsors, we now have even more! About 5 more groups of kids(60+) have joined the school.

Each month you can find our 'child of the month' child on the website's homepage. This is a child who is in need of a sponsor. Although all the kids are in need, we really try to focus on a child who is considered "at risk." Unfortunetly, there are soo many of these kids who are complete orphans, HIV+, and physically abused it's hard to pick just one.

On this blog i'm going to highlight 2 children each month. Hopefully we have some compassionate readers :)

This month i'd like you to meet Ajok Monica. She is in nursery class and she's 6 years old. She has been waiting for a very long time for a sponsor. She also has 3 siblings who attend the school(only one of them has a sponsor) She is in group N2.

This entire group(except one child) needs a sponsor. Some of them have been sponsored before, but unfortunetly this year they no longer have a sponsor. My fear is because of this, they will be pulled out of school and no longer have the oppurtunity to study. From this group, I would like to highlight the first little boy on the bottow row(look at that smile!) He's only 6 years old and is an orphan. He's in nursery class and loves to sing and dance!

Once again the new site is..
http://www.christianupliftmentschool.com/ where you can visit our sponsorship page to sponsor a child.

We also have a yahoo group, please feel free to join!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Christian_Upliftment_School/

New Site!

2009-02-15T14:38:00.000-08:00

Christian Upliftment's website got a face lift!! Big thanks to Maia at tibby designs, http://www.tibbydesigns.com/

So check it out! http://www.christianupliftmentschool.com/

As always- we have many kids in need of a sponsor. Please please please consider it, for only $35/year!!

I can't help but share the girl I choose to sponsor- Bukirwa Zaituni! Look how proud and pretty she looks in her new uniform:)

Fresh Air Fund

2009-02-12T07:18:00.000-08:00

Two summers ago, my summer camp closed down due to lack of funds. I went there since I was nine yeas old, all the way up to when it closed, like so many other kids. It was run by an association which supports the homeless in Montreal. Many kids went to camp for free or paid a small fee according to their household incomes. But once at camp none of this mattered. Food was plentiful and you wouldn't be able to count all your new made frienships.

The Fresh Air Fund is an awsome organization(which i'm going to tell you about), and I just love the whole idea of it. The organization registeres underprivileged inner city kids from New York City, and matches them with a host family. Host families live in a bunch of northern US states as well as southern Ontario. For many of the kids, it's their first time doing things like swimming and running around in the grass. They really do live in a concrete jungle, so being able to play outdoors is a true gift. If your intrested in becoming a host please have a look at their website,http://www.freshair.org/host-a-child.aspx

The organization also runs summer camps, and is currently looking for counselors for this coming summer. I know just how great summer camps are and the experience is life changing- for campers and coucelors. If you love children, spending time outdoors, and taking part of all sorts of fun filled activities think about becoming a coucelor. http://freshairfundcounselors.smnr.us/

1200 People= 1 School!!

2009-02-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

Fun facts...

60 children adopted= one classroom built

1,200 children adopted= one school built

http://www.apacschool.com/adoptachild.htm

The Adopt a Child, Build a Classroom campaign is now up and 'officialy' running! So far, three children have been adopted- that means 57 left and a classroom will be built and furnished!

For a one time donation of $50 you can adopt a child who is registered to attend The Apac School. The only way they can attend, is if the school is built! By adopting a child you are not only giving a brighter future to that specific child, but literally hundreds of poverty stricken kids in the district of Apac, Northern Uganda. Many of the children are orphans or live in abusive households. The school will be a safe haven for 400 of them where they will board at the school's dormitory. All of this is only possible with your help!!

On a side note- Christian Upliftment Primary School- http://www.cuschool.webs.com/ is in deseprate need of more sponsors! This program is different from the Adopt a Child campaign in Apac, as it is running sponsorship program. You can communicate to your sponsor child by letters and choose to sponsor them year after year. I can personally vouch(I sponsor about 15) and the bond that I have formed with these kids is like no other! It is $35/YEAR to sponsor one child or $35/Month for a group of 12 kids. We recently had one of our biggest sponsors(they sponsored almost half of the children) pull out from the program for family reasons. The school receives no government support and is run solely from donations. They students have already felt the new circumstance and because a lack of sponsors, there is less money to buy food. Currently they are only receiving breakfeast OR lunch and the portion has diminused. This is generally their only meal of the day so you can imagine how bad the situation is.

Transformations are happening! This is Akwero Nancy who is sponsored by Terri in BC. Looking all pretty and proud in the uniform she received from the sponsorship money!

Uganda News

2009-02-06T07:08:00.000-08:00

I received news from Hellen, director of CU school, today. The term has opened and the kids are back in school-well most of them. A lot of them are refugees from Northern Uganda so during the break they travel 'up country' to visit family, and don't come back to school on time. All of the kids that have found sponsors(the ones that have returned to school) received their uniform and their picture was taken. Wait until you see the smiles!! A bunch of sponsors letters where also received, so if you sent a letter in January, chances are it got there. The kids are spending the next week writting replies, and then they will post them out.

Christian Upliftment is still in need of more sponsors! We have a bunch of groups in need but I would like to get this group and one other, completely sponsored before posting new children.

From this group Annet(tallest girls on left), Elvis(waving), Joseph(4th on top row left), next to Joseph is Pricilla and then Monica. They all desperetly need sponsors. It's $35/YEAR ,and makes a tremendouse difference in a child's life. The school needs to move forward and this is the only way it can do so! Please check out http://www.cuschool.webs.com/ for more information!!

Three of the girls I want to get back in school- Christine, Doreen and Jackline, are still not in school. The mother is keeping them in the quarry, more hands more pay. Hellen also found out that she in an alcoholic. We wanted to set her up with an income generating project but now we are questioning if she is fit to do it. This is the hardest thing in the world. There are SO many woman who are eager to get set up with a project and get out of the quarry. These woman also send their kids to school everyday(one of the conditions) Although we havn't done this many times before, we have a few woman who have been set up with income generating projects and their doing great. Kids are in school, and they use their money to buy food, rent, and all the things the family needs. We are scared that this particular woman will blow all her money on alcohol...I just can't stop thinking of these three girls. There are soo many children in need, but the minute I have a connection with just one, is the minute I can't look away. There's a song I really connect to and one of the lines is "now that I have seen, I am responsible."

