Below, Dr. Vanessa Brooks Herd reminisces on her first visit to our projects on the ground in Nyakagyezi, Uganda. Since her first visit, Dr. Herd has spent her time raising funds to purchase goats for our Grandmother Project. The cost of a goat is $42 and she has purchased 16 so far!
Join her! - Purchase a goat for one of our grandmothers TODAY!
She has also organized a group of students from Saginaw Valley State University to volunteer. They have just returned!
Enjoy this snapshot of life as a Nyaka volunteer!
“As I sat on Delta flight 9318 in Kigali, after 15 hours flying, 2 ½ hours layover, and a 45 minute delay, two passengers asked if I was “going home”. Surprised, I answered no, but perhaps my response was premature. Maybe I was actually coming home just unaware. Having visited twenty countries on six continents and 36 of the 50 United States, no place initially fit better than Uganda.
There was an instant level of comfort and strange familiarity the origin of which even three months later remains mysterious. I do not intend to glamorize the experience for there were indeed minor travel mishaps. I arrived but my luggage did not. The electricity “finished” while I was unpacking my flashlight and; of course, there was as predicted no hot water in the village. Even so, I was most comfortable. As I sipped Uganda tea sitting on the lawn, I inhaled the sunset and my soul vowed to return.
The road trip from Kampala up country to the Nyaka AIDS Orphans Schools provided a perspective of Uganda unscripted for travel brochures. Ugandans involved in the routines of daily activities appeared undisturbed by the vehicle, which sped along the road carrying me to places both in Uganda and within me that I did not know existed. The country is lush, abundantly green, and resplendent with natural beauty. The people with an array of brown skin tones and warm smiles enhance the natural beauty. Indeed, the mountainous country and the beauty of the people combined with the exotic animals form a snapshot of the Garden of Eden. [...]
For more information on our International Volunteer Program click here. If you are wondering what you can do to help from where you are, send an email to volunteer@nyakaschool.org.
