Playing the Photographer

A Book Everyone Should Read

My Favorite Kid from My Trip in 2009

The World is Your Oyster

 Sometimes I feel as though life is pulling me in several different directions all at once. I am currently applying for my masters program at Kings College in London for 2011-2012. I have also started researching U.S. law schools that offer clinics on international law and international human rights law. I am currently working with street children and will continue to do so for the next three months. And I already have a possible job offer starting a womens human rights campaign as a coordinated effort with several organizations for after my current employment term is over. This position would be for a year though, which would mean deferring my acceptance to my masters program for a year or skipping it altogether. I sit and sit and sit, fretting over each option, not knowing which one is the best one for my career or the best one for my own personal sanity (living here for another eighteen months sans mexican food, sushi, diet cokes and good ol' American cheeseburgers is something out of a nightmare). And then out of the blue someone says the right thing, the "your still 22. stop freaking out. you have another forty years to be a responsible adult with 9-to-5 job."

The Girl Effect

You Want Another Rap? No Sevo!

Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni has recently taken to rapping as part of his electoral campaign. His rap was nominated for Uganda's Music Award's "Single of the Year." He may be the first acting president to simultaneously launch a music career. I give you Museveni's rap for your entertainment:

From the Streets to the Football Field

First, let me apologize for my extended absence in the blogging world. What with the holidays, extended power outages and the recent arrival of the Australian foundations team, I have found myself extremely busy! In the next couple of days I hope to get my blog up to date!

Yesterday we co-hosted a large football match between two teams, made up almost entirely of street children. Forty or fifty street children engaging in any type of competitive game may sound intimidating, with pictures of brawls and shanks being pulled having crossed my mind. And yet the whole affair was incredibly organized; all on the up and up, so to speak!

Our kids have been participating in physical training every morning and football practice and scrimmages every evening. With all that buildup, needless to say they were more than excited! A few hours before the match, our home transformed into a hub of activity, with street children eating a much-needed meal of potatoes and fresh peas, injured ankles being wrapped and all the kids chattering incessantly about who would score the most goals, who would be the goalie and what their chances were of winning. The atmosphere in the room could be only described as electric. As a surprise, Rosie (the founder of Foundations) had purchased jerseys for the whole team. It is amazing how matching red shirts can transform a ragtag group of kids into a cohesive and visually commanding football team!

Our team won a tough game, one to nil. Afterwards, both teams sat in one big huddle and listened as the coach of each team gave a sermon on discipline, good behavior and continued hope. The whole game went off without a hitch and it seems as though we will have many more in the future. Thus are the beginnings of a street kid football league.