(from the south) Entebbe --> Kampala (to the north) --> Gulu (and then more north) --> Kitgum (which happens to be 40 miles from the border of Sudan!!
What’s the reason for all this traveling? … Well, I’m glad you asked!
Before my departure for Uganda, my faculty mentor Dr. Rosalind Hackett and Erin’s faculty mentor Dr. Tricia Hepner made plans to visit us during UT's spring break. Erin and I were pretty excited about their arrival.
Then as the weeks passed and we realized “Hey, our professors will be here in 2 days!” we began to panic. Had we done enough research/field work to receive their stamp of approval? Had we made significant progress in their eyes?? Did our data and efforts reflect what we reported to them through email??? ….
Then there was a little thing that I like to call “ The Hackett Effect” … Only few students have experienced it- the exhaustion, the non-stop moving, the begging to take a nap! All the things you become familiar with when you have the pleasure of spending time with Dr. Hackett in Africa. She’s amazing. She has more energy than any two people and she can keep going past the average person's limit … so, let’s just say the effect is real … and I’m a survivor ;)
We couldn’t have accomplished more in one week than if we had brought an official delegation of people from UT.
BUT moving on. The activities of the week: The girls and I made the trip down from Gulu to Kampala by bus. Thanks to the incredible planning skills of Lindsay, we arranged transport and hotel accommodations for our awesome professors, and then we picked them up from the airport on Friday night.
The following morning we spent the entire day in the comfort and homey environment of the hotel’s dinning and living room area. Many friends of Dr. Hackett’s and The Jazz for Justice Project (JfJ) stopped by, including the co-founder of the Northern Ugandan Girls Education Network (NUGEN), Betty Udongo. We managed to only leave the hotel at the day’s end to have dinner. And boy was that a TREAT! I think we must have found the BEST Mexican restaurant in all of Kampala “Lotus Cantina!" So that was our first day. Things only picked up from that point. In six days we managed to meet with representatives and staff from Refugee Law Project, Gulu University, the Institute of Peace and Strategic Studies and Gulu University’s chapter of the Rotary Club. Not to mention the great meeting we had with Gulu’s LCV Chairman and presidential candidate, Norbert Mao.
Next, in what I like to call HIGHLIGHTS of the week: All the different types of cuisine we enjoyed! If it wasn’t Mexican that first night, It was Turkish on Saturday, Indian on Monday, Traditional (Ugandan) food on Wednesday, Ethiopian on Thursday …but some of the best food of the trip was traditional, served to us at Bishop Ochola’s home in Kitgum.
Still with all of that, the most wonderful development of the week came out of a board meeting with Gulu University deans, faculty and staff. After three very lengthy meetings, a partnership was struck between GU and UT. The first installment of this partnership is an international service and study aboard program that would take place as early as next summer in Gulu! From there, we hope to open a formal exchange program between students and allow faculty from UT to come and do guest lecture series. Everything is still in its infancy, but the commitment is there from both parties.
As a student who came here independent of a study abroad program, I welcome the idea of more UT students participating in international service learning. I’m overjoyed to share the gift that is Uganda with others. And what an unbelievable gift it is.
P.S. All that worrying that Erin and I did was for nothing. They were very impressed (phew!) and everything worked out :)
Busy Week. Big Results. Great Memories
1st Picture: War Memorial in Kitgum
2nd Picture: A school that was destroyed and abandoned during the war. Took this picture on our way back from Kitgum- the school wall is riddled with bullet holes
3rd Picture: 3 lovely little girls coming home from school right next to the Pincer office
4th Picture: The Professors standing on the hill of a Catholic Church overlooking Kampala- Breathtaking view
5th Picture: Lindsay, Erin and I at the Miracle Center Church
I am glad ya'll had a great week!!! Dr. Hackett mentioned how impressed she was with you and how much of a great job you are doing... she also mentioned the partnership and suggested that I look into it being a Social Work major ;) <3
ReplyDeleteHaha sounds like Dr. Hackett! :)
ReplyDeleteand it would def. be a good thing for you to look into. You could find a internship/volunteer position here for 4 weeks!