Chicago to Uganda
Students travel the distance to make a difference
Tricia Blauvelt
Issue date: 9/4/06 Section: News
Media Credit: Harishi PatelDaniel Yang, the main organizer of the African trip, tenderly squeezes the cheeks of an orphan in Raika, Uganda.
A few months ago, a sign stood on Michigan Avenue and read the following: "FIVE STRANGERS, ONE PASSION, CHICAGO TO UGANDA" The sign was accompanied by a person in a large pink teddy bear costume that gave free hugs, and behind it a donation bin. This scene was a desperate attempt to fundraise in hopes to travel to Uganda. Behind the signs, the bear, and the donation bin, were five passionate students, this is their story...
Daniel Yang, Harishi Patel, Emma Sron, Jennie Oberkrom, and Aura Brickler, are all active students at UIC. Approximately one year ago, they were introduced to a film entitled "Invisible Children," that changed their lives forever. "Invisible Children" is a documentary on the children suffering in Uganda, due to the wars, the aids epidemic, poverty, and lack of a voice. Inspired by the film, and not wanting to forget the impact it had on them, the five students planned a trip to Uganda to find out how they could contribute to the deepening crisis that was embedded there.
Last Summer, the courageous students flew into Kampala, Uganda. Without a plan guiding them, but rather a goal, "to help the people help themselves," they began to interact with anyone that would listen. As they interacted, opportunities began to form.
Yang, met a photojournalist from Israel, who had told him about a photography exhibit he had seen there involving documentation of Palestinian and Israeli children, through their own photographs. "The project brought a conflict swamped in rhetoric and politics into real and tangible terms, the world from the eyes of the children," said Yang.
The group saw the idea as a means to create awareness of the crisis in Uganda around the world. Yang sought out an organization in Kampala that they could work with. They found an organization named FOCUS, that worked with kids from the slums of an area called Mulago. The organization serves the community by raising up leaders among the children who show promise in school but are unable to pay for the school fees; the children are sponsored by the organization from primary through secondary.
With the help of FOCUS, friends and family, the group handed out 22 cameras and 100 rolls of film to 16 orphans that FOCUS had picked, ages 12-21. Only two of the children had ever touched a camera before. "Since none of us knew much of photography, we couldn't leave them with artistic or technical aspects, so we left them with a prompt. 'Describe your life in Uganda, through your photographs, there is no such thing as a bad picture, take photos of things that are beautiful and things that are meaningful to you.'
The group left each orphan with their first roll of developed photographs, and took the remaining 84 rolls home. Once developed, the group plans on showing a photography exhibit in as many states as possible, to show a raw depiction of what the orphans are facing everyday of their lives.
While in Kampala, they also met Richard Hagaba, the project officer for PARDI(Participatory Action for Rural Development Initiative). The group was invited to come and visit PARDI, located in Rakai district, in southern Uganda. "We accepted and spent four days in rural Uganda sleeping in a tent on top of Ssamanya hill, under a brilliant starlit sky," said Yang.
Rakai Uganda.
Rakai district lies in southern Uganda, Africa's Sub-Saharan region, and is the first district in Uganda to fall victim to the AIDS epidemic.
According to PARDI, in 1993 the relentless growth of the problem was revealed, and to this day, Rakai remains one of the most severely affected areas in the world by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The crisis in Rakai has developed overtime due to many influences, but mainly because of the weakened labor force. Many people in the productive age group have been infected; the labor force has been weakened, and their access to health care and facilities has been limited, if not non-existent due to poverty. As a result of these things, the traditional extended family (where close relatives take care of the orphans), has been weakened as well due to death of parents and relatives from AIDS. This depletion of the adult population has created devastating effects, and the subsequent precipitation of the orphan crisis in Rakai.
"After our initial trip, all of us were moved to act but we didn't know how. After thinking it over for a month Harishi and I returned to Rakai for another week." Upon their return trip, Yang and Patel met with all the staff and community leaders, and visited the kids again, this time with a doctor. "Before we left, we made a commitment to build a children's village for the orphans living near Ssamanya hill. "By teaming with an organization, we are helping them help themselves. We also know that the project has a high chance of continuance after we leave if the people that live there are directly involved," said Patel.
"Though their accounting was a little sketchy we couldn't ignore the passion and the impact of the staff and volunteers working for the organization. Furthermore, we didn't want to push a project into an area where we had no expertise without a guide or a strong link to the community," said Yang.
Now back in the states, they have returned with a purpose, and are taking every step possible to make their actions in Uganda a reality.
In the midst of raising $100,000 dollars for the project, Yang, Patel, Sron, Oberkrom and Brickler plan to return to Rakai next year to start building. The children's village will be located on Ssamanya hill and provide temporary housing for 500-700 vulnerable orphans. Food, water, a bed to sleep in, health, education-luxuries that were not an option before-will be provided to these orphans through the shelter. But perhaps the most important gift the group of students is striving to give, is vocational training, "We will provide a support system, guidance and adult influence, for children that might have otherwise been exploited for labor, forced into prostitution, or put in another situation where they would have been conducive to contract aids."
"Our organization is tentatively going to be called "Charity Still Works." We want to prove that Charity works. And we want to do work that's charitable (not only to Ugandans but to Americans as well). We see a need both in the developing countries and the developed countries," said Yang.