I have also received the biographies of the kids in Apac. "Adopt a Child, Build a Classroom" is the campaign I started earlier this month. You can 'adopt' a child for a one time donation of $50. You will receive a group picture of your child as well as their biography. For every 60 children adopted, a classroom will be built!

Books, books, books!

2009-02-02T08:44:00.000-08:00

Finally, February is here! This means 23 days left until departure to the DR. I'm working on sorting everything out, and I have about half of the donations I need, in most areas. I received a relly generouse donation of baby toys so i'll be able to put around 4 toys in each baby pack. I still need more medicine(baby drops, children's tylenol, etc) and school supplies. There is also a HUGE need for books! Because of the languages they need to be in-Spanish and Haitian Creole, it's hard to find them in stores here. I ordered about 10 from ebay, amazon and an online book center. They have a great selection online from a bunch of websites. If anyone would like to help by buying a book I have included some links below. You can have it shipped directly to my house, just send me an e-mail at apacschool@hotmail.com and I will send you my address. It would be greatly appreciated!!!

Here are some books that would be great to donate! Anything else in spanish or creole(I have included mostly creole ones as they are harder to come by) would be great as long as they are elementary level reading.

Where's the puppy?Kote ti toustous la ye? By Cheryl Chrisitan - Starting at $2.14
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1595720294/ref=sr_1_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233593506&sr=1-1

How Many?Konbyen? By Cheryl Chrisitian- Starting at $2.14
http://www.amazon.com/many-English-Haitian-Creole-bilingual/dp/1595720243/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233593506&sr=1-2

Where's the baby? Kote tibebe a ye? By Cheryl Chrisitan starting at $2.14
http://www.amazon.com/Wheres-English-Haitian-Creole-bilingual/dp/1595720278/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233593506&sr=1-6

(Any other English/Creole books by Cheryl Chrisitian can be found on amazon and would also be great.)

My Friend the Tree / Mon ami l'arbre / Zanmi-m Pyebwa. By Roger Savain $12.95
http://www.worldlanguage.com/Products/My-Friend-the-Tree-Mon-ami-larbre-Zanmi-Pyebwa-by-Roger-Savain-EnglishMy-105774.htm

Sandra(cinderella in Haiti) $14.95
http://www.worldlanguage.com/Products/Sandra-Cinderella-Haiti-EnglishSandra-HaitianSandra-Creole-Kids-501114.htm

Makso. $24.95
http://www.worldlanguage.com/Products/Makso-Creole-CreoleMakso-Haitian-Kids-501422.htm

Pre-K Karamel Series Biligual EK(20 Titles) $65
http://www.worldlanguage.com/Products/Pre-K-Karamel-Series-Biligual-EK-20-Titles-CreolePre-HaitianPre-501424.htm

101 Favorite Bible Stories $10.99
http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/5021-52-6/ (Creole)
http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/5021-56-9/ (Spanish)

25 Favorite Bible Stories $3.99
http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/5021-773/

Long Day

2009-01-29T06:33:00.000-08:00

I was planning on writting this post last night, but was fast asleep by 9! As with every Wednesday I went to Lacorde(volunteering with homework help) It took me 11/2 hrs to get there because of all the snow that decided to fall down yesterday. It always seems that on Wednesdays, Canada decide's to go into some form of "deep-freeze" or pour down the snow, as if we don't have enough already. When I arrived it was snack time, so I gave out snacks and chatted a bit. Most of the kids come from the same school, only a few go to other schools, so at this time they are all chatting away about what happened at school that day. Well apparently, they're in the age where they have crushes and "school boyfriends/girlfriends"- or atleast one kid does. And that(rather she) was all they could talk about!! Right as I was handing out a muffin a fight errupted.

I always though I was more of a "girl person." As a child I was very shy and quiet. I guess I could connect better with little girls. I think this is changing though, because of Lacorde. After snack was done they went to their appropriate areas. Half of the kids have homework help while the other half go into another room for lifeskills. Yesterday there where two girls for homework help, who quietly dived into their books- and 8 boys! On top of it all, I was the only volunteer for homework(the director wasn't there) so I braced myself. They worked ok, but the minute i'm not looking someone will kick somebody else under the chair or say something funny. This ofcourse just escalates so I try and seperate them to diffrent tables.I also think that they just get tired and bored of homework causing them to loose intrest. They're at school all day and then have to do more school work afterwards. The ipod I learned, is a great teaching utensil. I put the timer on and they then compete to see who can finnish first. I also tell them that X amount of their awnsers have to be right, so it's not just about speed. Whenever they have anything to memorize, usually french poems, it's hilariouse!! I download some of their favortie musicians, who are mostly rappers songs, but only the instrumental. They love Akon and Lil'Wayne right now. So they then have to 'rap' out whatever they have to memorize, to their favorite tune. They love it and at the end I make them say it to me with no music, and they all get (almost) every word!

My camera is still not fixed, but I brang one of those disposible ones last week and took some great pics which I will see if I can scan at a friend's.

Baby Packs

2009-01-27T18:09:00.000-08:00

Before I even booked my tickets to the DR I had a bunch of donations piling up. Mostly infant cloths and toys- some way too thick to even think of bringing. This will come with me to Uganda as the nights can get extremely cold(on top of it most don't have beds/blankets so sleep directly on the dirt floor or a potatoe sack). More things came in but from now on I decided to focus on medicine, school supplies, infant things, and yes yes some toys! I'm scared of the baggage limits these days though, but half my carry on as well as my full luggage, my brother's carry on and his full luggage, and my moms carry on are going to be for donations. We're stuffing all our stuff into one 1/2 bags ..which should be intersting lol! I went pharmacie&dollarstore crazy a few days ago! Great sales on medicines such as children's tylenol, aspirin and ibuprofene(all $3.19) I picked up one bottle of baby pain reliver drops which was a little over $5. I would LOVE to get 12 of these to put one in each baby pack. The baby packs will be delivered to 12 mothers(would be great to be able to do even more), 1 pack to each mother.Half will go to the maternity ward at a hospital and the rest to woman with newborns in the bateys(mostly Haitian settlements for sugar cane cutters) Basically it includes things a newborn and mother would need all put into a large ziplock bag.

