Hania (Dec. 2016 - Mar. 2017)

My stay in Masindi was also my first time in Africa which made this experience even more intense. Apart from the heat, an incredible nature, different food, ever dusty shoes in a dry season and so on, the thing that I was struck with the most was the extraordinary maturity and self-reliance of the children. I remember how I was touched by watching the older kids help the younger ones to bathe. Or a few-year-old kids carrying heavy water containers. It was the time I realized the Western world is really distant in terms of culture and society. I will always remember outstanding sense of responsibility combined with an extraordinary self-reliance of the children I met in Masindi.

While in Masindi from the middle of December until the end of February, I was lucky to accompany the Window of Life family through Christmas, New Years Eve, holidays, the time that the older kids left for the boarding schools in Kampala and the younger ones got back/went to the local schools. It feels like I spent enough time to recognize who was crying outside the window simply misbehaving or being in trouble :)

A big part of my experience were volunteers with whom I not only shared a daily life but exchanged views and opinions, walks to the town, travelling, long evening conversations, meals and laughs together. Thank you!