Hello, my name is Alan Maddock and I am from Dublin, Ireland. I was a volunteer with Children’s Sure House/ Flamart for three months.
Before I came to Uganda I experienced the same fears and doubts that I think a lot of potential volunteers face, which is natural before you go to a place so different from home. Would there be enough electricity? Would there be running water? What would the people be like when I get there? These were some of the questions, which occupied my mind at times. However, when I got to the Children’s Sure House in Bulenga, which is fifteen minutes from the bustling capital Kampala, all of those fears were allayed.
As I arrived, eight or nine smiling faces greeted me, the biggest smile of all coming from Martin, the Children’s Sure House director. When I arrived he stopped what he was doing and brought two chairs into the middle of their pretty little garden and gave one of the most sincere thank you’s I have ever received. He told me how good it made him feel that someone would give up their lives for three months to come and help the poor people of Uganda. I don’t think I have ever felt so humbled and energised at the same time. He also said that I am now part of the family, which I have most certainly been made to feel like. Whether it be by taking meals with them or simply getting phone calls from Flavia to make sure I am ok when she or I am out in town. I have travelled alone here but I am surrounded by some of the warmest and open people I have ever met. A character trait shared by so many Ugandans that I have met on my travels.
There is so much to do here, for example teaching in Kiwangala, HIV/ Aids sensitisation, building houses for the under privileged and elderly to name just a few. The flexibility of Flamart and Children’s Sure House is that you can engage in several different projects within your stay, you are not limited to just one, no matter how long you are here. Another great feature of this NGO is that you can come at any time and stay for as long as you want. You do not have to undergo several months of training in order to do one job. Martin and the team here will show you each project, you can work on them and pick whichever one you feel you are best suited to for the rest of your stay.
In my first few days here I helped to look at ways to improve their website and to come up with ideas on how we can improve things overall, and I must admit it wasn’t an easy task. Look at my office, in the sunshine listening to music and drinking tea. It’s so much easier to work from here than my former job, stuck in an office in Dublin sharing a desk with lots of people who in reality didn’t like their jobs, watching the rain stream by the window, or even worse watch the sunshine outside on a warm summer’s day.
After my first few days in Bulenga, I went to Kiwangala to teach English and to help provide HIV/ Aids sensitisation and counselling. I stayed here for three weeks and had a great time. After that I went to Soroti to help build a school, and then I travelled to Kazinga to help develop an area in which animals and people co habit, a very different experience from what I am used to but very interesting and fulfilling.
The variety of things to do here and the flexibility with which you can do them are only really available with an NGO that is at a very grassroots level. With the Children’s Sure House I really feel that I am making a very positive contribution to the people that need it most, the poorest people of Uganda, who have suffered from war, HIV/ Aids and endemic poverty. Before I left Ireland, I knew I didn’t want to be just another volunteer in a crowded system. I wanted to be hands on and try to help the people that needed it most. Children’s Sure House will put you in the places that need your help and will empower you to do so.
As well as the volunteering, Children’s Sure House want to make sure that you have fun and see more of Uganda. Trips are arranged to Lake Mburo, Murchison and Queen Elizabeth national parks, you are brought here for free by Children’s Sure House and all you only have to pay the government park entry fees. Other activities such as white water rafting, bungee jumping and quad biking can be arranged.
The camp in Bulenga is custom made for volunteers. I have my own house (see the picture below) which has electricity and a shower. Before I left I had wondered
whether I should bring my laptop and I pod for fear of having nowhere to charge them, there are plenty of electrical sockets here. I am also very well fed and looked after as if I was a member of the family.
To those who are thinking of volunteering in Uganda, I would say come to Uganda, don’t let those fears that you might have put you off what could be one of the best experiences of your life. You will be well looked after and whether you are a voluntourist or a longer-term aid volunteer you will have an amazing experience.