New Huts

Hey guys! Here's a pic of our mud huts, and one of the whole Child Voice International compound, where we'll be staying. Crazy to think this will be our new home soon, huh??

Chris & are are doing alright. Things have been busy and a little stressful, and as excited as I am, I have to admit, I wish we had another week so we could rest a little bit before we leave!

We take off on Friday morning to meet up with Brodie & Alana (a student from Brown, who is helping us direct) for all the last-minute planning. I can't believe it's all coming so fast!

We really are going to have a life changing experience together, aren't we?? =)

ps. Did we tell you guys that Chris broke his hand a few weeks ago?? He fell mountain biking. The doctors told us that he would need surgery & that we shouldn't go to Uganda... but we said bufuke! We got a second opinion from a specialist, and he gave us the go-ahead & said he didn't need surgery. He's getting his cast off right this moment, and putting a splint on! Hooray!

Hi

Hello everyone! I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with all the blog stuff, I've been so busy with school that I haven't really had much of a chance to do it. I've had a rough couple of weeks this last month or so, but I'm hoping that this trip will turn that around. I hope that you are all doing well and that the fund raising is going ok. I've been extremely fortunate to get the money that I needed, but all of those other expenses are adding up and I'm struggling to get it all in order. Look forward to seeing you all soon! Can't wait to live in those huts!

-Andrew

Study from CVI

How can we get our hands on that Study we are supposed to read?

Hello Everyone!!

It has been a while since we all last hung out, but I am looking so forward to our trip that is just around the corner!! This is going to be an amazing adventure and I am honored to be going with such a great group of people! I look so forward to seeing you all in Boston and meeting the rest of our team! Speaking of, when are all of you arriving in Boston? Ally and I will arrive in Boston on June 2nd at 5:10pm! Can't wait to see you guys soon and hope all is well!
Later Skaters!
P.S. Finals suck!! Can't wait to be done. Oh, and the fund raising is coming along nicely! Hope it is for everyone else too! All that hard work is paying off!! :)

Ally says HI!

Hey team bufoke....
Thanks Christine for putting up those pics. Sorry I haven't been "blogging."

I just want everyone to know that I am really excited to spend 6 weeks in Uganda with all of you! Tomorrow we will be getting up super early again to do Krispy Kreme sales! Can't wait! (uhh:/)

More pictures Christine?

Would You Like to Buy a Box of Krispy Kreme??

Hey guys! We had fun today (for the most part) fund raising downtown.

Chris & I woke up super early & met Ally & Alisa at Krispy Kreme, where we loaded up the back of our car with 50 dozen donuts (for $3 per dozen). Then, we stopped by Starbucks, where we got two small containers of free coffee (and cream & stuff), and headed downtown to a busy intersection near the BART stop.

We set up a table, complete with an amazing banner Ally & Alisa made, and tons of signs, a table cloth & all the Krispy Kreme goods (I'm kicking myself now for not taking a picture!). As people came out of the BART exit, or walked by on their way to work, we asked if they wanted to buy a box of Krispy Kreme-- $10 for a dozen.

Some people ignored us completely, or (my favorite) made a wide circle around us so that they could avoid eye contact completely (soo sneaky & subtle) ;) But, for the most part, people were pretty friendly. Some just gave us money without buying donuts, and some hung around to hear about what we were doing in Uganda. A lot of people took our fliers and wished us luck. One even bought a box of donuts for us to give away to the homeless!

There were definitely a few times where Ally & I (who went down to a different part of the street) felt like we were completely inhuman-- when at least 100 people walked right by & ignored us completely as we were talking to them. That sucked, and I could feel it getting harder & harder to smile-- and even feeling worse about myself & my own humanity as time went on. (Yuck, I wonder if that's how homeless people feel all day). But once we moved to a different location, things got a lot better, and soon we had sold the very last box!

In total, we made $453 (after the cost of buying the donuts), but we did have one major loss: Ally got her purse stolen. =( That was a super crappy way of ending the morning together-- especially since she had a new cell phone and $100 cash in there (she just got paid).

Besides that, I think it was a pretty good way to spend a Friday morning. Andrew & Jeff, let us know if you want to try it down south, too! =)

Our New Homes!

Hey guys! We just got some pictures of the women from Child Voice building our mud huts! Crazy!

