New life and hope when we all need it most

Posted on August 18, 2020 by ileftmyheartinuganda

What a strange time we all find ourselves in. It’s been hard to know what to say, what to post, what to write, conscious as I am that we are all living this pandemic so differently – spread across the globe in different situations, juggling different worlds, all faced with diverse challenges and unknown future prospects. For some, it has been an immense struggle, battling with illnesses, uncertainty, a lack of childcare while working full-time, extreme lockdowns, families separated across borders and a lack of freedom and fresh air. For others, it’s been an almost tranquil time of togetherness, simple pleasures and making the most of what you have, not needing more than that. The contrast is marked.

For us as a family, I have felt incredibly fortunate to have been in New Zealand throughout this period – much as we miss our family across the Tasman and hope that we will be reunited before too long! In early March, we flew back into Auckland from Sydney, Nath’s first Sail GP event of the season complete, with a full programme of events mapped out around the world for the rest of the year. The day we landed, the global pandemic was declared and I must say, I was still largely ignorant of the scale with which this was about to affect our world. Until then, it had seemed something far away, unrelated to our itinerant travelling life which had been so full, even more so since the joyous arrival of Jack last January. But within a week of returning home, we were in self isolation and the day we were due to re-enter the world, New Zealand’s five week nation-wide Level 4 lockdown began.

Pre-Covid days on the beach in Sydney

Guiltily, I quite enjoyed our time at home. Our wonderful friend Simon Gundry had supplied us with all the materials we needed to build garden beds and so we got to work in the late summer sun, building and planting and growing new life while Jack oversaw the process from his backyard swing, an online purchase which had mercifully arrived the morning before lockdown began. Nath and I spent hour upon hour discussing the global situation and wondering where it may lead, ruminating on how the situation would look with the benefit of hindsight in years to come and how our opinions would have changed by then. I am conscious that everyone has their own opinions on the situation – some very strong ones too – and these are obviously influenced greatly by people’s individual situations, but I will state that I think our prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is incredible and has managed the situation so well. I have felt overwhelmed with gratitude to have had such strong, clear, ethical leadership at this time where it would have be all too easy to rule with fear, false information, indecision or even oblivion as we have unfortunately seen unfold in other parts of the world. We have had the opposite here and I feel endlessly lucky for that.

Nath putting our garden beds together

Not sure the start of a five-week lockdown was the best time to reseed the lawn with a toddler who had just learned to walk, but that’s what we did!

Happy Jack in his swing

Over the past few months, I have kept in close contact with Dominic and Rose in Uganda. KAASO – and all schools across Uganda – were closed down from Friday 20^th March in a pre-emptive move to curb the spread of Covid-19 as Uganda had very low case numbers at the time. I couldn’t help but feel optimistic as Uganda has had highly infections diseases like Ebola and Marburg to deal with in the past and has always been very successful at containing any outbreaks. In spite of the school closure, Dominic and Rose’s spirits were high. With the students gone, they took the opportunity to work in the numerous school gardens and it has been a bumper season with crops growing in abundance. Elderly members of the community come to KAASO’s gates and receive food parcels from the school gardens as the school continues to try and help their people.

Rose and her new matooke plantation

Blog 10 Matron Passy working in one of the school vegetable gardens

Passy, one of the school matrons, tending to cabbages planted within the KAASO school grounds

In Uganda, I find that life is generally much harsher in the city than in rural settings where food grows in such abundance, but I have been heartened to receive messages from graduated Kiwi Sponsorships students in Kampala finding temporary work in spite of everything, making the most of this time while their workplaces or educational institutions have closed down. I delight in the messages I receive from Henry who, in typical Henry fashion, has been out in the community as part of an outreach team, distributing masks and hand sanitiser and helping educate people in remote areas about the dangers of Covid and the need for good hygiene and sanitation.

Henry in a community marketplace educating people about Covid-19

Blog 7 Henry pinning up posters in the market

Henry sticking up educational posters

Blog 8 Henry in the microbiology lab at the hospital

Henry in the hospital microbiology lab with a colleague

Henry after a day’s work

Another huge positive at KAASO has been that construction on our incredible two-storied school hall and classroom block has continued, with workers staying in the empty school dormitories and, while following social distancing, keeping up the momentum of their work. Funding has come almost entirely thanks to KATKiDS charity in Bermuda, led by my dear friend Rebecca Roberts who has worked tirelessly with Jennie Lee O’Donnell from KATKiDS to make this incredibly ambitious dream come true. It has been the most incredible partnership and, boosted also by a New Zealand Embassy Government grant, we have raised over $130,000 NZD – by far our greatest achievement ever! I am forever grateful to Rebecca, Jennie Lee, the NZ Embassy in Ethiopia and all who have supported us along the way. More updates to come on this!

The incredible KATKiDS School Hall and Classroom block at KAASO

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly international news reaches Uganda, a far cry from the isolation I felt when I first lived there in 2009. A mere few hours after it was announced that NZ would move back into Level 3 lockdown last week, I received a message from Dominic worried about the situation here as he had heard the news of our renewed lockdown. I assured him we were fine and I remain optimistic that the situation will be brought under control again here soon. As for what the long-term future holds, that of course remains a mystery but my instinct tells me we are on the right track and I am hopeful that we will soon go back to the levels of freedom we have been so fortunate to enjoy for the past few months.

I spoke to Dominic a couple of nights ago and listened with delight as he told me about the school’s new tomato and coffee gardens, the additional eucalyptus forest they have planted and the acres of sweet potatoes growing beneath the ground that will be used to feed the returning students – whenever schools reopen. Dominic is hopeful that they might be able to get in the third and final term of this year and said there is even talk of reducing the long Christmas holidays to just one week to squeeze in another term before March next year. We will see. But down the dusty dirt roads of Kabira, the overriding messages I continue to get are those of hope for the future – something that helps me to sleep at night!

Workers tending to the tomatoes in one of the new school gardens

As the school hall continues to take shape, the cabbages grow around the school, the pigs produce piglets and the school cow has had its first calf, we are also growing here in NZ. Not only are our garden beds now full of plentiful herbs and leafy greens, there is new life growing within me – our second child, Jack’s affectionately nicknamed sibling, ‘Jill’ (whose sex we won’t find out!) is due on Christmas Day! So that’s keeping us busy here and makes me smile every time I rub my fast-expanding belly. In the same way KAASO is using this time to grow and produce as much as they can, for us, 2020 will not be a write-off but a time of new life. I’m also using the next few months to work on my book in the hope of finally bringing my manuscript to the page before you… Watch this space!

