this week has once again been very busy and i cant believe it has flown by again!! time is running away with me!!
last weekend we ran the childrens club for children who are are suffering with HIV or have parents that are! this is run in a very similar way to sunday school and around 100 kids come so its good fun. sunday is our only day off each week and this week we visited a church called deliverance church which was a crazy gospel church! it was amazing and definitely woke us all up!! after that we went and got lunch! i was soooo excited to each something other than rice potatoes and cabbage!! probably the best burger i have ever had!
monday we took out day off to go and see somewhere in Uganda. we chose to visit Jinja which is about 2 hours from kampala along some very windy roads! not sure my mum would have been impressed but somehow we got there and back in one piece! we took a boat ride on the nile to see the source and then out onto lake victoria. then spent the afternoon in the craft shops/
this week we have also planted plantain at the small farm COBAP have just outside kampala and visited their newly built pig farm. wednesday we spent the day learning how to make quilts by some of the ladies in the skills centre which was really fun. they create quilts and jumpers etc to sell to the community.
yesterday we visited a different organisation call Rahab which supports and offers shelter to girls under 18 exploited by the sex trade. it is an amazing place where they can come and learn skill and english as well as get food, wash and spend the night. it has been really successful and is helping so many young girls so it was amazing to join in a lesson with them.
today we did some home visits around the different districts of the slums taking with us small gifts of food. everyone we visited today was ill and so it was nice to surprise them and spend some time just chatting and finding out about them. i think this is the most rewarding thing we have been doing.
tomorrow its back to kids club and then next week is the start of my final week! time is flying by so really looking forward to making the most of my final time here before i have to leave!
Friday, 20 July 2012
Thursday, 12 July 2012
joining in with COBAP
i have finally found the time to return to the internet so am able to give you a quick update of my time so far!
i have spent the last week and a half working with an organization called COBAP which focuses on reaching the slum community it is sited within. their main aim is to educate the people on HIV and AIDs and try and prevent the spread of the virus. they are linked with a local church and all the outreach they do is in association with this church.
whilst with COBAP we are supporting them on their various outreach projects and immersing ourselves in the community. so far we have organised and run a medical outreach which allowed people to come and receive free medical attention but mainly HIV testing and then support for the people who were found positive. we have also run kids clubs, visited schools and help to rebuild the childrens shed they have on site at COBAP. all this in very hot temperatures has been very tiring work but its been exciting to get involved.
this afternoon we did some house visits in the community and they were all people who are linked with COBAP and most of the were suffering from HIV and get help, support and treatment from COBAP. it was really amazing to visit these vulnerable people and see the good work COBAP is doing in their lives. for many of these people without the free treatment they are receiving they wouldnt be able to buy it for themselves and so would suffering and ill.
tomorrow we ar heading to a local secondary school which COBAP is hoping to build links with and so we are going in to run activities and games but most of all educate them about HIV and they ways they can protect themselves and prevent it so it should be a fun day.
thankfully i am in good health and loving my time here but in the last few days a few of my team have become ill so prayer for health would be amazing so we can be back as a full team again!
will post again when i get a chance!
i have spent the last week and a half working with an organization called COBAP which focuses on reaching the slum community it is sited within. their main aim is to educate the people on HIV and AIDs and try and prevent the spread of the virus. they are linked with a local church and all the outreach they do is in association with this church.
whilst with COBAP we are supporting them on their various outreach projects and immersing ourselves in the community. so far we have organised and run a medical outreach which allowed people to come and receive free medical attention but mainly HIV testing and then support for the people who were found positive. we have also run kids clubs, visited schools and help to rebuild the childrens shed they have on site at COBAP. all this in very hot temperatures has been very tiring work but its been exciting to get involved.
this afternoon we did some house visits in the community and they were all people who are linked with COBAP and most of the were suffering from HIV and get help, support and treatment from COBAP. it was really amazing to visit these vulnerable people and see the good work COBAP is doing in their lives. for many of these people without the free treatment they are receiving they wouldnt be able to buy it for themselves and so would suffering and ill.
tomorrow we ar heading to a local secondary school which COBAP is hoping to build links with and so we are going in to run activities and games but most of all educate them about HIV and they ways they can protect themselves and prevent it so it should be a fun day.
thankfully i am in good health and loving my time here but in the last few days a few of my team have become ill so prayer for health would be amazing so we can be back as a full team again!
will post again when i get a chance!
