Back to Uganda! Andrea is going to Uganda again and will take about a dozen quilts to Patrick's orphanage and safe house. She goes there with the Uganda Project, which is the same organization Pavel volunteered for a month, and took our quilts in May. Patrick WAS one of their students and now he runs the two orphanages. If you would like to help Andrea with this trip, please read this letter she wrote, hoping to receive support from those who have sponsored her before. We totally trust Andrea in her efforts and my family will again sponsor her. Thank you, Jan

Dear friends, family, clients, and all-around-excellent folk...
I'm going back to Uganda.

You made it possible for me to travel to Uganda last December so I could continue my volunteer work with Uganda Project (UP). Your generosity also supported the life-changing journeys of two students, Pavel Reppo and Shawndell Mosley. Here are some facts about the impact of your support:
In January, we provided a local orphanage run by one of our former students with mattresses for all their children and enough food to feed their community for a month.
We paid tuition and housing fees for the seven secondary school students that UP supports.
I visited Kisenyi, the largest slum in Kampala, and was able to witness the terrible effects of poverty and addiction on a community of orphaned, homeless boys. We brought food and administered first aid, and I photographed our experience.
In May, UP volunteer Pavel Reppo returned to Uganda to volunteer for a month at Patrick's orphanage. He was instrumental in securing a twenty thousand dollar grant for the orphanage, which was used to buy a plot of land on which to build a larger orphanage and safe house for slum children. He also delivered 103 handmade quilts which were made with love and care by quilters from all over the world!
In June, I finished "Slum Story," a live performance poem and photo essay chronicling my experience in Kisenyi. I performed it for 150 K-12 teachers during a keynote speech at the Arts Leadership Institute at the University of Northern Colorado, asking them to consider the impact that slam poetry can have to ignite critical thought and turn it into critical action.
Now, it is time to return to Uganda to continue the next phase of our work. Four Uganda Project students are about to become freshmen in college, and in just two weeks we leave to furnish Edith, Joan, Kenny, and Christopher with school supplies, tuition, and our love and support as they embark on this exciting academic adventure! And guess what? You can help.

As a member of Uganda Project, I am helping to raise $10,000 to cover tuition expenses for these four students. Your support will allow me to return to Uganda as a volunteer, where I can help empower the next generation of African leaders.

DONATE HERE:
https://www.wepay.com/donations/1...

And finally, I have created a video of Slum Story, the performance poem and photo essay I created after visiting Kisenyi. If you can spare 13 minutes, I invite you to watch it and learn a little bit more about life in one of the world's largest slums. I met children addicted to drugs and alcohol, boys whose toes had been cut off by animal traps designed to keep people from going through trash, and girls who sold their bodies for the equivalent of a quarter. I was profoundly impacted by the experience, and it challenged all of my ideas about aid work and activism. Uganda faces some of the world's worst challenges associated with extreme poverty, and our Uganda Project students are working hard to become leaders capable of facing these challenges.

Thank you so much for investing in the brilliance, resilience, and courage of the Uganda Project students. As their advocate, I promise to continue my work to foster community and goodwill both here and abroad. I will always do my best to be an excellent steward of your support!

With humble gratitude,

Andrea Moore
http://andreamoorearts.com

Photographs from my last trip:
http://www.andreamoorearts.com/tr...