michelle in africa

i;m leaving for the airport in 2 hours. I’m packed and ready to go, but my heart is broken in two. I am so excited to get home and see Kevin and the animals and talk to people. But im going to miss teaching and my students so much. I’ll update a lot as i have some time to finish all the things i didn’t have time to write about before. 

I got to spend my last day hanging out with Julius finalizing some of our plans for Focus on Change and then visit with my deaf students one more time before I leave. Michelle & Lori came with and helped judge in our photography contest. The kids built their portfolio books, we ate cookies and i gave our popsicle stick frames with our group photo out to everyone and bracelets for us all to stay connected in a small way. I know thats not the connection that will last though. The kids were so sad when we left, even telling them I will come back and we will work together more didn’t satisfy, they were so sweet and understanding but upset, and I was equally. I had an amazing goodbye group hug..one of which is photographed but i fear to look at for i was crying through it, and im afraid might bring on more tears. I love these kids.

Thanks for coming along this journey with me. Opening your hearts to me and the work, for sharing in my passion. 

love,

michelle

(photo by Julius)

Isiko Steven

Age: 23

Education: High school, planning to attend University for Education

Family: Lives with Grandparent (Edith), 2 brothers, 2 sisters

Prior Camera Use: None

Prior Computer Use: None

Enjoys: Soccer, volleyball

Wants to use photography for documentary

(photo by Julius)

Age: 20

Education: finished school, wants to become lawyer

Family: Lives with Mother & Father, 2 brothers, 2 sisters

Prior Camera Use: None

Prior Computer Use: None

Enjoys: Soccer

Wants to use photography to shoot events, weddings, landscape, still life, & nature

(photo by Julius)

Guluka Grace

Age: 27

Education: Auto management school

Family: Lives with Mother, has 1 brother, 2 sisters  (father not around)

Prior Camera Use: None

Prior Computer Use: Yes, little

Enjoys: Swimming, Soccer, Cooking

Wants to use photography to take Portraits, Landscape & Nature

(photo by Julius)

Kolikwani Aggry

Age: 19

Education: High School, wants to study engineering

Family: Lives with Mother, 5 brothers, 5 sisters (father alive but not around)

Prior Camera Use: None

Prior Computer Use: None

Enjoys: Soccer, Netball, Watching films

Wants to use photography to take still lifes

(photo by Julius)

Isabirye Denis

Age: 21

Education: Primary school, interested in construction

Family: Lives with Mother & Grandmother, 1 brother, 1 sister (father alive but not around)

Prior Camera Use: None

Prior Computer Use: None

Enjoys: Soccer & Dancing

Wants to use photography to take portraits & landscape

(above photo by Julius)

Kanene Peter

Age: 21

Education: Primary,works as barber

Family : Deceased, lives alone

Prior Camera Use: None

Prior Computer Use: None

Wants to use photography to for weddings, ceremonies, and portraits

I’m constantly amazed walking around the villages in Uganda as to how much life there is. People, plants, fruits, insects. There are so many things that are fruitful in ways we might not even see with the human eye. There is so much potential in life and human beings, and its amazing to see what can happen when you plant seeds. 

I’ve been spending the month planting my seed in Uganda. I have been blessed with such an incredible opportunity to teach and be taught. I am so passionately gracious for the chance i’ve been given in life to do this work, and proud to say that my life lead me here. A huge maybe shy and nervous part of me always knew I wanted to do this work. I always had a passion to come to Africa and I remember wanting to be a photographer from the first time I touched a camera. I have moments of insane realism here, where I have to stop and remind myself to soak in this moment because this is where I’m making my start.This is where I’ve started the journey to where I hoped dreams could become reality. I know that sounds cheesy, and I don’t care if it does because it’s true. I’ve grabbed my life by the hands, i’ve challenge myself and i’ve learned more about who i am as a human being then I ever thought possible. I love to teach, and i feel so comfortable and confident in my ability to do it. I feel awaken and alive by my students. In my Care & Share group, not a single one of them had EVER used a camera in their life! and on top of that..has never even used a computer! To know that I have taken what I love and love to teach and have shared a huge part of myself and my passion with someone else is incredible. I wish it upon everyone. I’ll always look back at this with pride and amazement. I can’t believe I am having such a cool opportunity. It’s incredibly rejuvenating as a human being. 

Tonight we celebrated Michelle’s birthday and had a debriefing of myself. It raised a lot of thoughts in me, all positive and full of life. It made me think about all of the things I want to write and share with you. I feel like im a bottle full of thought and happiness and excitement that might explode. I wish I could write it all down and share with you everything, but thats a lot easier said then done. So i’ll leave you with this for the night.

I’m grateful for my work. This work has given me so much passion and appreciation in life. Fount of Mercy has flipped my world view, shifted my perspective and given me new goals and aspirations in life. It’s connected me with others and helped me find me. I will always be proud and grateful for this.