I should be receiving more donations this friday as well as next week. It's still a month away and my room is already filled with piles of donations.Now it's time to organize them..

Dominican Republic

2009-01-24T08:06:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. I'm spending mine in Ottawa trying to get some things done. The website of The Apac School Project has a new look, which im still working on. I'm also working on setting up a seperate website for CU school. And ofcourse continuing to plan the next fundraiser..I always get so nervous with planning. There seems so much to do and I never know how it will turn out. We'll have to wait and see.

I'm very excited that it is now official- I am going to the DR with my mum and brother, with the possibility of an aunt comming along!We will be in Puerto Plata. Last October, my mom and me already started bracing for the cold and talking about March break. Around the same time I learned about some of the poverty in the DR, and about the treatment of Haitians who immigrate there.

I got intouch with an organization who is doing great work in so many diffrent areas of need in the DR. I'm partically drawn to the plight of Haitians in the country as they are treated terribly. Racism is rampant and leaves people in dire situations. I already have a suitcase full of donations, and i've also taken over my brother's. I'm focusing on medical&school supplies. A few toys did mange to find their way in too! The main thing I want to do though is see areas which can use long term support.

Apac Update

2009-01-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

I received some great pictures from Apac today, which I am soo excited about! My inbox was flooded with pictures from Hellen. She recently went to Apac ( few hours away by drive from Kampala- where CU school is.) The purpose was to have a meeting with the community, pay off more of the land, get biographies, and ofcourse to take pictures of the kids!

I'm going to be starting up the "Adopt a Child" campaign next month. A school is a huge undertaking and at time it feels overwhelming. When one thing is accomplished another 5 things have been added to the "to-do" list. But then i'm easily reminded that this won't be just a school and how badly it's needed. 70% of the kids who are registered to attend are currently not in school or receiving any form of education. There are other primary schools in the district, but they are far away or private($$) I will post more info on the adopt a child program, once everything is set up. For now take a look at these beautiful kids! (Not sure how to enlarge the pictures onto blogspot?)

Back on track

2009-01-12T10:27:00.001-08:00

I really must start posting more-or quicker! I have been really busy registering for school, planning fundraisers, and in the midst of planning a trip to the DR. I will deffinetly post more about that when more details are sorted through. Tommorow is Wednesday which means it's my volunteer day. I've been off for the holidays and i'm happy to be going back tommorow. It has become a routine which I love(funny because im not a routine person) With my school schedual being what it is (nights, and only a few hours per week during the day) im going to see other areas I could help out with. Right now im doing mostly homework help and i'd love to branch into lifeskills as well. The only problem is the distance and area..since I have to bus it( and apparently it's going to be some Canadian deep freeze tommorow, ugh) the cold weather is hard to handle when the bus stops are a good 10 min walks plus waiting time(x2 buses)Also Yves schedual no longer allows him to be able to volunteer :( and no one is really thrilled at the idea of me staying around the neighbourhood at night which has a bad rep.

I received a picture today of the girls I used to sponsor-Christine, Doreeen and Jackline. Christine is the oldest girl and little Doreen is on the left in blue. The baby and other kids are cousins. Jackline and the mom where working at the stone quarry. I am really happy to say that all three girls will be joining school when the next term opens(Feb2) The mother has agreed to send all three back, and we are looking at setting her up with a income generating project(so long as the girls stay in school) Hellen is still looking into something that will be suitable for her and so far we are thinking of a little shop(think kiosk) selling some food and household products. Another woman will help run it, most likely Awori Juliette, the woman I wrote about in a previouse post. ( All her kids are still in need of sponsors!)

Note to sponsors! I have sent out all the donations received for sponsorship today. Hellen, the director in Uganda has been doing house visits all week and gathering more information on the sponsor children and their families. The kids will be back in school on February 2nd, those who are sponsored will have their photo taken and will write a letter to their new sponsor. These letters generally take 2 weeks to a month to arrive.

2009

2009-01-02T13:32:00.000-08:00

2009 is officially here, it has been for 6 days now, but so far everything has been awfully familiar. I've been sick with the flu :( and trying to figure out stuff to do with school, and of course work on some fundraising stuff. I went with my friend Catherine last night to eat dinner. We planned on eating Haitian but the place we went to ended up being closed, so we decided to try Ethiopian. After walking down streets after streets we got there at 10! It was cold last night but the walk was nice and it reminded me of how much I love Montreal-besides the cold. The lights, the cultures, the scenes, etc. It was my first time eating Ethiopian and it was really good. It reminds me of Indian food- a little blander. There's no utensils and you eat with pieces of spongey sour bread called Injera.

Sponsorship Update: 14 lucky children have found sponsors, leaving 11 left to go! Well, this isn't completely true.. another four kids have been added to the "waiting list." Awori Juliette is a single mother working in the stone quarry. Her husband recently left her to marry another woman and she is left to care for 4 of her children. The kids are all sick and it would be amazing if these kids could have the opportunity to go to school and get out of the stone quarry.

Aguga Babra, 6, wants to be a teacher. (Child in green)

Nyachwo Tabitha, 8, wants to be a nurse. (Middle child)

Obondo Bosco, 10, wants to be a doctor.(Open shirt)

Aboo Lydia, 2, Likes playing with toys. (Baby)

A few posts ago, I highlighted three children in need of sponsors: Nancy, Emmanuel and Annet. I'm happy to say that Nancy and Emmanuel have found sponsors.

This week I will turn the spotlight onto three more children. Owari Joseph, Ajok Monica and Byaruhanga Ambrose.

Group N2

Owari Joseph is 9 years old and only in nursery. He has never had a sponsor before, therefore no one was able to support his school fees. His mother has continually been sick making her work at the stone quarry extra difficult. Because of this, the family often resorts to begging.(4th from left top row)

Ajok Monica loves to skip and play hide and seek. She is 6 years old and in nursery class. She has 3 siblings who also attend CU school. Her family works in the stone quarry.(5th from left top row)

Byaruhanga Ambrose is a kind boy who loves sports. His favorites are soccer and volleyball and but he also loves dancing! He is 12 years old and in P.3. He needs a sponsor to encourage him to reach his full potential.(2nd from left, top row-light brown shirt)

It's $35/Year to sponsor a child. Please help spread the word! A little less than a month until the kids return to school(Feb2). I have been receiving their detailed biographies and pictures with their families, so those of you who are sponsor can expect that within the next few weeks.