Brodie told us today that she has some written stories from the children/women at the Center about their experiences as child soldiers-- one of them is from the woman in the last photo. I'm excited to read them (we'll be sure to pass them on-- or maybe we can read them together in a big conference call, or something!).

These last few weeks, Chris & I have been wading through a lot of details for Uganda: the budget, airplane tickets, etc. When I saw these photos, it made me stop for a minute. I realized that I have been thinking of a lot of little details, but have kind of forgotten about the actual women & children we will be helping.

With these pictures, I saw for the first time an actual face-- not a news article, or even a documentary, but a face & a picture of someone who has really gone through the horrible things we've read about... someone we will meet and touch and talk to. Right now, at this moment, that same person is actually building our homes for the summer.

It made it all very real to me, for the first time in a while. This isn't just about some crazy adventure, or the money that we're trying to raise, or the airfare we're trying to secure, but about real people who have real faces & stories, and who have gone through things I can't even imagine.

We have the privilege of talking to them, looking into their eyes, hearing their stories... and maybe even helping them.

Peace Treaty Might be Signed Tomorrow!

LRA leader to sign Uganda peace deal Thursday: mediator

KHARTOUM, April 9, 2008 (AFP) - Joseph Kony, the Ugandan rebel leader hiding from arrest by the International Criminal Court, will on Thursday sign an historic peace deal in the jungle on the Sudan-Congo border, the top mediator said.

Southern Sudan vice president Riek Machar said the Lord's Resistance Army had told him Kony would attend the signing, which was last week delayed at the rebels' request, and that the ceremony would take place as planned.

"They told me he would be there," Machar told AFP by telephone from Juba, the capital of southern Sudan. "I expect him to turn up."

The Lord's Resistance Army has waged 20 years of war in northern Uganda and is notorious for raping and mutilating civilians, enlisting child soldiers and massacring thousands.

A ceasefire was struck in August 2006, paving the way for peace talks in Juba that have dragged on for more than a year and a half.

Machar said he could provide "no guarantees" but that Kony had always turned up previously at Ri-Kwangba, the jungle area on the Sudan-DR Congo border where the rebels were told to assemble under a ceasefire agreement signed in 2006.

"Tomorrow he signs the peace agreement, hopefully, then we bring it to Juba. On the 14th the (Ugandan) president comes and signs," he added.

The government negotiating team will fly into Ri-Kwangba to witness the signing ceremony, which Machar said he hoped would be held at midday.

Ugandan rebels last week asked mediators to delay the signing of the peace agreement citing inadequate facilities such as toilets.

Machar dismissed the allegations of inadequate services as "rubbish", insisting that southern Sudan was providing food and facilities.

Kony has been in hiding to avoid a war crimes arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court.

Us!

Look how cute we are! Sorry I forgot to post this earlier.
We are all so happy =)

updates on peace treaty

Hey, kids! Thanks for that website with all the news updates, Ally!
I was just looking at Invisible Children's website, and saw that they have great news updates, too. It looks like the date for signing the peace treaty got pushed back, and that oftentimes, as dates get pushed back more & more, they are forgotten. Let's all hope & pray that this one actually gets signed!
It looks like the new date is either April 3rd or 5th (I can't figure it out-- different news reports say different things).

Anyways, that's what's going on!
How is everyone?? How is support raising going? I'd love to hear from you!

Chris & I are going to try to get our letters out this week, but it's been tough 'cause we've been (and will continue) traveling a bunch. Wish us luck!

Hello from Jeff

Hey guys, it was a fun weekend, I'm excited for our team. I met with my artist friend Cuyler about ideas, he is excited to get this started, rough draft should be done soon.

A website from Ally

I was looking around the internet and I stumbled upon this website called ReliefWeb. I started reading about water and sanitation in Uganda and found ALOT of really good information that is current about what is going on over there. You should all check out this link.http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc108?OpenForm&rc=1&emid=ACOS-635PRQ

I hope everyone is doin good

Hello fom Alisa!

I love the layout & everything! Good job Christine! You all ROCK!!!!

This is a test

Hi, It's ally I dont know if I'm doing this right.

I like you guys.

1st post

Hey guys! We had so, so much fun hanging out with everyone this weekend! I really think this is going to be a great team (Bufuke).
Let me know if you are unable to post on the blog, of if you have any questions!