STORY FROM WORLD BICYCLE RELIEF

Big thanks to the folks at World Bicycle Relief for all the work they do...and for posting the story below on their blog about our recent experience with them in Uganda. 

For more than 100,000 individuals across Africa, WBR has shown bicycles can change lives. Thanks again, guys, and keep up the great work!
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WBR: Wheels on the Ground in Jinja, Uganda

Liz Zipse and her husband Kip have been traveling the world for the past year, with the intent to learn, adventure, and most of all--give back. 

With a goal of incorporating one day per week of volunteerism into their travels, Liz and Kip have participated in a myriad of amazing projects as they've hiked, dived and surfed their way around the globe...

Read the full article here... 

SOLE HOPE AND FRIED OKRA

There are so many good things happening in Jinja, Uganda, it can be a little hard to keep up.  

Though we were there only a few short weeks, we were fortunate to meet some inspiring people doing incredible things, from educating kids to improving health to empowering women through job creation. It really changes your view about humanity when you encounter so many organizations helping others.  

Because of their partnership with the founders of Light Gives Heat, whom we had gone to Jinja to visit, we had the good fortune to meet the Collie family--Asher, Dru, Quinn, Asa, and Silas. Former North Carolina residents, the Collies are the heart and soul of the non-profit Sole Hope, which is working to put close-toed shoes on African children to eradicate foot-related diseases. 

They're also one of the coolest families we've ever met. In addition to running a  life-changing nonprofit, they moved to Africa with a three-month old baby, their kids are hilarious and well-behaved, and most importantly, at our second dinner at their house, they cooked us fried okra. In Uganda.

And we LOVE okra.

Over this heavenly, deep-fried dish, we got to hear how a youtube video inspired this family to move to Africa and take on the daunting task of putting shoes on the feet of African children, while teaching others a way to earn a living. Did we mention we think they are awesome?

Somehow we left without one photo, so this is from their
website.Thanks to Sole Hope and the Collies (and Betty, too)!

Thanks again to the Collie family for giving us what we were in dire need of...a home-cooked meal, good conversation, and a brief chance to feel like we were part of a family, if only for a little while. 

You guys knew just what we needed!

To learn more about the incredible work of Sole Hope, check out their website and blog. If you're inspired (how could you not be, really?), there are many great ways to get involved! You can also check them out on Facebook.

PHOTO FRIDAY: HAPPY KIDS, HAPPY ADULTS

Nothing like happy kids to brighten up a day, especially a Photo Friday (which doesn't always have to be glowing sunsets and such).

The crazy kids above, whose classroom we were painting (more on that next week), decided it was time for recess. Then they decided we had to take photos with them and they would put on their happy faces. 

Hard to argue with a room full of grinning nine-yr-olds. 

NOT JUST A BICYCLE IN UGANDA

A mom assembles her first bike as a curious boy looks on.

When is a bicycle not just a bicycle? 

If you're a mother of four who lives miles from the nearest school, church, or hospital, a bike can transform itself in seconds into a school bus, church van, taxi or even an ambulance, when necessary.

Through the work of two incredible non profit organizations, World Bicycle Relief, and Light Gives Heat, along with the inspiration of two bicycle enthusiasts, we witnessed firsthand the joy that a bicycle can bring to a group of working moms in Uganda.

Liz excels at distracting kids, which, after helping to load and unload the bikes, became our primary role,
while the moms learned to assemble and repair their new modes of transport.

Our day began in Jinja, home to the not for profit Light Gives Heat, an organization started by two of Liz's friends from Grand Junction (CO), Morgan, whom Liz has known since kindergarten, and her husband Dave. 

The story of Light Gives Heat is an incredible one, as are the stories of all the women and families whose lives have been touched by this its amazing founders. It is certainly worth your time to check out the trailer for their award winning film Moving On.

The kids had never seen bubble wrap. The logo on the bike seats is for Buffalo Bikes. They're tough like water buffalo.

This particular day was a special day for the Suubi women, as this was the day they would finally receive their long awaited bicycles, which are the primary modes of transport for many Ugandans (if they can actually afford one). 

Through an innovative savings program set up through LGH, the suubi women were able to set aside money from each paycheck towards the purchase of a bicycle.  Those who signed up for the program raised half of the funds, and the other half was paid for through fundraising efforts of LGH and friends.

A bicycle recipient poses proudly with her bike.

Kip in kid-distraction mode.

The bicycles were purchased from World Bicycle Relief, and organization dedicated to improving lives in Africa by providing durable bicycles made for the rugged terrain of Africa. 

And we felt so fortunate for the opportunity to see just a fraction of the work they do, firsthand. Empowerment in action is a beautiful thing.

Kip helps unload bikes, which were shipped in from Kenya. regional HQ for World Bicycle Relief.

If you are interested in supporting either of these incredible organizations, here are some ways you can help:

-Purchase one or many of LGH's handmade products online

-Purchase or hold a screening of their video, Moving On

-Make a donation to Light Gives Heat

-Start your own campaign through "Work Works"

-Make a donation to World Bicycle Relief

-Volunteer

PHOTO FRIDAY: COW HORN ENVY IN UGANDA

Someone's feeling a bit inadequate today. 

Flanked by two of Uganda's famous Ankole-Watusi longhorns, whose pointy headgear can reach up to eight feet from tip to tip, this regular old short-horned cow in the middle of the photo above didn't have on her happy face as her 10-yr-old herdsman guided her and her cattle friends to grazing ground just down the road. 

Or maybe she just wasn't used to having a camera pointed at her face, what with the bad lighting and all. 

Good news for her though...no one's going to cut off her horns to make a bracelet or a necklace or a keychain anytime soon.

FUNNY MONDAY: BIRTH CONTROL? AVOID MORNING SEX, AFRICA

No one we talked to in the small village outside Jinja, Uganda, knew the origination of the intriguing "mural" above. Or, is it a billboard, graffiti, government propaganda? 

But all the stories we were told said basically the same thing--the underlying message is about reducing the birth rate. 

Depending on who you talk to, the message "Avoid morning sex, Africa," implies that people should avoid intercourse early in the day because: 

-People are less likely to use condoms in the morning.
-People should go to work instead of having sex, increasing labor output while decreasing baby output.
-After working all day, most people will be too tired for sex, thus fewer children will be born.

Who's right, who's wrong, who knows? Maybe it's none of these at all. 

Either way though, it's strangely funny...as are so many things you see in Africa.