Faces of the Festival

What a week! I have to admit, this has been the most incredible week in Uganda so far. In case you didn't see my excited tweets and posts over the past month, this past week has been Soccer Without Borders Uganda's Third Annual Youth Festival. The SWB staff have been planning this HUGE event for over two months, and it was so amazing to see it all put in place. I could sit here all day and talk about what we did each day, but I'd rather just leave you with a few pictures. One thing I did notice this week was that our participants were happier than I've EVER seen them. I knew they were going to be happy and have a great time, but this was over the top. This was constant hugs, constant smiles, and constant LOVE! I can't count the number of hugs I was given or smiles I have seen this week. The kids were happy to be in their new SWB home, with friends, and with coaches that truly care about them. Our local coaching staff were amazing each day, as were our 5 volunteers from the U.S. God was present this week in more ways than I can count, and despite rain showers, more kids than we thought we could handle, and limited resources, this was a week I will remember forever. So thankful to be a part of SWB and the Third Annual Youth Festival!

Here are a few of my favorite faces of the festival. So many smiles!

New Beginnings

WOW! Big things are happening over here lately. God is really working! I went from almost (key word: almost) giving up on finding a place to teach our classes and run programming, to decorating multiple classrooms, painting walls, putting up pictures, all inside our very own compound! Having a gated compound is SO important for us, not only for the safety of the kids but because of how much our program is growing. I just wanted to write something short and post a few pictures that shows the transformation over the past couple of months. Every single thing about this new place gives our participants a chance to THRIVE even more than before. It gives them a larger, safer, and more inviting environment to learn english and life skills -- something that our kids need more than anything. But most importantly, it gives the SWB family a new place to call home. This is our new home, and it is the beginning of a new era for the education of urban refugees in Kampala. Just because our kids are not in school, doesn't mean they aren't learning. 

This is our old center. A place of big dreams that we slowly but surely outgrew. 3 rooms total, with one larger classroom that isn't pictured:





Here are a couple of pictures of our new place, the first is the front gate with some of our participants:

Two of the classrooms, the second one is English Level 1 which Jill and I teach:

Anyone who I've talked to recently knows how STOKED I am about these new tables. Our kids went
from sitting on benches (many broken) and writing on their laps, to having a solid, sturdy table that lets them feel like they are at a real school! So much thanks goes to the girls and parents of Tophat Soccer in Atlanta for raising money for these tables and whiteboards. God is good!

As I continue to work in this organization and grow as a person, I am seeing first hand each day that sport has the power to change lives. The late African hero, Nelson Mandela, said it best: