Disabled people in Uganda
Webmasters October 23, 2018 3 Comments

THREE SIMPLE WAYS OF LOVING THE DISABLED PEOPLE IN UGANDA

Three Simple Ways of Loving the Disabled People in Uganda

An estimation by the World Health Organization is that 10% of any population is disabled with persons with compromised ability to meet all their needs. The disabled people in Uganda need your support and love, not sympathy.

Disabilities don’t make them fewer people. They also have goals, purpose in life, and long-term dreams no matter the form of disability. Whether physical or mental, age, gender, or location because disability doesn’t mean being disqualified from having access to any aspect of life.

If we are to successfully bring up a loving and caring culture in Uganda, it must give chance to each diverse human gift to find its place in life. One that doesn’t create any gap for the disabled to regret the things that they are limited to by their form of disability.

Caring and showing great love to the disabled people in Uganda has the power of making them feel special. Probably when someone talks about this, you think of sponsoring them with your money. But this is not the case as some of these people even go to the schools of the disabled.

But Love goes beyond that and we can surely build a strong relationship with the disabled people of Uganda through these simple ways. Things that can give them hope, avoiding them from being disabled in spirit as well as physically.

Pay them visits occasionally. The disabled people also know how to have fun, visit them, spend some time with them. Take photos featuring them, you will see how they also have awesome camera poses that you didn’t know about. Such simple things make the world way so different for vulnerable people.

Donate gifts to them. Not referring to big gifts here, little gifts like toys to the children, clothes, scholastic materials, and others. Remember in the world there are no great things, but little things are done with great love. The little you give in with a great will does much more than the much forcefully done.

Throw them a party. Perhaps they have been visited often by different volunteers in Uganda and they have indeed donated a lot to them. But who has thrown them a party, for example, a Christmas party, or a birthday party? Just for them to eat, sing, and dance, something that they rarely experience in their lives? Wouldn’t it be so amazing for them just to see a staged disco in their music compound all for to enjoy till late?

The world will never be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in. And such things deem to be small, but they speak volumes in the lives of the people that are disabled. They wash away the feeling of rejection that fills their hearts in most cases.

Together as one let’s love the disabled people in Uganda, we can support them, visit and donate to them. That way we shall make this world a better place for everyone to live.

 

 

 

Volunteering opportunities in Uganda
Webmasters October 20, 2018 1 Comment

VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES IN UGANDA.

Volunteering opportunities in Uganda

Uganda is a pearl of Africa, it is well known for its striking physical features, safe and peaceful state, and as a bird watcher’s paradise. Unfortunately, it is one of the poorest countries in the world, and the majority of the population lives under the poverty line.

It lacks fundamental infrastructures like education, health care, clean running water, and waste management. Our projects in needy communities allow volunteers to share skills, knowledge, and experience to help others as they experience the cultures and explore the country.

Firstly Community development

Community development is one of the volunteering opportunities in Uganda. It is done in form of Education, teaching the locals how to write and read. The volunteer must teach the English language in classes, arrange the lesson plans, and among others. This opportunity allows the volunteers to interact with the locals hence learning the cultures of Uganda.

This also enables the unique aspects of the classes in the cultural exchange. Meaning the Volunteers get a chance to learn the diverse cultural backgrounds and understand more of the local culture. If one gets the TESL certification in the previous experience to manage English classes. Then there is a great opportunity for one to participate in the program with ease and gain valuable.

The requirements needed; one should be fluent in English, proof of age (copy of passport). One must be 18 years and above to start attending the appropriate projects with adult accompaniment.

secondly health care volunteering

Health care involves assisting the local healthcare team depending on your expertise or interest, this is done through organizing health workshops about HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, voluntary testing and counseling, improving the sanitation and quality of drinking water in the villages. This includes building dry racks, digging latrines, clearing drinking wells, and educating on how to keep a healthy lifestyle, treating the patients.

This is done to Ugandans staying in rural areas. It is very hard for them to access proper healthcare. Rural communities are still experiencing the spread of diseases like childhood illness, measles, parasitic diseases, HIV/AIDS, and malaria.