All the best for 2009!

Kireka Hill

2008-12-25T13:30:00.001-08:00

Julius Ochen and family working in the Kireka quarry.

http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1435/1/

I came across this article and I encourage everyone to read it, especially if you sponsor children at Christian Upliftment. It deals with the exact location/quarry- called "Kireka quarry" that the children and families from CU work in. It's not far from the school. It also deals with one of the reasons I decided to build a school in Apac.

"Many of the women at the Kireka quarry want to return home, as do most other IDPs. Previously, they lived among their families and benefited from a small and supportive community. Today, they live in a ghetto aptly called the Acholi Quarters (Acholi being their ethnicity). They struggle everyday for survival and wonder what happened to their husbands and children. They are not equipped with the necessary skills to barter and argue their way in an urban environment where they're largely cut off from family and community connections"

One of the families that work in the quarry are that of my three sponsor children- Doreen, Jackline, and Christine. They left school a few months ago to join their mother in the quarry. Their father died a while ago. Hellen recently tracked them down to see how they where doing. They now live with some friends as they where vacated from their small mud house and it's extremely crowded. Hellen is looking into an income generating project for the mum which will allow the girls to go back to school. I will keep everyone updated!

From left to right mum, baby, Doreen, Jackline and Christine.

Blogs for a Cause& Fundraising News!

2008-12-25T13:10:00.000-08:00

I would like to remind everyone that Nikki at Blogs for a Cause, http://www.madebynikki.blogspot.com/ has chosen The Apac School Project to donate to this month. If you want your blog redone or redesigned- now's the time to do it!

On other fundraising news, I am now in the process of planning our next one for February. It will be an all day affair, starting in the late morning and ending in the evening. During the day there will be a raffle, Ugandan jewelery&crafts, bake sale, coffee&tea, etc..At night it will be a bit more formal with a sit down dinner and i'll talk a bit about the project. If your in an around the Montreal area please stop by! I have a huge list of things I have to do-the first being to get the hall I want(Piereffonds Cultural Center) so i'm off to call them again. Hopefully, if this day is succesful we can start getting some classrooms built(it's about $3,500 for each class to be built and furnished!) If your intrested in trying to raise money to have one classroom built in your name there's a number of ways to do it...

1) Bottles&Can Collection- Collect bottles and cans which can be returned for cash. Let your friends and family know what your doing and chances are they will help you out.

2)Loonie n' Toonie Drive- Asks friends and family to donate a buck or two towards your goal.

3) Ugandan jewelery- Beautiful necklaces, bracelets, and earings all made by local woman and children from Uganda. You can set up a booth and sell them at school or at a local fair. They are handmade out of recycled paper!

For anyone who wants to set up a fundraiser with the goal of building a classroom or even just to raise a bit of money - everything is needed and appreciated. To help you with your fundraising efforts, I will send you information and pictures and anything else you might need to make your fundraiser a success. Everyone who raises money for a classroom to be built, will have their name(s) incribed into a plaque and put up in the class once it's built. You will also get a report(information/pictures)each step of the way as well as a video of the class once construction is complete!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T07:28:00.000-08:00

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I am spending mine with my immediate family. The food has been abundant(and we’re only 10am..) and the gifts where everywhere. The weather outside is.. snowy and probably freezing but from indoors it makes for the perfect Christmas morning setting. I wonder how it is over in Uganda? Although it’s no longer morning there, it’s around 5pm(7 hr difference) It makes me sad and also fill me with a sense of happiness to think of them celebrating the day. There will be no gifts and the food won’t be plentiful, for many there will be none. But they will go to church and rejoice and spend time with family and neighbors. Celebrating life. It’s hard to think of the orphans and mistreated children on this day that has been showered with love for me and so many of us. I think of one of my sponsor children, Brenda, who lives with an uncle and his wife. The uncle physically abuses her and the aunt makes her feel unwelcome and unloved. For this one day, will he keep his hands off of her? Will the aunt share a hug with her? I have to hope for the best, but reality is it’s just an ordinary day for children like Brenda. And even if the spirit of Christmas hits the evil people, it usually leaves faster than when it came.

Please keep these children in your thoughts. Akwero Nancy and Abilo Betty who are both complete orphans. Owari Joseph, who is 9 but still in baby class(nursery) because his studies keep getting interrupted(he is pulled out to work) They are still looking for sponsors with many other children.

Enjoy the rest of the day and holidays!! Let the countdown to the 2009 begin!

An excuse to say "yes!"

2008-12-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

I don't know what im looking more forward to, Christmas or once all of the children at Christian Upliftment Nursery&Primary school have found sponsors. I have been trying to find sponsors for two groups of kids, in total 25. So far 9 sponsors are on board, ready to change a life!! That leaves 16 kids in need of a sponsor!

The current sponsors could be called "ordinary people"-working men and woman, families, and even kids and teens! But they are deffinetly doing extraordinary things! On top of sponsoring students, we have been able to come together at times of need for the school. Some of the recent projects include build a clean water well for the school and surronding community, building proper toilets, and even setting up children's mothers with income generating project.

New toilets constructed. The old ones where filthy and unhygenic. These help the older girls stay in school when they're menstruating as they have the proper facilities to use.

Students help take part in bringing clean water to their school and community!

Children eating lunch thanks to their sponsors!

These children are worthy of it and most of all they deserve it. No money is taken back for administration purposes and your yearly donation of $35 goes towards buying the child a uniform, school meals, and to pay the dedicated teachers. Without the sponsorship program, the school would no longer be able to run.

Asio Annet. A beautiful 12 year old girl who has no one to support her. She comes from a very poor family. She dreams of becoming a doctor. The sad reality is that she has an extremely high chance of never even making it to high school. Without someone to support her, she will likely be pulled out of school to look for work.