I’m grateful for my family (blood and not). Family is what you are born with and the one you make. I am so blessed to have family that not only love and support me but that believe in me. I appreciate my mother and father. Without them I would be nothing, I could never be the person I am. My parents always taught me to follow my heart. They never said there was anything I couldn’t do, and put the value of life and experiences before the value of money. Happiness is something we must work towards, hold onto and appreciate when we have it and live our life to the fullest. I learned this from my parents. I am so grateful that words wont ever properly express the richness I feel. I’ve been so fortunate to grow up with 2 sisters whom shaped my life. Always provided guidance and a should to lean on. My sisters have always stood up for me, and continue to be a rock I proudly stand on, and I hope that know always have one to stand on for them.

I’m grateful for my freedom. I am so lucky to live where I do, to be a woman in the US, to have opportunities available to me. It’s easy to see all of the ways we are so fortunate and it’s very humbling to stop and appreciate what you do have. it makes the things you wish you had or wanted not so important. We have a lot to be thankful for, it will ease things to reflect on this for a while. at least it does for me.

I am grateful for love. I have a lot of love in me, and it’s so much easier for me to write about it then it will ever be for me to share it with you in person. I’m shy and often vulnerable feeling. I’m protective but open to share my heart with those who are genuine to it’s emotions. Love is what i am most grateful for. Love makes me fight for what I believe it and keeps the passion alive inside of me. I love Uganda, I love my students and I love this work. But what I love most is Kevin Slack. My life is so incredibly unbelievable because of him. Kevin challenges me to do more, be better and fight for what i want. Kevin is so passionate about his work and his life, he appreciates family and is so humble. He supports me in ways that make it possible for me to do what I am doing. Kevin picks me up when I am at my worst and he never judges me, he accepts me and loves me. Support on many different levels is so important in a relationship. I am so grateful for his support, moved, and inspired by it. It’s difficult to go around the world so far away from what you love but I feel so at home when I know he is proud. I equally would not be who i am today with Kevin, and thats a big truth. Thank you. I love you!

thank you for staying with me everyone, for putting yourself in my work, for the cameras and donations and support. i love you!

-michelle

Yesterday was a fun and adventurous day. I woke up early to head to the bank and get some breakfast before my busy day started. I got caught for the first time in rain on a boda, which is unpleasant in many ways. I went to visit the school of Tara’s husband Grace and take some photo’s for them to use for a website, brochure, etc. We took about an hour drive, which was beautiful and passed a eucalypts plantation. Tall, beautiful thin trees as far as the eyes could see. I love just looking out the window when driving here, there is so much to see and appreciate. It is so unbelievably gorgeous here and it’s such a strange feeling driving through and appreciating so much beauty and being torn between the things that are not beautiful, the things that are sad. I feel like I’m at a really good balance between the things that bother or make me upset and finding acceptance. It’s an interesting balance and I think a great way for a person to observe and reflect. After we drove for an hour we had to park and hop on boda’s because the road was not fit for vehicles. This was kind of exciting entering a place I can’t take by car, I felt really out there and isolated. This boda ride was ever more beautiful than the car ride. We were zooming up and down big hills and viewing nature, as it should be, AMAZING. People were carrying buckets of water on their heads, harvesting their land. I saw woman naked outside with their babies talking with one another. Children running all around, many smoke stacks going off and huts of all sorts. I felt like I really escaped into Africa. We finally hit a point where even the boda’s could go no further so we hopped off and climbed up a steep hill until we reached the top and I saw a few small buildings. Here at the top of this isolated hill was a school called Harding! This was a fun well worth it journey!

I walked into all of the classroom and got to meet the teachers and just have a good time shooting. My favorite part was shooting the girls dormitory. It’s fascinating to see how people live and know that I would not be happy about it. Every bunk it crammed next to the next. You have no privacy at any point in life really. You few possessions and you share everything. It’s pretty cool in a lot of ways, but I’m really fond of personal space and I think I might explode always being within arms length of another person.

I got to one bed that was so different from the rest, well made and organized, this girl was different than everyone else. She had a towel, with her comb perfectly placed and the bible open to a passage. It looked like a special and holy place for her and I felt kind of lucky to stumble upon such a beautiful presentation.

-Michelle

Today is beautiful! This is suppose to be rainy season for the area but they’ve been suffering from a drought. I like the rain in africa though, it’s quick, powerful and then its done. Everyday is musical here but Sundays are REALLY musical, hours of singing and praise going on that makes you wondering how loud it actually is in the church because im hearing it loud and clear in the house. It’s nice though, hearing people make music themselves and sing together with excitement. I really like it, actually I love the soundtrack of this town. Which is easy to say after my first coffee of the morning because last night I wished bad things upon all of the animals outside. Barking all night long right outside my window made for a very difficult nights sleep not to mention whoever decided to take up residency with me under my net last night because my feet we’re eaten alive. I’ve only gotten one actual mosquito bite this trip. I think i’ve got some harsh ant bites. yes, ants bite and they bite with rage. Probably the worst pain I have felt here has been inflicted by tiny little insects that i could swat and destroy. Ants of different kinds and flies. Flies freak me out here…well not here in the house or town but out in the middle of nowhere. Who would have thought being bit by a fly could feel worse than getting a punch in the arm. There really is no point to this post, i’m just in awe that i’m getting my butt kicked by ants. ANTS people!

-michelle