Update email to Family and Friends 5

Dear friends and family of VS Uganda,

It was another fantastic week for our volunteers in the field.

You may have seen in the news over the past few days, articles talking about violence in Kenya from Somali insurgents. Please know that this is taking place on the southeastern border of Kenya next to Somalia . Our group in Uganda is very close to the northwest border with Kenya , over 600 miles away from the border of Somalia .

At present, the political situation has not filtered into Uganda . American Jewish World Service is committed to maintaining safe and meaningful programs for all of our volunteer program participants. At this time, we feel confident that the Uganda group is safe and secure in their community. We will continue to monitor the situation and consult with a number of sources including International SOS, the US State Department, and AJWS’s in-country staff. If it’s determined that the security situation in Uganda has changed as a result of the political situation in Kenya , we will notify you immediately.

Please email or call me if you have any questions.

Shabbat shalom,

Alexis

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VS Uganda – July 22^nd

Dearest friends and family,

Our summer in Uganda has just passed the half way point, and we can only marvel at how fast the time is flying. We’ve had enlightening education session- towards the end of last week, one of our very own participants, Leran, and Kenneth, and UORDP employee and compound resident, both taught the group about the ongoing turmoil in Sudan . Then Opio (another UORDP employee) spoke about the conflict in Northern Uganda with regards to the Lord’s Resistance Army and the use of child soldiers.

This past Shabbat was spent in Ramogi, with our Friday night services, singing kabbalat Shabbat and a Saturday morning session contemplating our approaches to time and work. On Sunday, we went to the Kenyan boarder, we took a quick drive from the town of Tororo to walk aside the “no-man’s land” and take pictures with the Kenyan flag. We then hiked Tororo Rock, a very steep climb with a rewarding view of the expanses of Uganda and Kenya .

Week day education sessions and speakers have turned more outwardly, covering action and downstream issues in development, the cost and benefits of short term service trips, and even micro-finance groups and institutions. We have even had the opportunity of meeting a women’s micro-finance circle and a savings and credit officer from a local Uganda bank.

Gender inequality is an apparent issue in these rural parts, but the women of Volunteer Summer ‘09 and of Ramogi Village had an enlightening heart to heart talk one quiet afternoon. We discussed topics ranging from marriage and relationships, age of marriage, childbirth and education: topics they felt they couldn’t speak freely about in front of men. We’ve noticed when we go to community meetings it is mostly only the men who speak. Tomorrow we are going to have our women’s circle again and will go and visit with our new friends in their homes. While the VS women are discussing gender topics, the men in our group have various alternative programming.

And finally, we were visited by a local medicine man (who is an MD as well), who brought along with him samples of local herbal remedies.

In work project news, this past Tuesday, we finished the Makaur Primary School walls for three classrooms we’ve been working on. The teacher, students, community leaders and government officials arranged for an elaborate thank you celebration, complete with original songs and coca-cola, which lasted 5 hours!

We are now looking forward to our upcoming work project, which is building a church roof and painting an Early Childhood Development Center . We are looking forward to our new work, but will miss the students and teachers we’ve become friends with over the past few weeks.

It has been an amazing and fulfilling week and we look forward to sharing with you all our new escapades in a week’s time. (Spoiler alert: it will include details of spending Shabbat with the Abuyudaya, Uganda ’s Jewish community.)

Missing you,

VS Uganda

Written by: Faigy Abdelhak