Mommas on a Mission: Day 8: Kamuli Village

Sharon Nyanjura is the director of Arise and Shine Babies Home in Jinja, Uganda. She is originally from a village called Kamuli which is about three hours north of Jinja. She invited us to visit Kamuli with her and see the school she started several years ago. So we loaded up in Francis's van and went on a road trip for the day! Poor Sonya wasn't feeling well but she was a trooper and went anyway...

The road kept getting smaller and smaller. Then after about 30 minutes of "we will be there soon", we finally made it! ;-)

When we first arrived, Sharon showed us where their volunteers stay while helping out in the village. No toilet, running water, or electricity but not too shabby. Kerry said this is where her family will be coming for vacation next summer, lol. I'm sure her family would "love" that! ;-)

This is one of the school buildings. Some of the classes actually meet outside under a tree because there is not enough space inside. They are hoping to build more buildings as they fundraise. The kids were so well-disciplined and seemed to be glad to be there. They are the future leaders of Uganda!

After we saw the school, we got to tour the village which ended up being about a six mile walk! We didn't exactly have our walking shoes on but this was one of the favorite things we did on our trip. Walking felt so good and we got to see village life in person...

This is Sharon's blind grandmother. She is temporarily living in this building that also stores sewing machines that ladies use that are participating in a tailoring project in Kamuli...

We got a few marriage proposals when we stopped to visit with these fisherman. Thanks but no thanks ;-)

We got to take turns holding a new baby. So sweet...

At the end of our visit, we got to meet village ladies who are in a jewelry making and tailoring project that Sharon began. The ladies are paid a fair wage for their work then many of the items are sent to me in Oklahoma where I sell them on a facebook page called "Uganda Bags and Beads". 100% of the money raised then goes back to Arise and Shine Babies Home. It was so neat to finally meet these ladies in person. They were so thankful for everyone in the States that has purchased their items because it means they can have a sustainable income for their families. Family preservation is so important to me and I'm glad I can play a small part in helping these ladies keep their families in tact.