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

The Rescue! and fundraising update.

Hopefully you have heard of Invisible Children's worldwide event "The Rescue". Yesterday, in 100 cities in 10 countries, thousands of young people "abducted themselves" and camped out waiting to be rescued by media and "moguls". The idea behind the event was to bring attention to the actions of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and attempt to get governments around the world to work toward 4 goals:

1. Rescue the child soldiers and apprehend the top LRA leaders.
2. Support the protection of civilians in LRA-affected areas
3. Provide humanitarian support for displaced persons
4. Support recovery and reconciliation initiatives in Northern Uganda

Here in Toronto, hundreds of people met at Dundas square and marched in groups of 20 holding to a rope to Queen's Park. Unfortunately 3 hours into the event, a severe thunderstorm rolled in. The sky darkened so quickly! Organizers handed out garbage bags which people wore to stay dry. The group were "rescued" by Olivia Chow, Jack Layton, and Rick Mercer.

Here is a brief video of the Rescue event in Gulu earlier this month.

It is hard to believe that I will be in Uganda in nine weeks! The time is going to fly by. Thanks to generous donations from friends and family, I have raised $3400 USD to date -- only $600 short of the $4000 USD originally to be submitted by Friday, May 1st. Since everyone at Invisible Children was busy with the Rescue event, we have been given until May 7th to submit our funds.

It is funny to think that hearing about the website freedocumentaries.org has led to me spending 6 weeks in Northern Uganda. I've been looking at photo albums of past participants in the Invisible Children's Teacher Exchange. I am so excited.

Second Submission of Funds and Itinerary

On April 1st, a further $1000 USD submission was due to Invisible Children. Thanks to generous donations from friends and family, I have raised exactly $3000 USD to date, and these funds have all been submitted. I am only $1000 USD away from the final goal!

My flights to and from Uganda on British Airlines have been booked.

To Uganda
depart 10:30 pm 27 June: NYC-London-Entebbe arrive 7:45 am 29 June

From Uganda
depart 9:05 am 10 August: Entebbe-London-NYC arrive 10:30 pm 10 August

I am still waiting on final word regarding my flight to/from NYC from Toronto. It will likely be 11 August when I get back to TO.

A few weeks ago I made a doctor's appointment to get my shots. I feel like superwoman right now -- impervious to all kinds of diseases. I just have to double-check that I am vaccinated against polio.

Uganda and Invisible Children are always on my mind. My sister gave birth to my new niece this week. While she was in the hospital getting the top care, I couldn't help but imagine how it must be for women in the IDP camps. My little niece came into the world and all our minds fill with the opportunities she will have in life. I think of how lucky we are to have access to excellent free health care and education and to generally expect a life with little threat of violence or disease. I noticed the life expectancy rates this past week, ~51 in Uganda vs. ~81 in Canada. A difference of 30 years!

For International Women's Day, I went to see Eve Ensler speak. She is the author of the Vagina Monologues and has been working to support Dr. Denis Mukwege in the Democratic Republic of Congo as he tries to save the lives and souls of women who are raped as a tactic in the ongoing conflict there. Read the article she wrote for Glamour magazine last August: http://www.glamour.com/magazine/2007/08/rape-in-the-congo

It may sound like she would be a depressing speaker, but it is just the opposite. She is inspired by these women who have lived through hell but still have hope for the future. It is her belief that the best way to help people living in such situations, is to support them in helping themselves. From everything I've read, Invisible Children takes this same approach. I am very interested in their Mentorship program for students in schools in the Gulu district.

On top of helping fund the building of new schools and providing scholarships for students, Invisible Children provides salaries to mentors for the students. Many students are orphans due to the war or AIDS. The mentors monitor students performance in school, monitor their health, and simply talk to them about life, the past and the future. The mentors also work to educate the students regarding Acholi culture and traditions.

Of course as a participant in the teacher-exchange, I will also be working to support my partner teacher and partner school in the work they are doing there. It is expected that my relationship with my partner teacher and school will continue beyond the six weeks I spend there. I can't wait to find out to which school I will be assigned.

I've included an earlier video produced by Invisible Children which highlights the desire to support the people of Gulu in helping themselves.

"Meeting" fellow participants and submitting documents

Well, I've submitted the first $2000 USD to Invisible Children. My fundraising total to date is $2450 USD (that's more than $3000 CAD)! The next date for submission of funds is April 1st, for another $1000 USD. I've signed all the waivers, acknowledging that travel in East Africa is inherently dangerous due to factors such as bad roads, disease, and political instability. A little different from the waiver I signed last week to go downhill skiing with high school students.

I've got my new passport in hand, with requisite embarrassing photo. When they tell me that I am not allowed to smile, I can't seem to avoid opening my eyes really wide like I am really surprised.

I finished the first book on the required reading list. "Confessions of an Economic Hitman". What a crazy book about the exploitation of a country's resources through financial loans for infrastructure. I thought it was very interesting, but I would like to read another book on the topic now. It certainly gives me the feeling that I have a lot to learn.

I think I will watch the movie "Last King of Scotland" this week. It is the story of Idi Amin from 1971-1979 in Uganda as told through a fictional personal doctor and confidant, Garrigan. In "Confessions of an Economic Hitman", I learned that Amin lived out his life in extravagant comfort in Saudi Arabia, after being exiled from Uganda for all the atrocities he committed there.

I've started to make contact with other teachers participating in the exchange this year. There is a total of 37 teachers going in three different groups. I am in the third group with twelve other participants. We all leave New York City together on June 27th. That is two days after school ends, I guess I better finish the yearbook on the last day this year, instead of spending 10 days of the summer vacation doing it. Although the three groups leave at different times, we all overlap for the International Teaching and Learning Conference.

One of the participants started a "group" on Facebook for IC Teacher Exchange participants. I am amazed at how many people are returning for a second or third year with the project. It has been wonderful to read their blogs of past years. Here is a sample:

Matt Michelin: http://www.ugandamatt.blogspot.com/ (returning for a second summer)

John Magee: http://mageeinuganda.blogspot.com/ (returning for a third summer)

It is great to see photos of the schools and read about the relationships formed.

I spent this past weekend near Algonquin Park with a group of cross-country skiers. One of the men there has been to Uganda three times volunteering to help develop computer databases for the government. It was so nice to hear his impressions of the country. His wife mentioned a high school in my neighborhood which is interested in projects in Africa. She is hopefully going to connect me with the principal there.

These things just confirm my idea around taking advantage of all opportunities presented. I've always been amazed at the connections and common ground I've found with people either through my travels, or even just books I've read. I talked with another man on the ski trip. He is originally from Hungary and we talked about the Somogy region, where I travelled in 2006 and 2007 with students for an environmental service project. I spoke with another woman there about the service project in Costa Rica comparing my experience travelling there with students with those of her son who teaches at a private school in Quebec.

I am so looking forward to meeting all the participants in this year's exchange, as well as my teacher-partner and students! I wonder where this adventure will take me and how it will shape me.

Thanks again for all your support!

Melody