Party Crasher

As a Program Assistant, I have the pleasure of visiting a few of the IMME student’s homes during the semester. This week was the week I decided to start to do home visits. On Tuesday I had the pleasure of visiting Allison’s family for tea. It was a great experience to see how she interacts with her family and to also view how comfortable she is at her home. I had a really good time there. 

Allison showing off her craft to a family friend Martin Mpooya

The next day I knew I wanted to visit Olivia’s family. I went to the IMME quarter’s room and saw Olivia there. I told her I wanted to visit her family soon. She said, “Why don’t you come today. We’re having a graduation party. We are always having parties at my house.” “Sure!” I said without even thinking. I don’t know her family that well nor do I know the people whom the party is for, but I thought to myself, “Good people and good food will be there. Why not go?”

When Olivia and I arrived at her house, the loud music indicated that the party was about to start. As we were about to take our seats the MC said that family sits on one side and friends on the other side. Olivia sat on the family side and I sat on friend side. Eventually the guests of honor arrived. The two graduates walked out along with Olivia’s mama, Margaret Ssekalongo. Mama Margaret greeted every person individually. When she got to me she looked at me and then said, “You have finally come to visit. You are welcome. Come sit next to Olivia.” It felt pretty cool to know that I could sit on the family side now.

As the ceremony went on, I could not understand what was taking place since it was all in Luganda. Luckily Olivia was there to guide me through the ceremony. She even gave me tips on how to introduce myself. She said since her family has had so many parties, she’s learned the appropriate actions for the ceremonies. I spent the afternoon viewing how graduation ceremonies are done here in Uganda. I also got to eat some great food, just in case you were wondering. I had to duck out towards the middle of speeches to get back to campus at a reasonable time, but all-in-all, I had a great experience being a party crasher. That’s the thing I love about Uganda, you are always welcomed and not considered an inconvenience.

Here are some pictures below of the evening.  

Mama Margaret greeting guest

One of Olivia's aunts greeting Olivia

The guests of honor

Mama Margaret giving a speech

Olivia and Mama Margaret

Olivia and her sister Angie

Post by Tiffany Gathers

Mukono Home Stays

It's that time of the semester again when USP students who live on campus start to get a little bit nervous (not all, but some). They start to wonder what they have gotten themselves into with USP; they are full of questions and speculations. They knew this day would come, but so soon? You all know what I am talking about? Mukono two-week home stays have arrived!

Today, January 19th, was the start of home stays. They started bright and early at 10 am. (10 am is early right??) The students packed up their bedding, clothing, toiletries etc. and waited in front of Honors college, anxious to find out which van to get into to head for their new home.

Whatever nerves they had the day before or even today began to dissipate as as they met their new families. Here are some pictures of students meeting their families...

Rachel meeting some of her family members

Look! All smiles!

Jessi walking with Mama Edith to her new home

Amanda and Mama Ruth

Carissa gearing up to meet her family

A loving embrace between a dad and his new daughter

Kelly and Mama Odeta

Vincent helping Benita arrive at her home stay

These pictures only capture a few students experiences of meeting their family for the first time. The families were very excited to meet their new sons and daughters. As I greeted each family, the mother or father would say to me, "Thank you for bringing my daughter." Ahhh, you gotta love the openness and warmth you feel right away from Ugandan families, though they hardly know the USP students yet.

This is only the beginning, two-weeks from now many are going laugh thinking about how nervous they were today. What I know for sure is that they are going to take away from their home stay experiences, memories and relationships that will last a lifetime. 

Post by Tiffany Gathers 

Spring 2013, and we're off!

The turn around between the fall and spring semesters is pretty quick here at USP, and jumping from a group of 24 to 39 is quite a job! But our new group is on the ground, and we're off and running. Here are a few photos of our first couple of days.

Group shot (minus one) in Entebbe kicking off orientation. 

Last Saturday afternoon, we dropped off our 16 Intercultural Ministry and Missions Emphasis) IMME students at their respective semester-long home stays. Here Dave is meeting his host dad, Mr. Martin Mpooya.

Friday we went to a place called Vision For Africa, for a chance to do some final orientation sessions in a nice, off-campus setting. 

The afternoon was spent enjoying the sunshine and a lovely pool. Yes, in January! One of the many perks of being so close to the equator.

The entire group, all 39 this time:

We're looking forward to a great semester!

The Long Goodbye

Every good thing comes to an end. This is now true of the USP Fall 2012 semester. The students finished classes, took their exams, said their goodbyes and flew back to the US on December 11^th. To celebrate and honor the academic accomplishments of the semester, the relationships built, and provide the opportunity to say goodbye, USP holds a farewell dinner at the end of each semester. This is a much loved and enjoyed tradition.

The evening of December 6, was the Fall 2012 Farewell Dinner. It is an important occasion as seen in the dress! Some students come in African dresses they had made in Mukono town, and others wear traditional outfits provided by their families. 

 Students Rachel and Anna in traditional Ugandan gomezi.

USP student Erin with her host mother in traditional attire from western Uganda.

The evening consisted of students gathering with various people who made the semester a success; host families, practicum and social work site representatives, UCU lecturers and students, and many of the friends that students made along the way. As a way of thanking all of the people who attended, and as is customary in Uganda, there were a number of speeches made by various group representatives. Certificates were then given to the USP students for their completion of the Uganda Studies Program, dinner was shared and the farewell made complete with the cutting and eating of cake.

