A Ugandan experience

A recollection of the day I met my sponsored children and my life was touched forever 

I have been in Uganda for only 4 days and have fallen in love. The friendliness and smiles of all the people you meet is so delightful, it's no wonder they call this place 'The Pearl of Africa'. It is now my last few days here in Africa. I have spent over 3 weeks on this amazing, versatile, self sustainable continent. From Zambia, through Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya. My last stop being Uganda, home to the children I sponsor through World Vision, Cavin and Sharon. One who I have known for many years and both whom I am very eager to meet.

Francis, our driver for the journey and Robert, our sponsorship representative, arrive to pick us up from the hotel in Kampala. We set off on the semi-long 8 hour drive to Kitgum, stopping once along the way for a $10 lunch break that feeds the 4 of us. The half completed tarmac road is relatively smooth for much of the drive, aside from the last few kilometers where we dodge potholes until we hit the town of Gulu, where the tarmac stops. We are now in Northern Uganda, a place that has been war-torn until only recently in 2008. You can already see how the 20 years of war has put Northern Uganda behind the rest of the country. Francis tells us it's as if that 20 years were lost in time. While the rest of Uganda was progressing, the North stood still, plagued by violence and fear. Only in 2008 were the last of the people in displacement camps returned to their villages. Some never knowing what life was like outside the camps. Life is very different in this part of the world and I'm soon to get an even closer perspective once we visit the villages tomorrow. For now we check into the Bomah hotel, a fully facilitated hotel incomparable to that of the surrounding area.

In the morning, before we commence the field visits, we stop by the World Vision office of the Kitgum project. As we arrive we are greeted by the manager Calvin and introduced to all the staff. It's great to see that here, so far from home, is the office of all the people that have been involved in the development and care of the Kitgum project which I have been supporting for much of my adult life. The staff are so happy to meet us and I am likewise happy to meet them. 

Here in Kitgum is a team of more than 10 dedicated people who are on the front line of assisting the families in need. As soon as you meet them you sense their devotion and good hearts and its truly humbling to see. Calvin, the manager, spends some time with us and answers all of our questions. I start to get more of an understanding of the work that World Vision do here and begin to develop a greater connection to my involvement here in this remote village in central Africa. 

It was now time to meet the other people who play a huge part in the future of Kitgum and whom have played a part in my life for such a long period of time. The local people themselves. 

We pull up to the small village where Sharon resides and as we disembark we are greeted by many with smiles and handshakes. The sound of cheers and a woman's calling ring in the background as we are prompted to sit on the seats provided for us. Children and mothers gather around, the children sitting across from us, staring curiously at the people that have come from so far to visit. One of these children is Sharon. A 6 year old girl that I have recently started sponsoring.

Sharon's community welcomes us with open arms. The leaders come up to shake out hands and personally thank us. I learn the Ugandan word for thank you quite quickly which makes for better communication with myself and the people I meet. I sense the sincereness in their eyes as we shake hands and look at the person who has touched our lives in so many ways. It's amazing how much can be said through one encounter without words. 

The elders put on traditional songs and dances for us, each song having a distinct meaning. I even get the opportunity to join in on some of the dances, laughing and smiling as I tap my feet to the rhythm of the bongo drums while moving around in circle. At this point I can smell the food cooking as smoke emits from one of the huts. It seems Sharon's mother has prepared a big feast for the community to commemorate our visit. We eat a delicious banquet of traditional foods such as kasava, kidney beans, rice and spinach. Consuming the food just like the locals, no cutlery, just hands. 

After lunch I get the chance to talk to the community. Robert translates for me while I thank them for their hospitality, tell them a little about my life and my involvement in World Vision and answer any questions they may have. I get the chance to hand out lollies to the children and the curious smiles on their innocent faces fills me with joy. Having combined two visits into one day it was time to leave, so we say goodbye to the village people and are thanked once more. It's a strange feeling to receive such gratitude when you yourself feel so happy and privileged to be contributing in such a way that is making a difference to their lives. 