So as a contribution, we have teamed up with our partner organization on the ground. To support the work of the rural community health clinics, centers, hospitals, and medical teams that run the dental general clinics through volunteering.

The health care program is suitable for volunteers who are medical experts, medical students, or pre-med students. Who is interested to share experiences to help others gain experience providing health service in a rural setting. This helps to educate the rural people on health-related issues. The requirements are fluent in English, proof of age, one must be 18 years and the possible workplaces are the clinics, health centers, and hospitals.

Lastly orphanage program

Volunteering in an orphanage is another program in Uganda. So the volunteers in an orphanage are expected to show tender care and love for the kids. Help them out with bathing, feeding, cleaning, and homework, and also treat their minor wounds.

One should also engage the kids in recreational activities like games, music, dance, sports and also teach the kids personal hygiene and moral behaviors. This particular opportunity is suitable for volunteers who love working with the children in a fun and educative way.

The main focus of the orphanages is to provide care, feeding, shelter, and clothing for the children. These children are typically around the age of 3 years to 16 years. And they have been abandoned by their family or some are orphaned.

These homes are the works of the selfless locals who out of their beautiful hearts and out of love and compassion are doing all they can. So that they keep the unfortunate children out of the streets. They are given hope and aspiration into the future.

Volunteering opportunities in Uganda are very many waiting for you to undertake this season. Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another.

 

volunteer-in-africa
Webmasters October 18, 2018 No Comments

WHY YOU SHOULD VOLUNTEER IN AFRICA.

Why you should volunteer in Africa

Most people think that in Africa, poverty and diseases are widespread. But the media tends to exaggerate stories and this scares away potential volunteers from coming to Africa. The Media and journalists often focus on reporting the problems in Africa. But they don’t report the positive things in Africa.

If every person judged a location based upon the news, they would probably never travel. The truth is very little media coverage is given to positive stories. Leaving the general public to know less about the realities of a given region. However, it is very important to get the right information concerning any region that one wishes to volunteer in.

There are many reasons why one should not be afraid to volunteer in Africa. And if you have a plan to volunteer in Africa, just start planning your trip today.

The African continent is facing an economic boom that is lowering the rate of poverty. The increasing GDP is contributing to huge strides in education and healthcare. The continent has already seen its per capita income double since the year 2000. And the life expectancy has increased by one year every three years in the last decades. The HIV/AIDS infection rates and malaria deaths are down to 23% and 27% respectively.

The world can help to improve Africa in two ways; either by buying the African products and other is volunteering in Africa and spreading diverse skills. The volunteering programs in Africa are a two-for-one deal; volunteers get to directly support local communities while also helping the overall economy.

The African continent is full of friendly people. And volunteering in Africa will enable you to meet with genuine smiles, diverse cultures, hospitable beings, and a multiplicity of languages.

It is a myth that everywhere in Africa is dangerous and violent and this is one of the top misconceptions about volunteering in Africa. The media plays a big role in spreading this idea. Because often most volunteers are only exposed to Africa through news, social media, and printed materials.

Journalists tend to focus on the top problems and bad news rather than on the positivity. The truth is that violent crimes against Travelers and volunteers in Africa are rare. And cities like Kampala are rated as having the lowest crime rates than more popular tourist cities like Rio de Jeneiro in Brazil.

This is one of the reasons Uganda is an ideal location for volunteering and travel. Especially well known for volunteer opportunities working with children and the underprivileged.

Africa is a big continent and the second largest on earth. And it is as big as China, India, the United States and some parts of Europe put together; it is ideally too big to generalize, so when you do read about dangers or epidemics in Africa; it is important to check out where it is occurring on the map.

For instance, the Ebola outbreak and other epidemics are so rare in East Africa. Yet the distance from Uganda to Botswana in the South of Africa is further than the distance from California to New York.

