Public Health Improvement in Uganda

As a nurse in the US, I had always wanted to get some volunteering experience in a foreign country so when my friend mentioned that she was looking at a program in Uganda (The Real Uganda), I asked her if she wanted some company and the planning started…. We were placed at St. Charles Lwanga Buikwe Hospital and stayed with Tony and his family from Hopeline in Lugazi. Tony took the time to show us around Lugazi when we arrived and gave us a tour of all the sites that we’d be visiting. We accompanied the doctor on their morning rounds and I learned so much from them. I learned how they treat for malaria, typhoid, sickle cell crisis, malnutrition to name a few, and how they monitor HIV. I was able to see firsthand the challenges that both the healthcare staff and patient populations face due to the lack of equipment and/or funds yet how positive, humble, and optimistic everyone that I encountered was. In the afternoons, we would visit the ladies in either the Bulyantete and Mayindo groups. If you are a bit introverted like me, don’t worry – you’ll still do fine! You’re going to dance, there’s just no way around it. I had a great time with the women’s groups – everyone was so welcoming and kind. We sang, danced, played net ball, and they taught me how to make kabalagala and how to prepare and fry cassava. Again, the positivity and friendliness was astounding. Leslie totally welcomed us and prepared us for everything, she is easy to communicate with and responds quickly. I think this organization and what she is doing is pretty awesome. If there is anything that you need or want to do, she is your go to person! Definitely take time to do the things like rafting and exploring while you are here – Uganda is beautiful and fun. I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to have had this experience and to have met all of the people that I did on this trip. The only thing that I would change is to spend more time here.

For this entire program, I give 10/10 ⭐ stars because the benefits to both the community and the organization are huge. Especially the knowledge and experience exchanged during volunteering period is priceless and this greatly elevates the once poor communities to well independent villages.

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Our programs are so much in benefiting both grassroot individuals most especially the unprevillaged women and children and our volunteers so that to regain hope thus dreaming again, the people we work with are much more happy to receive volunteers who always show them good behavioral habits and they always try to exchange their cultural, educational, emotional values which is what we do want our volunteers and people to obtain in their stay, it's not about being well off to be able to work with us but the love and happiness is more precious to people you will always meet on ground, Our dear friend's we do request you to work together to grow our communities we live in and to make changes in people's lives Best regards Tony

Hello, It's my pleasure to able to share my experience with my first volunteer from the Real Uganda. At first she was a little nervous which is truly fine here and days after that through out her 30days of stay. She was completely a fully blended in person. In my experience, the following elements helped with her quick bonding. Quick interuction with the two programs staff members. This helped my volunteer get different views from different staff with different positions on programs. The routine work outs at the foot ball pitch in my local community. This exposed my volunteer to the wider part of my village which was calm and very welcoming for her stay. The weekend trips to the capital of Uganda and other parts of my district Mukono helped alot in assuring my volunteer about safety both in and out of my home where she stayed with my family for a month. Whenever we could head out to help establish small vegetable gardens for these mothers, my volunteer gets a typical and more authentic rural Ugandan experience hence adding more esteem in her. Yes, there is a Luganda old saying that goes "good things always come to an end while still hot" I couldn't afford looking at my volunteer's eyes plus my daughter's eyes all dropping tears down due to the bonding the family had created with the volunteer on her last day with us. The community we serve got transformed in a sence that if a strange person comes down to help create income generating ventures in rural Uganda then we can do more for our selves. Many more rural homesteads established own small veges gardens to serve the purpose of nutrition uplift and small income growth. Ishmail Programs director, Mercys Nest Foundation.

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Leslie at the Real Uganda is doing something really special and incredible. She has taught me so much about the Real Uganda and about traveling ethically. She does a very good job of getting volunteers settled. There were many times that something happened in the village that Leslie had already predicted/given me advice on! When I had stomach problems, Leslie responded right away and made me feel very safe and protected. She even planned our weekend excursions and gave us lots of information on how we could make the most of our time. I found myself planning my departure of Uganda around when I could properly say goodbye to Leslie. I wanted to make sure that I had ample time to debrief my experience because she had become so important to my experience!! Because she is from Canada, I felt like she knew what I needed to know before staying in village. The Public Health program that I was placed at really prioritized my learning. As soon as I arrived, I was sat down and explained all of their HIV protocols. I was encouraged to ask any questions that I had, and all of the clinicians were eager to help me learn. I spent most of my time pricking fingers in the lab for testing and recording patient information in the records. While the work was not always riveting, I knew that I was spending my time in a way that was helping the clinic. There were days that I did 60-70 malaria tests! That is 60-70 people that did not have to wait around as long and could receive care much quicker. I really enjoyed getting to know the clinicians. They made a point to learn my name and say hi to me around the facility. In fact, once I saw a clinician out in town, and she accompanied me to get all the things I needed to buy! Another aspect of the public health program involved building plate drying racks. This allowed plates to dry above the ground and not collect dirt/bacteria while drying. We built three different drying racks for three different families during my month. We learned from community members what we needed to cut and measure and just followed their lead! I have never been as impressed as I was when I saw a 70-year-old women machete through a branch in 4 swings. For context, it took me about 20 to get all the way through. I was humbled, to say the least. This was an awesome project! I loved learning from the experts and seeing community members come together. The first two racks we made were all women groups, and that was super empowering to see. Excuse my language, but these women were certified badasses!! Overall, my month in Uganda was characterized with lot of learning. I learned so many traveling tips, and I have a lot more confidence in traveling alone. I learned about HIV and how a clinic operates. I learned how to use natural resources to make a drying rack. I learned about what Uganda is really like! Most of all, I learned more about the person I want to be and the way I want to exist in the world. A lot of this is thanks to The Real Uganda.