The last and much anticipated stop for the day was to visit Cavin's village. I have been sponsoring Cavin for 10 years so it's almost as if I feel like part of the community already. Although we don't communicate on a regular basis, we have shared many letters and photographs across the years as she grew from a young girl into a young woman. From sponsoring the family directly to sponsoring the community as a whole, I've never had the chance to see first hand how my support and the support of World Vision has played a part in their lives.

As we pull up to the village, we get the same warm welcome that we were given in Sharon's village. The afternoon storm had made its way to Kitgum by this time so the World Vision truck drove us right into the village. I could see the children running into one of the huts to stay out of the rain, however a few waited patiently outside for us. One of them being Cavin.

As I disembarked the truck, I came face to face with a beautiful young woman that has been part of my life for such a long time but whom I have never met. She shakes my hand and I do so in return, and we both lean in to give each other a hug. It was a moment that I had played out in my mind so many times and as I held back tears of joy the moment planted itself in my mind as a cherished memory that would last a lifetime. 

Understanding that it must be a bit overwhelming for both of us, we head into the small dark hut with all the other children and take the seats provided for us. The next half hour was full of many questions, many laughs and the chance to meet some of the other children of the village.

I meet Cavin's auntie. An older woman who has lost her sight. She is assisted over to us where she sincerely thanks me and blesses me for my help. She seems like a very strong, resolute woman and meeting her brings a tear to my eye. To say that these experiences today wouldn't bring the most insensitive people to emotion would be an understatement. The experiences are that of which are a rare opportunity and that of which touch the soul.

The visits were extremely eye opening for me. Allowing me to see how people live and how far they have come since the war, as well as seeing how far they have to go. I have hope for their future and that hope has been upheld by seeing the morals and actions of World Vision. Especially meeting the hard working people in Kitgum, whom I've come to acknowledge as true heroes in this world. The community representatives, the sponsorship coordinators, and all the others who work hard each day to find ways to empower and encourage communities to better themselves.

On a personal level, the visit allowed me to feel considerably closer to the cause that I have been supporting. From home I never got to see what life was like for Cavin. I just put my faith in the organisation I supported and next thing I knew, 10 years had passed and I hadn't seen what changes had took place. Now I can see what my support, and the support of many others contributes too. Back at the office I ask Calvin, "Have you seen much change over these past 10 years?". He replies "We have seen great change, however there is still a long way to go. We are definitely in the right direction and where there is a will there is a way. And there is surely a will".

I leave Uganda, with amazing memories, eye opening experiences, a little more wisdom and a lot more hope. As one wise woman once said "you can't do great things in this world, only small things with great love". Those small things contributing to the significant change that will bring about a rightfully brighter future for many. 

If you wish to find out more information on sponsoring a child through World Vision, visit their website through the below link:

http://trans.worldvision.com.au/ChildSponsorship

My Year of Second-hand

Why we should reduce, reuse and recycle

The one thing we ought to know about fashion trends is that everything inevitably repeats itself.

I walked through a shopping centre in Sydney recently, all five floors of consumer driven, capitalising retailers. Shops separated into categories; clothes, jewelry, shoes, more clothes, more jewelry, more shoes. Sale and clearance signs drawing consumers in like moths to streetlights, ready to put another dent in their credit cards.

Looking at this abundance of shops and this abundance of things I started to wonder how much consumption we as human beings could actually go through. When did we forget to draw a line between a want and a need? And when, if ever, would we begin to investigate the impact of our mass consumerism?

A want, by definition, is the desire to possess something; a need, by definition, is to require something because it is essential. With women’s clothing the cheapest that it’s been in 25 years the desire to spoil yourself with a new outfit can be appealing, but the fact is that these desires just result in an endless cycle of keeping up with trends, in order to wear the same garment that tens of thousands of people around the world are wearing.

Our addiction to consumerism is affecting the world we live in. Cotton requires a global average of 11,000 litres of water per kilogram to produce and nearly 20% of the world’s pesticides are sprayed on cotton crops. To add to this, almost 25% of unusable cotton will eventually end up in landfill. Is the desire to follow so called ‘trends’ so great that we are ignorant to its impact?