My very happy boys after our first scan in May

Blog 12 Me and Jack

This is a strange time, but, as ever, I am optimistic we will get through it. Sending much love to you all far and wide. Stay safe, take care and, as has come to be NZ’s new catchphrase, be kind – the world has never needed kindness so much as now.

Em xxxxx

Inspired by Bermuda, underway in Uganda – KAASO’s new water harvesting system

Posted on September 13, 2017 by ileftmyheartinuganda

I often find myself trying to explain why a Kiwi girl married to an Aussie living in Bermuda thinks there are parallels between the international sailing community and a rural village community in Uganda. It all seems a bit improbable. … Continue reading →

“We can’t do everything, but we can do something”

Posted on December 7, 2016 by ileftmyheartinuganda

Greetings to you all,

Six weeks have flown by in a heartbeat. Six full, intense, emotional, incredible and impactful weeks and now I find myself getting ready for the final leg of this long journey back to my island home. Saying goodbye is never easy but it is not ‘weraba’ – goodbye – it’s ‘tulaba gane’ – see you later.

Saying goodbye to Dominic, Rose and Teacher Sarah at KAASO

Last weekend will forever be imprinted on my mind – a reunion, a meeting, a graduation, and a celebration of how far we have come since 2009. On Saturday, the school gates were in constant motion as a steady stream of sponsored students flowed in. Last year, at our inaugural Kiwi Sponsorships Graduation, I provided the feast. This year, after talking to Rose, I worked out that guardians were not only capable of contributing something from their farms and gardens towards the meal, they also wanted to. So children arrived with bunches of matooke strapped to the back of bicycles, chickens tucked under their arms, baskets of avocadoes and pineapples balanced on their heads – their contributions towards the graduation lunch.

Preparing matooke for the graduation lunch

That evening we had the annual Kiwi Sponsorships Committee meeting where Rose and I addressed over 30 gathered sponsor students and I couldn’t help catching my breath as I looked around the room, linking in my mind each child with their sponsor, thinking of the difference we were all making together in these eager young students’ lives. One very important part of the Kiwi Sponsorships is the mentorship aspect – not just from Rose, Dominic and me but also from within the group of sponsored students who can look up to their peers. So, after Rose and I had spoken, each of the students got up to voice their thanks and to share with the others their experiences. It really was a joy to hear. Anthony rejoiced that his dreams had come true now that he was studying journalism. Brian – usually so very shy – stood up to state that “in life, everyone has luck but for me my luck is KAASO as they are the ones to have helped me to succeed.” Violah, one of the students going into Senior Four advised the younger students: “You should have drams. If you don’t know where you are going, every road will lead you another way.” Emma, a young new sponsored boy (yup, Emma’s a boys name in Uganda), gratefully thanked KAASO for letting him finish his schooling even though his father could not pay fees and he would normally have had to drop out.

Telling Emma he would be sponsored by ‘Madam Rebecca’

The students’ words moved me greatly, but I could never have prepared myself for the emotional overload of the parents and guardians’ meeting the following morning, the day of the graduation. Many of the sponsored students are looked after by elderly jajjas – grandparents – their creased faces deeply weathered by years of sustenance farming and enduring unfathomable tragedies as they watched their own children fall victim to HIV/AIDS, motor accidents and other mysterious illnesses usually diagnosed simply as ‘headache’.

The parents and guardians’ meeting

Dominic gave an opening address then suggested each guardian stand up and introduce themselves and let everyone know which child was theirs. A seemingly simple task. Jajja Bruno (parents and grandparents in Uganda are commonly referred to by their children’s names so my own mama would be Mama Emma) stood up and told the story of first bringing Bruno to KAASO, never imagining he would be able to get such a good education after her daughter, Bruno’s mother, abandoned him as an 8-month old baby. Bruno has only seen his mother once since then (when she came back to dump his little sister Maria in a swamp) and he has never met his father. Then there was Jajja Violah, who broke down in sobs telling the story of how her beloved son, Steven, had died so tragically of liver disease and how she had feared that would be the end of his four children’s schooling but KAASO had taken them in and now the two eldest were being supported by the Kiwi Sponsorships. Mama Phionah wept tears of joy at the relief that her daughter was being sponsored, saying that after her husband’s death she had thought it would also be the end of her children’s education as she would be unable to pay school fees as a solo sustenance farmer. Jajja Marvin mourned the loss of her son and his wife, whose lives were both cut tragically short by HIV/AIDS, emotionally expressing her incredible gratitude for Marvin’s education but tearfully concluding that his HIV positive brother, Arthur, was seriously ill. Alice, Charles’ aunt, spoke on behalf of her family, sharing their relief that Charles would receive the education he deserved after his father, Alice’s brother died so suddenly leaving Charles in the hands of his aunt and elderly Rwandan jajja who had walked to Uganda decades earlier with her herd of cattle to escape the genocide. These were just a few of the over 30 stories that were shared that morning. Emotions were running so high that half way through the room, Dominic – ever the teacher – got us all to stand up and sing a gospel song to help release some of the emotion that was threatening to overtake us all. The stories continued and I openly wept as jajjas knelt at my feet, launched themselves at me in hugs, all the while Rose faithfully translating each and every word for me. I am constantly floored by her ability to hear such stories with compassion and love but to hold it together and be strong for those that need her unbreakable strength. “We can’t do everything, but we can do something,” she told me back in 2009 when I was first faced with a list of 18 students needing sponsorships and the realization that I would not be able to find sponsors for each and every one. She simply reminded me to focus on those I could help. She has helped keep me together through situations that I thought might break me and I’m forever grateful to her for that. So when it came my turn to speak, to attempt to put into words my enormous gratitude to Rose for all she has done and continues to do for these students, the entire community – and for me – I broke down. Which, so beautifully, resulted in me being engulfed by a cascade of warm arms as jajjas came to hold me as my tears fell. Rose then took me in her own arms, thanked me for my words and told me how much she loved me. I needed a thousand of Dominic’s gospel songs to shake off the emotion of that one!

