Twelve compassionate and adventurous individuals made the two-week journey to Uganda this summer.  They are back in the US, but their hearts are still lingering in the communities of Uganda.  Chris, Anita, Emaleigh, Thomas, David and Tim joined the team from the Boston area, while  James, Sarah, Ryan, Isaac, Jim and Christian joined from various places in New York State.  Despite a rough start with a flight delay and missing baggage, Team #7 was unstoppable!

They jumped right into action!  During their first 3 days in Uganda, they facilitated a National Youth Conference in the village of Kawanda.  Approximately 200 delegates from all over the country were in attendance.   An entire day was reserved for “Stewardship and Service Projects.” The group built fences, repaired potholes in roads, painted, fixed computers, cleared a path to a water hole near a church, and even went into the village to sweep storefronts and the fronts of people’s homes.  The people in the community were completely bewildered as to why this group of young people would be serving them in this capacity.  These projects served as a tangible way to express to the folks in the community what it means to love your neighbor as yourself and likewise, to help the conference attendees learn practical ways to impact their communities.    Overall it was a huge success!

After the youth conference, the team made visits to multiple tank sites to assess the physical condition of the tanks and serve the individuals within these communities.  The Massachusetts group not only raised enough support money for their travels, they also raised an additional $3500 to have a tank installed in Nakawa.  The team had the awesome opportunity to witness part of this installation first-hand!  They finished off  their trip by spending a few days serving some of the poorest of the poor in the slums of Uganda.  Here are some highlights from their journey:

Even though the team had a very busy agenda, they still made time to sit one-on-one and talk with individuals.  They still made time to play and laugh with the children.  They still made time to impart hope into the hearts of the Ugandan people.  Because our teams build upon the outreach of the teams that have gone before them, the relationships we’ve made within each of our water tank communities continue to grow stronger. 

The Ugandan Water Project staff and Team #7 thank you for partnering with us to make this trip a reality.  The team made a lasting impact in the lives and hearts of the Ugandan people.  The Ugandan people have undoubtedly taken up residence in the hearts of the team members.  We have trips coming up in late February and May, 2011.  Maybe it will be your time to go!

Written by: Michelle C.- Trip Coordinator

For those of you who are considering joining our monthly support team to help ensure that we continue to expand our efforts in Uganda, consider the monthly support options below and how they compare to some of the things we choose to invest in everyday. Click the drop-down menu and choose to be part of every water system we install!

Contribution Amount

Dollar a Day : $30.00USD – monthly Basic Cable : $50.00USD – monthly Unlimited Cell Phone : $70.00USD – monthly Trip to Walmart : $100.00USD – monthly

Today there is good reason to celebrate.  Since the inception of the Ugandan Water Project, we have had only the three officers required by non-profit law serving on the Board of Directors.  Today we took a big step forward and welcomed six new members to the Board of Directors.  These individuals represent our expectation for this organization to grow – grow our impact, grow our participation, grow our programs – everything.

Organizations are made up of people and as new people are added, the strength of the organization grows.  Our growth potential shot up this afternoon as we gathered with this expanded group of men and women and began to sort out the activities and future plans for this organization.  Times like this are important because so often the daily tasks necessary to find new project sponsors, communicate with our staff in Uganda and keep the office running are typical daily office activities carried out by millions of people every day.  However, sitting with our Board of Directors and reviewing some of our recent highlights was inspiring – like sharing with them the recent funding of our 30th rainwater collection tank that will be installed in July when I lead our next team to Uganda.

I’ll profile our Board Members in the near future so you can get to know them but for now, join me in welcoming them to our little corner of humanity where we’re not pretending to be the best at anything, just trying to work hard to save those we can who are suffering within reach.

WordPress and Facebook integration test with #woordbook plugin – testing import/export features to facebook.

“Do not withhold good from whose to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so.”

-Proverbs 3:27

At one time in my past, I thought myself to be quite the budding young Philosopher-King. During those narcissistic college years I remember coming across the Law of Non-Contradiction while studying the logic under Dr. David Bassinger. This law basically states that it is not possible for something to be both true and not true at the same time and in the same context. For example today is garbage day and I can’t both take the trash out and not take the trash out at the same time.

When I first wrestled with this idea, it forced me to consider the limited resources we have in this world and the reality that all of our choices are exclusive – that is to say that whenever I make a choice to do something, I am simultaneously choosing not to do many other things. Our time cannot be used more than once despite what today’s advertising world would like us to believe. This of course begs the question: How should I best use the limited resources I have?

From the very beginning of the Ugandan Water Project, we faced this challenge. If we have resources available that can do good in some measure – do we use them immidiately or do we wait in order to make a bigger impact or for greater efficiency or a myriad of other reasons. I remember the day when the check arrived for our very first rainwater collection tank and I realized that I held the future of a small Ugandan community in my hand. This realization was sobering because we weren’t due to go to Uganda for our first trip for another month and a half but all of the advice and counsel we had received told us to wait until we could sit face to face with our Ugandan friends before beginning any physical work. The words of Proverbs 3:27 rang in my ears – and I asked myself – “am I withholding good” from the people of Uganda by not transferring these funds as fast as possible and getting that water tank installed?!” Lives depend on the work that we do. Lives are lost when we grow complacent. My delay may cost a father the life of his daughter. It was not possible for me to send the money immediately and wait to send the money until we were present to establish the relationship . . . is it better to have bread today or cake tomorrow?Pause

Consider bread for a moment – why is it that we don’t simply sit down and eat a handful of flour, crack an egg into our mouth – sprinkle some yeast on our tongue and then chase it with a glass of water and a shake of salt? Even bread involves some waiting and a process.

We waited.
We weighted.

Language is a thing – when the writer of Proverbs penned this challenge not to withhold good from whom it is due, the implication is not simply that there are those who would benefit from some good – actually, there is the implication that this “good” already belongs to those who we are being challenged to give to. One translation that is more literal could read: “Do not withhold good from the owner of it, when it is in your power to do it.”

It takes time to bake bread – but as soon as it’s done baking – sharing fresh bread is one of life’s simple pleasures – serve it while it’s still warm.