Greetings from Uganda!

Uganda is in East Africa and is known as the "Pearl of Africa" because of its lush jungles, rolling hills and temperate climate. The official language is English, however most Ugandans speak a tribal language as their first language. Though Uganda lies on the mouth of the Nile River and is replete with natural resources, the Ugandan people remain deeply impoverished. Uganda has suffered immensely from a civil war in northern Uganda that ended a few years ago. 

This will be HELP internationals first year in the city of Mbale, and surrounding villages. Projects in Uganda include: HIV/AIDS support group, business training, adobe stoves, square-foot gardening, public health campaigns, support for children with disabilities, eye camps, and more. HELP international is a non-profit organization started at BYU in 1999 in response to Hurricane Mitch. Since then, HELP has expanded their work across the globe, empowering local community members by teaching self sustainable skills that can be passed on to others.

Currently HELP is working with impoverished communities in eight locations around the world- Belize, El Salvador, Fiji, India, Thailand, Uganda, Tanzania, and Peru. 

     "Why Africa?" This seems to be the popular question. I served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and served for 8 months in a west African refugee camp in southwest Houston, TX. During this time, I saw the aftermath and stories of the civil war fought through the 90's. It was during this time I fell in love with the kind and pure nature of the African people, and since then, I have always had a special draw to their homeland. Since then, I knew I would make it back to help them as they did for me. The conditions of Uganda call for the needs of education and sanitation. For these reasons, my family has decided to come together and raise $9,500 by April 30th 2011 to fund a new school outside Mbale. As we speak, 51% of Uganda's population is under the age of 14, and the schools ratio is over 80 children for every teacher. For this reason, we come for your help to provide a need we take for granted every day. At the 1 minute 10 second mark in the video below, is a similar design of the school we are fund-raising for. We know money is tight, but any amount of money contributes significantly. To donate, click on the "Donate" tab up at the right and you will be directed to HELP's website.  From there, you can donate through PayPal, including "Devin Wengert" in the comments section, specifying your donation to our school project. Or you can send a check addressed to HELP-international with "Devin Wengert" in the memo line to HELP-international, 455 N. University Ave #212, Provo, UT 84601 to avoid transaction fees, and please remember, every penny donated goes toward this fight against poverty.

While I spend the four months in Uganda this summer, I will be heading this project and construction of the school. This blog will be updated weekly so you can see the progress and faces of those being touched directly and see where your donations are going. We ask that you give whatever you can to this cause, and stay tuned to this blog through the months of July and August 2011.  Thanks to the commitment of community members, donors and volunteer programs such as HELP, we can take action and be of great service in this achievable progress against poverty. 

                                HELP international, Lugazi Uganda 2010