The August Review

August has been a month of return and preparation. Our students arrive on Tuesday and I know the pace of life will change when that happens. I always appreciate this month as a time of being back in Uganda, starting up work again and looking ahead. I thought I would share a few things I have done in the past weeks before starting a busier season.

One of the highlights of August has been meeting baby Rejoice and seeing her parents, Jemimah and Robert. They are one of our host families and a very dear family. Their marriage is amazing and the support and care they give the students is always so positive. They were blessed with a daughter in June and I loved meeting her! I got to hold her, talk with them about their new roles as parents and enjoy some fresh pineapple at their humble home. Below I am posing with the family outside their home and shop.

Last week the USP staff had a day in Jinja planned by our new interns. This was a time to practice some of the travel skills they will be using over the coming year and a time to hang out as a staff before students arrive. We had a day of activities in Jinja town and at Kingfisher Resort. One of the activities Rachel led was an art time for all of us and the results were colorful and beautiful. Here we are working on our group art project:

Here are Jordan and Julie with our almost finished product. Vincent is looking on (or maybe supervising?).

One thing I have been preparing for work-wise is setting up practicum sites for our students. Our students work at sites in the community for 40, 150 or 400 hours for the semester- may write more about this later as it has become a major part of my job! One of the things I did to prepare was have a lunch for all the site supervisors. We had a good turnout where they shared about their work and how our students fit in to that. This is a picture of part of the lunch table.

Hopefully this gives you some idea of my past month. Right now campus is very quiet because it is the few weeks between terms but soon things will be getting more lively!