If anyone is willing, to lend a hand in any aspect of this ongoing project, please contact:
Harishi Patel
phone number: (312) 823-0090
email: hpatel7@uic.edu or harishi@chicago-uganda.org
OR
Daniel Yang
email: dyang20@uic.edu
|
Daniel Yang, Harishi Patel, Emma Sron, Jennie Oberkrom, and Aura Brickler, are all active students at UIC. Approximately one year ago, they were introduced to a film entitled "Invisible Children," that changed their lives forever. "Invisible Children" is a documentary on the children suffering in Uganda, due to the wars, the aids epidemic, poverty, and lack of a voice. Inspired by the film, and not wanting to forget the impact it had on them, the five students planned a trip to Uganda to find out how they could contribute to the deepening crisis that was embedded there.
Last Summer, the courageous students flew into Kampala, Uganda. Without a plan guiding them, but rather a goal, "to help the people help themselves," they began to interact with anyone that would listen. As they interacted, opportunities began to form.
Yang, met a photojournalist from Israel, who had told him about a photography exhibit he had seen there involving documentation of Palestinian and Israeli children, through their own photographs. "The project brought a conflict swamped in rhetoric and politics into real and tangible terms, the world from the eyes of the children," said Yang.
The group saw the idea as a means to create awareness of the crisis in Uganda around the world. Yang sought out an organization in Kampala that they could work with. They found an organization named FOCUS, that worked with kids from the slums of an area called Mulago. The organization serves the community by raising up leaders among the children who show promise in school but are unable to pay for the school fees; the children are sponsored by the organization from primary through secondary.
With the help of FOCUS, friends and family, the group handed out 22 cameras and 100 rolls of film to 16 orphans that FOCUS had picked, ages 12-21. Only two of the children had ever touched a camera before. "Since none of us knew much of photography, we couldn't leave them with artistic or technical aspects, so we left them with a prompt. 'Describe your life in Uganda, through your photographs, there is no such thing as a bad picture, take photos of things that are beautiful and things that are meaningful to you.'
The group left each orphan with their first roll of developed photographs, and took the remaining 84 rolls home. Once developed, the group plans on showing a photography exhibit in as many states as possible, to show a raw depiction of what the orphans are facing everyday of their lives.
While in Kampala, they also met Richard Hagaba, the project officer for PARDI(Participatory Action for Rural Development Initiative). The group was invited to come and visit PARDI, located in Rakai district, in southern Uganda. "We accepted and spent four days in rural Uganda sleeping in a tent on top of Ssamanya hill, under a brilliant starlit sky," said Yang.
Rakai Uganda.
Rakai district lies in southern Uganda, Africa's Sub-Saharan region, and is the first district in Uganda to fall victim to the AIDS epidemic.
According to PARDI, in 1993 the relentless growth of the problem was revealed, and to this day, Rakai remains one of the most severely affected areas in the world by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The crisis in Rakai has developed overtime due to many influences, but mainly because of the weakened labor force. Many people in the productive age group have been infected; the labor force has been weakened, and their access to health care and facilities has been limited, if not non-existent due to poverty. As a result of these things, the traditional extended family (where close relatives take care of the orphans), has been weakened as well due to death of parents and relatives from AIDS. This depletion of the adult population has created devastating effects, and the subsequent precipitation of the orphan crisis in Rakai.
"After our initial trip, all of us were moved to act but we didn't know how. After thinking it over for a month Harishi and I returned to Rakai for another week." Upon their return trip, Yang and Patel met with all the staff and community leaders, and visited the kids again, this time with a doctor. "Before we left, we made a commitment to build a children's village for the orphans living near Ssamanya hill. "By teaming with an organization, we are helping them help themselves. We also know that the project has a high chance of continuance after we leave if the people that live there are directly involved," said Patel.
"Though their accounting was a little sketchy we couldn't ignore the passion and the impact of the staff and volunteers working for the organization. Furthermore, we didn't want to push a project into an area where we had no expertise without a guide or a strong link to the community," said Yang.
Now back in the states, they have returned with a purpose, and are taking every step possible to make their actions in Uganda a reality.
In the midst of raising $100,000 dollars for the project, Yang, Patel, Sron, Oberkrom and Brickler plan to return to Rakai next year to start building. The children's village will be located on Ssamanya hill and provide temporary housing for 500-700 vulnerable orphans. Food, water, a bed to sleep in, health, education-luxuries that were not an option before-will be provided to these orphans through the shelter. But perhaps the most important gift the group of students is striving to give, is vocational training, "We will provide a support system, guidance and adult influence, for children that might have otherwise been exploited for labor, forced into prostitution, or put in another situation where they would have been conducive to contract aids."
"Our organization is tentatively going to be called "Charity Still Works." We want to prove that Charity works. And we want to do work that's charitable (not only to Ugandans but to Americans as well). We see a need both in the developing countries and the developed countries," said Yang.
If anyone is willing, to lend a hand in any aspect of this ongoing project, please contact:
Harishi Patel
phone number: (312) 823-0090
email: hpatel7@uic.edu or harishi@chicago-uganda.org
OR
Daniel Yang
email: dyang20@uic.edu
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Uganda Youth SkillsTraining Project.
posted 2/06/09 @ 2:50 AM CST
Hi,Yang. am Bob Director Uganda Youth Skills Training Project.Actually What you are saying A bout Rakai is 100pecent true.Aids is still Hammering those people of Rakai,because when recently we had gone the burial of our coleague also died of AIDS, We were told that the District was clippled by AIDS. (Continued…)
Chris Hoar
posted 12/13/09 @ 9:16 AM CST
Thanks for the good work. I myself worked with FOCUS in 1999-2000...in its biginnings. It is always good to consult with people doing the same work. Milwaukee of people "catitas for children" has a very successful group of people educating 250 kids in Uganda. (Continued…)
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