Dominic and Rose, keeping things running

Lunch provided a welcome break and I made my way around Freedom Square, beaming, as groups of children excitedly tucked into their mountains of matooke, potatoes, beans, pumpkin, chicken and, their favourite food – rice. “Madam Emma, you come and we share,” rang out across the school, the Ugandan tradition of sharing all you have never ceasing to humble me further. “Oh no, please! I have my own meal but thank you so, so much,” I would reply and watch their disapproving frowns that I wouldn’t come and take some of the best meal they would have all year.

Lunch time

The graduation ceremony itself was beautiful. I couldn’t stop grinning as I watched our graduates sitting excitedly waiting for their moment to shine. As well as the three Kiwi Sponsorships graduates, we were also celebrating Phionah, Dominic and Rose’s eldest daughter who had completed her last year of high school, along with Nurse Shiba, who has been sponsored through her Diploma in Clinical Medicine by Share Uganda, a Northern Irish charity that has done so much for KAASO from a medical standpoint over the years.

Phionah receiving her graduation sash

The graduation began with Justine, one of the very first Kiwi Sponsorships students that I took on at the end of 2009 thanks to the support of Di and Ross Warring, friends of my dear friends Don and Gendy. Justine has completed her Certificate in Nursing which enables her to now work in clinics and hospitals around Uganda. Her plan is to work for a few years to save money and then eventually go back to school to upgrade her certificate to a diploma. I can’t wait for that second wave of graduations!

With Justine and her aunt

Next was Damian, who I also first met in 2009 when he was in Primary Six. I have always had a soft spot for Damian, who has the world’s widest smile and a heart of gold. It was Damian who first gave me the idea for the Suubi Sanyu student microloan fund when he came to me requesting support for the tomato garden he wanted to grow on his grandmother’s land. The project had its ups and downs and wasn’t ultimately as profitable as he’d hoped but that just made him even more determined than ever. I went to visit Damian at his vocational plumbing school this year and the teachers couldn’t stop singing his praises – his attitude, his academics, his approach to his studies were all exemplary. I couldn’t have been prouder. Huge thanks to Sarah and Matt Mackenzie for all the love and support you’ve shown Damian over the years!

Dominic congratulating Damian

Finally, we celebrated Caroline. Matt Lansdown took on Caroline at the end of 2009 and while Caroline has not had an easy road, ultimately her story was the one that made me proudest on graduation day. Caroline’s dream has always been to become a nurse but this was before I knew what I know now about the importance of branching off for vocational courses after Senior Four so I encouraged her to continue to Senior Five. Unfortunately, at the end of 2014, I was devastated to learn that Caroline had failed Senior Five. I’d never experienced that before and didn’t know what to do. How could I ask Matt to pay for her to repeat her year? That wasn’t part of the deal. I felt sick. I didn’t know what to do. Fortunately, I had Rose, my rock, my navigator. She called a meeting with Caroline and her incredible mother and together we agreed, at Caroline’s insistence that she would repeat Senior Five – and pass this time. Matt very kindly agreed to pay half her fees and Caroline put her head down and worked harder than she’s ever worked for the last two years and passed both Senior Five and Six. To say I was proud to shake her hand on graduation day was an understatement.

With Caroline after her graduation

Caroline’s graduation in itself would have already been huge enough but the story gets better. Inspired by the help that Caroline had been given by perfect strangers, Mama Caroline decided to start her own school, a mini version of KAASO in her own home village to help those who would be unable to get an education otherwise. “You came all this way not knowing any of us and helped us – strangers to you! So I thought, ‘why should I not do the same?’ And so I created this small school. Things are very basic but we are trying. I think that’s good enough, not so?” The ripples are flowing and it never ceases to amaze me the wave of support I’ve been riding the past seven years. I truly couldn’t ask for a more fulfilling way to spend my days.

Caroline and her mother

After Damian’s tomato garden lit the spark for creating a student microloan fund in 2013, I came back and spent hours discussing the idea with Nath and together we decided to launch the Suubi Sanyu fund in 2014, a fund from which students can draw loans to help get their dreams off the ground – or in the ground as the case may be! Last year saw the ‘soft launch’ of the project with three students starting with brick making, nursery beds and cabbage gardens. The brick project unfortunately was a big struggle with the rains coming with a vengeance the day after the bricks had been fired, revealing that the soil the boys had used had too much sand in it. The whole lot was lost. It was a big blow for the students – and the fund – but fortunately, thanks to the generosity of Donna White, Nath’s Australian Sailing physio, who gave her 18-year old son a donation to the Suubi Sanyu fund for Christmas that year, the fund – and the students – bounced back. Currently, the Suubi Sanyu fund is financing piggery projects, passionfruit gardens, jewellery making projects, a roadside chapatti business as well as beautiful place mats and Christmas decorations the children have been busily making over the past six weeks. I couldn’t be prouder of what these children are achieving and I’d also like to add a huge thanks to Claire for designing our amazing logo!

In Masaka buying material for the Suubi Sanyu placemats and star Christmas decorations

Thomas proudly showing off his star

Arthur helping Maria with the ironing of the placemats

There is still much to do and the coming months will involve hours of follow ups from my trip, but for now it’s time to get back to my ever-patient husband without whom none of this would be possible. Nath, thank you so much for all your support, for letting me fly, for being there every step of the way to bounce ideas off, to pour my heart out to, for wiping away my tears of heartbreak and sharing in my tears of joy, for reminding me of the way forward when I get lost and for being the rock upon which I stand. My load is definitely lighter thanks to you. I cannot wait for next year when Nath and I will go to KAASO together and he will finally get to meet all these characters in the stories he’s been hearing about for so long. The school, the village, the community are planning a big, fat Ugandan wedding for us and it’s going to be epic! Charles’ jajja has donated one of the bulls she walked to Uganda with from Rwanda, Jajja Violah has donated the ‘sacred cock’ (in the Baganda culture, the groom must give a rooster to his brother in law – Nicko, better free your calendar!) and Mama Caroline has offered to cover the costs of the traditional Ugandan gomesi wedding dress being made for me. It’s definitely going to be a day for the memory bank!

