To assist the production of a documentary in Uganda and help at Cherish
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About My Campaign
Hey all. I'm excited to have this opportunity to share about a trip I am going on this summer, May 22- June 6. The fact that I get to go on this trip is incredible for multiple reasons.
In situations like these, when one is about to go on a trip or apply for some position/job/internship the question, "What do you hope to learn from this experience?", comes up often. I like this question because it might cause one to have some kind of hopeful vision, it may cause them to be more aware and keep their eyes open wider. I also do not like this question because of the of the nature of God in how he teaches us. These lessons often comes out of the most unexpected experiences, the unpredictable ones, the ones which cause spontaneous judgement and adaptation. Preparing for this trip I pray for growth in the areas I need to grow in. I pray for growth from the experiences I go through during the trip and from the lessons I learn. I pray I do not forget them.
The events that have lead to this opportunity could not have a clearer purpose, whether it be extra available hours at work or the rejection of a summer job, one I consider to be a sort of "dream job", one I worked hard to apply for and thought would be incredible if I had been accepted. I still do not doubt my summer would have been incredible if I had gotten that job, however I have learned since God has a different idea of how I will be spending my time this summer. I have learned to not only be content in the places God has placed me but to be excited, excited because what God has for me is going to be infinitely better than anything I could plan or strive for on my own.
I'm excited for this trip. I get to travel to a country I have never been to before. A country I may live in one day. I currently am an English major with a teaching discipline in secondary education. I hope to teach higher level English one day in a country that needs this kind of English teacher. This country could very well be Uganda. The opportunity to travel there and learn about the country, not to mention hang out with kids, is unreal.
Another blessing. We are hanging out with kids and teaching them about creativity. Creativity is a major focus of the entire trip. This focus is derived from Meraki, a company founded by the organizer of this trip, Kasey Givens (check out her page here, http://fundly.com/kasey-goes-to-uganda). Meraki is, in Kasey's words,
"Meraki creative is a developing social business that hopes to encourage creativity by empowering "creatives" for a greater cause.
Essentially we will be a website where creative people can be empowered through promotion. Our "partnered creatives" will have "profiles" featured on our site. With a partnership the creative pledges to give a portion of their profits (we work with each creative to set up minimums and work with numbers) to meraki creative. You can look at this contribution as a monthly fee that the creative is paying for us to market them, feature them, etc.
The profits earned are split into 40% and 60%. Our business keeps 40% to pay for business operations and salaries. The other 60% goes to getting kids in Uganda materials and resources to be creative themselves. We are officially partnered with Cherish Uganda; a children’s village that houses healthy, prospering kids that are all HIV positive. Our goal is to help empower creatives here by promoting their services, and then use that success to then empower kids in Uganda be creative themselves.
In short, we have a deep love for creativity. We could talk for hours about the reasons behind what we are doing and what we believe in; but to simplify it we just want to encourage creativity."
So on the trip I will be assisting an RTF student, Chad Werner (http://fundly.com/merakicreative-uganda) in filming a documentary about the kids at Cherish Uganda, the village where these kids live. We want to teach them about God's gift of creativity in all of us and what that means. I will also be participating in other aspects of the trip in helping out at Cherish and teaching the kids about different forms of creativity (ie Music, Painting, Photography, etc.).
Cherish Uganda is a children’s village north of Entebbe, Uganda where will be working. Cherish Uganda houses 48 children on-site, all of which have HIV. Cherish Uganda is determined to change the stigma of people with HIV in Uganda by empowering these kids. Cherish is already doing a wonderful job of taking care of the kids. By giving them love, whole meals based on organic diets, and giving them their medicine, these children improve in health and well-being at Cherish. On-site there is also a school that Cherish runs, called the Hope Academy that we will work with. There are 207 kids from the surrounding community that are enrolled in Hope Academy.
This is where we are traveling. Unfortunately such trips are expensive. Travel expenses are steep. We also are raising money to pay for teaching supplies and supplies for the kids to express creativity. Please help us out any way you can, by prayer, by talking with us, asking how we are doing or by offering any advice or wisdom, or financially. Any amount is appreciated. A lot of a little adds up.
I will be keeping some kind of journal or maybe blog to keep y'all updated. If you have anymore questions please feel free to call or text me or email me at [email protected]
Check out the facebook page for more information about Meraki and their activity. It is truly an exciting thing to witness and be a part of.www.facebook.com/merakicreatives
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