What We Did on Our Humanitarian Trip to Africa

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”   Margaret Mead

I've had a ton of people ask us for more details about the humanitarian trip to Uganda our family participated on this past Christmas. It was an incredible, life-changing experience, and I don't think my words or pictures could ever do it justice, but I thought I'd try to share a little glimpse of it here for those who are curious.    (Read this other post if you're interested in hearing about how this trip came to be)

We went on this trip  with high expectations and it exceeded them all.   We'd forgone our Christmas presents to help make the trip possible and I have to say that it ended up being the perfect mix of work and play, especially for the more hesitant of us in our family. Just when we were completely exhausted from the long days of service, we had the opportunity to do something fun. I thought that the organization we worked with (Family Humanitarian) has the right idea--get people to the country, introduce them to the locals, and get their feet wet in doing some good. Though the work we did was focused on a small group of people, I wholeheartedly feel that the work we did was impactful for the people we interacted with AND now they've got a whole big group of vested people who care and are looking for ways to continue to contribute and make a difference. People who have been on the ground, seen the problems first hand, and developed a love for the people are ones that are poised to make an even bigger impact in the future.

Uganda has one of the highest birth rates in the world, and only 22% of the population has access to electricity and about 30% have access to clean water. Most of their population lives in rural, agrarian communities, and as such very few Ugandans are able to attend school for very long. They’re needed for help taking care of household tasks and with the care of their siblings (I can’t even tell you how many young kids we saw taking care of babies).

  One day we sat with a family to de-kernel corn with them--a task which was surprisingly difficult for us--and watched with amazement as their 4-year-old daughter was able to do it far more efficiently than we could! She'd clearly had plenty of practice.  And I have to say that after helping a family tote their {very heavy} water jugs from the local well about 1/2 mile away I was humbled to think how little thought we give to turning on a faucet here at home while they spend much of their time and energy getting the water their families need.    Additionally, many of the adults we talked to lamented that their families had not been able to pay their school fees and thus had their education cut much shorter than they wanted. Just like any parent anywhere, they wanted more for their children.

We had two main objectives in our service (in no particular order).

1.  help a local Uganda-based organization with clean water training and water filter installation

2.  help with projects at a school  that is being funded by Family Humanitarian but is being built primarily by local skilled labor


 Here's a glimpse in a little more detail what each of those looked like...

OBJECTIVE #1:  Clean water and hygiene training:
We worked with a Ugandan organization on this project. The local organization had a structure in place, as well as a list of who in the community hadn't received the training and the water filters yet. They had us, from Family Humanitarian, teaching a series of lessons on hygiene and clean water to small groups of locals. Because we were in small groups, we had the opportunity to be interactive and to answer questions. They shared with us some of the struggles they face accessing clean water and how heartbreaking it was for their children to be sick with diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery, all of which still kill people in Africa regularly and can be prevented with better access to clean water. It was eye-opening and humbling.

After the training, we were able to work one-on-one with people and show them how to use and install a simple water filter affixed to a bucket. Though these water filters are simple, they are also durable, effective, and 100% operable and maintainable independently by the families that received the filters. They last about 10 years and filter out 99.99% of harmful pathogens. The families we left the filtration units with can simply pour their water (straight from the river, community well, or wherever) into the bucket and VOILA clean water comes out through the filter ready to drink. Family Humanitarian donates the buckets and water filters and coordinates with the Ugandan organization to distribute them. The people are absolutely thrilled to receive the filter and bucket and many expressed how much it meant to them to know that their families would have clean water now.

OBJECTIVE #2:  Help with projects at a primary school being funded by Family Humanitarian:

"EDUCATION IS ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO REDUCE POVERTY AND IMPROVE HEALTH, GENDER EQUALITY, PEACE AND OVERALL STABILITY." 

 Quote from Family Humanitarian website 

The school is being funded by Family Humanitarian but is actually being built by locals. We were there to help with several projects related to the construction and preparation of the school to be opened.

 

 We helped move some heavy materials to where they needed to be (many hands make light work), we helped build the latrine, built and stained some bookshelves, and most meaningful of all...got to help fill those bookshelves with books we'd brought from home! Family Humanitarian believes strongly in education over handouts and we were thrilled to be able to contribute to that school's ability to provide an education for the children in their community.

The community members were so EXCITED about that school being built and we talked to several proud parents who were thrilled that their children would have the opportunity to go to school for the first time. In fact, interacting with the members of the community that lived around the school was one of our very favorite parts about our time there. At any given time, some or all of our group was holding, entertaining, and playing with the children who swarmed us the second we stepped off the bus. We weren't allowed to give them food, candy, toys, or handouts of any kind, so they weren't clamoring for things, as much they were just clamoring to be held or talked to.  We colored together, painted their nails, played ball with them, sang songs and danced with them, read books, and just played like all kids everywhere like to play.

 

 

 Most of the younger kids did not speak English yet and wanted to just hold our hands or jump into our arms and snuggle. Most of the older kids spoke at least a little English  and they seemed just eager to be near us and to talk to us. As a family full of introverts, being surrounded by people for so long was tiring, but our exhaustion was tempered with the awe we felt. These people had so very little--and were still glowing with happiness.

 
I feel like I need to be honest that this trip did not come without difficult emotions. From the moment we arrived, it was painful to be confronted with our own privilege in such a stark way. It hurt to be surrounded by so many hungry children while we had backpacks full of snacks to eat between our three square meals every day. Thoughts of “are we really doing any good” were ample as we returned to our gated, guarded lodging (complete with a private chef and running water) each night while the kids we spent the whole day with went to sleep on the dirt ground. I can understand why so many people have concerns about "voluntourism" and whether humanitarian trips such as this one actually do any good. To people with those concerns, I would like to say two things:

•  We were very intentional about choosing an organization  that aligned with our ideals and did what we believed was the "right" kind of service. Family Humanitarian is very cognizant of making sure that the service they support is impactful, sustainable, and does not foster dependence. They work side-by-side with Ugandan based organizations to make sure their service is making a difference where it matters and really focus on educating and empowering the locals to improve their own lives. I loved that they hire locals to lead the expeditions. Our expedition leaders, cooks, drivers, etc. were all locals. The actual builders and director of the school they are building are locals too.

• Despite choosing the best organization we could find, we still felt our share of guilt and constantly wondered if we were really doing the most we could to help the people we were serving. I think that’s the whole point of trips like this; in battling these emotions we found an increased empathy for people who really aren’t so different from us. In the discomfort of facing our privilege, we were able to break down cultural barriers and exist with the Ugandan people in their reality as they welcomed us into their homes, communities, and lives. It is obvious that we gained just as much if not more from the people we were serving than they did… and I think that makes the importance of this trip even more obvious. We don’t serve just for others, we serve to change our own hearts.

We left our time there with blistered hands, clothes caked in the red dirt, and our hearts and eyes opened to the beautiful Ugandan people. I don't think anyone needed us to be there to accomplish the work that we did, but we needed to be there to let these experiences and people sink deep into the chambers of our hearts. We needed to see how much we take for granted in our comfortable lives. We needed to see that the people in Sub-Saharan Africa are just like the people everywhere else in the world. They are intelligent, loving, hard-working, and just want a better life for their children. We didn't change the world, but I believe that we absolutely did make a difference in the lives of the people with whom we were fortunate enough to work.   If you ever get the chance to do this kind of trip with your family, jump at it.    You'll never be the same.

“Do a little bit of good where you are. It is those little bits of
good put together that overwhelm the world.”   Desmond Tutu