Happy Thanksgiving :)

Dear Union College and Greater Schenectady Community,

Over the past four months we have had the privilege of volunteering in a a rural African Village out of a small Uganda based health clinic. The village we are working in is called Ddegeya (Deh-gay-ya) and the NGO is Engeye Health, which was started by an Albany Medical School student three years ago. Uganda is an East African nation straddling the equator, bordering Lake Victoria, and is about the size of Oregon State. The village is typical of this region - no power, banana plantations on top of banana plantations, women strapping children to their back with a piece of fabric, villagers toiling in the fields, women carrying 45 pounds of water on their heads, and children in bright blue school uniforms fetching water at dawn and firewood at dusk before and after classes.

Within the picturesque village and behind the ever-present Ugandan smile is a country facing severe obstacles. AIDS has struck nearly all the families we are acquainted with; malaria pours through the village as easy as the October rains; malnutrition is typical as the families (70 percent of the people here are subsistence farmers) survive on the same unvaried staples everyday; climate change may convert 80 percent of Uganda to desert even though gasoline is $6 per gallon and very few people own cars; compounding these problems, families are large (typically six or more) and population is growing exponentially even though many struggle on the little land they have.

We have tried to address some of these problems, little by little: we planted a vegetable garden and a field of peanuts to alleviate kwashiokor, a type of malnutrition; we teach and review with students at a local primary school; we work with kids who are too young or cannot afford school fees so that they get positive, educational interaction in their formative years (reading, writing, singing, arts and creative activities, and basic solving problem skills); we tutor kids on an individual basis; we help repair the road; we do various tasks around the clinic (fetching water, inventory, statistics, etc.); and we try to convey what we observe, experience, and think to all of you back home, which helps link two disparate communities. We are about to embark on our next project - distributing protein and income generating chickens to local families who will then pass on chickens to two more families (who will then pass on chickens to two more families and so on, ideally making the project sustainable). [This idea was suggested by Union's own Megan Sesil and independently by Stephen's mother].

We feel extraordinarily lucky to be able to help on such a local level, to be able to see before our very eyes the impact of our work. But we realize that, in many ways, we are messengers from home. We take the books you send and help a child to read, we take the physics experiments and help a curious mind understand the world around them, we use the vitamins to help kids grow big and strong, we use the funds to innovate and create projects that assess village needs and help the village grow sustainably, we hear your encouragement and read your ideas and enthusiastically incorporate it into the seeds we sow, the students we teach, and the community we interact with.

For all this we thank you. We signed up to work here - it is our job, our "nine to five," our passion, our obsession. You all work - and work hard - at Union as students up until the "light show" in Schaffer, as faculty, administration, and staff catering to these inquisitive students, and in Schenectady as everyday people making up the fabric of an extraordinary city. But then you work more to help a people you've never met. Many of you we do not know (but would like to meet) as you've dutifully sat at tables in Reamer, discussed our blogs in Preceptorial classes or over coffee in Minervas, attended benefit concerts or benefit (organic) dinners, donated a book, a dollar, or an idea - your dollar, interest, and encouragement goes so far in a country lacking so much. We can guarantee you that.

Some at Union deserve special note. Megan Sesil and Professor Pease have selflessly donated their time and effort to this cause, our (collective) cause, raising awareness, sending ideas and updates, raising money, collecting donations, and packaging and sending much needed supplies. Megan has worked with Wells House, Ozone House, and WRUC (among others) to bring awareness to Ddegeya, Uganda and Engeye Health. Professor Pease has incorporated insights from Ddegeya into her preceptorial class, blending intellect with service and action. Catherine Davis, Devin Harrison, and WRUC worked with and brought six incredible, local bands to the stage in a Uganda benefit concert. Our interview with her reminded us that people here, buried in hills and tucked between banana plants and mud walls, are not alone. We are not alone. Catholic Student Association and Schaffer Library made helpful donations of money and supplies. Both our families have sent kind and timely donations for children. Teresa Sesil worked with Megan to set up a pen pal program that educated students in Yonkers, New York and Ddegeya, Uganda about varying cultures first hand (kids in both schools have really enjoyed corresponding). Lastly, our boss, John Kalule, makes everything we do possible, Dean McEvoy and Professor Fried dreamed of, pursued, and achieved a challenging fellowship program that is helping so many (in Cambodia, India, Malawi, South Africa, and Uganda), and Stephanie Van Dyke had the determination to see through the Engeye vision - without these people, we would simply not be here.

In short, we thank you all for letting us be the couriers of your goodwill. We couldn't possibly list all the people helping us address educational inequality, malnutrition, and health problems, but please know that we think about you everyday and appreciate your contributions.

Peace,

Becky Broadwin and Stephen Po-Chedley