Meet little Ogosa Emmanuel! He's 10 years old and loves playing hide and seek and running. He is an orphan at only 10 years old. He wants to study hard so he can become a teacher. He needs someones guidance to help him get to where he wants to be.

This here is Akwero Nancy. She is a complete orphan which means that both her parents have died. She loves playing games with her friends and would like to be a teacher. She is 11 years old and is in p.2.

There's always a reason to choose to make a diffrence in a child's life. Maybe these three kids will help you put a reason on them!

Letters of Love

2008-12-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

I am really humbled at people who have decided to sponsor a child. Get ready to fall in love! These kids value the preciouse gift of education they are being given(isn't it sad that education is a gift to some??) There are still many children in need of sponsorship. It's only $35/YEAR! This will buy them a uniform, which they wear so proudly! The rest covers the cost of tuition, which goes towards the dedicated teachers pay and to provide the children with lunch or breakfest.

Here is one of the letters from my beautiful little Awor Winifred age 11

Dear Katelyn,

I am very glad to write this letter to you. How do you do? I am fine. Thank you for all you have been doing to support my studies. How is Canada? When will you come to see us here? I am now in grade 3, I love school so much. My mother loves you and wants you to come here. Will you write to me also? I tear to read your kind letters. Thank you for your kind heart. god Bless you all. Thank you yours faithfully, Awor Winnifred.

Emmanuel Wana age 12.

Dear Katelyn,

I am very happy to write to you. I am your new penpal. How is Canada? isn't there very cold country? Thank you for your gift of birthday. I am happy I am going to use it to visit the game park for my first time. I am praying to come and meet you in Canada. I want to learn scating and I live with my mum and I love her so much she makes me happy. Daddy died last Feb. Imiss him. I like singing, dancing, riding bicycle for my friends. I love pet but we live in a very small house. I want to study upto university to be an Engineer. Thank you for accepting to pay my education. Greetings to all the friends and famly. Thank you may God Bless you. Wana Emmanuel.

As I attempted to take a picture of my letters I realised I had lost the charger! I'll try and get some up someone this week.

The Holidays Are Only Here For Some

2008-12-13T21:22:00.000-08:00

The holidays seem to be approaching so fast. My holiday shooping is almost done but my holiday goal has only begun! My goal is to get two groups of kids(25) sponsors at Christian Upliftment Nursery& Primary School. What an amazing Christmas gift for a child and someone in your life! Your sponsorship will buy a child a uniform and pay their tuition, one of the best gifts a child living in poverty can receive- an education. It is also a great way to honor someone in your family this Christmas(especially that person who has everything!)

Let me introduce the first group-"N2". These 13 kids are in desperate need of sponsors. So far 5 of them have sponsors and the rest are waiting.

A preciouse 10 year old girl who shares my name(Kate), unfortunetly dosn't share some of the same oppurtunities I have been given in my life. She's an orphan- but that dosn't stop her from smilling and trying her best in school(which she proves by being one of the top students in her class) She love running and dancing and her ambition is to become a nurse. Edeku Elvis also has big dreams of becoming an engineer when he grows up. He's the second child in the top row. At 9 years old he's in grade 4 and loves sports. His favorite is soccer and running but if there's music around he won't hesitate to dance!

All except one in this group need sponsors. 9 out of 12 of them are orphans, such as Rebecca Atuheire, found on the left in the white shirt. She's 12 years old and listed as a "complete orphan." This means that neither one of her parents are living and most likely died of AIDS or were killed in the conflict in Northern Uganda. She wants to become a doctor. When she's not studying or helping with chores such as sweeping and collecting water, she can be found playing hide and seek. The smallest one of the group is little Brian Arac and even though he's only four he loves numbers and dreams of becoming an accountant!

The cost of sponsorship is $35/YEAR. Your sponsorship covers the child's tuition enabling them stay in school as well as receive a school uniform. Once you choose a child you can e-mail, apacschool@hotmail.com or visit http://www.apacschool.com/sponsorship.htm You will receive a basic biography of the child immedietly and then a more detailed one in the coming week.

Currently the kids are on holiday and will return to school on February 2nd. All the children who get sponsors will be notified upon their return and sponsors will receive an updated photo and letter from their sponsor child.

Blogs for a Cause

2008-11-30T13:44:00.000-08:00

I have some really great news to share on this post. I become online friends with a girl named Nikki after researching volunteering in the Dominican Republic. I came across her blog, www.endsforyou.blogspot.com, where she writes about her volunteer experiences and how she's making a difference. She also designs blogs,where she charges $30= $25 going towards her humanitarian trips(Dominican Republic and Ethiopia) and $5 towards her charity of the month.

This month, The Apac School Project was chosen! If you want your blog designed or re-designed, please check out www.madebynikki.blogspot.com. Since it's the one year anniversary of her blog she will be donating $10 rather than the regular $5.

Thanks Nikki!

I also have more great news to share. The well has been completed at CU primary. It isn't an actual pump well, they had to do underground work to connect to the national water supply which is treated and safe water. Once that's done they build pipes leading to above the ground where the fresh water comes out of. Now all the students have clean, safe, drinking water. How exciting is that?! The term is also finished for the holidays so while they're on break, my goal is to find new sponsors. It's only $35 a year and makes a huge difference in their lives. For now you can visit www.apacschool.com and go to "The Sister School" page for more information.

Hellen(principal of CU primary with the new clean water available)

Some students with their files on the last day of school.

www.apacschool.com CHECK IT OUT!

2008-11-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

Finally, after many months.. The Apac School Project's website is up and running!

It can be seen at, http://www.apacschool.com/

Now it's time to share the website and let everyone know that they can make a difference in the lives of children in Northern Uganda. It's time to let these kids shine!!

PS.Please bear with me with minor glitches!!

Sponsorship of Ketteline StHilaire

2008-11-21T20:23:00.000-08:00

I have been looking at the wesbite "His Hands For Haiti" for quite some time. I've always wanted to sponsor a child in Haiti but for one reason after the other never got around to doing so. I decided to go ahead and give myself an early Christmas gift. I choose a girl named Ketteline St.Hilaire. She's 8 years old. Here name sounds like mine, Katelyn, when mine is said in french( it's pronounces k-ate and french always pronounce it k-ett.) A french teacher and myself had a funny dicussion on how anglophones and francophones have troubles with prononciation in the others language. Apparently anglos have a hard time with the sound and letter U/OU. So we learned; "J'ai couru dans la rue tou nue." Anyways, I think she's just the cutest girl ever and i'm excited to start communicating with her.

