Uganda 2012

This summer I am going back to Uganda to lead nearly 60 volunteers to work towards empowering impoverished communities in Uganda through education. The teams I am leading will be working at St. James Primary School in Waikiso, Uganda and Awach Secondary School in Gulu, Uganda. At. St. James (shown in the video above) we will be establishing a project for the longterm sustainability of the school. We will be constructing a uniform making business which will subsidize the cost of uniforms for students at the school, create a vocational class that will equip students with skills for after their education ends, as well as create an income for the school by making uniforms for students of surrounding schools. At Awach Secondary School we will be doing our very first projects at a school which recently restarted after the ending of a 20 year civil war. Right now students and teachers are requesting safe play space for kids to have a place to burn of the energy and anxiety that many face post-war. So we are building the soccer field of their dreams. A place where they themselves can forget what has happened around them and be kids as well as a place that they can be proud to represent their community as they host other schools for matches.  

Your support is essential in allowing us to continue to do our great work at low cost to the organization so we can use every bit of money we receive for our projects, which is why I fundraise year after year. Year after year, people like yourself make this possible. By supporting me you are supporting our volunteers, each life that they make a relationship with and in turn the hope we bring to our communities. It\'s that hope which allows them to change their own worlds. But, it all starts here.

So as I did 4 years ago upon graduating high school and making my first trip to serve in Uganda I will be attempting to ride for your support. I will be co-leading a 100 mile fundraising bike ride from Milwaukee to Chicago. Think about the amount that you\'d like to pledge per mile multiply it by the total distance (100) and there is your donation. While I will be fundraising to send myself as a leader, other riders will be fundraising money for the projects we will be doing. Check us out at http://bikes4bookschi.tumblr.com/

Whether you are able to donate or not, please stay updated with all of our teams during our trips from June 11th-August 1st on our blog at pangeaeducation.wordpress.com

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Stay up with me on my own personal blog at drewedwards.tumblr.com

Thank you for making a difference in my life, the volunteers I will be leading, and the communities we will be serving.