Building a Stove: The Final Installment PHOTOGRAPHS

Mud Recipe:For every two parts soil add one part grassAdd waterMix vigorously with your feetMuddy mixing feetRolling Mud into a ball.The working pile that the mud was flung onto.Banana husks before they are shaped. They were cut out in the village of Namwendwu and transported to the dorm via bicycle.Cutting...

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Building a Stove: The Final Installment VIDEOS

Building a stove of this size is an all-day endeavour. Our day began at 7am sharp! We first started by preparing the mud.Mud Recipe:Two parts soil for every one part of grassAdd water graduallyMix vigorously with your feetThe mud isn't just any type of mud--it is mixed to the perfect consistency. It's like mixing cake batter--if everything isn't proportional the cake won't rise. If the mud is watery it won't hold its form and if it is too dry it will crack very easily. The mud is constantly folded,...

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Building a Stove Pt. 2

Today's installment of Building a Stove revolves around grass. Grass is essential to building a fuel efficient stove. It adds strength a durability to the mud mixture that the stove is sculpted out of. The type of grass is very important as well. It needs to be tall, thick grass that is hard to rip...

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Building a Stove Pt. 1

Today, Franco and I headed out to collect the materials necessary to build a fuel-efficient stove for the dorm. We focused on collecting soil today. The soil we collected for the stove comes from a termite and white ant mound. Due to the elasticity of this particular soil it is perfect for making stoves....

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Work & Play

Jambo!This weekend was filled with excitement and learning! Saturday was a day based around our dorm. The kids, Franco, and I all got our hands dirty to make the compound look sharp. We built walls around our beautiful flower beds, and even planted some flowers the kids brought from home. Immaculate...

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Photos!

Above: Standing in the dorm watching the world go by.Below: The kids enjoying the new dorm laptop with Dr. Frank. They all took turns writing their names, ages, and gra...

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Village Leaders

Jambo!Yesterday, I went around the town of Kamuli on the back of Kaiso's Boda-Boda (motorcycle) and met with several of the town officials to discuss our dorm. It was a wonderful experience! All of the local leaders welcomed me warmly, as did the Headmaster of Kamuli Township School and the Deputy Head Master of St. Theresa. I think it is imperative for us to make connections, and show the community that we are taking the appropriate steps forward with the dorm.Also yesterday, several of the girls...

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Our Dorm

Greetings from Kamuli!As I sit here drinking my morning tea with a delicious Rolex (chipati and egg wrap) I thought I would fill you in on this weekend.I arrived on Friday from Jinja with Dr. Frank. When we pulled up to the dorm I was astonished at all the progress made. The construction is finished and most of the construction supplies have been removed. Monica prepared us a lovely meal of rice and beef as Frank and I settled in. Soon after Lucie arrived and helped me establish my room. After a...

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Dorm Construction Video

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A Simple Introduction

As I sit in the airport on my way to Uganda I wanted to take a minute and introduce myself because I'll be posting regularly. I'm on my way to Kamuli to help establish the dorm, as well as, engineer a leadership program for the 52 Kids. This is a very exciting prospect! The sky is the limit and it will be an interesting adventure to see where we can go!Chee...

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Changing social economic environment-changing roles.

New social economic challenges have continued to affect and change roles and responsibilities traditional society prescribed to family and the community at large. Factors that have contributed to the social economic challenges include: Population increase, changing weather patterns, disease especially...

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" future" Walk.

Time check 5:00 am, little Brenda should have woken up by then to prepare for the "future " walk. 8 year old brenda lives furthest from St theresa School, the school that all primary school girls supported by the 52 kids foundation attend. She has to walk for 2 hours to school and 2 hours back every...

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Long Term Impacts

For two weeks in July and August of 2009 I spent my time in Kamuli with the 52 Kids Foundation. Up until that point I had my heart dead set on going to medical school to become a doctor. Going on the trip to Uganda, we were welcomed with incredibly open arms into the homes of every family we visited. We were showered with gratitude, affection and interest in our lives back in the United States. I was able to create friendships and relationships that I will always cherish and remember. After being...

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Ecominc Survival A Major Threat To Environmental Conservation In Kamuli.