With all the parents and guardians after the graduation ceremony

With the Kiwi Sponsorships students of 2016

A final thank you to you all for the messages of love, support and encouragement. I couldn’t do any of this without my amazing cast of supporters and I only wish you could each experience just a moment of the gratitude that I am floored by each time I go back to Uganda. There’s certainly enough to carry me around the world and back.

A community growing stronger

Posted on December 3, 2016 by ileftmyheartinuganda

Greetings from the village where the rains are thundering gloriously and the banana palms are lapping up the drops,

So much has happened since I last wrote – it seems a lifetime can happen in just two weeks here. We celebrated the nursery students’ graduation and end of the school year at KAASO, as the students packed their metal suitcases and rolled their mattress in preparation for their departure.

Emirinah graduating from nursery to Primary One

Students heading home for the holidays

It is a time of rocketing highs and lows as some children are reunited with their parents while others stand tearfully waiting for those who never come. By the end of the day, over 100 of our 638 students still remained at school, glumly kicking around trying to work out why no one came for them.

A very happy little girl being picked up by her father

That number has slowly dwindled and now there are only around 20 for whom KAASO will remain their home for the holidays. The school bus transported a bunch of Tanzanian students back to the border and yesterday the bus departed on its first official charter – rented by a group of teachers going to a function in Eastern Uganda. It’s being put to good use!

Around this time last year, I sent an email requesting support for community piggeries. In addition to the Kiwi Sponsorships programme I created to help students finishing KAASO get through secondary school, I also witnessed the need for assistance for families with children still studying at KAASO, those struggling to pay school fees. So, following up on the great work started by a Spanish volunteer, Lara Briz, I launched an appeal for a community piggery initiative. The response was staggering and we got sixteen piggeries – which meant that sixteen families would receive assistance and a chance to help themselves to pay their children’s fees.

A family supported by the piggery project initiative

Yesterday, Rose , Teacher Gerald (who has been helping to oversee all the piggery projects) and I completed the last four visits. Fifteen piggeries visited (the last one was apparently “too far” – considering one of yesterday’s visits was almost a two hour drive away, I’d hate to see what “too far” really meant), fifteen families helped and dozens of pigs growing stronger each day. It was astounding to see what a couple of rusted iron sheets, a few logs nailed together over a concrete slab and two grunting pigs can do for a family here.

The pride in each family we visited was evident as they showed us their project, and the way it was integrated into their gardens, using the manure to help fertilise their banana and coffee plantations. Parents spoke of teaching their children about rearing pigs and excitedly outlined their plans for expansion. Most of the pigs are now 5 months old and at 9 months will be able to start “producing” piglets which can then be sold to help parents pay their children’s school fees. Each of the recipients of each piggery farm were carefully chosen by Rose based on those she believed would best be able to make the project work, taking into consideration those who were capable of doing the work (many families here are headed by elderly jajjas – grandparents – whose children have either died or abandoned their young children, a frighteningly popular trend that never ceases to astound me).

A family supported by a piggery project

The chosen families were then brought together for a community meeting here at KAASO where the project was explained to them and they all agreed that the main focus would be to use the profits to pay school fees with the profits as soon as it was feasible. A local vet explained how best to care for their pigs and provided each project with the necessary vaccinations and deworming pills. The funds supplied by each donor covered not only the construction of the pig stys and purchase of a male and female pig for each project, but also this medical treatment, feeds for the first nine months and the supervision of Teacher Gerald who travels on the back of a motorbike to each project once a month to offer guidance and support. It’s incredible what $200 can achieve. A huge thanks to all those who got behind this project – individual stories and photos from each project to come!

Rose and Teacher Gerald – the piggery team!

Last weekend, I drove to Kampala with Beth, Rose and a carload of tiny children heading home for the holidays. The journey was, as always, rather eventful with the 4 hour trip taking over 10 hours thanks to another run-out-of-petrol incident (the fuel gage on Dominic’s car doesn’t work when you’re on dirt roads which is a challenge when you live a 20 minute drive down a long dirt road…) and the gear shaft blowing up and needing to be replaced. Fortunately for us, in true Ugandan fashion, having just driven for an hour over atrocious dirt tracks after a piggery visit, we conveniently broke down in a roadside trading centre right in front of a local mechanic who happened to be hanging on the side of the road. By the time we finally pulled into Kampala at 9pm, having handed over our little passengers and Rose to Rose’s brother, Beth and I were exhausted and I was more than a little frazzled – Kampala driving at night feels like driving through Space Mountain at Disneyland, with full-beam lights, trucks, motorbikes, people and fully-loaded bicycles coming at you from all angles. Needless to say, arriving to a home-cooked dinner and a bottle of red wine at John and Mirriam’s house was absolute bliss. I love my Ugandan home-away-from-home and that I can walk into a house in Kampala and have little Laria come flying at me, welcoming home her Auntie Em. Each year she gets a little taller, a little wiser and a little more irresistible.

Rose, Teacher Sarah, Beth and Dominic say farewell

Our time in Kampala was filled to the brim, visiting schools, sponsored students, craft markets (getting ideas with Rose about new projects for the Suubi Sanyu student microloan fund – full story to come next email!) and then saying goodbye to Beth. It was amazing to have her here and to share this KAASO world with a good friend. Thanks Beth for not just talking about it but for actually coming and for doing so with all your heart and soul. KAASO is forever grateful – as I am.

Each of my annual visits to Uganda seems to get busier and busier as I take on more and more and the support grows. Since arriving here, I have had some wonderful new sponsors come on board, giving seven students the chance to begin secondary school next year, in addition to the 34 students already sponsored. Along with our 6 – soon to be 9 – graduates, it certainly keeps us all busy here! I never could have imagined when I first came here that seven years later we’d have grown so much and have come so far. Thank you all for sharing this journey and being a part of the KAASO family from all your corners of the world. I am incredibly proud to know that so many people near and far now know the KAASO name and are helping to spread the web of support, pushing the school forward, giving children hope for the future and helping a community grow stronger.

