For the past week, our staff and volunteers living in Jinja have been working side by side with Ugandans to build a fence surrounding the future site of the Jinja Vocational Center. The three acre plot is 10 kilometers north of Jinja sitting on the eastern bank of the Nile River. Team USA (namely Chris Petty, Clayton Collie, and James King) combined with Team Uganda (Geoffrey, Salim, and Simon) to form a fence-building dream team by the name of “Team Jinjavitis”. Armed only with hoes, spears, and determination we managed to construct the 150 pole barb wire fence in 7 days. A few local children shared interest in helping with the construction and got their hands dirty with the rest of the crew digging holes and teaching the Mzungus (the East-African word for European, or anyone with white skin) a few words and numbers in their native language - Lusoga.
This fence marks the beginning of the newest vocational center the UAPO will build to benefit the Ugandan people. The purpose of the center will be to educate and train local women in everything from crafts to leadership skills. Construction for the center is currently scheduled to begin in March 2011.
Check out the website: http://theuapo.org/
Congratulations for finishing such a strong looking fence. Now I'm curious about the construction of the Center. I really regret not knowing how to use Facebook..I've been afraid of...? But If I can keep up with you guys better there I'll probably ask Ben to show me how.
ReplyDeleteI know you have a full plate of responsibilities...so it's nice to see smiles on your faces.