March 2011 Trip Update 1

What a great way to start the journey. The Work for Life team had the opportunity to escort two African Children’s Choir kids back to Uganda after 18 months of touring in the US. What amazing kids! This gave the team the opportunity to see how the Choir experience has shaped their lives to help them become future leaders of Africa. One of the boys accomplished his goal of not sleeping on the entire 24 hour trip home. Needless to say, the plane right was quite an adventure.

The Work for Life team spent the weekend getting indoctrinated into African culture. On Saturday morning the team went to visit an orphanage called Cherish Uganda which takes care of children with AIDS. Cherish is building a unique model to be less reliant on donations by implementing sustainability measures such as capturing rainwater, using solar panels for electricity, growing crops and raising livestock to feed the children. The team was blown away by Cherish’s approach and moved by the beautiful children who are living great lives as a result of the love and care provided by the folks at Cherish.

Saturday afternoon was spent visiting young kids at Music for Life’s training center to learn about the backgrounds of the people who ultimately end up as Work for Life entrepreneurs. These kids are one month into their training. The transformation process is incredible.

Sunday was amazing. The team went to a children’s church in a slum in Kampala. It was inspiring to see so many bright-eyed kids singing there heart out. Several of the team members had an opportunity to teach bible lessons to kids in different age groups. After church, the kids were given hard-boiled eggs and warm rice drinks to fill their tummies. You’ve never seen kids look more satisfied. After church, the team was taken for a home visit to one of the kid’s homes in the slum. This gave everyone a real-world perspective on a life of poverty in an African slum.

After the slum visit, the team took off for a small village about 1 hour from Kampala. They were escorted by, Ema, a former member of the African Children’s Choir to visit her family. It was like stepping into a National Geographic photo shoot. Ema’s mother and sisters cooked a traditional African meal for the team and piled it high on their plates. After lunch, the team walked to African Outreach Academy to see a primary school with over700 kids that are supported by Music for Life. Some of the candidates for Work for Life’s business training and loan program attended this school when they were younger thanks to Music for Life’s sponsorship program.

After a long-journey back, the team put the finishing touches on the training program they will deliver on Monday.