Liquid Gold

2008-11-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

Water. Sometimes nicknamed "liquid gold" but surely this must be a mistake. Gold is preciouse and expensive and water is merely something we drink and bathe with. We turn on a tap and there it is. But the simpleness of turning a tap on and out pours the water is not a reality for 1.1billion people in the world. For them, water brings dieseases such as diarreah. This is the number one killer for 90% of children under the age of 5 years old. But water is life. It's needed for everything- to grow crops, drink, bathe, build, etc.

Uganda compared to other African countries(%of people who have access to safe drinking water)

Egypt-97%

Kenya-57%

South Africa-86%

Sudan-67%

Uganda-52%

Zimbabwe- 83%

I sent money last week (from the Bowl-O-Thon) to build a well at Christian Upliftment Primary School in Kampala. It was urgently needed as the school moved locations and at the new location there was no access to clean water. It's rainy season in Uganda (and when it rains it pours) so this is causing some troubles with getting the well built but hopefully i'll be able to report within the next week of how things are going.

Director's letter to me ..

Hi,
I have attached a few Photographs we have begun with yesterday. The rain is too much this season and we may lower the building process until it ceases. The children are very impressed and happy about the well, they have asked me send lots of hugs to you. Wish you success in all your endeavours and God bless you.
Hellen

A Well For CU

2008-11-05T10:16:00.001-08:00

Last night I went to the Youth Unlimited (Jeunesse Sans Limite) banquet at the Terra Nova church. We ate and listened to people speak about the programs and those who have been in the programs. I never knew how many projects they have going. I volunteer with "La Corde" located in Cloverdale. Here they serve breakfest, run an after school tutoring and life skills program, and do fun activities with the kids. Youth Unlimited bought the Terra Nova church and run a bunch of programs from there such as a girls discussion group, after school activies, counceling, etc. They also work globally in Belize, Venezuela, Panama and Haiti. I also found out one of the volunteer I work with (she actually works part time at Lacorde and is a Youth Worker) has visited Uganda twice. So we talked about that for half the night lol.. that leads me to

Uganda News

Today I sent money to build a well at the Christian Upliftment school. The school used to be in a diffrent area where they had clean water but they recently moved the school to a new site where no clean water is available.

Here are some past pictures from CU. . . .

Denis&Robert, orphaned HIV+ brothers.

My sponsored kids and penpals goofing off :)

Waiting in line for lunch. A little cup of porrige, the only meal of the day.

Which is no longer available because of the land shift (no money)

Halloween Food For Though...

2008-11-03T14:24:00.000-08:00

A Happy belated Halloween :)

Fun Fact:

In 2007, Canadians spent about $1.5 billion on Halloween, according to the Retail Council of Canada

www.freewebs.com/apacschool

2008-10-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to start to get the website i've created for The Apac School Project up and running a bit more. I'm on a good roll with banks right now- finally after numerouse attempts I got my new bank card and new savings account. This will help to keep me from spending money I need to save for the big trips. I also set up a paypal account but im still not up to date with how it exactely works but im getting the hang of it..slowly..Once that's undercontrol im going to open the online shop selling beautiful crafts, jewellery pieces, tablecloths and paintings all made by local women and children in Uganda. All the money recieved from each purchase will go towards building the school in Apac. Stay tuned :)

I've also become a bit of an addict- to Craiglist. That buy&sell website. I put an add in the baby/kids section asking for variouse items(Blankets, Clothing, Shoes, Books, Etc) and to my suprise got a great response! So far i've collected about 4 large garbage bags and 2 small boxes from diffrent people. Almost all the bags are gone as I donated them to LaBelle Deeese Charity Foundation for Haiti(Yves's sis+mom's foundation) They're going to be hand delivering everything to the hospitals, orphanages and families who where affected by the floods. We spent the entire weekend packing boxes full of everything you can think of! I think they loaded it yesterday onto the boat which will take about 20 days to arrive.

Work&Rabbits

2008-10-16T16:56:00.000-07:00

Nothing much new happening. The bowl-o-thon is still keeping me busy though, which will be held next Saturday. I'm hoping for a good turnout. I've been collecting my pledges and so far have almost $100, which is great. I've been going door-to-door around where I babysit, just to try a new area and im pretty happy. The occasional rude person just has to say something..which kinda gets me fueled but I just have to bite my tongue, say thanks and walk away. Don't get me wrong, i'm not expecting everyone to donate or even support this cause (children receiving and education, what's there not to support, but anyways..) but the comments.ugh. So far I got- "I have four children" -Okay and you also have a four car garage I didn't get the memo that it was comment day? "I already help people in, UuUgale. And the ever famouse.. " What about the poor here?"

I also got a new part-time job. Yay! Helping a women with 3 kids (babysitting, laundry, etc)4 days a week in the morning and on the random weekend. I'm not used to getting up at 8 though with school starting at 1 but I gotta keep focused and know that this money will be getting me to all the places I plan on visiting this summer. I put up a 8x14 size picture at the foot of my bed of the community of Apac, so hopefully this will help.

And on pet news, I have a cat whose almost 12 and 2 budgies- who in retrospect are my brother's. It feels so lonely now with only 3 critters so I finally decided to adopt a rabbit. I've really wanted a rabbit since forever but the time was never right. So cross your fingers for meand hopefully he'll be home this week!!

Fundraising news

2008-10-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

I got everything printed up today at Bureau En Gros (Staples)from flyers to pledge sheets. I'm really happy with the outcome, they look great!!

The official date of the bowl-a-thon is Oct/25 from 7-9pm, at the Roxboro Bowl-O-Drome. For the people who don't collect with a pledge form we're asking for a minimum donation of $20.00. Hope to see you then & happy bowling :)

HELP HAITI!