USP student, Tracie giving a speech on behalf of the Social Work students.

 UCU Honors College student, Jesse giving a speech on behalf of UCU students.

 USP staff member, Lisa giving a speech on behalf of the USP staff.

 USP student, Allison receiving her certificate.

 As part of the tradition, USP students serve the food to all the guests in attendance.

The farewell cake, being cut by all who made speeches.

As the night wrapped up, tears were shed and contact information was exchanged as the students said their farewells to those they had built relationships with in Mukono. Writing on behalf of the USP staff, I know that seeing them off at the airport in a few days will be hard because of the relationships we have also built with them. Yet we will always be connected to them because they will always be connected to Uganda. So I’ll let this blog post be a goodbye to the Fall 2012 USP students. Stay in touch and come back to visit!

Post by program assistant, Tiffany Gathers 

Social Work in Uganda

Rachel Yutzy is a Social Work major completing her junior level social work practicum this semester on USP.

Over the last four months, I have been doing my social work practicum at a Compassion International site, Seeta Child Development Center. I can honestly say that my practicum was my favorite part of my experience in Uganda; I learned a lot about social work, Uganda, and myself.

I could have never imagined the learning experience I would gain from doing my internship abroad. Social Work is a very “Western” career. In the States, we have strict protocol as to how to do everything. We have a lot of theory and a lot of ideals. On a clinical level, we are very individualistic. We focus on the client at hand and attempt to know every detail of his or her life. One of the greatest challenges and best experiences was taking my American, higher education, book knowledge and theory, and applying to a situation on the other side of the world. Some things sound great on paper, but do not play out well due to the fact that the theory is tailored to a Western culture.

One prominent aspect of Ugandan culture is community. This aspect is a bit interesting in a social work setting. One of my first “counseling” sessions with a child was with about three extra adults in the room. According to the social workers, this is normal. This is what the community does. Everyone knows everything about everyone else and the value of the advice increases with the number of people reiterating it. From my context, this is not what you do. “Counseling” is done in privacy, or in a group of people struggling with the same thing, not in a community setting. However, as I was immersed in the culture, I began to realize just how much community affected the lives of the children with whom I was working. In a conversation with a co-worker, I learned that a lot of the children are orphaned or abandoned. The extended family or the community will take in the children. It is a community and a familial duty. He was appalled at the idea of a foster care system, where strangers take in children.

             

It was also interesting to see the similarities. Social work is still social work, no matter where you are on the globe. As my supervisor said, “Social Workers do everything. Everything is in the job description”. That could not have been said better. It seems as though social work agencies are always understaffed and underfunded; yet they still thrive and they still make a difference in their communities. I learned so much about the diversity and the flexibility of social work. I learned how it changes in culture. I learned how it functions on nothing. I saw dedication to hope, faith, and love in ways I have never seen before. I learned how the social work values, service, social justice, dignity and worth of a person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence can be universally applied, even when cultural norms are vastly different.

Post by Rachel Yutzy 

Thanksgiving in Uganda

Celebrating Thanksgiving doesn't just have to be limited to being in America. Here in Mukono we celebrated Thanksgiving like we were back in the States. There was turkey (grilled not baked), stuffing, yams, green beans, mashed potatoes and all the desserts your heart could desire. The one thing we could not do was watch football in the morning. Yet we made up for that by playing football in the afternoon before dinner. Check out the pictures below of our Thanksgiving celebration!

Before the rumble in the jungle... or Mukono

Semi-action shot

The game is so intense that people are running in every direction

You wouldn't want Heather blocking you!

What is Thanksgiving without playing a little bit of corn hole?

Dinner time!

Wouldn't you be this happy if you were in a line for desserts?

(delicious desserts courtesy of the students)

post by program assistant Tiffany Gathers

Life in the Dorms.

You know what it’s like to live in a dorm: there’s music and dancing, there’s snack time and tea time, and of course, the reason we’re all here—studying! At UCU, life in the dorms is pretty typical. Students in the Uganda Studies Emphasis and Social Work Emphasis live on campus in the Honors College dorms, some room with UCU students, some in singles, and some with other USP students. So, while studying and sleeping have their place, there’s also time for impromptu movie watching, deep conversations, informal worship times, and even birthday parties and breakfast feasts.

A couple examples of the fun events: Earlier this semester USP students planned a surprise birthday party (birthday dance party no less, complete with cake) for their fellow classmate, Jean. Jean, a Ugandan Honors College student at UCU turned 22 and her friends, new and old, joined in the celebrations. As is typical in Uganda, she was doused with water (bath-day!), sung to, and given the honor of cutting and sharing the cake.  

October 9th is Uganda's independence day, and this year marked 50 years of independence. To help celebrate, USP students hosted a pancake breakfast for the Honours College students. It was an adventure cooking pancakes on a charcoal stove, but students were up for the challenge and the pancakes were delicious.

An important characteristic of Uganda’s communal culture is sharing and the dorms here are the perfect places for sharing to occur. This manifests itself in many ways, not only in sharing things like irons (for neat or 'smart' clothes), kettles and basins (for heating water, and washing), but students also share plenty of laughter, good stories, the celebration of life, and even cultural practices like pancakes for breakfast.

post by Program Assistant, Ruth Berta