It is for these reasons, as well as my own curiosity, that this year I have decided to go second hand, reduce my carbon footprint, and support local and international organisations that have a positive impact in the world. This means that all the clothes that I purchase this year (no this does not include underwear) will be secondhand purchases. A majority of the unwanted clothes that result from our mass consumerism are resold at second-hand stores or passed on to charity organisations. Perfectly good, sometimes brand new, ex-impulse buys that once sat unused in our closets, perhaps worn on one or two separate occasions as an example of keeping up with ‘trends’.

A single Smith Family sorting centre in New South Wales sorts 10,000 tonnes of donated clothing each year, which is just a small example of how much unwanted clothes are in our closets. Next time, instead of heading to a retailer to stock your closet full of more new clothes why not consider scouring your local op shop for a unique, trendy garment. In doing so you are reducing your environmental impact as well as supporting these amazing organisations that support so many Australian families in need. After all, what can be trendier than that?

Follow me on Instagram @be_where_you_want_to_be #myyearofsecondhand

#connected

If the hash-tag were a person it would surely have been the unpopular kid in school that no one really took any notice of and then, years later, grow up to become one of the most well known influential people in the world earning thousands of dollars a minute like Bill Gates.  

Where did this phenomenon come from? This symbol that at one point in time was only used as the lazy persons replacement for the word 'number' and barely received any recognition in comparison to it's counterparts 'exclamation mark' and 'ampersand'. All of a sudden, sometime in the new millennium after being around for aeons before that, this once neglected key was now appearing on Twitter feeds, Facebook feeds and Instagram worldwide, launching to fame quicker than Justin Bieber. 

There's probably not a person out there who at one point in time didn't question why, when or where the hash-tag came from. In fact, in the beginning it was not so well received by users and has only now started to gain worldwide momentum seven years after it was first originated. The official use of the hash-tag is to assist in categorising content used on social media. It works by making a connection between the word that proceeds the hash-tag and any other like words posted on any other social media platforms. e.g. a #connect will match any other #connect's in the world wide web.

Using hash-tags for specific topics can become quite useful and save users a lot of time searching through pages and pages of content, however I believe the hash-tag has a more significant meaning - it connects people. 

It is a symbol that represents connection in an era where the world is more connected than it has ever been throughout it's entire existence. One symbol has allowed millions of people around the world to share their stories, gain knowledge of what's important to them, find information on subjects or issues affecting their countries or cities. People have been able to find connections with others, they have been able to understand that they are not suffering alone and that maybe somewhere in this huge world someone out there has been through the same experiences as they have. 

I talk about being in a world where we are more connected than ever, however ironically, in this same world we are more disconnected than ever. We are in a world where our digital connection outshines our physical one. We are so tied to routine and driven by the hands of time that the only physical connections we maintain are in our immediate social circles. We often put the effort to explore outside these social circles in the 'too difficult' basket. We look at the people outside these circles like weird strangers with a hidden agenda. Little do we know that out there in this world full of individuals just like us there are people who can add value to our lives in many ways, we just need to let them in.

Fundamentally all humans value connection which is why the hash-tag is such an important symbol in today's era. It's time to open up to the world around us, speak to a person you usually wouldn't speak to, follow a hash-tag connection, create a hash-tag connection and network with like minded individuals, for it's within the connection of individuals that real social change can happen. 

It's time to get #connected. 

A message from a new age femenist

As a new age feminist it is undoubtedly appropriate that I bring up the fact that it is International Women’s Day and talk about what this day means to myself and many other women around the world.

I often get asked “What about International Man’s day?” and I feel a certain ailment to the idea that we would have a day dedicated to women, after all we live in a society where everybody is treated equally, man or woman, black or white, gay or straight. The idea of discrimination in Australia is governed by countless laws, policies and procedures. So why is it that we have a day that is fundamentally dedicated to women?

Firstly this is not the rising new feminist movement where women are rallying together to overpower the male species and constitute their independence through extravagant acts such as bra burning and mass protests. It is not the 60’s after all (and quite frankly the whole bra-burning saga was largely exaggerated through the media to create this long running stereotype that we now know as ‘the feminist’). International Women’s Day is a day about bringing awareness to the scope of equality in this world, specifically gender equality.