2008-10-06T14:21:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty busy preparing for the next fundraiser(Bowl-A-Thon) and getting things sorted out. I'm finally going to open a new bank account to start saving for these summer trips. Especially seeing as it will most likely be 3 countries!! Okay so how did it even get to two right? Uganda is here for obviouse reasons. Then for March break I was suppose to go to the Dominican Republic with my family on vacation but I was going to do volunteer work instead. I'm thinking of going to the DR in the summer since there's a few project I really feel like I want to accomplish(such as building a well for clean water) and 1 week wouldn't be enough time. Lastly after talking with Yves's sister Haiti was added onto the list! She has a fondation that helps the poor especially near Christmas time. Giving gifts to children in the hospital and the community. Haiti has always been a country i've been dyeing to visit for cultural purposes and ofcourse to help the poor. Seeing as the DR and Haiti share an island this is looking pretty good:) An important note on Haiti..

As i'm sure you're all aware hurricanes have crashed into Haiti within the last month. Not one but three. Even before the storm hit, flashfloods killed 2,000 people. Estimate are at 1million homeless. Being the poorest country in the northern hemisphere you can imagine how much rebuilding is being done, and how many items are needed. Yves's family is collecting items such as used clothing, shoes, lotion/vaseline, soap, hygiene products, etc to send down. I managed to get some clothing, childrens sized blankets, toys(stuffed animals), and some hygene products together. Please if you have ANYTHING you can donate it would be VERY appreciated. At a time of loss and despair in Haiti, the most basic things can help them start rebuilding their lives.

I started babysitting for a new family on Sunday. It went really well, they have three daughters and had to do something with the oldest one so I watched the other two, ages 6 and 8. It was a lot of fun and we watched High School Musical in French. Funny stuff. They really wanted me to do their hair in braids so I did the 8 year olds. I tried the X style for the first time and it came out not bad.

Wednesday

2008-10-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

On my last post I wrote about "my new volunteer venture" We went today at 3:30 and started helping right away with homework. I helped 4 kids with both french and math. They where in grades 3,4, and 6. Talk about blast from the past! Ces ou Ses? Cette/Ce/Ces/etc.. I kept flipping to the front of the book looking at the verb rules. Many of the kids parents come from Haiti and African speaking countries so they speak French at home and those who don't have been put into french school since kindergarden..anyone in QC know how the law goes. A lot of the stuff they where doing(french wise) was stuff I started doing in grade 9. I can speak fluently and understand perfectly but when it comes to writting. Leave me out of it! Me and Yves kept switching kids depending on what they had for homework lol. It was a really good day though. The kids are sweet and funny. After a little over an hour, I can tell each one of their personalities. The quiet ones, the listeners, and there are a whole lot of jokers-did I mention a singer?!! We're going to go in a little earlier next time before they start homework to get more familiar with names, weaknesses/strong points/etc. After that was done we got some Haitian food next door, $5/plate. Yummy! (I totaly forget to take pics at La Corde. Next time! I did manage to get a picture of dinner lol)

On other note..a fellow sponsor took a trip to Uganda this past August(lucky!!) She sent me this picture of Winny, she's second to last on the right. With her mom Rose, siblings and other children. She sent me this little description of her"She is like Florence Nightingale. Looking after everyone else. She's a quiet achiever that one. " I also got some pictures in from Hellen. They finally moved the school ( AYA donated money for them to buy land as they where paying monthly rent for the old school.) I don't think I really wrote anything about CU have I?? Well, Christian Upliftment Primary School is located in Kampala, Uganda. It serves many children (~300)who come from extremely poor backgrounds. Many of the families that live in this particular area of Kampala are refugees from the Northern Ugandan war. The school was started by a man named Boniface and his wife Hellen. Unfortunetly, Boniface passed away last February. Now Hellen runs the school, looks after orphaned children, is a provider for the entire community, I really can go on and on. She is Superwoman. After she told me about the situation in Northern Uganda we decided it would be a good idea to open a second school up country. And that brings us to now! I'm currently fundraising to build a school in Apac, Uganda- to serve more than 600 children. Hopefully this dream will soon be a reality.

<--Winny in beige :)

La Corde, my new volunteering venture!

2008-09-25T20:40:00.001-07:00

La Corde (The Rope)

About a month ago I read an article in the local newspaper about an organization called La Corde funded by World Vision that caught my attention. It caught my attention for two reasons. One, the work they where doing seemed really great. Among many other programs, tutoring and mentoring children after school who needed the extra help. The second reason was location, about two bus rides away- a total traveling distance of around 20 minutes. Now the second reason is deffinetly good for convenience purposes, but I think had it been even further away I would of applied just because I really believe in what they’re doing. So why did the location drive me even more to apply. To see that only 20 minutes away from my house there is poverty. The school im building in Uganda will serve poor children and when people use that phrase "what about the poor here?" What about them? Show me here where children here are turned away from school because they can’t afford a school uniform. Where mothers grieve over their infants death because it was pricked by a mosquito which carried malaria, and they are too poor to afford the $ 4 treatment. Where entire communities are left with nothing after rebels burned it down and kidnaped the innocent. These ignorant people. Poverty in Canada, bah! Show me! I thought I was the one being global and looking "outside the box", helping those who really need it. I guess my box has been shook.

Poverty is...

"being afraid to tell your mom you need new gym shoes"

"pretending that you forgot your lunch"

"hiding your feet so the teacher won’t get angry you don’t have boots"

"not getting to go on school trips"

Those are quotes from grade 4&5 students.

Let me introduce you to the Cloverdale community. (Reminder, 20 minutes from my house. Also some stuff is copy and pasted from the information they sent me. ) Families tend to be large, with 3-6 children. Most if not all people who are working, work for minimum wage. 35% of the Cloverdale residents live below the poverty line with 65% living at the poverty line - with a median income of $12,000(the average median for the city it's located in, Pierrefonds, is around $38,000) It is a majority immigrant population: there are 52-53 different ethnic groups represented, with 40% African, 30% Haitian, 20% Quebecois and 10% Middle Eastern.

