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The trip to Uganda brought me to Children’s Donation Project, says Mrs. Daniela

author: charita | date: 12. januára 2023 | category: Uganda

Beautiful nature, tasty coffee, and the kindness of people, that’s what Uganda is. Read about the experience our donor and her husband had last year in South Africa.

Why did you decide to travel to Uganda?

Me and my husband we travel a lot. We visited a lot of different countries, but we had never been to Africa. Coincidentally, one travel agency offered us a trip to Uganda under very good conditions. We also read a lot about this area of Africa and we knew that there was beautiful nature. We discovered the south of Uganda, Lake Victoria, and the national parks of Bwindi, Queen Elizabeth, and Murchison Park.

What were your first impressions of this country?

Uganda is so averagely rich among African countries. My husband and I didn’t know what to expect at the beginning. We experienced cities similar to our European ones with traffic jams but also villages with small fields that had red clay everywhere and dusty roads. Whether the people were rich or poor, they all smiled and were extremely nice to us. We were surprised by the grace of the natives.

What did you like most about Uganda?

I was pleased with beautiful nature. They also have very good coffee and African tea, which I didn’t know about before. These are primarily herbal black teas with cream. The rangers in the national parks were very respectful, they took great care of us so that we could travel safely to each place.

Mrs. Daniela in the forests of the national park in Uganda.

Were there painful experiences on your way?

In one village cut off from civilization. The road leading to it is full of rocks, so the last 400 meters can only be crossed on foot or by boat on the water. The village has about 450 inhabitants, of which 300 are children. Women in Africa tend to have more kids. In this particular village, the men spend most of the day working on boats and fishing, so there were not many of them at the time of our visit. The houses here were very modest and the whole space screamed poverty.

Of the mentioned 300 children, only about 30 go to school. The school is made out of four wooden stakes on which there is a roof. Inside the classroom has an older blackboard and desks. The teacher is a young boy who has not finished high school and teaches the children a little English. They told us before that we can also bring some dresses and t-shirts to the village. When we took out our bags of clothes they immediately surrounded us and pulled things from our hands.

What surprised you the most about Uganda?

People here only sleep on mattresses that we would have thrown away a long time ago. And if they have a mattress, they are lucky, because most children sleep on the floor. And drinking water is also a huge problem. Wells are often several kilometers away from the village, and water is often carried by small children just in their hands. But it was beautiful how they help each other.

We also commonly saw older children carrying their younger siblings on their backs, working the family’s small fields, and generally being very helpful to their parents.

Children from a village in Uganda greet visitors from Slovakia.

You mentioned that you have two sons. How did they perceive the fact that children in Uganda cannot study, have to work, take care of families, or are already parents?

We adopted two children and my sons together adopted one girl. We all have a really good relationship and they both have university degrees. After returning from Uganda, I talked to them about how they could help other children. To give others the same chance they got. Together, they decided to support a nine-year-old girl, Immaculate, who has sickle cell anemia. One of the sons is a biologist and knows about this disease.

How did you find out about the Children’s Donation Project?

I heard about the project a long time ago. Based on our trip to Uganda, this country appealed to me the most. I visited your website and found out that you also support children in Uganda, which was crucial for me.

You have been supporting three Ugandan children since last October of this year. Girls Martha and Immaculate and boy Timothy. How do you feel about their fate?

Each of the children has their own difficult story, but I try to make it positive. I am a mathematician, so I am very pleased that the favorite subject of all three children is Mathematics.

From the left: Mrs. Daniela with photos of Martha, Immaculate, Timothy, and Martina, coordinator for Uganda.

What would you say to donors from Slovakia and to people who want to help?

When our children were given the chance to study, we should give this opportunity to others. Through a monthly allowance, children in Uganda can go to school. Sometimes we can’t even imagine how much good we can do for so little money. Many times it is only one lunch in a restaurant for us and a month of schooling for them. Fingers crossed and I encourage everyone to give it a go. It’s a good thing that helps good people.

Thanks to Mrs. Daniela for taking the time to have a pleasant interview and for the stable help for three beautiful children from Uganda.