International Women’s Day In Uganda

Unlike here, International Women’s Day is an Official Holiday in Uganda. Here is what Carmela had to say about their celebration.

Wednesday March 8 was Women’s Day, an official holiday in Uganda. Nearly 200 at St. Julie Mission attended a special program in the Dining/Assembly Hall–probably the largest structure in Buseesa. Sr.Rita, principal at Notre Dame Academy Senior Secondary School said “we celebrate the special contributions women make to their families, schools, cities, Uganda and the world at large in helping make the world a better place.”  Among those in attendance: Sisters and teachers, volunteers from Germany, the first volunteer from the US (more about her in another blog), visitors from SND California, and numerous primary and secondary school students.

– Carmela Burke

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Update from Uganda

As we’ve mentioned before, Sr. Florette Marie Adams and Carmela are traveling in Uganda right now. Sr. Florette is teaching music to the students there, while Carmela is gathering details for reports to donors about the progress of the various projects. Carmela found herself with a rare moment where she had enough solar power for an internet connection, and enough time to write an update. You can find it below.

Extent of my animal sightings so far: caterpillar at chapel at NDEC, and what I thought was a mini-toucan in the vegetable garden near the convent dining room at St.Julie School. The trek from NDEC in Mpala, west of Kampala, to St. Julie Mission and Farm in the village of Buseesa east of Kampala took five hours with a few stops at vegetable stands and the post office in Mubende. The roads were a mix of paved highway, streets that have been undergoing, I’m told, repairs for 10 years now, and dirt roads where vehicles kick up clouds of red clay dust resulting in zero visibility. People and passengers share the narrow roadway. Pedestrians are used to hopping–or tumbling–off the road to make room for oncoming vans and motorcycles.

We arrived in time to celebrate and thank local teachers at St. Julie Primary and Notre Dame Academy Secondary schools. Students did well in exams and teachers had a lot to do with that. We look forward to sharing more details from the trip as well as some of the more than 300 photos that we have taken after my return on the 16th.

– Carmela Burke

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Preparing to Visit Uganda

In one week, we say goodbye to Sr. Florette Marie and Carmela as they begin their journey to Uganda. Here, Carmela reflects on the upcoming trip and shares what we hope will be the first of several blog updates about the mission. This assumes that she can connect to the internet while they are there! Stay tuned for more details about life in Uganda.

Done: deltoids as pin cushion for needed inoculations for East Africa. Done: travel checklist. Day-job mission: spend time at St. Julie Mission and Notre Dame Education Center (www.snduganda.org) visiting grant-funded projects for report back to donors, discuss potential projects, and gather information requested by the SNDCA Ad Gentes Mission Group.

I will travel with Sr. Florette Marie, who with her background in music education, will build upon the musical DNA of our nursery school children in Buseesa and Mpala. She will be in Uganda for a six-week teacher training program. More Uganda Mission updates in our latest Vision and Challenge newsletter Winter 2012 edition posted on www.sndca.org. By the way, the newsletter also has a very cool glimpse of a day in the life of a Sister of Notre Dame.

This is the first of what I hope will be a series of blogs and tweets you can follow on the website www.sndca.org, and Twitter @sndca, and @bylinecarmeLA. It would be great to receive your ideas, comments, feedback. Connectivity might be a challenge but this in itself could be a project wish-list. Until next time…

– Carmela Burke, Director of Development

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