Lots of people think that the only way to travel through Africa is on a budget-breaking flight and an Uber-Luxurious safari. This could not be more wrong! Flight costs to and from Africa greatly vary and there are several countries that you can explore on your own instead of participating in a guided tour. Many people find that the best way to experience the culture and people of this beautiful continent is to stay, travel and eat locally. The good news is that this is also very affordable.

Africa is one of the most extraordinary and diverse continents in the world! It is an enormous continent and diverse place that is full of wonder. And a volunteer program in Africa is sure to be filled with captivating cultures, dramatic scenery, and astonishing wildlife. Africa is made up of 54 countries and offers every kind of landscape a volunteer could desire. Hot deserts like the Kalahari and Sahara Deserts, Savannah grassland, Majestic Rivers, lakes and waterfalls, incredible coastlines, and mountains, among others.

Therefore, the reason why you have to volunteer in Africa is that most parts of Africa for decades have been at peace. Filled with friendly people, affordable, inspiring, and diverse continent. Choosing to volunteer in Africa will make your stay more amazing and unique. Because each day is a learning opportunity and as well a chance to share skills with the locals.

 

The Batwa People in Uganda
Webmasters October 17, 2018 1 Comment

MISFORTUNES OF THE CONSERVATION REFUGEES; THE BATWA PEOPLE IN UGANDA.

Misfortunes of the Conservation Refugees;  The Batwa People in Uganda

In the urge to save the iconic mountain gorillas of Uganda from extinction and also boost the country’s tourism, the Batwa people were forced out of their ancient jungle; Bwindi impenetrable forest, and this brought a dramatic turn in their lives up to date.

Having left their hereditary home with nothing, they have since lived with the consequences of being innocently born in a wrong part of the country. And little has been done to ensure the just resettlement of these less fortunate conservation refugees.

Yes, indeed, the economic situation in Uganda is still bleak and poverty remains rampant all around the country. But the marginalized Batwa seem to live in an enormous magnitude of poverty. Facing many challenges, compared to the meager opportunities from tourism.

Noted among the last groups of short people surviving on earth, the Batwa pygmies are located in the southwestern forests of Uganda and they are believed to be the first inhabitants of this place. They are one of the most marginalized groups of people in Uganda with a population estimated to be only 970 members.

Despite the Batwa living in small numbers, their eviction from the life that they were used to. A dramatically disorganized setting leads them to face many problems. Ranging from starvation, illiteracy, abject poverty, discrimination, epidemic diseases, and sometimes even death.

From the time of their resettlement from the forests, Batwa communities still lack good quality education services. So far, only a few schools have been constructed in some communities to provide education to the Batwa children. But still, there is a limited number of skilled and experienced teachers.

Both the school administration and the students lack funding, the students don’t have scholastic materials as well as the school. This has increased the levels of illiteracy among the Batwa with Alice Nyamihanda as the only first Mutwa graduand in 2010 with a diploma in Development studies at Bugema University.

Also, the health services in the Batwa resettlements are at their lowest levels. Even today, the Batwa people still die of simple diseases like malaria, headache, and cough. It was only Dr. Scott and Carol Kellermans that reached out to the lives of Batwa and constructed for them a hospital to treat them as they transited into their new form of life.

But still, this one hospital cannot be enough for over 900 people.

Having been forced to migrate from their ancestral homeland, the Batwa people now live dependent lives on the NGOs. And donations from tourists for survival and earning so little from the sale of crafts and agricultural products.

Leaving their traditional land without anything. The Batwa are forced to hopelessly live in houses made from old pieces of cardboard and plastic bags. Only waiting for the merciful donors and NGOs to provide them with food and other basic needs.

The Batwa conservation refugees also suffer from discrimination leading to the increasing cases of women rape in their communities. 57% of the Batwa women are victims of sexual abuse and they have been infected with HIV/AIDS. Because of the local myth that having sex with a Batwa woman cures AIDS and back pain.

Most of the victimized women have lost their lives due to the limited access to good health services and poor feeding. Leaving behind very young poor orphans who are likely to go hungry for days only depending on the handouts from well-wishers.

It is high time that the whole world put into consideration the wellbeing of the Batwa people in Uganda. It’s barely their fault that they were born in the jungles with the endemic mountain gorillas.

