Travels in Uganda

One of our interns after graduating from the University of Colorado went on a 1 month trip to Uganda where she helped out in some of the villages. She sent an email back to the company here afterwards and I think it is so good I am posting it here (with her permission).

Hello once again family and friends!

How is everyone? As you may know, I returned from my trip to Uganda last Monday, the 19th. I was out of the country for 1 month and had an amazing first experience on the African continent. I sent out some pretty long, heart-felt emails while I was there, and I again want to thank all of you who wrote back while I was so far away from home.

There is much more I can say about my time in Uganda, but let's put it this way: when people say that going to Africa will change your life forever, they aren't kidding! Suddenly I'm back at home in the U.S. surrounded by rich white people, and I'm having trouble connecting with reality. Honestly, I'm not seeing the world or life through the same eyes any more; certainly this can be accredited to the fact that my world view has suddenly expanded times a thousand! I would love to tell you how it's changed my life and mind-set, but only if you're interested! So please write back or call if you want to talk - because I would certainly love to talk to you! If you don't want all the details, no hard feelings! But at least have a look at my pictures - they're ALL posted to my Picasa web albums at: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/BCorbat 

There are tons of pictures, I couldn't help myself. Some are better than others, but together they'll give you a good idea of what I saw and did during my time in Uganda. Each album has a short description on the left and shows a map. I can't add captions cause that will take forever, so if you want to know more about any of them, just ask! I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed taking them and sharing them with you. I also hope they inspire you to travel, volunteer and/or get educated about issues in 3rd world countries such as poverty, AIDS, and hunger. It may be a tired phrase, but I really do believe that one person can change the world - we all can - one act, one person at a time. Since I've been home I've been doing a lot of soul-searching, and for some reason I've been pulled to learn more about Mother Teresa. So I thought I'd share some of the information I've found about her with you:
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says that when we meet those in need, we meet Him, and that when we serve those in need, we serve Him. Mother Teresa was certainly a living witness to the truth of Jesus' words, and to their power. Mother Teresa also reminds us that if Christ is present in the poor, we have much to learn from them. They teach us about human dignity, patience, and wisdom. It is, as Blessed Teresa said, a privilege to live with and serve the poor. It is tempting to turn away from the difficulty of suffering, to let someone else handle it, to hope it will go away. But as she exemplified, it is my job, your job, our job to help, somehow.

Mother Teresa was once asked: "Why do you give them fish to eat? Why don't you give them a rod to catch the fish?" She responded: "But my people can't even stand. They're sick, crippled, demented. When I have given them fish to eat and they can stand, I'll turn them over and you give them the rod to catch the fish!" She felt that we each have a role to play in serving those in need. She understood that there are many different levels of service, each of them important. Mother Teresa personally was called to serve at the level where people could not even help themselves; she was called to do work that was essential, and to do work that most of us would never care to do.

Anyway, sorry to get deep on you again, but I can't help it! I hope all of you are well and happy! I can't wait to see many of you when I come home to Colorado for Christmas.

Lots of love,
Brianna =)

"We can find Calcutta all over the world, if you have eyes to see. Everywhere, wherever you go, you find people who are unwanted, unloved, uncared for, just rejected by the society -- completely forgotten, completely left alone. That is the greatest poverty of the rich countries."

"Stay where you are - find your own Calcutta. Find the sick, the suffering, the lonely, right there where you are - in your own homes and in your own families, in your workplaces and schools."

- Mother Teresa