Less than 5 weeks to go! Tentative teaching assignments and funds submitted!

There have been many exciting developments since my last update.

The most exciting being teaching and accommodation assignments. We have been warned that all assignments are tentative and we should be prepared for last minute changes. But those of you who know me realize that I am going to get really excited about the assignments.

So I will be teaching high school Physics at St. Joseph's Layibi Secondary School 5 km outside of Gulu. It is an all-boys catholic school with 1200 students. See some of the students pictured at right. My partner teacher is Odong Robert Oryema. I can't wait to meet him! There are 5 other teacher-exchange participants assigned to the school.

We will be lodged at St. Monica's Tailoring School in Gulu town along with the teachers placed at Gulu High School. St. Monica's has electricity, running water showers, and flushing latrines which are luxuries not available at all accommodations. We will take breakfast and dinner at the Invisible Children house down the street. Transport to school is either by foot or boda (bike-taxi). I plan to buy a bicycle in Gulu.

I am OH SO EXCITED!

I presented to my school on Friday about the programme. It went very well I think. I couldn't get over how nervous I was at first.

You can see videos of the various schools through the following link: http://s4s.invisiblechildren.com/
There is a video for Layibi (where I will be teaching) and I used the Pabbo video in my presentation at school. Actually it is neat to watch all the videos.

I've submitted the $3987.49 USD in funds required for the teacher-exchange. Thanks to generous donations, I was able to raise $3692 USD towards the total. I have since removed the donation buttons from my blog. If you wish to donate funds to other Invisible Children initiatives you may still do so through the following website: https://secure.invisiblechildren.com/donate/

You may choose to support:

• Visible Child Scholarship Program which as described, provides children with scholarships to continue with high school or university studies. Recipients of the scholarships are also assigned a mentor to support them through their studies. 91% of recipients are orphans due to either AIDS or war.
• Mentor salaries and training. Mentors receive a variety of training prior to beginning work including psychosocial support, child protection, and trauma counseling.
  
• Schools for schools. There are currently 11 schools in Northern Uganda receiving funds through this programme for infrastructure and supplies.
  
• Microeconomic programmes such as the bracelet campaign and the new mend campaign. The program encourages beneficiaries to start their own small business with the money set aside in their savings accounts. Though this training is a recent development, people have already begun a number of successful businesses including cattle reselling, pig rearing, and even selling tickets to watch movies and football (soccer) matches on DirecTV. This opportunity allows a sustainable source of income for beneficiaries, enabling them to care for themselves and their families long after the campaigns have ended.
• The TRI campaign with funds going towards advocacy, awareness, and events in an attempt to rescue the child soldiers of the LRA, bring them home, and provide rehabilitation