Karibu Kwenye Uganda! That means "Welcome to Uganda" in Swahili

Created on Saturday, 27 August 2011 22:46

Well I made it! Months of planning, weeks of packing, days in flight and I finally made to the HOCW headquaters located outside the capital city of Kampala. It was a very warm welcome, with friendly faces and hot food! It took me a few days to get used to the 8 hour time difference, the lack of power, no hot water, and then no running water. There was a welcoming party for me last Thursday, and all the students came for the celebrations. There were signs everywhere welcoming me and thanking another volunteer Fiona, who had been here teaching for the last two months. There was one sign that said "We Love Empower Art!"  There were speeches, singing and my favorite, dancing.

We had our first Empower Art women's workshop on Wednesday. The topic was power and empowerment, and there were 26 participants, and 3 translators. Though from different countries, cultures, religions, and language groups the women were able to come together and experience a sense of community and comradery  Whether they spoke in French, English, Swahili, or Lugandan, the message was the same: They all experienced violence, and were looking forward to empowering themselves and working together for peace in their hearts, minds and community.