Life is
unpredictable. Do you want to know why? Its takes you places you would never
expect to be. It brings people in your life that you never thought you would
meet. It brings the sweetest surprises and lessons that are only possible with
unpredictability. It’s amazing!
Right now, I
am sitting in the USP office at Uganda Christian University. I am back in a community
that I said goodbye to just about a year and a half ago and now I am here,
working as a Program Assistant.
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| Katie Green |
I was a
senior social work student here at USP in the Spring of 2013. I did my social
work internship at St. Peters Child Development Center in Lugazi. St. Peters is
a branch of Compassion International and I worked specifically with the Child
Survival Program (CSP). CSP reaches out to pregnant women, young
vulnerable children and their primary caregivers through home-based and group
activities. We did a lot of home visits, health and wellness/life skill
education and general community care.
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The St. Peter's Staff at the USP Farewell Party
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I spent 400+ hours at St. Peters over the four
months I was here in Uganda, so the place became like a second home to me. The
staff members became great friends of mine and the mothers quickly became
people that I would learn a lot from.
I remember so many days of sitting on plastic
chairs at our site, babies in my lap and just being with the moms. Working on
reports, charts and power points, taking tea with my co-workers, talking about
life, (America, skyscrapers, relationships, cars, how weird it is that we let
our dogs in the house.) Learning about the struggles and hardships of Ugandan
mothers and witnessing the joy that not even poverty can steal.
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My practicum partner Benita and I at a birthday
party for the Mothers we worked with. |
All of those
little moments became a big adventure, a journey that I carry with me wherever
I go.
After my
semester with USP, I flew home, graduated college and moved to Chicago with my
best friend to start out life in the real world. Exciting right? I worked the
most random jobs as I figured out my next step. I worked on the Navy Pier for a
boat company, at a busy Chicago restaurant and as a dog walker. None of which
were my major but with all of my random ‘post-college figure out my life’ jobs-
there were people. So there was social work.
I have
learned that social work is not just a major, profession or title. It is a lens
through which we can see people and life. It is looking at people, seeing them for who they are
and accepting wherever they are at in life. It is looking for the strengths in the
people around you and empowering them, believing that they are good enough to
succeed. It is being there with people in their hurt, and not being afraid to
sit with them. It’s looking for what you have in common with people, what
differences you have with people and embracing both. This, my friends, can be
done anywhere and everywhere, Africa or America, working at a restaurant in Chicago
or in the little town of Lugazi in Uganda.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I
found myself back in Lugazi at St. Peters, sitting on the same chairs, holding
babies, singing, reuniting with the mothers I had no idea that I would ever see
again. It was truly the sweetest thing.
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Making Playdough for the clients with
Benita at St. Peters!
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It was a privilege to see some
of the same mothers I had worked with. They were thrilled to see me and
welcomed me with open arms, praising God that I had come back! One of the mothers
who I had become close with during my time, is now the chair person of the
group. I am so proud of her! The cook was still there, the school teacher, a
lot of my old co-workers. It felt like home again.
In coming
back and working with USP I get to witness our students going through their
practicums, having the same kind of experiences I had and I am thrilled! I joke
with my USP co-workers that I could talk about practicums forever, and it’s because
I had such an amazing experience. The USP social work program gave me such a
valuable view on what social work can look like, anywhere in the world.
I never
expected that I would be back here but somehow I am lucky enough to live life with
these amazing people in the community I learned to love during my semester. I have learned that you can’t always see the
value of a journey until you are looking back and that is a beautiful thing. I
have looked back, and continue to look forward. I wish you all the same.
Cheers to
our adventurous, wonderful, unpredictable life!
Do you want to make friends with Ugandans, have a unique
experience and learn about what social work looks like across the world?
Then start your application today and apply
here:
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My supervisor, Moreen, Benita and I at St. Peters
on one of our last days.
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The week began with the van full of stuffed backpacks and nervous
chatter as students anticipated being dropped off at their new host families, wondering what to expect. Students were able to learn that the material goods of urban life are superfluous when people support each other in community. Through long days of hiking in the mud to the fields to harvest coffee and farm before returning to
cook dinner over fires, students learned about the hard work of village life
where everything is done by hand in the absence of electricity and machines. During
long breaks from the physical work, host families shared endless cups of milk
tea fresh from their own cows along with stories, laughter, and
generous hospitality.
