Alfred Nyongesa Wandera
3 September 2008
August 11 2007 is a memorable day in Adam Mukiibi's life. That was the day he set his foot in a country ranked by Leicester University as the happiest in the world and by Cambridge as the happiest in Europe.
His expectations were so great as he anticipated to land in Copenhagen, the Danish Capital and meet face to face with all the pleasantries he had heard about the Scandinavian country.
All this, Adam thanks Uganda Volunteer for Peace (UVP), a non-political, nonsectarian voluntary membership organisation established in 1999 that encourages self help schemes with the aim of assisting needy people and supporting the local communities in Uganda.
He said UVP is an international organisation that is a member of International Cultural Youth Exchange (ICYE) which he was told about by a friend in Denmark and encouraged to join.
"I had just completed my degree course from Makarere University when I was told about it, I was so excited. I was required to pay a membership fee of Shs100,000 and also presented my academic credentials before I was registered." Mukiibi told Daily Monitor in a phone interview.
ICYE is a Federation based in Berlin and it covers 40 countries world wide. In Africa, member countries include Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria and Uganda.
UVP's National Correspondent, Mr Stuart Semakula says his organisation is involved in mobilising students in their holidays aged between 18- 30 and prepares them for voluntary activities with friends abroad.
"Our exchange programmes involve students from senior six to university level. Volunteers who come from abroad through ICYE pay a participation fee which is part of our income. We also get funds from members' subscription, partnership fee from partners and other well wishers," Mr Semakula said.
Semakula said since UVP joined ICYE Federation in 2001, about 107 students have been sent to Europe in the volunteer exchange programme. He said most students benefit a lot from the programme as some of them end up getting scholarships to study alongside their community based voluntary projects.
Mukiibi affirms this: "I was in Denmark for one year and it was really marvelous. It was fun interacting with small children. I did my volunteer project at a sort of kindergarten called Ringsed Aiden Skol.
The children could neither speak English nor Luganda so I was forced to learn some Danish. I taught mathematics. I was sponsored to study sports and aerobics and for sure I kept myself fit," Semakula says.
Mr Semakula said this year, UVP has sent a volunteer student to the USA, a first attempt since establishment of the NGO in Uganda because most students have been going to European countries.
"We sent Betina Nanyonjo to the US and it is our first time to send a student outside Europe. The volunteer period usually ranges from three months to one year," Mr Semakula said. "The ICYE Federation provides comprehensive insurance including life and medical cover for the students who go abroad. Students stay with host families identified by the Federation."
This year, foreign students started arriving in the country at the beginning of August and they settled in Kaazi Scouts Camping Site in Wakiso District for two weeks, a period they spent being oriented into the Uganda culture and language.
Eleven volunteer students from New Zealand, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Iceland and Finland are in the country and Daily Monitor interacted with some of them while in their orientation camp.
Alison Bacon, 24, is a Briton completed her Bachelor's Degree in Social and Political Science from Cambridge University in 2006. Bacon says she likes volunteer work and chose Uganda because she was interested in seeing Lake Victoria.
"Ugandans are friendly and have a lot of time to laugh and interact with others. In Britain, everybody minds their own business. I hope to enjoy my one year stay in this land full of Matooke." Bacon says.
Semakula says UVP currently has 30 partners including companies that accommodate the foreign students who come to Uganda on voluntary mission.
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