Let’s all get up and support the NGOs that stretch a helping hand to the Batwa people. We can also donate to the school-going children scholastic materials like bags, shoes, and books. Most importantly, we can donate food to these communities.

Remember we cannot do great things on this earth, only small things with great love. Be the change by volunteering with us.

Slums of Uganda.
Webmasters October 13, 2018 No Comments

LIFE IN THE SLUMS OF UGANDA.

Life in the Slums of Uganda.

Slums are simply heavily populated urban suburbs with substandard housing facilities and low standards of living. Based on the report from the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, 49% to 64% of the total urban population of Uganda live in slums giving a ratio of 1.58 million people to 2.1 million people as slum residents in Uganda.

The areas of Bwaise, Kivulu, Katwe, Kosovo, Katanga, Kasubi, Kisenyi, and many others are the major slums in Kampala city, in addition to others in various districts.

The increasing growth rate of slums in Uganda is majorly attributed to the high levels of rural-urban migration. Urban poverty, lack of urban planning and development control, and the complex urban land tenure system in Kampala and Uganda in general.

Life in the slums of Uganda is a heap of discomfort, confusion, disorganization, struggles, and sorrow. If we were all given chances to choose the lives we live. Certainly no one would choose to live in a slum unless that person has never been in one.

Mercilessly, without even eliminating the young children or women out, the slum life tortures everyone who bumps into its territories. Whether a man, woman, or child, they suffer the same conditions that the parents go through.

Life in the slums of Uganda

People in the slums of Uganda live an absolutely poor life, waking up in the morning with totally nothing to eat and even without hopes of getting any. Young children live half-naked, putting on only a shirt or a pair of shorts without clothes to dress. So the poor woman has to face her kid spending a day with an empty stomach or searching for the leftovers in rubbish pits; so saddening!

Unemployment is one major challenge that most people in the slums of Uganda face. Both the youths and the adults don’t have jobs, simply because they are not trusted just because of their slum origin. And others lack the capital to start up their own business.

Women in Uganda Slums

Women in the Ugandan slums have consistently faced the problem of rape and sexual harassment. Young girls and women are raped almost daily and nothing has been done to stop this. We are all giving a blind eye and deaf ear to the victimized girls in the slums of Uganda. Poor girls are innocently getting infected with AIDS and other STDs yet they don’t even have money for treatment. They are becoming young struggling single mothers with nothing to start with.

Violence is another struggle that you cannot miss in any slum in Kampala. The fact that the slum residents have already gone through a lot. The unemployment, absolute poverty, rape, and other dejected situations, they are just angry with the world. They feel the world has not been fair enough to them. So anything that tampers with them can immediately cause violence.

Also, suicide cases are rampant in the slums of Uganda. People here totally become hopeless, thinking that life can’t move on any further. With no one and nothing to look up to, they feel all alone in a world that rejected them and they end up killing themselves.

Drug abuse is becoming a culture in the slums of Kampala Uganda. One can say it’s a mandate for every grown-up youth to start taking drugs. Young boys of fourteen are now already drug addicts with no one guiding them on how to live developmental lives.

 

In addition, slums are breeding grounds for crimes. We can change them to cheerful places because even their inhabitants are all working towards better lives.

You can choose to volunteer in Uganda’s slums, come visit the residents of these congested urban settlements, engage yourself in the extension of piped water to these areas, or the construction of a school, or even just to spend some time with the children in the slums.

Still, you can donate to the men, women, and children, whether food, clothes, school fees, or school requirements, just choose any form and we transform the lives of the people living in the slums of Uganda.

 

disabled woman in Uganda
Webmasters October 9, 2018 2 Comments

LIFE OF A DISABLED WOMAN IN UGANDA.

Life of a disabled woman in Uganda.

Disability is just one word to mean “not able” meaning that anyone who is not able to do anything is disabled.  Disability is both physical and mental and some can be congenital or acquired. The most forms of disabilities are difficulties with walking, hearing, seeing, talking and perhaps reasoning.

