Uganda Summer Mission Trip

Hi there! My name is Makenzie, and I am a Junior at Saint Mary's College pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing with minors in Religious Studies and Biology.

This summer, I have the incredible opportunity to spend seven weeks serving the people of Kirinda, Uganda by working in the Kyambogo Holy Cross Health Center. Here I will provide outpatient, maternity, and postnatal care as well as HIV testing and counseling, malaria treatment, vaccinations, and home-based care to the members of the community. When I'm not working in the health center, four other Saint Mary's students (three education majors and one other nursing major) and I will be living with the Sisters of the Holy Cross in Kyarusozi. Here we will be lucky enough to engage with the Sisters by going to Mass, cooking, playing games, cleaning, sharing meals, and praying together. I will enter in to the community of Kyarusozi, play with the neighborhood children, and serve in any way I can!

I am passionate about serving those around me and growing in knowledge, and I am so excited to have found a career that unites the two so wonderfully! This position will allow me to increase my leadership abilities, enhance my communication skills cross-culturally, and develop better nursing skills in a unique environment. It is my hope that this experience will also allow me to further discern and anticipate what my career could be like in the future. After graduation, I hope to care for those in need by working internationally in struggling or impoverished countries, joining the military, or one day becoming an oncology nurse to treat patients like my older brother (who is now a Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivor).

Since my senior year of high school, I have been dreaming of this opportunity and am so excited to finally see it through! I remember when I first read about this program so vividly. I was sitting in Olive Garden with my family and kept annoying everyone the entire dinner by constantly reading aloud little sections of the study abroad websites summary. Needless to say, when this trip was canceled earlier last semester due to Covid, I was devastated. Now that the trip is back on, I am SO excited but quite overwhelmed by the price of the program. The process has been moved up rapidly, and my peers and I don't have time to prepare as we had hoped financially.

So, please consider donating to my Uganda fund and helping me explore my vocation of service to others in such an amazing way! Any donations or prayers mean the world to me, and I can't express how thankful I am in advance for your kindness and generosity!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time!

Please pray for me and my experience in Africa :)

Webale, (Thank you in Rutooro)

Makenzie Deane