Changing weather patterns are a challenge and threat to the human race in the present world more than ever before. Day to day man’s activities have directly or indirectly contributed to the deterioration of weather patterns.Economic survival in Uganda is tougher today than ever before. This has compelled...

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Buwanzu community sustains 52kids established water project

Kids pump water from the 52 Kids well.A 70 foot protected hand dug well, with a manual pump was successfully constructed in December 2008, through a partnership between the 52 kids foundation, and Buwanzu community.Buwanzu village is located in Nabwigulu subcounty, Kamuli district Uganda. It is a community...

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Back Again

PIt has been almost 5 days since we got back from Uganda and I am still readjusting back to home life. I really miss the place, the people and of course the food! The trip was incredible and now that I am home it is very hard to put into words. We met so many amazing people (kids and adults) and experienced so many different traditions (wabela...). I have been pounded with questions about my trip and I keep finding myself at a loss for words. It is strange for I am usually very talkative and am...

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Thanks to everybody

Our volunteers list keeps growing!! Thanks to Caleb, Collen, Lindsey, Madison, Sara and Zoe for all your efforts in volunteering your time in furthering the 52 Kids Foundation and its mission of helping the kids and families in Kamuli be self reliant. I know all kids in the foundation had a great time meeting everybody and the construction of the dorm gave the whole town a boost of confidence. Hope to see everybody soon and looking foward to those lemon bars. Your friend, smelly fe...

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Home (rejoice and regrets)

We arrived home last evening after a solid 30 hours of traveling. As we passed a replica of the Statue of Liberty in Newark, John teased Lindsay that she should salute. She said, "I'm not really sure I want to be back." It was a powerful experience, and I'm hoping we can post more photos and stories as we get our pictures and ourselves up and running.Coll...

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Hey guys, Jahala here. (For those of you who do not know me, I made a similar visit to Kamuli last summer, 2008)It's great to here from you all and know what you have been up to in Uganda. For me, it's just another way to stay connected. I'm happy for Zoey and Lindsay on participating in the home stay. This was one of the most important experiences I had in Kamuli. John urged Nick and I to take a hold of that opportunity and I'm so glad we did, as I am with you two. I stayed with Jacqueline, thirteen,...

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Carrying Water

A couple days ago, we got the pleasure to meet and help Rita's grandmother. We found her home with friends mourning the lost of her eldest child. They had set up the traditional approach which is very similar to sitting Shiva, where they sit and remember the individual for up to five straight days....

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Homestay at Sharifa's Home

After only one day in Kamuli Lindsay and I hopped on the back of boda bodas (motorcycles). We were headed to the home of Sharifa, one of the 52 Kids. Upon arrival we were greeted warmly by her family, each person kneeling down and holding our hands. The women greeted us with the traditional welcoming shriek and giant loving embraces. Kaiso, one of the employees of 52 Kids here in Kamuli stuck around with us for a while and helped translate so we could get to know the family better. Before we knew...

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PR, surveys and the 'Breakthough Coach'

I just finished up summarizing the results of our survey about people's reaction to the HOUSE campaign, spear-headed by Peter Brady. The response (from nine different clients) was wonderful and overwhelmingly positive. My meetings with Alexandra from KSV (PR help) were also great, and she made a really nice customized PR strategy for the 52 Kids on PowerPoint. On Friday I'm going to be in Whitehall NY visiting Mal 'the breakthrough coach', who has been a regular supporter of the Foundation for over...

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Internet, Pen Pal Letters, Music, and more...

I cannot believe that I am sitting in the dorm writing this blog! Sarah and John have been working with the internet connection in the dorm and it is working faster than we ever expected it to. This opens up so many possibilities... communication with our folks on the ground here, kids using technology...

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Summer Trip

This is a picture of the group in Uganda that I took at the airport in Burlington just before they left. I just moved into my new apartment with my wife in Rochester and am going to explore the city today. Later on tonight I have a meeting with a PR professional (Alexandra Tursi of KSV). Hopefully I'll...

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Off to Kamuli

After spending two nights in Kampala we are finally leaving for Kamuli in just a few minutes! The past 36 hours have been filled with so many amazing experiences. As Lindsay mentioned, we visited Bead for Life which gave us a snapshot of how another nonprofit organization was trying to help out in Uganda. We were able to speak and observe so many motivated and wonderful women who were really trying to make a difference in their lives. Later that day we got to take a van down to Seeta Boarding School,...

