The Final blog and Reflection comes from Andrew, the Kain Foundation’s Chairman and Danyelle, the Kain Foundation Uganda Trip 2018 Tour Leader:
A Reflection from Andrew: Not a hand out, rather a way out.
My first visit to Uganda as Chair of the Kain Foundation proved what we are doing with our corporate and local partners is valuable and is having long term benefits for terrific people.
We have partnered with Tony Wanyoike of the Hopeline Organization and Leslie Weighill from The Real Uganda. One of Tony’s inspirations is the Mayindo Women’s Group. Single mothers abandoned by husbands or widowed. They have created a community where emotional support, growing food, skills training and establishing a business based on creative learning and manufacturing soap, weaving and handcraft skills. They are almost self-sufficient and they are a powerful and inspirational team.
We have also partnered with Junior Landcare projects in schools. This Australian program teaches students about crops, irrigation, mulching, terracing, animal husbandry so even if the kids drop of school, they have useful skills to use in their own homes and communities. We have helped them create a nursery full of seedlings they have grown and soon it will become a commercial enterprise selling to the public. The money raised will be poured back into the junior Landcare projects in their school. This project has scale and enormous potential.
That’s why I say the Kain Foundation is not offering a hand out but a way out of almost certain poverty. More importantly a way to a better future.
Learning to read and write is important but learning how to grow a long term business based on acquiring practical skills, sound sustainable methods that can be applied in homes and villages which lead to commercial return is vital to these wonderful Ugandans.
The generosity, friendliness and dedication of the men, women and children I met at all the projects will remain in my heart forever. The truth is I got far more out of being with them than they got being with me.
Final Reflection from Danyelle:
What an amazing trips its been. Its hard to believe I was only here 3 years ago performing the feasibility study on the Junior Landcare Program and the Kkobe School Project. To now see these projects in place and successful was such an incredibly proud moment for me. Seeing the impact the projects have had directly on the kids, and indirectly on the community is just wonderful.
I loved watching Andrew, Ryan, Grace and Sara grow their knowledge each day and develop the understanding of what the Foundation is doing and why we are doing it here in Uganda.
The trip enabled us to both see the project outcomes, but also form friendships. It was great to get to know our team members as individuals and to share many laughs and sing-alongs on the long car trips.
I’m incredibly grateful to the Foundation for having been given the opportunity to lead this year’s trip, an experience I won’t forget.