Reverse Culture Shock

It's a tricky thing when your perspective shifts. You begin to see things with new vision and often life can seem to flip upside down. We've found that after traveling to Uganda some of our volunteers experience something called "reverse culture shock."

Though this is common, and often expected after traveling abroad, it does not make the experience any less difficult. In the midst of this struggle, the beauty lies in that our volunteers find themselves evaluating priorities and examining values. After living among those in extreme poverty, it would be shocking to not experience some sort of shift in perspective. And many times, it's the best kind of shift. Sometimes we simply need to see those who have nothing to be reminded that we have something to give.

Written by Rebecca Brown, Fount of Mercy's Director of Communications

Educational Development

Teachers are some of the worlds greatest heroes. They give of themselves daily so that our children can learn and develop. In Uganda, the same can be said of their teachers, many of whom are teaching orphans and vulnerable children, often with incredibly sparse resources. Imagine trying to teach a classroom of multi-aged students without a text book. One of Fount of Mercy's first steps when working with a school is to give them one text book per subject per grade. This small gift empowers these teachers with correct information and content to teach their eager learners.

Breaking the Cycle

During Girls Camp this summer, Fount of Mercy's Community Health Initiative asked the girls, ages 9 to 30, to anonymously submit questions about puberty and family planning.

Some of the questions were startling:

"Is it true that if someone has a disease and plays sex, that disease will go away?"

"How do we avoid HIV/AIDS?"

"Is it true that when you have sex for the first time, you can't conceive?"

In Uganda, the topic of sex is taboo. Parents don't typically talk with their children about the subject, so young people are left to learn from their peers, leading to a dangerous cycle of myths and misinformation. And the wrong information about HIV transmission or conception can change a life drastically. When a girl in Uganda gets pregnant out of wedlock, she is often disowned by her parents. The father of the baby rarely takes responsibility, often ending her education.

The vision of Girls Camp is to develop a generation of girls who are equipped with factual information about their bodies, and act as change agents for their community, not just educating others about how to prevent disease, but also how to live an empowered life.

Capital

"What, in your opinion, would help your group the most?" That's the last question Fount of Mercy always asks when doing demographic research. Learning other details about the women we work with is important, too. When we know their age, how far they come to class, how many children they have, we can support their work even better. But it's the women themselves who often know best.

Often, when we ask this question, we hear "more training!" Or, "more sewing machines!" But last summer, in Bulabandi, we heard another answer: "capital." These women wanted a small stake with which to start their own business.

In response, Fount of Mercy's vocational development program purchased 25 six-yard pieces of fabric: one piece for each woman. We left at the end of the summer expecting that each woman would make a dress or a few bags.

Boy, were we wrong! Five months later, when Tara, our Vocational Development Director, returned to Uganda in February, she found that almost half of the women had already started thriving businesses. Twelve of them had huge bundles of fabric and were actively sewing anything you can imagine: from baby clothes, to women's skirts, to school uniforms.

"I took the piece you gave us and we shared it with each other," one of the women told Tara. "Then, I made some baby clothes and walked around my village until I sold them. Then I used the money to buy another piece. I have been increasing like this, all because of that first piece."

Written By Tara Hawks, Fount of Mercy's Vocational Development Director

Focus on Change

Sitting in a Starbucks, sipping her iced latte, Jessie had no idea she'd be traveling to Uganda in less than a year. As I shared with her the vision of Fount of Mercy, it was exciting to watch as she captured the heart behind our work. As we discussed how she could partner alongside what was already taking place, I mentioned her photography. Jessie is a gifted photographer with a creative eye and a unique perspective.

As we wondered where she would fit, it became clear she could use her talent in photography. Partnering with our Focus on Change project this January 2011, Jessie taught a photography class for disabled orphans and vulnerable children in Uganda. Writing on her teams blog, Jessie shared, "The point is to be emptied of self, filled with love, and poured out so these kids know they are valuable and have purpose."

From Starbucks to Uganda... this is the story of one volunteer using her life to breathe life into others.

- Rebecca Brown, Fount's Director of Communication

The Gift of Literacy

Hesitantly, she reaches for a shelf a little out of her grasp. Perhaps its the bright colors of the ream that draws her attention. Straining on her tip toes, she grabs the book and finds a seat in the corner. Slowly she examines each page, absorbing the story, the illustrations, the humor, the characters, learning empathy and storytelling. She closes the book, flips it over and starts again. Sitting in the corner of her school's brand new library in Jinja Uganda, this lone orphan girl is falling in love with reading.

We have so many books at our finger tips. Orphaned and vulnerable children do not. The gift of literacy is powerful!

Girls Camp

The vision of Girls Camp is to develop a generation of girls who are equipped with factual information and are acting as change agents for their community. During the summer of 2010, Fount's Community Health Initiative hosted a pilot Girls Camp and asked the girls, ages 9 to 30, to anonymously submit questions about puberty, family planning and cultural perceptions of the subject. CHI would like to share a handful of their questions with you.

As you will see from their questions, public health is a topic lacking in correct information, leading to a dangerous cycle of misinformation and myths that can be harmful to their lives.

One question that was asked is, "Is the use of birth control harmful to our lives?"

This was an interesting question because birth control in the form of contraceptives is rarely available in Uganda. The most accessible forms are condoms and natural family planning such as the Standard Days Method in which you count the days of your cycle to be able to predict your most fertile days and avoid having sex during that time.

In knowing how to prevent early pregnancy, young girls and women are able to focus on education and skills training so that they have more control over their lives. This gives them the opportunity to obtain skills that will generate an income, give them independence and empowers them to live the life they choose.