Though the government of Uganda has put up several policies to ensure the just treatment of disabled people, from children to adults, males and females, but they have not been implemented and these people have continuously lacked support.

Therefore, there is need for everyone to rise up, take part and play a role towards the well-being of people with physical or mental impairments.

Truthfully, living a disabled life is a hard task on its own. Being vulnerable to almost everything, having to ask out for help all the time just because your nature doesn’t enable you to help yourself. It’s a life that is unimaginable.

For children, it could be easier as they have parents who are obliged to take care of them, for men, they are naturally born stronger and they can maneuver the daily struggles. But what about the disabled woman?

Her being a weaker sex, she has faced more challenges than any other group of the disabled persons in Uganda. She regularly suffers the pain of sexual abuse as she can’t defend herself. Ugandan men being merciless and shameless, they have raped her and she has innocently faced the consequences of these rude acts. Now imagine a woman who couldn’t even help herself, how she will support the two lives, both hers and the baby’s!

She faces daily rejection from her society. According to the African myths and superstitions, disabled are taken as bad omen. Poor her only experiences rude stares and people sitting far away from her all day along just because she is disabled. Some people don’t even call her by name, but rather by her physical disability like the deaf, the lame or the blind, something that is so breaking that she has chosen to leave her house. How miserable such a lonely life is!

The disabled woman in Uganda has been denied a chance to go to school. She is living an illiterate life and the world is also comfortable with this. Parents of disabled girls have deliberately refused to sponsor their children to school, they feel it’s a waste of money to educate a disabled child.

This lack of education has made her unemployed for the rest of her life. The fact that she doesn’t meet minimum qualifications, the disabled woman has been rejected in almost all job interviews. Also the society’s perception that she can’t do anything has made her lose out on all jobs since employers think she won’t meet the job demands.

Her failure to find a job has made the Ugandan disabled woman live a poor life, a life of lacking all the time, putting her in a double disability state, both physically and financially. Now she cannot support herself in any way, she is simply living a vulnerable life.

More depressingly, this woman is a mother, who breastfeeds, one who doesn’t have what to feed on or give to her child, a mother who doesn’t have what to put on or the child’s cloths, and probably a homeless mother. That’s her, she is a disabled woman in Uganda.

We can help her, we can support her, we can give her new hope, and yes, we rebuild her life again. Just support the non-government organizations that stretch a helping hand to the disabled, widows, girl children, orphans, street children and poor communities. Let’s send her back to school, start up a business for her, send her child to school too and resettle her life. She is human too.

 

Voluntourism in Uganda
Webmasters October 5, 2018 1 Comment

VOLUNTOURISM IN UGANDA

Voluntourism in Uganda

Volunteering and tourism, when they are joined become voluntourism. And this is a common form of international travel that allows you to contribute to sustainable development. While exploring a new country and culture.

It is similar to volunteer travel or volunteer vacation and many people find that doing volunteer work while also participating in exploring the country’s beauty remains a great way to get the best from any holiday.

Voluntourism offers unimaginable chances to participants. Exploring new destinations and their unique attributes, and learning about the culture firsthand play a vital role in the community.

Since most of the volunteers live with local host families, in addition to the worthwhile work they do on their projects. They also experience the depth of cultural immersion and exchange which is impossible for typical tourists. The host families usually welcome volunteers into their homes and help them become part of the community. By acquainting their traditions and customs with volunteers. And some volunteers have even found themselves celebrating birthdays and weddings with their host families.

The time a volunteer decides to take a step to join a voluntourism program, they are joining a global network of volunteers who live and work with diverse cultures on projects that have a positive impact. Volunteering in Uganda receives volunteers all over the world and this helps them to share their passion for giving back and the desire to broaden their horizons.

 

The most common form of voluntourism in Uganda is by visiting animal orphanages and zoos. Volunteers can work at animal orphanages, for example; Ngamba chimpanzee sanctuary which deals in rescuing and rehabilitation of wild animals that have been injured, rescued from poachers or abandoned. Volunteers assist with feeding, handling, cleaning cages, assisting staff with providing medical care to these animals, and much more. Volunteers do not need any veterinary knowledge or special skills, just deep caring for animal welfare.

