"Don't just give people fish, teach them how to fish"

Alright, anyone reading this be ready to read a lot! It was five pages written out, beware.

I still don't think it has exactly hit that I am here and what I am doing. Today we met The Kids League people (TKL). There are not even words that can explain everything. We spent our afternoon discussing objectives with TKL.

Since 1998, when President Museveni was reelected, he won by guaranteeing more children would be able to receive primary education. By doing this, he squeezed out physical activity. (Just a side note on education: All public schools require uniforms which cost maybe $10 in US money, but it is still enough to keep children out of school. No uniforms, no education.)Trevor Dudley, a former architect developed the NGO Kampala Kids League (KKL)to put some form of physical activity back into the children's lives. Since 2002, KKL became The Kids League (TKL) and has sevred more than 16,000 children, in nine sib-districts of Uganda.

We met a volunteer from Australia, Justin who will be working in Gulu, trying to improve their activity levels. Gulu children are receiving little to none! This is because within the last five years, Gulu has resolved civil wars and is now considered "post-conflict." Most people during the wars lived in IDP camps (concentration camps). As the post conflict time period has began, people have started living on their own and urbanisation has occurred. What happened to the US during urbanisation? Physical labor stopped. What is the US's hugest (literallY) problem? Obesity. Well through urbanisation, the people of Gulu are now suffering from obesity, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure. Although HIV is still the number one fatal disease in Uganda, these people ae now suffering the double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases!

Now NGOs are coming in, trying to help, but only enabling the people of Gulu. Are the NGOs teaching the people how to take care of themselves? No, they are giving them food. My friend Stephanie made a great point, "Don't just give people fish, teach them how to fish."

Anyway, back to Justin. He will be spending a year total here working with Gulu children, increasing their activity levels. He will be completing an 8 week experiment, testing the children through various tests like the "beep test." We call that the pacer. Unfortunately, we will not be here for the experiement or hatever you want to call it.

We will be here to PLAY! and interact and have fun with all the children. We get to work with their temas going to the World Cup within a couple of weeks. My friend Nicole and I get to coach a soccer team on Saturday. We can't describe our excitement!

We also had to pick a personal project for our class. I chose to compare and contrast coaches here with those of the US. I will look at:
1. Levels of respect
2. Coaching styles
3. Committment and why
The purpose of the porject is to better myself as coach, figuring out how to respond better to children's needs.

There are so many new emotions going through my head right now.

1. Ignorance - When I thought of Uganda before two days ago, I thought of poverty and HIV and underdevelopment and wars. Uganda is as Trevor Dudley says a beautiful hidden little secert in Africa. I completely agree with im. What parts of Africa that were bad, have been resolved, FIVE YEARS AGO!! Even "Inivisble Children" is over. It ENDED FIVE YEARS AGO. I cannot get that point acorss enough because I didn't even learn about it till 2007.

2. Sadness - People outside Uganda are misinformed and although Uganda has made huge improvements, they still need help

3. Hopeful - People like Trevor Dudley and his wife exist. They came to Africa in 1988 for two years, and they have been here since.

4. EXCITED - Over the next 17 days, I will get to work with amazing people and amazing children.


So after all that, this guy Ray from TKL went with us to lunch. My whole meal and a beer cost me less than $4 American Dollars. Life is good here.

Signing out... Miss everyone.