Jeani sets out for her volunteer trip in Uganda

My journey to Uganda began two weeks ago and the time is already flying by. I spent the first week acclimating to my new surroundings, meeting so many people, adjusting to the interesting bugs, power cuts, and being called a ‘Muzungu’(a white person), visiting a nearby village, and what I surprisingly found most challenging was learning how to sleep under a mosquito net. Jane did an excellent job of showing me around Kabalagala and the Kampala area. I sometimes feel as though Jane is the town major. Everywhere we go people want to speak with and embrace her. Everyone that she has introduced me to, whether they are involved in the school, church, internet café, or just someone she passes by every day on her way to school, has been so welcoming and friendly.

After a week of adjusting to life in this beautiful country it is finally time for the second term of school to begin. The twenty-seven children that make up Kabalagala Community Academy and I have something in common. We are all eager and enthusiastic to begin this journey of learning together. While they will be learning subjects like math and reading they will be teaching me so much about themselves and myself, about life in Uganda, and the hardships they all face. As I sit in the school office writing this all I can hear are the sounds of happy children playing and singing outside during their lunch break. I have already discovered that these children are so grateful for the little they have and the opportunity they have been given to receive an excellent education.