Lehigh in Uganda: 2020 (COVID-19)
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Lehigh University has partnered with non-profit organization PDI (Pathways Development Initiative), over the past nine years. Led by Dr. Kelly Austin, students from Lehigh University have been able to engage in numerous internships and research opportunities in the rural Bududa District of Uganda. This summer, six Lehigh students were planning to travel to Bududa and work with PDI. Due to COVID-19 and safety reasons, the trip was unfortunately cancelled. The founders of PDI, the Zaale family, work tirelessly everyday to empower the youth of Bududa and create a community that practices and encourages a more sustainable way of life. Although we are unable to physically be there with the Zaale family and PDI this summer, we would like to extend our greatest support through this GoFundMe.
PDI is a local organization founded and run by David Zaale, whose family has also served as the host family for Lehigh students during the past nine years.
The Bududa district struggles with many challenges including:
A weak education system with 71% of children not making it past the 7th grade, high numbers of households living below the poverty line, and frequent landslides that have caused over 1,000 deaths since 2010 with over 20,000 people displaced. The mission of PDI is “...to work with communities, individuals and families to build sustainable livelihoods and invest in education as a means of fighting extreme poverty and transforming their lives.”
With this vision in mind, PDI has graciously allowed Lehigh University and its students to also partake in their mission.
PDI is comprised of mainly three branches: Education Center, Sports Clinic, and Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs). The Education Center provides otherwise extremely vulnerable students with the opportunity to succeed in the government education system. This pre-primary program opened in 2012, which enrolls students aged four to six for early childhood education from 8am-12pm, providing each student with a daily meal. The Sports Clinic aims to bring organized sports to youth in the Bududa district and is working towards a model that includes athletic training as well as education on public health, environmental conservation, healthy social behaviors, and educational goal planning. Lastly, VSLAs provide financial assistance to community members by lending out small business loans, encouraging people to expand their financial knowledge, and facilitating use this knowledge to redefine their economic standing.
PDI has an extremely important role in empowering the communities of rural Uganda, and we (Lehigh students) are so grateful to have this opportunity to serve the community alongside the incredible Zaale family.
All donations will go towards the listed 3 branches of PDI, whether that be in the form of school supplies, teachers' salaries, travel expenses/materials for the Sports Clinic, etc.
Please consider partnering with PDI in their mission.
Thank you!
pdiuganda.org
PDI is a local organization founded and run by David Zaale, whose family has also served as the host family for Lehigh students during the past nine years.
The Bududa district struggles with many challenges including:
A weak education system with 71% of children not making it past the 7th grade, high numbers of households living below the poverty line, and frequent landslides that have caused over 1,000 deaths since 2010 with over 20,000 people displaced. The mission of PDI is “...to work with communities, individuals and families to build sustainable livelihoods and invest in education as a means of fighting extreme poverty and transforming their lives.”
With this vision in mind, PDI has graciously allowed Lehigh University and its students to also partake in their mission.
PDI is comprised of mainly three branches: Education Center, Sports Clinic, and Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs). The Education Center provides otherwise extremely vulnerable students with the opportunity to succeed in the government education system. This pre-primary program opened in 2012, which enrolls students aged four to six for early childhood education from 8am-12pm, providing each student with a daily meal. The Sports Clinic aims to bring organized sports to youth in the Bududa district and is working towards a model that includes athletic training as well as education on public health, environmental conservation, healthy social behaviors, and educational goal planning. Lastly, VSLAs provide financial assistance to community members by lending out small business loans, encouraging people to expand their financial knowledge, and facilitating use this knowledge to redefine their economic standing.
PDI has an extremely important role in empowering the communities of rural Uganda, and we (Lehigh students) are so grateful to have this opportunity to serve the community alongside the incredible Zaale family.
All donations will go towards the listed 3 branches of PDI, whether that be in the form of school supplies, teachers' salaries, travel expenses/materials for the Sports Clinic, etc.
Please consider partnering with PDI in their mission.
Thank you!
pdiuganda.org
Co-organizers (3)
Chae-Eun Kim
Organizer
San Jose, CA
Kendall O’Farrell
Co-organizer
Willo Munson
Co-organizer