Hi Friends and Family,
As many of you know, I am leaving today on my trip to Uganda, Africa. I am traveling with Dr. Norberto Benitez and Father Lawrence Mulinda. We will be traveling to Fr. Lawrence's home village of Kayenje to check on the construction of a new convent. Dr. Benitez has been traveling to Kayenje for about 7 years and through his charity, MIMA Foundation, he and Fr. Lawrence have been making a huge difference in the lives of the villagers. From water wells, to rebuilt church and school, daily hot lunch program for over 500 students, to a microloan program for entrepreneurs, the MIMA Foundation has been busy.
In preparation for the trip, I had been racking my brain and researching the internet to come up with something of value that I could bring to the villagers, some skill or knowledge that I could teach them. I offered Fr. Lawrence some of my ideas and he smiled and told me this: "Sean, this is your first trip to Africa. You do not need to teach them, let them teach you." And a big weight was lifted from my shoulders.
However, I did come up with an idea. Cell phones are cheap and popular, but there is no electricity in the village, so people have to pay someone to take a group of phones into town 10 miles away and pay to have the cell phones charged. So, I have put together a solar panel charging system for cell phones that I will be able to give to the school. The school will then be able to charge to charge and can use the money for the school. "Teach them to fish"
I am moved by the commitment of Dr. Benitez and Fr. Lawrence and would like to help them continue their work. I have set a goal to raise $5,000 for MIMA, please check out the website, watch the video, and if you are able, please consider donating either through the website or by mailing a check made payable to MIMA Foundation and mailed to me at:
310 Pablo Rd.
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
MIMA Uganda's awesome website:
http://www.themimafoundation.org/africahomepage.html
Also, I will be sending out updates from the trip through a blog. If you would like to get the updates with pics from the trip, please check out:
The last time I asked for Money was for the 26.2 with Donna Breast Cancer run and I asked "TO FEEL THE LOVE"
Now, I am asking you to help me "SPREAD THE LOVE"
Thank you in advance for your generosity,
Sean
Sean I assume you are getting out as much as you are putting in while visiting Uganda!! I have just visited your site (Monday the 14th) and loved the photo of the three adults, one child (and a chicken) on the motorcycle. That one definitely goes to National Geographic!! Keep the blogs coming, I will follow you home, Rich
ReplyDeleteHi Sean, so this is kind of random but I came across this while searching for information on Father Lawrence. My name is Monica Fleming and I grew up in St. Paul's parish while Father Lawrence was there. I'm currently in Uganda as well, as part of an internship through Bright Kids Uganda in Entebbe. I would love to meet up with all of you if possible. I tried looking up how far the village of Kayenje is from Entebbe but it was a little difficult to find. Maybe you know how far away it is from flying into the Entebbe airport possibly? I don't know how long you are here for, but I'll be here till the beginning of July. I would love to set something up if it isn't too difficult. My email is mkf10c@my.fsu.edu. Thanks! Look forward to hearing from you!
ReplyDelete