My Daughter and I decided to do volunteer work in Uganda and after doing some research we chose to contact IFRE Volunteers. We worked with both Jessica and Bharat D. who were very helpful in setting up our program and getting us exactly what wanted in terms of our volunteer requests.
Once we arrived at the Entebbe airport in Uganda, we were greeted exactly as expected by a couple of people holding signs with our names on them. They were very friendly and made our transition from America to Africa very easy. It turned out that Charles (who is Herman’s Brother, and works with Herman to help run the Volunteer house for IFRE) was who greeted us at the Airport and remained one of our main guides during our entire stay. We arrived at the Volunteer house late that night but were greeted by Herman and his Wife, Ann. Herman runs the Volunteer program in Uganda for IFRE with the help of his Wife Ann and his Brothers Charles and Richard.
After getting acclimated to the house and our rooms, we went to sleep.
The next morning was Sunday, so we were able to spend the day meeting everyone, eating some traditional meals and learning about what was in store for us. We quickly learned that while Herman had a plan in mind, he was very flexible and that we had many options on where we could spend our time while in Uganda.
The Volunteer house was very comfortable with electricity, running water, a refrigerator, a common “living room†with a TV and two western style bathrooms. The bedrooms had bunk-beds and were roomy enough.
We choose to participate in the Cultural Immersion program for the first week and we were not disappointed. We started off with lessons in the Luganda language and Ugandan history with Richard, which he made fun and interesting. We went to a Cultural dance performance with Charles, where the dance troop demonstrated many of the regional dances. This was an exciting and entertaining evening and they served several different cultural foods as well.
We were able to do and see many things during our immersion week, including standing on the Equator, visiting the Uganda Museum, the Bahá’à temple, the Botanical Gardens and the Zoo, which I believe really enhanced the rest of our stay because we had a deeper understanding of the Ugandan people and their history.
We were also able to visit some of the Schools (like Tega) and Orphanages (Like Sanyu Babies' Home, which is the oldest babies' home in Uganda) so that we could get a feel for what was available and where we could spend our time while in Uganda.
On Monday we started our actual volunteer work by visiting an Orphanage run by a Woman named Josephine. What an amazing experience. What Josephine and her Family do for these kids is hard to describe. The amount of sacrifice and hard work they put in made me feel proud to have met them and happy that I was able to pitch in even if only a little bit.
Our weeks were spent visiting different places and trying to spread out and help in as many ways as possible. We brought supplies for the schools, helped teach English, played with, fed and changed baby’s diapers, went out on home visits where we met and spoke to parents to introduce them to the schools which helped them feel comfortable so that they would consider sending their children.
But the thing that stands out to me the most was just playing and bonding with these kids. They are amazing people with such a big spirit and the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen.
I am really glad I had the opportunity to volunteer in Uganda. I couldn’t be happier with the IFRE Organization or the Volunteer facility where we stayed.
I also want to thank Herman and his Family for making it such a memorable experience. Without Herman (and his Wife Ann), Charles and Richard, this trip would not have been such a wonderful experience.
Stuart Hudes
Medford, NJ USA
