Uganda Trip Notes From Sylvia

WOW ... the Africa trip for Sylvia's Children is right around the corner! We ended up with nine people, including Doug Brown who is coming back for a second time, 12 guitars, a complete American five piece drum set with cymbals (WHY they want OUR drums is beyond me!), aprons for the teachers so they don't get chalk on their clothes, erasers, pencils, chalk, markers ... I don't even know if we can get it all over there BUT we'll try!

We leave on July 4th @ 6 am and arrive on July 5th into Entebbe airport (Kampala, Uganda, Africa) @ 1:30 in the afternoon. 'Tis a L-O-N-G flight but ... worth every minute! We will then spend Sunday with Geofrey and go to his church Sunday morning where he is Assistant Pastor. He will then come back with us to the hotel and give us an update report from last year. He is unbelievably thorough!

And, there's lots to report! Since last year, we have increased sponsorship of the children to the point where over 100 of the 250 are now sponsored annually (still have room for more sponsors), we have a well so the water is clean, we have a new library, and two additional double classroom blocks. We have needed this since the school has grown from 439 to 905 students in the first five years. (I said to Geofrey "Slow down so I can catch up!")

Monday through Friday we will be working at the school and what a week! I will be teaching entrepreneurship for one hour each day so they can learn how to be self reliant. We will visit some of the homes of the children and, of course, be entertained and loved by hundreds of people. We will get information on what books have to be ordered for the students and for the library (it is estimated that the books for the library will be $10,000).

We want to measure the children's feet since Samaritan Shoes may provide them all with shoes if we can raise $15,000. (And, they want to do that at Christmastime!) Doug, Claire and Vicky will be working with the "wee ones" on art projects (attention; quilters ... no more squares this time!). When Friday comes we know we will experience the sadness at leaving. We all cry including the students and the teachers!

We will then go on a brief three day safari so people on the tour can enjoy the beauty of the country in a real way. Tuesday, July 15, everyone returns except for Tony Costa (my son) and me. We are staying two extra days to visit a coffee plantation and meet with the Ugandan Coffee Authority. We are discussing importing green coffee beans from Uganda to the United States to generate a revenue stream for the school.

What needs to be done? So much more! A health clinic, books for each child (they have NONE ... they learn everything by rote), books for the library, sewing machines and a building to house them so the children can learn a trade and we can teach the widows to sew in order to have income for them and for the school. We want to start a chicken farm that will provide the children with protein and product that can be sold to the villagers.

We want to build a secondary school so the children can go through their senior year without having to go 40 miles to Kampala (and pay triple for the education which many cannot do). If we get all this accomplished and succeed in making the school a self-sustaining unit we will have created a prototype that can then be put into place with other schools.

Our next trip will be December 11-18, 2008 at an approximate cost of $2,500. Our goal on this trip is to bring presents to the children and put on their Christmas party for them. I guarantee that whoever goes will receive the gift of their life through the love of these children, their families and the school faculty and workers. Would love to have you join us!