There are many animal centers, or animal orphanages in Uganda, including – Uganda wildlife education center, Ziwa Rhino sanctuary, Entebbe snake park, Reptile village, etc.

Volunteering and tourism has supported Ugandan communities in various ways;

When volunteers promote a well-run and sustainable volunteer project, they are helping to implement long-term development. Volunteers use skills, time, and energy to make a difference that will last long after they have returned home. Volunteers also help local teachers improve their teaching and classroom skills. Via various teaching projects and in this case, volunteers indirectly impact schools/institutions. And when a volunteer helps a struggling entrepreneur get their business off the ground at a microfinance project. The volunteer is helping support an entire family for years to come.

Voluntourism participants play a great role in the development of the local economy. Because in their free time, they get opportunities to go sightseeing. Undertake game drives, island tours, trekking, boat cruises, and many others.

We all know that Uganda relies heavily on the income from tourism. And so voluntourism is a way of generating revenue to the county’s GDP as well as supporting local businesses.

Voluntourism companies give employment to the communities and in most cases, workers have the opportunity to receive further training and education.

Voluntourism in Uganda is increasingly becoming common but it is extremely important to first research about the organization you are considering to travel with. Sustainability, experience, and financial responsibility are essential to running programs that truly benefit the population.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Webmasters October 1, 2018 3 Comments

VOLUNTEERING IN UGANDA ORPHANAGE.

Bring joy to the orphans of Uganda while volunteering in the Uganda orphanage.

Do you know how it feels to bring joy to the lives of young ones in Uganda? Volunteer in orphanages of Uganda and provide much love and support to these orphans.

Due to poverty and the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS in Uganda, millions of children become orphans every year. Many children are rescued from human traffickers or withdrawn from the streets by well-wishers, NGOs, and charity homes in Uganda; however, with little help from the government, many children are still homeless.

Charity homes and orphanages in Uganda are doing their best to educate, clothe, and house and feed these children; In other words, they cater for almost everything to the orphans and other needy children that find their way in.

However, they are underfunded and lack enough manpower to properly care for the orphans. Therefore, volunteering in Uganda orphanages will help these charity homes. To provide capable and cheap manpower, care, and attention to the children. Volunteer in an orphanage in Uganda and help create a haven for the orphaned children of Uganda.

Volunteers however should mind the orphanages they choose to volunteer in. Because some have capitalistic intentions other than helping to bring change in the lives of orphans in Uganda. Volunteering in Uganda is one of the orphanages doing its best to empower the next generation. Therefore, consider it while choosing an orphanage to volunteer in Uganda.

Since orphanages are the only places where the unfortunate children can turn to for protection, they need the help of volunteers, who can help in taking care of the children, undertaking community out-reach programs, teaching/training, helping to do housework, and simple medical treatment.

Orphanages in Uganda, apart from offering necessities that can allow orphans to grow up better. It also protects the children from exploitation. These institutions need all the help they can get. And you volunteering with them would help them reach out to more vulnerable children.

Children will undoubtedly appreciate the love and time that you devote to them as you inject fresh energy, inspiration, and skills into the orphanage.

There are no specific qualities needed to volunteer in the Uganda orphanages, though the knowledge of knowing Ugandan culture and diversity can help improve the experience for both parties, the volunteer and children. The volunteers, therefore, have to be enthusiastic, reliable, flexible, and patient and strive to be good role models for the children.

Some of the activities that volunteers can participate in include teaching English and maths lessons, helping children to complete their homework, doing home chores, sports activities, identifying simple illnesses, playing and feeding the kids, community outreaches, and many others

Uganda has several orphanages that welcome volunteers; however, there are only a few which are trusty worth and among them is Volunteering in Uganda. It offers opportunities to everyone especially those interested in volunteering in orphanages. If you volunteer with Volunteering in Uganda, you will be doing a great job for the needy and orphans of Uganda.