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My Uganda diary
Wednesday 5th August 2009, 9:38AM BST.
Shropshire student Laurence Whitaker spent five months volunteering to help rebuild Uganda.
The country is still recovering from a civil war, and there are thousands of displaced people who have been released from refugee camps.
Laurence, 18, of Shifnal, worked for the charity Aid Africa, teaching and helping to drill deep bore holes for water.
“It was hugely rewarding,” said Laurence, who will begin a business course at Bath University next month.
“People are returning to villages where they have not lived for 25 years.
“The work of Aid Africa is helping them to survive.”
He added: “As much as I was out there teaching people, I was learning from them about how to cope in any situation.
“They have been through absolutely horrific experiences but they’re still so open and friendly.”
Laurence has sent in pictures of his time in the country and, on the following pages, writes about his feelings on returning home.
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Thank you Laurence for sharing your photos, thoughts and experiences – i really enjoyed reading them and they reminded me of my 3 week trip to Uganda last Easter when i visited a friend who was volunteering out there. I too suffered from reverse culture shock on my return to the UK…in fact in some ways i still am. Good luck with your studies at Bath…there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in voluntary work here and to make a difference to people in developing countries – check out SIFE…Students in Free Enterprise.
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Dear Laurence,
Welcome aboard AidAfrica. Even I had not heard of your work with us in Gulu. I hope that you will work hard for AidAfrica in England and Europe. We need good representation there. Obviously you have been smitten by the same feelings as the rest of us when it comes to helping the people in Northern Uganda. I hope to work closely with you in the future. Thanks, Ken Goyer, Executive Director AidAfrica
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What a wonderful article. It would be great to hear more about the adventures you had and how your feelings change now that you are back home.
Keep up the goodwork
Darren
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