Part of my heart lives in Africa. It will forever, because last summer, I went on a mission trip to Kampala, Uganda, and part of me never came back. I will never forget the people we worked with nor the sights, sounds and smells of a third-world country.
If you’ve never been out of the country, or more specifically to a third-world country, I wholeheartedly encourage you to do so soon. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It all started in March of last year, when my religion teacher showed my class a movie put on by Invisible Children about the civil war going on in Uganda. It was so moving, especially the stories of the children who have been affected by the loss of their schools, churches, parents and siblings.
Our entire class wanted to do something, but we didn’t know how to help. However, we were eventually connected with a Catholic organization in Kampala that provided free secondary education to deserving kids.
It was known as Project Uplift, and they needed $50,000 to rebuild the dorms and to build an entirely new school building.
The one-room building that played host to 47 children wanting to learn was not enough to sustain the project anymore.
Once we had raised the money, we wanted to go, and so we did. It was a no-brainer for me. I was being called to foreign missions. And so I joined the group of six, and we bought plane tickets to Entebbe Airport in Kampala.
We went over there not to do work as much as to talk to people. We wanted to bring their stories back to the U.S. so we could spread the word about these very deserving people.
As I stepped out of the airport and into the Kampala air on a Friday night, my senses were overwhelmed with the sights, sounds and smells of the capital city. I immediately was faced with soldiers guarding the entrance, armed with AK-47s and backed by barbed wire fences.
The streets were alive with music and food as we rode to the residence in the back of an old Toyota pick-up truck. Guys were made to ride in the bed, not out of chivalry, but because the laws dictated that no women ride in the back after dark.
During the next 10 days, my head was constantly on a swivel. I stood in the Nile River, had an AK-47 pointed at my face by an angry soldier, ate food I couldn’t pronounce and, most importantly, met dozens of underprivileged people who taught me how to be humble and grateful for everything life has given me.
Let’s face it – as a white American in today’s world, I have a great life compared to most other people. I don’t have to wonder where I’m going to get my next meal. In fact, I can have three square and healthy meals a day and eat snacks in between, and no one here in America would call me greedy. The fact is, though, we are greedy. The five richest nations in the world could fix poverty and end world hunger in a week if they wanted to.
If I came away with one valuable lesson from Africa, it would be to never take education for granted. As one little girl’s shirt said, “Education is the Key,” and that’s why we were over there.
Most of the students at the project wake up at 5 a.m. every morning in order to do chores around the dorm and study their notes from the previous day.
They realize, unlike myself and many other American students, that education is the most precious resource in the world.
If you would like to learn more or do anything to help the students in Kampala, please search P.O.I.S.E. on facebook.com or visit invisiblechildren.com.
Ben Leiker is a freshman majoring in biological engineering. He can be contacted at [email protected].