January 2024

Menu testing, picking collards, and my feelings about jackfruit

/ / ,
image

Hello from the quiet Kampala Forest Resort, our next-to-last day in Kampala. Wow, has the trip gone by quickly!

We woke up in the EARLY morning to a huge thunderstorm, with pounding rain. With metal roofs, that’s loud! Connie, Bertie, and Harriet were supposed to leave for the farm at 5:00, but those of our staff living in the slum who were also going couldn’t get to the compound, so the departure was delayed.

Then, of course, we had stragglers… But the team eventually took off for Mikisa Farm at about 6:40. As you can see from the above photo, the weather at the farm has been good for them, and they were put right to work harvesting collards and other fresh-picked food to take back to Touch the Slum. They also picked and ate a jackfruit — a fruit I have strongly negative feelings about! (I also have strongly negative feels about collards, which may get me kicked out of the Southern-ladies club, but what can you do?!)

Thursday is our last day in Kampala, and everyone will be playing to their strengths: Bertie and Harriet will be doing Q&A health seminars in the am and pm, where the girls can ask anything. Connie will be making bolognese sauce to serve with their choice of rice or pasta — a previously unknown meal that I know they will enjoy. Susan will be doing her final art classes, in which I’ll likely play assistant, and I will be having a few final meetings.

Friday morning we head west, driving 4 1/2 to 5 hours to see the well that YOU helped construct in Rwakobo village. I am SO excited to see it, and will have some photos and video for you once I get back. We will also stop (briefly) at Wells of Hope School to say hello and donate some soccer balls.

And that’s the end of the work! We will go into Lake Mburo National Park from there to do a boat safari on Friday evening and a driving safari on Saturday morning. On Sunday, we head back east and, for three of us returning to the US, to the airport. By Monday evening, we’ll all be back home!

It’s been a great trip — great to introduce the work to three new people, great to have my mom along again, great to work and play with some of my favorite people on the planet. It’s always such a blessing to be in Uganda, and to see how well our program is growing and maturing. I’ll have a more “businessy” update next week, but until then…

Tweyanzizza nnyo, tweyanzeege — we are so grateful, thank you very much!

Jennings

PS If you want to follow along (or backtrack) on our trip, just go to Instagram.com via a web browser and search for Ten Eighteen Uganda and also for Touch the Slum. You can see the videos we’ve been posting every day and don’t have to have an account!

To find great projects to support, click here!

Menu testing, picking collards, and my feelings about jackfruit Read More »

Week One in Uganda – TEAMWORK!

/ / , , ,
image
image
image

Normally I put one picture at the top of these emails, but I really want to share a few from our first days in Uganda. The ladies are doing such great work and our staff and girls are so happy to have them with us!

Clockwise from the top left, Susan (my mom) teaching watercolor to the Literacy girls; Connie teaching paper clay modeling, also to the Literacy girls; and Harriet (from Karamoja) and Bertie unpacking new medical supplies for our Nurse Brenda.

Yesterday, Harriet, Bertie, and Connie did a community talk on hand washing and hygiene, and they gave out 50 mosquito nets. Connie also taught a class on making glass jewelry. On Monday, Susan did a drawing class.

(And Susan’s luggage is still lost somewhere... so you can say a prayer on that since it’s not just clothes but all her personal and student art supplies, too!)

Meanwhile, I have been doing very exciting things like working with our Finance Officer on accounting software and making spreadsheets for upcoming payroll tax changes (ugh), and putting together what we’ll need in March to renew/upgrade our organizational license (also ugh). We have a dinner meeting tonight with the attorney… I know, my part sounds like so much fun, right?!

I did, however, get one very important visit in — with Mama Santa! She is so appreciative of you all, who funded her surgery within an hour of last week’s email going out. She’s resting and doing well, while her daughter Charity fills in in the kitchen.

image

This week we’ll have more community visits, more classes, more laughter, and (I’m sure) more dancing. Our nurses will be making time for individual chats, Susan will be doing a workshop for the staff on managing stress, and Connie will be making cassava mendazi for the girls.

In short – it’s pretty amazing over here!

Blessings,

Jennings

PS We would love to have your support to move the residential program to a separate house just down the road — we’re at 21%! Life is already challenging for teen moms like Anita, who had a c-section 4 weeks ago. Giving them some peace and quiet would be amazing! Just click the button for easy giving.

MOVE Project!

Week One in Uganda – TEAMWORK! Read More »

We Leave Friday, Mama Santa’s Surgery, and More

/ / , ,
image

I can’t believe it’s time to go back to Uganda already! Yay!

As you know, this time there will be 5 of us on the team: 2 artists, 1 writer, 2 nurses. But the artists have other skills, so we will all add chef and licensed mental health professional. Plus my problem-solving superpowers… Well, you get the idea! We’ll have a lot going on!

Anyway, 3 of us will start traveling Friday, one on Saturday, and one nurse is Ugandan and will be traveling from NE Uganda on Sunday. We’d appreciate your thoughts and prayers for safe travels!

Obviously, I’ll be updating on our work but won’t send many more emails than usual so as not to spam you. However, you can follow along on Instagram (even if you aren’t on that platform yourself) where I’ll be posting daily.

Secondly, Mama Santa is having a surgical procedure today after feeling sick for several days. I expect she’ll need a few weeks to recuperate. In the meantime, her daughter, Charity, who is also a cook, is filling in for her. The cost of the surgery is 850k shillings, and the cost for the scans and bloodwork was $250k. All that is a total of about $315 — if you’d like to help us with those expenses, we have a project up on DonorSee, or you can make a donation via Donorbox. (see below).

As always, THANK YOU…. You can’t imagine how much your support means. Without your ongoing help, situations like Mama Santa’s wouldn’t be resolved and would result in a much more unfortunate outcome. That’s life in the slum.

But for YOU.

Mwebele nnyo!

Jennings

PS To donate for Mama Santa:

DONORSEE for Mama Santa

Donorbox

We Leave Friday, Mama Santa’s Surgery, and More Read More »

Eight Days To Liftoff!

/ / , ,
image

We’re officially 15!

It’s so exciting that I’ll be in Uganda EXACTLY on the anniversary of our first work there, January 15th. Wow, time flies!

So speaking of the upcoming trip… We leave on January 12th, arriving the night of the 13th. And that’s SO CLOSE!

We will have a team of four coming from the US, and will be joined by a Ugandan nurse, Harriet, who lives in the northeast Karamoja region. This is the first team I’ve taken to Uganda since October 2015, and we’ve got some great stuff planned: painting, drawing, clay and glass art, writing, hygiene workshops in the community, and more! I’ll be posting on Instagram, so make sure to follow us there. (Icon at the bottom!)

In other news…

We exceeded our year-end fundraising goal by 21%! I know times are tough and donations for all small nonprofits were down in 2023. So seriously, you all are THE BEST! You’re the fuel that makes everything we do in Uganda possible.

Some housekeeping…

If you donated via Donorbox or DonorSee, you always have access to your giving records and receipts via your account there. I have already sent year-end receipts to everyone who gives on Donorbox – check your spam folder or just download it again from the site if you didn’t receive it Tuesday.

If you gave via check, I will be sending you a receipt by email for 2023 before I leave on the 12th.

We really can’t express how much all your support and encouragement have meant to us, and how confident you make us feel going into this new year.

Mwebele nnyo!

Jennings

Eight Days To Liftoff! Read More »

Scroll to Top