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I volunteered with The Real Uganda for 3 month in two different projects. The first 6 weeks I spent in a public health project. We built clay stoves, made hand crafts, gave nutrition advices and worked in a aids clinic and at a school. I had different kind of options to do in this project and I could choose at the beginning, in which area I wanted to spent most of the time. In my second project I changed the family and the place to work in the agriculture. We have been in different areas with different groups of women. It was very interesting and all these women were absolutly lovely. The families, where I lived, were very friendly and gave me a second home. I always felt very welcome and I could talk to the parents about every topic I was interested or whats on my mind. The organization around my stay was very good! Leslie is doing here a great job. The pick up at the airport, the first night, the places where I lived ect. everything was organized very well! It's also very nice, that I could always contact Leslie and she was always there for me. Also when things are difficult, or I felt homesick or whatever. Finally, I had great 3 month in Uganda and I can really recommend The Real Uganda.

I spent four weeks with Volunteer the Real Uganda, working in a community outreach/public health program. 'Accidentally' coming across Leslie's organization and getting in touch with her was the best thing that could've possibly happened. She came back to every single E-Mail in less than 24 hours, sending me a ton of information beforehand. She puts a lot of effort into preparing volunteers to work in Uganda, I have really never seen anything like it. Within 24 hours of arrival I got a crash course in all relevant matters, like how to use public transport, what to expect at the project, what to do in case of sickness, etc.. During my stay Leslie was contactable 24/7, and very helpful! Work at the project site was good, the living conditions simple but sufficient. The people living in the project with me were lovely and doing a great job at teaching Luganda and making me try all the foods. We drove out to different villages (for either day trips or a few days in a row) and gave talks on HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, nutrition, sanitation,... It is intense and sometimes hard work, but super rewarding. Because of the short stay I decided to work weekends, but could've also used them to see some more of Uganda. It's a stunning country! I can absolutely recommend Leslie and the Real Uganda, if you feel like volunteering in a very real, down to earth project. She does an amazing job.

I went to Uganda for 8 weeks on my first trip leaving North America. The Real Uganda/Leslie supported me through from my first few days to my last, and helped me adjust to a new way of life! I worked as a health educator in a rural community training leaders who are responsible for households in their village. We discussed topics like sanitation, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, and family planning. Along with the topics we were able encourage community members to build plate stands and vegetable gardens by giving demonstrations in the village. I grew stronger as a person during the challenges of living and working in as a global volunteer. I really had to put myself into the way work gets done in Uganda because of the different values and customs in another country. I understand now how much culture influences the way we think. I also learned a lot about sustainable solutions and community empowerment which is something I hope to use in my career one day. I was able to do some tourism and fun activities on the weekends when I wasn't working. Uganda has amazing things to see and do. Somehow I found myself swimming down the Nile River in the middle of Africa without a worry in the world! It was awesome. If you want to volunteer abroad in a responsible way and get an authentic experience in another culture I would recommend this organization. Volunteering in Uganda isn't easy but it was so worth it!

I volunteered with The Real Uganda for two months as an undergraduate. I had never been anywhere in Africa or even outside of my home country by myself before that. Leslie was an amazing administrator and made me feel comfortable and prepared coming into the program, answering every email I sent in the weeks and even days leading up to it extremely quickly. She works very hard to ensure that each volunteer is given the opportunity to do something meaningful and relevant to their interests and also to just experience life in Uganda. I was placed with an organization that focuses mainly on health and education which enabled me to get involved with a wide variety of activities, from helping with mobile health clinics and a peer mentorship program to reading with kids. Through The Real Uganda, I made Ugandan friends with whom I still keep in touch and had an experience that still influences the way I see and think about the world.

I cannot say enough good things about Uganda, The Real Uganda, and Leslie as a program director! I arrived in Uganda feeling completely prepared. I was provided with an email for any questions which were answered promptly and thoroughly, I had a checklist of things I needed (from bug spray to health insurance) and just enough information about the culture that I knew what to expect. Leslie encourages all of her volunteers to be extremely open-minded and honest with themselves about what they can expect out of your volunteer experience. Leslie does a wonderful job about being aware of many of the concerns I had as a volunteer such as (Is this a sustainable program? Where does the money go? Am I going to be a drain on anyone's expenses or resources?) She was more than willing to sit down with me whenever I needed to talk about these issues. She provided me with stories and experiences she has had with the Ugandan people that have allowed her to approach things in a sustainable way that provides lasting benefits to the communities volunteers work with. Personally I worked through The Real Uganda with two other grassroots organizations in the area as a Health Educator. The first two months of my experience I worked in several different remote communities "Educating Educators" on how to provide health education, limit the transmission of disease and promote overall health. The last month I worked throughout the same 4 community groups on rotation. Through these experiences I learned about being an effective educator in a culturally diverse population, worked with hard-working grassroots organizations, and gained a thorough understanding of the culture, people, food, travel, and problems of Uganda. I consider this experience the most rewarding learning experience of my life and would 10/10 participate in any program as wonderful as The Real Uganda.