We all have dreams and strive to fit into this world in some way shape or form. For some of us this is made easy by the support of those around us, directly or indirectly. For others these aspirations come with enormous obstacles.

For a long time women have been fighting for equal rights in society, from the right to vote, to the right for equal pay, to the right to elevate all forms of discrimination against women. These are the things that our mothers and grandmothers and great grandmothers fought for with more determination than we could ever imagine because I’m sure that nothing ever got achieved in those days by signing a petition on change.org.

So thanks to those strong, resilient generations of women before me I am lucky enough to have been born into an era where my voice can be heard. I have choices that many people do not have and I have support from so many aspects of life. It is now my turn to fight for and bring awareness to those who are still fighting for their basic rights in society. For the Saudi Arabian woman’s right to drive, for the Pakistani woman’s right to an education, for the Papua New Guinean woman’s right not to be subjected to domestic violence, for the Indian woman’s right to marry who she chooses. These are the reasons why on International Woman’s Day I will stand up for the women of this planet and help work towards alleviating gender equality indefinitely.

No longer are we man-hating, hairy, bra-burning feminists, we are just women giving the world a better future.

The season of giving

Do we really need so many things?

Christmas time, the time to be jolly, merry, festive, giving and everything else that comes with this Internationally recognised holiday. A tradition that has lasted over 17 centuries, celebrated across so many countries and various religions alike.

This St Nicholas character must have been a memorable one to create a legacy that has lived on for so many era’s. A legacy that after all this time has never really strayed from its one true meaning - to give.

So here we are in the 21th century, in our first world country, with our hard earned money and our derived assets, following this long running international tradition of giving.  As the seasons change and the month of December quietly sneaks up on us, much of society goes into a ‘giving’ frenzy.
Shopping malls become chaotic, roads become congested, and post offices become inundated with packages as staff rummage through the numerous boxes of online purchases. It has however never been simpler to shop from the comfort of your own home thanks to the likes of PayPal and Credit Cards. Gifts for family, gifts for friends, gifts for people that have bought you gifts, neighbors, the co-worker who you aren’t too fond of that you so unintentionally picked as your Secret Santa, the list goes on. Now sure you can muster up the brainpower to think of some great gifts for some of the people on that list but the rest is undoubtedly going to be some sort of irrelevant, cliché, counterproductive gift pack that’s making the middle guy 50% gross profit per pack.

The harsh reality is that last year Australians received over $1 billion dollars worth of unwanted gifts. One in four Australians will receive a gift that they do not want this year and at least one in three will go over their Christmas budget. The even harsher reality is that over 1 billion people in developing countries have inadequate access to water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. 2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunised and 15 million children are orphaned due to HIV/AIDS.

So during this time of giving try to put some things into perspective. After all St Nicholas did not drop a GPS down the chimney of a person who can’t drive, he dropped a bag of gold down the chimney of the poor and less fortunate.

If we have the ability to overspend by $1 billion dollars then surely we have the ability to give even the smallest of gifts to someone less fortunate than us.

Merry Christmas and Happy Giving!

No-choc-vember

Giving up for a cause

I figured considering this August I was gallivanting around the world somewhere, camera around my wrist, exploring some intriguing foreign place and not participating in this years 40 hour famine, I decided to participate in another form of giving and raise some much needed funds for those less fortunate than myself.

I began searching for other causes in November and they surely weren’t scarce.

Now I don’t exactly have a moustache, therefore Movember was out of the question. OctSober had already passed, and let’s just say with the amount of social events, gatherings, weddings, farewells, you name it; the avoidance of alcohol was with great difficulty. I soon realised that almost every day of every month of the year has a cause or an awareness designated to it. November alone is Lung Awareness Month, World Pneumonia Day falls in November, as well as World Diabetes Day, World Prematurity Day, even World Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Day. So as you can see I wasn’t short of a cause.

