E N D O F T H E H O L I D A Y P A R T Y
To celebrate the culmination of the holiday break, Action in Africa hosted an end of the holiday bash on September 4th! The party consisted of 15 different acts that our students at The Center had put together. Their performances consisted of dances, songs, story telling and speeches. Action in Africa rented out a local venue to accommodate the 500+ people that attended the party. It was a very colorful event that the community is still talking about!
B A C K T O S C H O O L
Early September was the beginning of Term Three for all the schools in Uganda, meaning all of our students at The Center headed back to their respective schools. This also means that our little neighbors and business entrepreneurs, Jonathan and Jovia, also headed back to school for the first time all year. They looked so precious in their brand new uniforms and all their school requirements in tow. We have periodically checked in with their head teacher and he never has nothing but phenomenal remarks.
B A B Y E L V I S
A few weeks ago these two showed up to The Center. Baby Elvis couldn't breathe, the village doctor couldn't assist him because of the severity of the pneumonia, and they were told that Baby Elvis had two hours to get to a hospital in Kampala and on oxygen or he wouldn't make it. A week later they both showed up on the porch with smiles and Baby Elvis was devouring biscuits. It's the first time in 8 years we were afraid we would have a fatality if we didn't act quickly. We are honored to have played a role in this pretty profound story.
D A R I N
On September 2nd, Darin Milanesio travelled from Southern California to volunteer with us in Uganda for three months. As a recent graduate from Chapman University, he is eager to put his creative writing major to great use! So far Darin has been contributing to the blog, writing weekly updates, drafting staff biographies, launched a pen pal program at St. Johnson’s and is doing a writing program with our secondary students!
A L E X
On September 21st, Alex Maple travelled from Action in Africa’s hometown (Aspen, CO) to Uganda to serve as our Director of Women Empowerment for six months. Her responsibilities consist of overseeing our Women to Women group, doing home visits, helping launch more health services and counseling initiatives, and managing our Muganda project! We are so excited for her to take ownership of some of our most important programs and projects.
M A M A D O R O T H Y
It's with a heavy heart that we inform you that on September 25th, our beloved Mama Dorothy passed away. Mama Dorothy was one of the first individuals we met 8 years ago and we can whole-heartedly say she played an instrumental role in helping us get to where we are today. She was the Mother Theresa of Uganda. She and her late husband dedicated their lives to starting St. Johnson's Primary School and to bettering the lives of thousands of kids in Uganda. While we are devastated that she is no longer with us, we are comforted in knowing that she is no longer suffering and can rest peacefully. Her kindness, selflessness and gentleness will be missed dearly.
P R O B L E M
We have run into a very unexpected but exciting problem. Much to our surprise, The Center is becoming increasingly popular at an unimaginable rate. We used to have 20-30 kids attend our evening programs, but now we are averaging 110 students. Uncle Jonah's evening dance class is getting to the point that students can hardly dance because they are packed into the space like sardines. Monday through Friday The Center is reserved by 2-3 different schools to use either for a lecture, PE class, debate, or art programs. Our Women to Women group now has 40+ participants and the adult English class gains more students with every class offered. We are at maximum capacity but still growing.
H O W T O H E L P U S ! !
In order to continue impacting the community and keep up with The Center's increasing popularity, we need to make some adjustments. We are looking to hire two more staff members, increase the hours The Center is open, and develop a partnership with an organization to take over and increase our health services offered at The Center. We cannot do any of this without your support. Please consider making a one time donation this month to help in any of these avenues. Click the button below to donate!