A hand up

Posted on November 21, 2016 by ileftmyheartinuganda

Children at KAASO eating jackfruit

At long last the rains have come, bring relief from the endless drought that has plagued the area. The land has been so parched, creating huge issues as crops dry up and food supplies become scarce. Thankfully, two nights ago, the heavens opened and everyone is rushing to the gardens – and out into the night as the rains bring flying ants which are hugely popular as fried snacks in Uganda. Beth and I have politely declined the handfuls of crunchy ants offered our way…

My trips back to Uganda are always shaped by the sponsor visits I plan out with Rose and the hilarious off-road adventures that follow as we bump our way around the district visiting the sponsored students in their villages, at their schools, universities and vocational courses. It has been incredible catching up with all the students and seeing their progress made over the past year since my last visit and what has blown me away the most has been visiting the students in their vocational courses – those who are able to follow through on their dreams thanks to the support of their sponsorships and mentorship from the Kiwi Sponsorships programme.

Last week, Rose and I drove out to Villa Maria Hospital, about 15 km north of Masaka where Juliet and Winnie, two sponsored students are in their first year of their two-and-a-half year nursing course. We found Juliet in the wards and she was so thrilled to find us there, proudly showing us around the hospital. Winnie was out in the fields doing community outreach through the hospital’s free child vaccine and adult HIV-testing programme so we sat under a tree with Juliet to catch up on her year. Just as we were finishing up, an ambulance pulled up and out jumped Winnie, back from the villages and she threw her arms around us in delight and we all had an amazing catch up.

Winnie and Juliet

From there, we drove to another hospital where another sponsored student, Charles, is training to be a lab technician. We met with the head teacher who sang Charles’ praises, saying how well he was doing in his course and how proud he was of Charles, who couldn’t stop grinning.

Charles and his head teacher

Our final stop was to Anthony, another of Charles’ sponsored classmates from KAASO who has almost completed his certificate in Journalism studies and is soon to start his diploma. I have never seen a student so excited to be studying, or so grateful to have the opportunity to do something that he would have had no chance to do without external support. Anthony’s dream for as long as he can remember is to become a broadcaster and, after my chats to his lecturer, it seems that Anthony is well on his way to fulfilling that dream. It was such a satisfying day for both me and Rose in that it really demonstrated that the programme is working. While we once sent students through to the end of secondary school, they now branch off after their fourth year of secondary to do vocational courses – meaning that by the end of their sponsorship, they have a qualification which enables them to get a job, to start earning money and to begin the road towards upgrading their studies further down the track. It’s very much a case of helping them to help themselves – “teach a man to fish,” Dominic keeps repeating with a grin.

With Anthony and his broadcasting lecturer

If that wasn’t already satisfying enough, I had the pleasure of also visiting a bunch of our sponsored students in Mbarara – now graduated from the Kiwi Sponsorships programme and now walking on their own two feet. Both Henry and David are studying at universities, paying their fees through a combination of agricultural and entrepreneurial projects and family support – their families have all pulled together what they can to reward the efforts of the boys’ studies over the years and as a way to acknowledge the incredible support they have received from their sponsors over the past six years. Henry told us animatedly about his new hibiscus juice business which he has launched as a way to help support himself through university. It’s been a great success so far, with his juice selling out daily. Here’s to scaling up! I really couldn’t be prouder of what these students are doing.

Mbarara sponsor student visit

It’s been wonderful having Beth share in the beautiful world of KAASO. Together we have travelled across the district visiting piggeries and sponsored students and Beth has quickly been adopted as the computer teacher at KAASO, educating teachers on how to use computers and taking on the mammoth task of helping Teacher Sarah input all the student fees data into Excel – a huge modernizing step from the hand-ruled notebook she has been using in the past.

Beth and Rose en route to visit a community piggery project

It’s time to get back to the village – via the home of Brenda, a girl I first met in my P1 class in 2009 who has now just graduated from her final year of KAASO and will next year be joining secondary school. It never ceases to amaze me how much these children have grown up and how far they have come. I can’t wait to see where the next ten years will take us…

If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child, you can read more in the Kiwi Sponsorships section of this blog.

With Henry outside his university hostel

Inspired Magazine

Posted on November 16, 2016 by ileftmyheartinuganda

back-at-kaaso-2014

Feeling very honoured to have been profiled in the beautiful Inspired Magazine.

Emma Outteridge was standing in the Nice Opera House on the glittering French Riviera, champagne glass in hand, a little black dress adorning her svelte frame, and mingling with VIP guests of Louis Vuitton here to watch a yacht race for the world’s sailing elite. This young Kiwi woman was living the high-life, hobnobbing with European high society in her role as events manager for the luxury Louis Vuitton label. Yet Emma’s mind was elsewhere – thousands of miles away in a remote poverty-stricken village in Uganda. Emma had just returned from six months’ volunteering in Uganda, and found herself smitten by the people, particularly the orphans at the village school.

While the people around her discussed yacht prices and champagne varieties, Emma’s mind wandered, her face warming into a smile as she recalled the Ugandan orphans – the wide smiles that flashed so readily upon their faces, their shining eyes and their thirst for education. She realised the recent end of her six-month volunteering stint didn’t have to mean the end of her relationship with the village. Since that day seven years ago, Emma has gone on to help dozens of orphaned children in the village to access the education they’d otherwise have been denied…

Click here to read the full article.

So much more than just a bus

Posted on November 9, 2016 by ileftmyheartinuganda

At this rather crazy time in history, I sit here wondering how it can be that the world seems to be happy to embrace such ludicrous politics – first Brexit and now Trump… How can this be? I feel very fortunate to be where I am here in Uganda, surrounded by such amazing people continuing to do amazing things in the world. The village has never been more appealing.

Leaving politics behind, I reflect on the past ten days since arriving in Uganda. I have been so fortunate to share my KAASO life with both Beau and Rebecca and the school bus delivery will forever go down as one of the most incredible moments of my life. My returns to KAASO have always been such a happy time, so full of love, excitement and anticipation for the weeks to come. But I never could have prepared myself – never mind Beau and Rebecca – for the welcome that awaited us with the school bus. Despite blowing a tire 20 minutes into our journey, we were back on the road an hour or so (and several tire changes) later and continued our trip south. Rebecca had come prepared with dozens of beach balls and hundreds of balloons to fill the bus so we dizzied our already excited selves by blowing up balloons while the scenery of Kampala flew by, the urban slowly giving way to rural. We stopped at the equator to take photos to mark this momentous occasion – we were to leave the northern hemisphere behind and make our home in the south. I have had so many of these photos over the years but this year there was a very special guest in the photo – the school bus, proudly positioned in the background behind the equatorial ring. I couldn’t have been happier.