I then remembered a recent post on the New Hope For Children Orphanage page. It was describing how there were still 40 children in the orphanage waiting for sponsors and I figured that with Christmas fast approaching perhaps I could use this time to raise some money to give these little ones a Christmas full of smiles. The New Hope Orphanages are located in and around Bangalore, India and are home to over 130 abandoned children who have been taken in under the care of a compassionate family. I came across this cause one day a few years back when I was siting in my lounge room browsing through the wonderful world of social media. I was moved by the actions of this family and decided to join the other sponsors from all over the world in assisting them with caring for the children.

So for November I am dedicating my fundraising to the children of India.

As fundraising comes in many forms, I have chosen the form of relinquishment. I have decided that for the month of November I am going to give up something that is very dear to me. Something that is a part of my day-to-day life from dusk until dawn. Something that is there for me no matter the situation, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. It makes me happy, surrounds me with joy and satisfaction, and above all tastes delicious.

The most scrumptious exquisite delicacy known to mankind… Chocolate.

For those of you who know me well, this is going to be quite a difficult task. From the girl who banned herself from buying share packs because the word share was not considered, keep following me this month to see how my efforts turn out and perhaps place bets on whether or not I will make it to the end.

All funds going to a good cause :) 

A selfless good deed

For those of you who have grown up watching 'Friends' you may be familiar with the episode where Phoebe tries to prove wrong Joey's comment - "there is no such thing as a selfless good deed". This particular episode dawned on me today when I delved into the nature of my decision to sponsor a fourth child.

I remember my first engagement with the opportunity to sponsor a child. I was only 16 and was approached by a sales representative for World Vision. I remember having the lady present to me a range of bright orange cardboard description cards, each with photos of children in need of a sponsor. To this day I'm not entirely sure whether I decided to sign up out of my own free will or whether it was an obligation deriving from my naivety at the time. I did know however that when I saw that photo of Cavin a part inside of me felt like I wanted to help her, and that i did.

The help that I provided almost felt invisible at times. It's not like the help you give your child when they are ill, or the help you give your close friend when they are in need. It's a help that you can rarely, if ever, grasp as you are so far from the cause. I wrote to Cavin a few times in the beginning but then as time went by and my life began to fill with friends and work and responsibilities, each day moulding into the next, my sponsorship just became one of lives little intricacies. The donations became just another calculation being deducted from my bank account like the phone bills or the loan repayments. They joined the cycle of money-in-money out that became the basis of my working life. Little did it occur to me that somewhere I was changing people's lives. 

A few years later I decided to sponsor another child from Haiti. This time I did do it out of my own good will. I was earning more money at the time and I wanted to give something back. But after a while the same similar pattern occurred. I was now changing two children's lives, and evidently two communities lives, yet I went about my day to day life like there was no difference. 

As I grew older I began to realise that's the thing about life, and being a working class citizen. Time just passes you by. You get caught up in the hustle and bustle and somewhere in the midst of all this you forget to give a little back.

This is why I appreciate the opportunity to be involved in child sponsorship. It is a humble and simple type of giving. It provides someone with the chance of a better life and gives them opportunity that they may have not once had. To me, giving someone this opportunity is what makes it so special.

We don't all have the option of being doctors or leaving our lives to travel to third world countries to open up an orphanage, there are people that do that for us. For many of us, the most impartial form of giving is through donation or sponsorship and although I may not have much contact with my sponsored children, I know that I am making a difference somewhere worlds away. 

I don't sponsor to make myself feel good, I don't sponsor to make myself look good to others. It isn't something that I often bring up in conversation or boast about. I do it because I believe that everyone deserves the right to happiness and the chance to smile. I can listen to opinions about where my money goes and which charity CEO gets paid the most amount of money, but at the end of the day no matter what anyone says, if I feel I have the opportunity to do something good then I will embrace it. Sometimes you feel you want to do something good for someone but feel as though there is nothing you can offer. Well let me tell you, that feeling of wanting to do something good for someone, that's compassion, and that is one of the greatest gifts of all.

Now, 10 years on, I'm packing my bags to Africa to visit Cavin & the community that I have so drastically changed the lives of. I'm so eagerly looking forward to finally getting a glimpse of my selfless good deed that has been so close to my heart and yet so far from my world for all these years.