People like to analyze all the diffrent types of poverty. The main two are extreme poverty, and poverty. They like to look at annual monetary figures of households, grades children are obtaining, location, and it goes on. When it all boils down shouldn't we help anyone in need of it? If someone/place has more needs than another should we ignore the other place? I know personally it's overwehlming to think of everything that needs to be fixed and helped in this world. Start with one child. Numerouse organization offer child sponsorship programs. You can search for one that you feel the best with. I can personally tell you that it's an amazing thing to do(afterall this blog was named after two of my sponsored children.)Big Brother Big Sister has a great program running in the US&Canada to mentor a child from your community in need. They require a minimum of two hours a week (about the legth of a film) for you to spend with the child.

Articled I read that lead me to volunteer : http://www.thesuburban.com/dialog_printarticle.jsp?sid=11049853422039100598150402904&ctid=1000001&cnid=1016137

I go in for my first day on Wensday!! So excited:)

Going Green For A Cause

2008-09-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

I know it hasn't been a week since I posted my first "going green" blog but this just can't wait. I'm trying to set up a minimum of two fundraisers a month for The Apac School Project (www.freewebs.com/apacschool.com) and I thought i'd mention the first one here. What does going green and a fundraiser have in common..?

Montreal's Bottle and Can Collection For The Apac School !

Here in QC we get .05cents per can and .10cents per bottle for recycling these items. You bring them into local grocery stores that have machines that 'eat 'them up and you then get a receipt which you bring to the counter and they pay you for the amount of cans/bottles you brang in.
This is where your part comes in! Set up a bag or box, in the kitchen or garage for example, where evryone in your household puts their cans and bottles. Once it's full we'll pick it up. How easy is that?? You also don't have to limit yourself to your home. Besides letting all your friends and family know, you can set collection bins at school and work.

Not in Montreal? Most provinces/states have the same type of thing set up. I'll be glad to send you an information kit and flyers to help you set up your own bottle/can collection for The Apac School Project.

The more people, the more cans, the more money..the closer we are to having a school built to educate more than 600 impoverished Ugandan children!!

Montreal Haitian Film Festival/Voodoo

2008-09-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

I was very lucky to be invited to one of the exibitions part of the 4th annual Montreal Haitian Film Festival. This festivals main purpose is to show films from here and abroad that have to do with Haiti in some way or another. Many of the films are independant and stuff that dosn't hit the big screen. They also have a theme, and the theme this year was Voodoo(in Qc city it was modern slavery I beleive.)

The purpose of the exibition was to dismantle the stereotypes associated with Voodoo and show the true religeon. Although im far from an expert, i'll try and give a brief description of Voodoo.

The age of the religeon is probably as old as Africa itself. Most of the slaves that where brought to the west, where from west Africa where the religeon is still predominent today. In 1492 Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. He opened plantations of sugar, coffee, and tobbacco to name a few. Ofcourse African slaves where used to harvest these plantations. As part of the colony's code, all slaves where to be baptized as Christians. This made a lot of changes in their religeon. They incorporated many elements of the Catholic faith into their religeon, such as saints names. The Catholic saints names became the name of the loas(spirits) The original inhabitants of the country where Arawak Indians who also practised their own religeon. This mixed with the Haitians Voodoo.

All of this makes Voodoo what it is today. Unfortunetly, it is an extremely misunderstood religeon which is highly stereotyped.

Voodoo alter

Going Green

2008-09-19T20:02:00.000-07:00

Global warming seems to be a hot topic right now. Is it true, exagerated, or meant to be, I don't think it all really matters. The thing that does is that polluting does affect us in one way or another. Contaminated water and air makes for very sick people. Fact. Also why throw things out when you can recycle or personally re-use them?

To be honest im not too green. I try and do my part but I think I can try harder. In my everyday life, I take public transportation 90% of the time, turn off all the lights when im done using them, I don't buy bottled water, and I don't eat meat everyday. Some ideas i've compiled up from the internet include;

Bring a bag when shooping. My friend has 4 large fabric bags he keeps in his car. Everytime he goes grocery shooping he wips them out. He never has to use a single plastic bag.

Do you have any ideas to make my life greener? Let me know! I'm going to try and update weekly on the changes i'm making.

The Apac School Project

2008-09-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you combine, one girl with a drive to make a diffrence in the world, a bunch of AMAZING friends- and one girl in Uganda, with around 600 children to educate. You get The Apac School Project.

It started out modestly. My mind was ALL over the place. It was grade six and some people from "Roots and Shoots" came to talk to our class about making a diffrence. They spoke about one boy who couldn't beleive people in countries across the world didn't have access to safe drinking water. He did something about it and now, The Ryans Well Foundation is still going strong. I came home feeling inspired. What should I do? Where? Who to help?Throught the next two years I did what I could. Collected money and iteams for schools and orphanages in Tanzania, Zambia and India. And then came Uganda. I got in touch with a local teacher and his wife who ran a poor school in Kampala. A brick was not to be found anywhere near the school. Tins and weak polls held it together. Paper mats seperated the filled up classrooms which where bursting at the seams. I started corresponding and sponsoring a few children. One of my first where Winny and B (Winifred and Brenda) Many of them wrote about family members that had been abducted and forced to become rebels. Many are orphans because their parents or guardians where killed. I learnt more and more about their situation, and the one they had fleed. That's when the Apac School Project was born.

$59,600 away from having a primary school to serve more than 600 children in the district of Apac Uganda. Check out the temporary site I made for this amazing cause!

www.freewebs.com/apacschool

Pull up a chair

2008-09-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

For my first blog I guess I should start by introducing myself. My name is Kate and im 17 years old. Hopefully i'll be entering cegep(college) this January at .... well you'll find out when the time comes:)

The things I love to do and sometimes have to do, what my life revolves around..

A-Animals

B-Books

C-Cooking

D-Documentaries Marley, my old foster cat

E-Entebbe airport where i'll be landint nxt summer!!

F-Friends

G-Going somewhere..anywhere..

H-Helping others

I-Indian Food

J-Joking(when it's really unesecary)

K-Kampala

L-Love

M-Music

N-Nature

O-Opinionated

P-Photography

Q-Queens, and im not talking about the ones with kings ;)

R-Riding the bus

S-Sponsorship

T-Travelling

U-Uganda

V-Volunteering

W-Will&Grace

X-X..

Y-Yves <3

Z- Zabumafoo