Here's the deal...

Hi family, friends and teachers!

As you know, I am about to embark on an 8 month adventure in Africa! Beyond that, I'm not sure what I've actually told each of you about my plans, so I thought in this first post I could let you know what I know.

I leave on Monday, August 28th and arrive in Entebbe, Uganda in the evening on the 29th. For the first 3.5 months, I will be studying through the School for International Training's (SIT) development studies program. Most of this time will be spent in Kampala (the capital of Uganda). The focus of this program is rural development and I will be learning about grassroots organizations specifically. After our first week of orientation (when we stay in a hotel), I will begin living with a family in Kampala (or near it). While this program is experiential based (meaning we'll be learning from living and working in the community), this program is connected to the university there- Makarere University. I will be learning about the culture, about rural development and the role of grassroots organizations in that development. I will also be learning the language Luganda. As a study abroad group, we will take a few educational trips- we'll go to Eastern Uganda for a week near the end of the semester and we'll go to Western Uganda and Rwanda for a week near the middle of the semester. My study abroad program ends on December 12th. For more information about my study abroad program, go to the SIT website: http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/africa/uganda.html.

If you would like to send me mail while I'm there (hint hint),
my address first semester will be:
Molly Heineman
c/o SIT/Dan Lumonya
World Learning/School for International Training
Suite 1, 2nd Floor Ambassador House,
Kampala Road
PO Box 23431
Kampala, Uganda

Second semester, I will be volunteering for a non-government organization (NGO) called The Kid's League. Its headquarters are in Kampala, but they have several different active districts in Uganda. The organization uses sports (specifically soccer!!!) to bring kids together, break down barriers among them and raise awareness about different issues (including health concerns). I will know exactly what I'm doing with them once I'm there, until then, I just know that they have a spot for me and are excited about me joining their team for a few months. I arrive back in the U.S. on April 20, 2007. For more information about The Kids League, go to their website: http://kampalakidsleague.org/tkl/tkl_home.html.

Please feel free to post comments or write me emails. While I'm in Africa, I'm going to be using a different email account, so please update your address books and use mhoganh@gmail.com to email me instead of my UD account. Thanks for your interest and support! I'm very excited about sharing this journey with you!

Peace, Molly :)