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Arriving at the turnoff from the main road to the dirt road that leads to KAASO, we were met by the school truck (yup, the old one that used to move the children around that the bus was replacing…) loaded with children all waving branches and cheering our arrival.

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They came flying off the back of the truck and loaded into the bus to begin the final leg of our historic journey. All along the way as we passed through villages, people came out to wave and clap and cheer our arrival. I’ve never experienced anything like it. Along with the school truck, we also had an escort of a dozen boda bodas (motorbike taxis) and people running along the side of the road with us. Tears were rolling down my face and the children’s excitement intensified as we came down the hill towards the KAASO school gates and my heart was pounding in anticipation of what would await us. I heard them before I saw them. Literally hundreds of people running down the road towards us, the happiest mob I’ve ever been engulfed by – they came flying towards us and literally launched themselves at the bus, hugging and crying and cheering our arrival.

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Teacher Sarah, one of my oldest friends from the early days at KAASO, was among them and when I caught her eye she came running around to the window where I sat and grabbed my hand. There were no words – we just held each other tightly, sobbing through the window. It was a moment that will stay with me for the rest of my life – we had done it! Teacher Sarah eventually let go as the bus rolled down the tiny dirt path to the lower school field, which was where the full welcome committee was waiting for us – all 600 children and hundreds of parents and well-wishers. The bus was blessed by a local priest and the whole community sang prayers of thanks and praise for their beloved bus. The evening that followed was filled with celebratory dancing, heartfelt speeches, tearful thank yous and the most overwhelming sense of achievement. I thought of the night five months earlier when I had stood in front of everyone in Bermuda and promised that I would drive the bus they had made possible into the village and that I would think of them. Now, the bus parked in the KAASO school grounds, I thought back on that night and once again, the tears flowed freely. I wished that they could all be here with me to experience this moment but I was so incredibly grateful that I had Rebecca and Beau with me to share in the joy.

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Since that Sunday, Dominic has – literally – not stopped smiling. Two days later, the bus was used to transport the Primary Seven (final year) students to sit their Primary Leaving Exams and the children, usually nervous, were all smiles and full of excitement – they got to ride on the BUS! We have been inundated with thanks from the entire community who all feel so proud to have been a part of the fundraising efforts and who promise to cherish this bus forevermore. In the world that most of us come from, a bus is, quite simply, a means of transport. For a village in Uganda, it is so much more than that – it is a sign of development, a symbol of hope, an achievement worth celebrating and, most importantly, proof that anything is possible. When Dominic first told the community that KAASO was going to try and raise funds for a bus, few believed it would be possible. However, with the coming of the bus, as Teacher Sarah explained to us the night of its arrival, the community has seen – yet again – that Dominic and Rose are not only true to their word, but that can make dreams come true. I feel so honoured to have played my part in that and I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all those who contributed to make this happen.

Rebecca’s time at KAASO went all too quickly but we certainly made the most of every moment. She helped to teach art classes and PE classes and had the children in fits of laughter making balloon animals, their eyes wide with wonder as she twisted the colourful balloons into dogs, giraffes and dinosaurs. We had a tearful farewell after sharing a beautiful night together at Lake Mburo, a nearby national park, but I know that Rebecca, having experienced the magic that is KAASO, will be back one day.

Beau and I continued onto Mbarara where we had a joyous reunion with Henry – now 19 years old and in his first year of university. I had to pinch myself seeing this 12-year old boy I once knew now funding himself through university, his 6-year sponsorship over. He is an inspiration to the other sponsor students and I feel so proud of what he has managed to achieve.

Yesterday, Beau and I drove to Kampala and, aside from running out of petrol along the way, we managed to arrive without further incident. Scooping up my old friend and long-term Ugandan resident John, we made our way to Entebbe airport where we picked up Beth who has come to join me for three weeks in the village. It’s such a thrill to have her here and I’m so excited for the weeks ahead. I was a bittersweet day as I also had to bid farewell to Beau who is headed back to Australia and then onto Bermuda but I will look forward to being reunited with both him and Rebecca in December when I get back. We will have so many stories to share!

From Qatar airport in between flights, Beau has managed to put together this short video of the bus arrival at KAASO – there is much more to come but what a legend to have done this so quickly! Don’t miss Teacher Sarah in the lime green gomesi (traditional dress) at the end…

I sign off here as it’s time to get back to the village before darkness falls. I thank you all for your incredible love and support – reading all your amazing messages helps motivate and inspire me to keep on pushing, to keep on striving and to make each day I spend here really count.

The school bus has reached its home

Posted on October 31, 2016 by ileftmyheartinuganda

I have always been truly humbled by the reception I receive each time I go back to Uganda but arriving with the school bus was one of the most emotional, incredible, heartfelt, inspiring and beautiful moments of my life.

I will let Beau’s stunning photos speak for themselves….

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A school bus sails into the village…

Posted on October 29, 2016 by ileftmyheartinuganda

Greetings from the shores of Lake Victoria!

Two days and several thousand miles later, from an island in the Atlantic to a land-locked nation in East Africa, I have arrived back in Uganda. This is my seventh annual trip here and I’m so excited to catch up with everyone in my village home, to hear about the highs and lows the year has brought and to share in the celebrations of those who are soon to be graduating from the Kiwi Sponsorships programme. However, this trip also has a particularly special purpose. For years, KAASO has had a dream dangling on the horizon but, until now, it has remained just that – an unattainable, far-off dream. Tomorrow though, that dream will become a reality. KAASO is getting a school bus.

Since 2009 when I first came to Uganda, Dominic and Rose have been telling me how much the school needs a school bus. The alternative – children riding on the barred tray of the school truck – is both illegal and incredibly dangerous. The truck has tipped several times and fortunately none of the children were badly hurt but we all feared that it was only a matter of time. It was not a sustainable option. A couple of years ago, KAASO began reaching out to the community requesting funds towards the school bus and over $1,500 was raised but, in a community where it’s hard to find the money for school fees, coming up with the remaining $30,000 for a bus was a colossal challenge.

