From Dec. 28 to Jan. 14, eight Longwood students and one staff member went above and beyond by crossing borders to Kampala, Uganda in a student-organized mission trip to assist over 2,000 street children by donating goods like clothing and toothbrushes and by donating their own time to create long lasting memories and friendships.
The eight Longwood students who attended the trip include Emberli McGann, Holly Smith, Anna Grieb, Amanda Krzywicki , Erica Hazelwood, Katie Beals and Kate E. Locke, along with Director for Residential and Commuter Programs Angela Jackson.
Junior and team leader of the Uganda trip Amanda Krzywicki stated the entirety of the trip was "all generated by students. So, the university didn't put the trip together."
"The mission team is working through Abaana, a charity organization for the children of Africa. Founded in January 1998, Abaana's goal is not only to help children in Africa, but also to challenge the way of life in the region. Abaana is a Ugandan word for children," reported the Longwood website.
Jackson said, "Their theme is to create new lives for them … Abaana will select boys and then take them to the homes, and they have sponsors. So, you know, they have a place to live. They have food, and then they're able to go back to school to finish their education."
The cost to organize the trip totaled to $50,000 with about $3,000 per person at Longwood along with other universities that organized to join as well, including Virginia Tech.
The Longwood students organized spirit nights at establishments like Moe's and Chick-fil-a, sent out fundraising letters and received donations through Paypal on their online blog at www.katondamulungi.blogspot.com to save up the money. The students also sold T-shirts with the phrase, "Katonda Mulungi," which means, "God is so good."
Jackson said, "The mission was to work with street children of Uganda, Kampala … and Kampala has a large population of street kids, primarily boys. So, boys have either left their home because of abuse, or their parents have died or they left their villages and came to Kampala, so Kampala was kind of known as the central place where street boys come."
Jackson had expressed interest in the trip not for an administration role or to represent the university, but to make a difference. "This year, I really wanted to serve, to go somewhere and really be able to make a contribution. We're so fortunate to have so many things, and I just really wanted to do an international trip just to have the ability to kind of serve and have an impact in the whole mission of Longwood to be citizen leaders."
"I don't think that's just for students," she said. "I think, as faculty and staff, we need to be role models of the mission, and supporting of the institution that [we] work for and believing that each of us has the opportunity to give back to our community here as well as the community abroad."
Krzywicki , as the role of Team Leader, planned and organized the trip. "I went last year with a girl named Mallory Short … I kind of knew how everything went, when the money was due, that kinda thing. Last year, Mallory studied abroad in Ireland, and networked with Abaana, which is an organization we went through."
"One thing that Uganda really struggles with is poverty," commented Krzywicki. "They have a lot of poverty. They have a lot of sickness like AIDs, typhoid, polio and other diseases like that. It sounds weird, but we just wanted to hang out. We brought over tennis shoes. We brought over some Bibles, bags, toothbrushes, toothpaste, bars of soap and we collected all that from donations … so, things that we take for granted, they were more than ecstatic about."
Krzywicki said, "We just kind of wanted to go over and give them hope," but later acknowledged that her perception of Africa greatly shifted after the trip. "They don't need hope."
"Everyone says, ‘They need things. They need this, and they need this,'" she commented. "And [I think], ‘No, it may be better if they have better hospitals. It might be better if they had more sterile equipment," emphasizing Uganda's stable culture.
Krzywicki further stated, "They gave us more love and more encouragement and more knowledge about life than we could ever give them. And they're so thankful for the small things … just seeing their pure joy in everyday life is really refreshing. And, you know, you always see the commercials where the kids are crying, and they're starving. That's not real. They're so happy. They could use more stuff, but it's not like that at all."
Jackson commented on the entire experience and the different perspectives influenced therein, saying, "Some of the benefits are really being able to see that we all have something to offer, that we all can help. I think a lot of the time people [think], ‘Oh, I don't have a lot of money to give,' but all of the kids there just really wanted to be loved and the power of human contact and someone just caring for a child. It was a matter in that someone was paying attention to them and the power of human touch."
"I think that one of the things that I enjoyed seeing was whether they were in the streets or whether they were in their home, that there were kids as young as seven, and they really have to learn how to survive," said Jackson.
"And I have godchildren who are at that age – I just think, ‘How many seven-year-olds do I know that are smart enough to leave their village and come to a city, and then day to day find food and a place to sleep.' But with all of the kids they really had so much faith and hope that things would get better. They're managing, and they have such a strong sense of belief that things are going to get better, and a strong sense of hope and faith … And it gave a lot of time to reflect," she said.
Jackson and Krzywicki described the Ugandan people as caring, willing to help each other out, hospitable and interested in other cultures. More so, Jackson further commented on how determined boys in Kampala are to achieve a better life for themselves through an education.
"I have a lot of friends who are school teachers who talk about how misbehaved kids are, and how they don't really want to learn, and they don't really want to work, but these kids really wanted to [learn]. They were doing lessons on math and social studies and art outside on the field … and kids would ask me, ‘Can you sponsor me so I can go back to school? I really want to go to school,'" said Jackson.
Jackson said, "So, we all have the ability to impact people, whether it's ‘I can donate a million dollars' or ‘I can go and help at FACES or go and read to kids at Prince Edward County or go and read to kids in a third world country.' So, being able to see the power that we have to give back and I think just being able to realize the things that we have to be thankful for."
Krzywicki felt the same, saying, "I think it just broadened my horizons. Coming back to America … just seeing the way people act and the things that they say – I take for granted a lot of the things that I have – and realize that things aren't needed."
Whether or not Longwood students should expect a mission trip to Uganda in the future is still up in the air. Krzywicki admits that, "I don't know, and I don't want to promise anything. I would say yes, most likely there will be a trip … And I know people want to go again."
If students are interested Krzywicki says, "They can totally contact me. It is time consuming [to plan and organize]. It is a lot of commitment and a lot of money, but it's totally worth it."
Jackson affirms that, "If students want to do trips, I know that the International Studies office puts trips together that are credit-bearing for academic reasons, or that they get work with Jim Richeler in her office. I know that Alternative Spring Break has done some things within the U.S., but they've also gone out of the country as well to do opportunities to serve. So, I think that if students want to do something to serve domestically or internationally, there are opportunities. They'll be able to find other students or Longwood faculty who are there to help them make that happen."
