What a year?!

On June 10^th 2012, I arrived in Nsumba village, Ntenjeru Sub-County, Uganda to work as an intern with the Ugandan based CBO, Volset Foundation. My life changed that summer. I changed emotionally, mentally, and spiritually; but the most meaningful change came with the establishment of my 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Future Diplomats Education Centre Foundation. My mom and I created this foundation to serve the ever-growing needs of the orphaned and vulnerable children at Future Diplomats Education Centre Primary School. Our first goal was to bring a dormitory to the FDEC school campus.

This June, I had the extraordinary opportunity to revisit my Volset family and step inside the nearly completed dormitory. Every few days since that trip, I have reviewed the photos of the Future Diplomats and their future home. It just does not feel real. 

Before and After!

For those of you who followed my blog last summer, this is a photo of the same location I once helped bail out the flooded courtyard over this wall!After the flood, they dug a trench and pushed the wall back a couple feet. Then they built a dorm. :)

For now, the girls have moved from the small storeroom where they previously resided, into the girl’s section of the dorm. There are temporary windows, the walls still need a final coat of paint, and they desperately want more beds (to stop sleeping three to one mattress) but for now, they are thrilled to have a new home-however incomplete it may be!

Nearly finished girl's section

Unfinished boy's section

Upon seeing the girls move into their section of the dorm, the boys put up a very big fight! Their section lacks windows, plaster on the walls, and cement on the floors, so they were not able to move in yet. As a compromise, the Headmaster and Jjajja moved one of the classrooms into the soon-to-be boy’s section so the boys could move their beds to a bigger space until the dorm is completed.

As the end of another term draws nearer, I hope to provide enough donations to bring the boys “home” by the beginning of third term in September.

After seeing the project in person, I was able to re-evaluate our budget and identify how much more funding we need in order to finish. In the effort of transparency, I want to share with you, my friends, family, future, and past donors the remaining cost of the project. I have divided it into Three Phases.

Phase One:

$2,000 needed to complete the construction

Phase Two:

$1,500 needed to complete the furnishing (beds, sheets, & mosquito nets) 

Phase Three:

$1,500 needed to install solar power for the dormitory

In recent weeks, we have collected almost $1500 that will assist us in finishing the construction! When Phase One is complete, the boys will finally move into their section, and I will begin Phase Two to provide each child with his or her own bed, uniform sheets, and mosquito net. 

As Jjajja said in a Facebook post today, "Miracles aren't miracles unless they happen. So is the children's dormitory is a true miracle. Thanks to overseers and dream translators like Nankya. "

If you would like to help us finish this “miracle” project, we encourage you to be a dream translator and:

Mail a check made out to “FDEC Foundation” to

FDEC Foundation

PO Box 65141

Vancouver, WA 98663

Or

Click the Donate button below to make an online donation through PayPal

With love and many thanks for your support,

Nankya Kristen