And here’s where my story begins.

It all started in the most unlikely of settings – a beach-front restaurant for a rosé-infused lunch with a friend called Rebecca. I was explaining how much KAASO needed a school bus but how daunted I was by the task of trying to raise $30,000 USD to make this happen. You can gather donations for buildings and piggeries, I explained, brick by brick, sty by sty, but wheel by wheel doesn’t really work for a school bus. You kind of need the whole thing.

So Rebecca and I teamed up with the mission to make this actually happen. Her company, RenRe, was hosting their annual sailing day in early June and Rebecca suggested we use this day to help raise our funds. If I could get a bunch of America’s Cup sailors to helm the boats that RenRe’s clients and brokers would be sailing on, we could ask for bids to secure their favourite Cup sailor on board their boat. I emailed sailors from Artemis Racing, Oracle Team USA and Softbank Team Japan asking if they might help out – ‘an afternoon sail for a school bus?’ was my pitch. Within an hour, I had Dean Barker, Chris Draper, Jimmy Spithill, Tom Slingsby, Grant Simmer, Iain Percy, Francesco Bruni and, not surprisingly, Nathan Outteridge, committed to helping. We were on.

The team from RenRe, spearheaded by Rebecca, did an impressive job of rallying up support and enthusiasm and, once again, Claire’s amazing graphic design skills came into play, helping to create an infographic to explain what we were trying to achieve. All six America’s Cup teams donated signed merchandise which I had gathered at the America’s Cup World Series event in New York and, along with some LV Cup products from previous editions, I also had donated experiences from America’s Cup – and from my very obliging husband!

The day of the fundraiser, I felt sick with nerves. There was so much riding on this day and while I knew anything we could raise would be amazing, I was acutely aware of how much money was needed and that it might in fact take several fundraisers to achieve our goal. I so badly wanted this to work.

I boarded RenRe’s superyacht where I spent the day on board with a bunch of wonderful people, drumming up support for the silent auction items as well as encouraging those on the boats to bid higher and higher for their favourite sailors to join them for the final race of the day. Momentum gathered quickly and I was blown away not only by people’s generosity but also by how interested they were in the cause and how much the idea of providing a school bus to children in Uganda struck a chord with a bunch of people on an island in the middle of the ocean.

The final race was incredible. The Cup sailors did an amazing job of showing everyone a good time – and doing all they could to ensure that they were ahead of their team mates. By the time everyone rolled into the RenRe dock, the day had already far surpassed my expectations. And that was before the live bidding even began.

Originally there were only supposed to be two live auction items – a two-hour foiling sailing session with Nathan and a 4-person ride in an America’s Cup chase boat to watch the boats training on the Great Sound in Bermuda. However, a combination of much excitement, many drinks, and overwhelming support saw these two auction items multiply to six. Iain Percy from Artemis Racing, realising that there were multiple groups willing to pay good money for the chase boat ride, threw in two extra rides on the Artemis chase boat, spurring on Grant Simmer from Oracle Team USA to donate a ride as well. That act alone raised us $12,000. Then, the CEO of RenRe, deciding that his wife should also have the chance to sail with Nathan, asked if Nath would donate another foiling experience (the first had already been won) which he gladly agreed to and the bidding opened once more. While Rebecca was helping coordinate the auction, I was madly running around trying to calculate where we were at so far between the boat bids, the silent auction items and the ever-growing live auction funds. As the live auction closed, I pushed EQUALS on my calculator, and then stood staring at my screen, stunned. Then the tears began to fall. We had raised $30,190.

I gave an impromptu – and hugely tearful – speech, letting the room know that we had reached our goal – we would have our school bus. A sea of smiling faces erupted into applause and cheers and I just stood there, crying and grinning dumbly before engulfing Rebecca in a huge hug. We had done it!

In the weeks that followed, Rebecca did an incredible job of helping me collect each and every dollar and I was amazed to find that our total amount just kept going up and up – people were so moved by the experience that they wanted to donate more, to give more, to help more. I was blown away.

In the end, we raised over $40,000, all of which has now reached the village and, on Wednesday, Dominic purchased the bus. As if that wasn’t enough, a few weeks ago, Rebecca decided to join me to help deliver the bus along with my brother-in-law, Beau, who is going to make a short film about the bus delivery. Things couldn’t have worked out more perfectly.

So now I sit looking out across Lake Victoria with Rebecca at my side, and I have to pinch myself to realise it’s not just some amazing dream that I’ll soon wake up from. Beau flies in tonight and Dominic will pick us all up in the bus tomorrow morning and together, we will drive to the village.

I am so hugely grateful to each and every person who helped make this happen – to the sailors, the donors, the far-away cheerleaders and of course to Rebecca, whose huge heart and incredible determination that this was going to happen has meant, quite simply, that is has. Tomorrow is going to be one for the record books – and one requiring quite a few tissues I feel…

Lake Victoria, Uganda

Guest Post: The Starfish Story by Jessie Craven-Francis

Posted on October 15, 2016 by ileftmyheartinuganda

Three months ago, I was hugely inspired by a conversation I had with a friend called Jessie. I was in Rio at the time in the lead up to the Olympic Games at which my husband was competing and life was all about sailing and sports. However, for a couple of hours one July afternoon, I was transported back to my village world during a Skype conversation with Jessie. Now back in the UK, Jessie shared with me the amazing updates from her recent trip to Uganda. I listened with a smile to her stories, her words reminding me so much of my own Ugandan experiences, but what struck a chord most was her talking about the ‘Starfish Story’ – a story so reminiscent of the motto of KAASO’s co-founder, Rose: “We can’t do everything, but we can do something.” I have just completed a memoir about this very issue – the fact that we so often feel paralaysed by inaction, the problems of the world seeming too big, unsurmountable, beyond us. However, for each and every person, a single act can make a huge difference. That was the case with me and Henry. And the same goes for Jessie. I invite you to read on and challenge you not to feel inspired…

Emma xxx

jessie-on-a-boda I’m Jessie, a physiotherapist from the U.K. and this is my first ever blog. It’s taken a while for me to write but here goes… So why the ‘Starfish’ story? Well, it reflects some of what Uganda taught me. The main lesson – you can’t help everyone but we can all help someone.

