Kiwoko Coordinating Center Library Project

This is a picture of the building that I do work in. It is called the Kiwoko Coordinating Center and it is connected to my office. This building is supposed to be utilized as a resource of information by the educators and children in my community. I know! It looks really resourceful doesn't it? Sakaya John (my Ugandan Counterpart) and I are responsible for ensuring that the building is being used for its purposes. One way that we fulfill this responsibility is by inviting teachers to the Coordinating Center to take part in workshops on how to improve their instructional approaches. They also come to the center to gather information and borrow materials that supplement their lesson plans. This is what the building looked like when I arrived in Kiwoko.


Unfortunatley, the building was originally poorly constructed and as a result the floors were falling to pieces. The damage to the floor caused a great deal of dust, which essentially destroyed any resources that were put in the building. The Center was also an unsafe environment for both educators and children alike. After brainstorming a great deal about how we envisioned the building to be utilized by both the children and the teachers, Sakaya and I wrote a grant in order to renovate the building so that we could get started in providing support to our community. This picture is of P.7 girls from Kiwoko Primary School. They are helping me to clean up the newly layed floor.


Once the new floor was put in we were able to start giving the center a much needed face lift. This is Sakaya John learning how to paint. We thought a black chalkboard was a good way for him to learn. He did a lovely job and now wants to paint his own home.



Lucky for me I have great Peace Corps Volunteers as friends who were willing to come and help me paint the center for nothing but a grilled cheese sandwich and a cold beer. (Oh wait! We are Peace Corps Volunteers! There isn't a whole lot we wouldn't do these days for good company, cheese and cold tasty beverages.) It would have taken Sakaya and I ages to complete it on our own. Thanks to a little cooperation we got the whole place painted in a weekend. This is a picture of Cynthia Murray painting the window frames of the center in what I believe could be referred to as a John Deer Green. Today she is taking an unusual break from her responsibilities as a superhero to help a sister out!

Cute Boys!

This is my homestay mother Aisha. She is absolutely adorable! Every time that I visit her she makes me play like ten games of Ludo (basically the Ugandan version of our Sorry). You couldn't pay me under any other circumstances, but I always have a great time and learned my Lugandan numbers at lightning speed. The day that we toured Jinja was the only time during training that the Peace Corps allowed us girls to wear "trousers". When I came out of my room that morning, Aisha looked me up and down and whispered under her breathe. Translated into English I'm willing to bet it would have sounded something along the lines of "I know you are not walking out of my house looking like that young lady".

Everybody loves monkeys! Must give the people what they want. This mamma and her baby were hanging out at the Entebbe Botanical Gardens where we were eating lunch one day in March. These guys are really common place here.

This Chamelion was hanging out changing colors at the teachers college that I do work with. I'm really pleased with the way that it turned out.

As per Aunt Kathy's request, I am sending another picture of Cassim. Now that aunt Kathy is a grandma I think it's best that we do what we can to accommodate her in this crutial milestone in life. I myself am doing all that I can from here in Africa. If this means sending her pictures of cute boys then so be it! I love you aunt kathy!

Illustrations of a life in Africa

Disclaimer: This site is intended to communicate my personal perspectives and opinions. The contents do not represent the position of Peace Corps, United States or Ugandan Governments. Hey everyone! I miss you lots! I wanted to share some of the pictures that I've taken here in Uganda!



I lived with a Ugandan family (Peace Corps refers to them as homestay family) for the first three months in country. Although awkward at first, the experience has rewarded me with life long friends.



This is my four year old homestay brother Osamanne. He is my favorite. When I lived with his family he would spend most of his time sitting on my lap. Sometimes he will sit down next to me and just start chattering away in Luganda. It doesn't seem to occur to him at all that I might not be able to understand him and he expects no response. I guess he just has lots to tell me. He especially enjoys it when I sing him The Itsy Bitsy Spider. They have lots of spiders here in Uganda, so it seems to translate well!


Cassim is my oldest homestay brother. He takes very good care of his family and has become a good friend of mine. Cassim speaks very good English and as a result was able to help me learn the local language. Thanks to him I passed the Luganda language exam with flying colors. I often get compliments from Ugandans on my language skills! YAY Cassim!


As I mentioned before......They have spiders in Uganda. This spider was as big as my head! Okay....Okay....I realize that I have a particularly small head, but when comparing it to a spider! YIKES! I'm really happy with the way this one turned out. Somehow it's impossible to take a picture in this country without it looking very national geographic esque.

If these waterfalls don't convince you to come and visit me here in Uganda, then I don't know what the hell will! This waterfall is called ssezibwe falls and blesses Ugandans with the answers to their questions. Traditionally, Ugandans will throw a goat from the top of the waterfall. If the goat survives the ordeal and is able to get safely out of the pool at the bottom, then the Ugandans question will be answered within a few short days. If the goat dies then that's waterfall code for sorry charlie but your question sucks ass and I don't feel like answering it! Try again!!

My new Peace Corps friends (left Cynthia, right Erin) Cynthia is a biologist from Missouri and is currently living on the island of Kalangala here in Uganda. A few of my fellow volunteers and I went to visit her a few weekends ago and we spent the entire day sitting in hammocks, reading and drinking cold beer with Lake Victoria and white sand for a view. (Peace Corps is really rough!) Erin is a microbiologist from New Hampshire and is currently living in Masaka, which is where the equator lies. The village she lives in is absolutely beautiful as well. Erin and I will be travelling together to the island of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania for Christmas and New Years. We are pretty damn excited!

We had to jump over this army of Safari ants in the Entebbe Botanical Gardens.


This is the trunk of just one of the millions of beautiful trees in Mbiri Rainforest. I don't think our entire group arms locked could have gotten around this trunk. A picture just cannot do it justice. There are lots and lots of rainforests here in Uganda and the rarest mountain gorillas in the world live in this country alone. So come and visit me damnit!!

This is my Peace Corps friend Theresa and I at the source of the Nile River in Jinja. Theresa has a background in health care. These are calm waters of course, but I did actually white water raft in class five rapids on this very river. Awesome experience!

Language pals! I spent a good four to five hours a day with these guys during my ten weeks of Peace Corps training. (Left to right Adrin, me, Theresa, Rustum and Joan). Adrin is not only my best Ugandan friend but also my language trainer. Rus is an astrophysicist from New York. He put up with us girls giggling every five seconds! Theresa above is great! It was so much fun having her in my language group! Similar sense of humor I guess! Joan has an extensive background in leading non-profit organizations in the U.S. She is now back in America and hopefully living in Seattle and working for the Gates Foundation. I miss laughing with you until I had tears streaming down my face Joan! Thanks for the Peanut M&M's!