Blog Updates and inspiration

Met this gorilla friend in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Here in Uganda, my name is William. Being a woman, that’s not really something I love. Although it can be amusing to witness the surprise of visitors when they come to meet me and discover I’m not, in fact, a man as a name like William might suggest. In Uganda the Christian name comes last. […]

The brightly painted walls of the classroom are showing signs of wear: paint chipped, smudges from the hundreds of sweaty hands and the dry season that whips storms of red dust up from the roads to coat trees, grass and buildings. Rows of wooden benches seat high school students, dressed smartly in their matching uniforms. […]

The air is full of promise. Children walking through Gulu town, heading home from school at the end of the day.

Akello Agnes walks down a narrow dirt path leading away from the clearing where she lives. In less than a minute she comes across a borehole, and her 4-year-old son Tony jumps up and down, smiling, as he demonstrates how to pump water from the borehole built by Invisible Children Uganda and partners charity:water and […]

A woman prepares posho, a local dish made with dried, crushed corn.

People from Ohio always want to talk about the weather. Correct me if I’m wrong, but judging by my relatives this is the truth. I call my dad from Uganda, and after talking about our dog and his latest idea for a book, he seems almost compelled to ask, “So what’s the weather like there […]

It was not a typical afternoon at Mend. Out in the yard, the women were somersaulting and dancing around on colorful mats, full of nervous energy. It was their very first yoga lesson. Lolly Berger, of Pachamama’s Daughters Yoga, led them through the poses while Lapat Evelyn, the Mend social worker, translated her directions into […]

We love supporting a good cause, and getting some exercise in the process. Last Sunday staff and beneficiaries of Invisible Children Uganda took to the streets of Gulu for the Northern Uganda Marathon fundraiser for maternal health. Eight staff and 19 of the Mend seamstresses came to run the 10k, our own Laker Pamela taking […]

I’m sitting near the front of the 140 student classroom at Keyo Secondary School on top of a hill in northern Uganda. Acan Harriet jumps right into the lesson. She has a dry, matter-of-fact tone as she delves into English grammar with her high school class. A cell phone rings with a hit club song. […]