35 hours of travel. (Pre-Arrival)

My hands are shaking as I write this… No, it’s not due to nerves or the fact that I’m going to be living in Uganda for seven weeks. It’s because the flight to Doha, our layover destination, is experiencing a lot of turbulence. Many of you are probably wondering how I came upon being on a 35 hours long travel to Uganda. And, so the story begins…

About a year ago, I decided to accept my acceptance as a transfer student to UCLA. This decision didn’t come so easy to me. I thought I had already made a firm decision on going to a school in Central California. After hours of comparing schools, surfing the web, and writing a list of pros and cons, I had made a decision. I knew the opportunities at UCLA would be endless.

I was so right.

I joined GlobeMed during my first quarter at UCLA. I had done some research on this non profit organization prior to arriving on campus. It was perfect. The organization is student led, works with a partner organization, deals with global health issues, incorporates sustainability, and has a WASH project. The project entails working on water access, sanitation, and hygiene. WASH is a collaboration between GlobeMed and Mpoma Community HIV/AID Initiative.

Now, this journey I am about to entail on will consist of living in Uganda in the town of Mukono. The initial response I usually receive is the mouth drop and widen eyeballs followed by an “oh my god!” Then, this leads to questions about my concerns over diseases, culture shock, and so on. Initially, I felt the same way, but with the overpowering feeling of excitement. I will be working on the project with three other interns.

A big part of our approach in our project is sustainability. We work on a 3:2:1 model. Explaining this ratio further, we match each water source funded by GlobeMed three times the first year, two times the second year, and one time the third year. These matchings are based on the Water User Committees funds collected from the villages or users of the water source. The committees essentially oversee the use of the water source. Currently, we have eight water sources in seven villages. In the end, we hope to motivate our partner to create a savings account for these funds, so if their water source breaks in the future, they will have the proper funding to fix their source. A key goal for GlobeMed for the Mpoma community is to create progress and life long skills in the community’s development.

Well, that’s a quick overview on the project. I have a good solid hour left on the plane. I’m not sure if my hands are still shaking from the turbulence or if it’s really starting to hit me that I’m halfway there…