The ‘Starfish’ story I know goes like this… There was a young girl walking along a beach with her mother and there were hundreds of starfish washed up on the sand. ‘What will happen to these star fish?’ asked the child. ‘Sadly,’ said her mother, ‘without the sea they will die.’ So the little girl started to pick up starfish as she walked along, throwing them back into the sea. Her mother said, ‘You can’t make a difference sweetheart, there are just too many of them.’ The little girl picked up another one and as she threw it back into the sea she looked up at her mother and said, ‘I can make a difference to that one!’

This story has always stuck with me and often helped me on crazy days at work or in life when I feel like I’m treading water and helping no one. On those days I take a deep breath and tell myself… One person at a time, the starfish effect!

UGANDA: Africa for me had always seemed a magical place I wanted to one day visit. I thought and daydreamed that maybe one day I could go and help a country that always seemed to be developing but, at the same time, struggling when I saw the images coming through on TV. Like many of us, I have limited funds so can’t address all the needs of a world that is crying out for help. It’s so easy to sit on a comfy sofa, feel sympathetic – and then hopelessly overwhelmed – and say to ourselves frankly, ‘What can I do?’ I’d donate £5 or £10 and hope it got to that kid with the sad eyes that desperately needed a hug, some love, some hope, all the things you can’t give from the comfort of your home.

Then, two years ago, I was asked to lead a team of sixteen-year-old boys who wanted to volunteer at a school in Uganda. I was super nervous, but I agreed to go. The boys raised money and, together with my parents, we ran a fund-raiser that got us all out there. So as soon as the boys finished their GCSEs, off we went, five boys and me to a rural school in the outback of Uganda. I had no idea what to expect – none of us did. jessie-the-boys

The first thing I discovered when we arrived was that Africa is not at all like what you see on the charity programmes. This was the first shock. Uganda is a very green and beautiful country, dusty from a lack of tarmac on the roads but so full of colour, life and beauty. The cities are crazy and full of life with everything from shanty towns to exclusive shopping centres. The rural areas are green and very beautiful. Not surprisingly, the sanitation isn’t great and while it’s not that hot, it is incredibly humid, which means the mozzies love the place. But overall, my first impression of Uganda was that it was an incredible country.

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Our first challenge: of the 12 charity bags and 6 personal bags we had checked in, only two arrived which meant we had no clothes other than the ones we had on (and a few we later bought) for ten days. Needless to say, this was not part of the plan and it definitely made things slightly more interesting for the first week or so, however, this did not stop the boys getting involved with school life, and me getting involved with the small medical centre on the school grounds.

Towards the end of our stay, while the boys were playing sport with the kids during break time, I noticed one of the young boys sitting out. He was a good footballer and was normally one of the first to be out playing football so I was surprised to see him sitting on the side of the field. I went to check he was okay and he told me he was fine, he just had a sore foot. I hadn’t noticed him limping but I simply nodded and was about to leave him when I noticed his finger – it was raw. I asked him what happened but he refused to tell me until eventually, with the help of Jude, the school nurse, we managed to get the truth out of him. His answer literally stopped me in my tracks.

‘It’s from the rats,’ he said, ‘they come into the dorm at night and bite on our fingers and feet.’

I was so shocked. I asked why he hadn’t told someone. Jude gently explained that the boys didn’t want to get into trouble as the school is supposed to be a girl’s school and the boys are there mostly because they are siblings of orphaned girls with nowhere else to go so the Sisters who run the school have taken them in. The dormitory was a tiny, dark room with little comfort and in the rains it sometimes flooded. When the rats came in, they didn’t tell anyone for fear of being kicked out of the school.

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I sat with him while Nurse Jude patched him up, then I went to explain to the boys I was with what was happening in the boys’ dorm. They were hugely upset to discover this and after some serious discussions about the situation, we made a decision: we would build a new dorm for the boys. Before leaving Uganda, we helped clean out the boys’ existing dorm and laid rat deterrent. We promised we would return.

Two years later, the boys had completed their ‘A’ Levels and managed to raise £8,000 which they sent over to the school to get construction underway. In July 2016, we all went back out to Uganda to paint the new dormitory and be there for when the young boys moved into their new home. It was an incredible moment and I am truly grateful to have been on this journey over the past two years. I am so proud of these five eighteen-year-old boys and the sustainable difference they have made to the school and the boys that currently live there. I hope this experience has inspired the boys in the dormitory and the girls of the school as well.

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Nurse Jude was also waiting for us when we returned to Uganda and on this second trip, I learned more about his story. Jude is from a local family and was trained as an assistant nurse. He was employed by the school nurse but only qualified as an assistant nurse due to lack of funding. I thought back on the Starfish Story, and decided that this was one person I could help. With the assistance of friends and family, I am now funding him to become a fully trained nurse so he can further help his local community. There is a shortage of nurses and he is hoping to work at his local medical centre, the Busembatia Grade 4 Health Centre, once fully trained in a few years.

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What Uganda taught me: There is a fragile balance in Uganda. On a basic level, most people we came across seemed to be doing well – they had food, great community spirit and clean water. Although life was simple and in no way easy, everyone wore huge smiles, no one complained, people were not starving and, on the most part, they were in good health – a far cry from what is portrayed on TV. However, when you look closer, you do see the problems that poverty brings – one mosquito bite and a child dies in its parents’ arms, unable to get to a medical centre that could provide free treatment if only they had the transport to get there. The failure of a single crop can mean the loss of a nutritional source, leading to malnutrition and illness. And yet the strength of the communities in the rural areas is inspiring.

The problems and fragilities in Uganda are huge and if you focus on the big picture, all you see is what you can’t do. Life can be overwhelming and complicated, however, if you keep things simple and look at the individuals around you, you realise that there are small things that can make a big difference. If we take a deep breath, find someone we trust and invest our efforts in small projects, we can lay a foundation so the people we help can then move on and help others. As in the Star Fish story, you can’t always help everyone, but if you can help and inspire the right people, then you can create a circle of goodwill that inspires the next generation and flows like ripples across a lake when you drop a stone.

Uganda taught me you can help people one by one, and that looking up and out, not down and in is the best way to help each other in this world.

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I left my heart in Uganda

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