Friday, 6 July 2012
i have internet!!!!
sorry this is my first post since being away. i have been unbelievably busy and its been a challenge to find the time but is suppose that means im having fun!! so i will try and fill you in on what i have been up to so far....
i flew to kenya with andrew where we were warmly greeted by our close friend isaac and taken straight out for some BBQ goat which is their native food. more for andrews benefit than mine! most of the time spent in kenya was spent catching up with them although we did have the chance visit a project in nairobi which allow women to create hand made cards and they are sold in the uk. it was amazing to see them being made as i have seen them for many years being sold at church and to see each women behind the cards was very special.
from kenya we took an internal flight to uganda where we were met by our friend matthew and headed straight to mityana which was the start of a week with no water and very little electricity. during our time we spent most of the days in the vocational center teaching the girls english. this was really encouraging as there was now nearly 50 students enrolled whereas last time there was only 5! so spending time with them was amazing and we even got to take part in a netball tournament! after 8 years of not playing i was pretty bad but got alot of cheers.
we also spent some time in the hospital visiting patients. the original plan was to paint the childrens ward but when we arrived we discovered someone had beat us to it and so it was more jist visiting and talking to patients. we did meet a very desperate lady who had a very sick baby but no money for the treatment so it was very touching to be able to pay and help the child survive.
we used the money instead to put together food and material boxes and handed them out to the most needy in the village. this was also a very special and moving few days.
i have now joined up with my tearfund trip and have spent the last fews days getting to know the organisation and visiting some of the slum areas. today we had a medical outreach which was amazing but disorganised but thats africa!!
will try and update when i have more to tell!!
i flew to kenya with andrew where we were warmly greeted by our close friend isaac and taken straight out for some BBQ goat which is their native food. more for andrews benefit than mine! most of the time spent in kenya was spent catching up with them although we did have the chance visit a project in nairobi which allow women to create hand made cards and they are sold in the uk. it was amazing to see them being made as i have seen them for many years being sold at church and to see each women behind the cards was very special.
from kenya we took an internal flight to uganda where we were met by our friend matthew and headed straight to mityana which was the start of a week with no water and very little electricity. during our time we spent most of the days in the vocational center teaching the girls english. this was really encouraging as there was now nearly 50 students enrolled whereas last time there was only 5! so spending time with them was amazing and we even got to take part in a netball tournament! after 8 years of not playing i was pretty bad but got alot of cheers.
we also spent some time in the hospital visiting patients. the original plan was to paint the childrens ward but when we arrived we discovered someone had beat us to it and so it was more jist visiting and talking to patients. we did meet a very desperate lady who had a very sick baby but no money for the treatment so it was very touching to be able to pay and help the child survive.
we used the money instead to put together food and material boxes and handed them out to the most needy in the village. this was also a very special and moving few days.
i have now joined up with my tearfund trip and have spent the last fews days getting to know the organisation and visiting some of the slum areas. today we had a medical outreach which was amazing but disorganised but thats africa!!
will try and update when i have more to tell!!
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
time to go
just so you all know i will be leaving tomorrow morning from heathrow and an flying into nairobi in kenya where me and my brother andrew are spending some time with some friends we know and visiting a project in the kibera slum. sunday afternoon is when we leave kenya and fly across to uganda where we will spend a week in Mityana before returning back to the city of kampala and andrew leaves and the other girls from my tear fund trip arrive and i begin that project! looking forward to letting you know where i am and what I'm up to but this is a very rough over view!!
Fundraising Cheese and Wine Tasting.
thankyou to everyone who made it to the event and helped make it the huge success it was. the evening managed to raise £600 towards the work i will be doing in a few weeks with tearfund!
here a few photos of the evening for you to see!
I'm hoping to post and update this blog as much as possible but it will be internet depended so don't be surprised if you don't hear from me in a while!!
thank you again for coming and helping me raise the money! i look forward to telling you all about my exciting trip!!
here a few photos of the evening for you to see!
I'm hoping to post and update this blog as much as possible but it will be internet depended so don't be surprised if you don't hear from me in a while!!
thank you again for coming and helping me raise the money! i look forward to telling you all about my exciting trip!!
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