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We are here!!

We are finally here. After almost thirty hours of plane flying and car riding, we arrived in Kampala around midnight here (that is about 5 o clock eastern time in the US). There is a seven hour time difference here, but after going overnight on our plane to Brussels, I have lost all sense of time. Our group is staying at a great hotel called the Speke Hotel, I highly recommend it to anyone who comes to visit Kampala. We met Dr. Frank Woitera, Collin and Pichu last night before bed. Everyone is so...

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Final Preperations

As the three of us: Caleb Ladue, Lindsay Kingston, and Zoe Adams, come together at about 9 to finalize our packing and hopefully tie up all the loose ends, we have a mix of emotions. All three of us are about to leave for an adventure unlike anything we have done before and are seemingly apprehensive, a little stressed but overall curious for what lies ahead and elated to be given this opportunity. Like Zoe and Lindsay, I will be wrapping up my high school career with this oncoming academic year,...

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Uganda here we come!

In 24 hours we will be on our way. I am so excited to return to Uganda and see my friends. This is going to be an amazing adventure!Coll...

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One more day!

Hi everybody! I'm Zoe Adams and I'm seventeen years old, about to be a senior at CVU. In just 36 hours our crew of nine will be boarding the plane in Burlington to begin our trip to Uganda. I am so excited for this trip, and I feel so lucky that I have been given the opportunity to be a part of such an eye-opening and life changing experien...

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Introduction

On July 27th 2009, I will be heading to Uganda, Africa. My name is Lindsay Kingston, I am 17 years old and heading into my senior year of high school. I am extremely excited for this trip and I know it is going to be an experience that will change my life. I am a bit nervous and this trip is a huge step for me personally, but I am going to be with two of my great friends (Zoe and Caleb). I can not believe the lift off date is only two days away! I still have a lot to do, but I thought I would take...

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Going to Leadership Seminar

Today, I will attending a leadership seminar at Rhino Foods, in Burlington Vt. run by Ted Castle (president and CEO) One of the goals is to establish a core competency that if improved on would better my leadership skills. The competency if have chosen (actually chosen for me) was patience. Will...

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52 Kids Foundation selects 3 CVU students for Leadership Program

Lindsey Kingston, Caleb Ladue and Zoe Adams, all seniors attending Champlain Valley Union High school will be traveling to Kamuli, Uganda for a 2 week Leadership Program. While there they will see firsthand how the medical system works in a developing country by assisting nurses and doctors at the Kamuli...

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Well project May 2009 In March '09 we finished the construction of a 70-foot covered well, that pumps clean water to a village of over three thousand people. Four of the students that we support alerted the Foundation to the water situation in their home village; people were faced with the choice between a 1.5 hour walk (each way) to get clean water, or to use a water hole shared with livestock. The Thursday Night Hockey group in Burlington Vermont took on the challenge of raising the...

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Fundraising 2008

The sum all of the donations for 2008 increased 10x, a remarkable increase from 2005 when we started with a small amount. In addition to raising more money, we are receiving donations from a more diverse group, including annual gifts from individuals, foundations, and events (like the Lobster dinner at CVU). Jagger recently got in contact with friend from the UK who is considering fundraising for us there, which would be our first international fundraiser! Donate now or through our H.O.U.S.E. c...

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Home improvement projects

The home improvement projects at the families' homes are nearing completion. Together with Foundation employees and volunteers, the families have constructed fuel efficient stoves, water collection facilities, backyard gardens, pit latrines, and hand washing facilities at nearly all of the hom...

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Dorm construction underway

John, 52 Kid's Foundation program director, left for Uganda and is staying in Kamuli for approximately one month to oversee the construction of the dorm, and participate in meetings to gather ideas and generate consensus about how to best use this new space. He recently sent a brief e-mail home and...

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Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors had its first online meeting last month that connected people from Vermont, New York, Connecticut, and Uganda via Skype. It was great to have everyone chatting and sharing ideas all at the same time. Board of Directors Jagger Koerner: I recently graduated from...

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