What is Amanda up to?

Amanda Milholland

KACCAD’s Peace Corps Volunteer

December 2006-November 2008

Some people have been asking me what I am up to. I have my fingers in many pies. I am working to help KACCAD strengthen its volunteer program which we started in August 2007, helping develop our student sponsorship program and working with our clients and my counterpart and supervisor to develop a chicken rearing project for eight families who are part of our home visit program for people living with HIV/AIDS. I am also helping one of our volunteers write fundraising letters for water and sanitation development and HIV/AIDS education support. On top of this I work with my supervisor to budget for our programs, write a quarterly newsletter and do other long term organization planning. When school is in session I also work with our volunteers and my counterpart to teach life skills to secondary and vocational students at 4 schools. We are still looking seriously at how KACCAD will survive in the future. We do a lot of great work that so many people are happy to support but it is challenging to cover our organization running costs without grants that include administrative overhead or salaries and without an income generation project. I have seen KACCAD develop a lot over the last year+. At the same time we have a lot of work to do in my last year of service. With an increasingly steady volunteer pool of Real Uganda volunteers-international volunteers who come to Uganda to work for 1-6 months- and our solid work team we keep plugging forward. So that’s what I am up to with work. (Me picking the fruits of my labor.)

Aside from work, I often wake up with the sun. Running I watch the sunrise over Kikaaya Village, banana trees and the papyrus swamp. I spend time with my Peace Corps friends who live all over Uganda, with our temporary volunteers, my co-workers and our two cats, Destroyer and Puss. In the village many people know me and know our work. I walk by and herds of children come running wanting to great me. Adults and children shout out to me as I pass “See you Nakalema.” I am more and more accepted as a community member not just a visiting “Muzungu”- white person, traveler. I will never be Ugandan but wearing appropriate clothing, greeting my neighbors and working hard for my community has helped people accept me.

Though we face many challenges in our work and I in my life here, over all I look around and see that I am blessed to be here. I am blessed to know people so dedicated to serving their community even before themselves. Friends and supporters who read this, I hope you find people who inspire you as much.

Take care,

Amanda