Go On A Mission Trip
One of the most rewarding experiences for our donors is to join us in one of our yearly trips. As a "voluntour" you travel to Makondo, get to know the community by helping IYH with various volunteer tasks. If your specific skills lend themselves to conduct educational workshops for the St. Denis students or staff, or if you can consult on specific projects, we will work coordinate these opportunities with the St. Denis staff. To find out about upcoming trips, please contact us.
2010 Voluntour Mission Trip
Jill Garrou, Michele Homburger, Lorene and Gabby Joos, and Al, Maria, and Luke Camp head to Uganda in mid March. Michele and Jill will perform vision screenings to all the St. Denis students to identify which students need further referral to the local ophthalmologist. Jill and Michele and a team of volunteers have gathered and "read" over 360 pairs of eye-glasses which we will take down to St. Denis. Michele and Jill will also give a series of workshops on human sexuality, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS prevention. Gabby and Lorene will conduct art workshops while Al and Luke will teach students the finer points of BASEBALL, the All-American pastime. Follow our trip in our blog.
2009 Mission Trip-First Impressions
Kawuki Fred, Computer Geek
By Tom Srsich, Programming Committee
After a trip to Africa,
one’s first reaction is to talk about the poverty of the area
visited. I think this happens because of the
goodness in our hearts and, maybe, the lack of realization that
poor people have the same aspirations, values and joys as us.
Kawuki Fred is the computer teacher at St Denis. I was
not expecting to meet a young, geek colleague while I was in
Africa. Fred is excited for both his own future and the future
of St Denis. With a university degree and a genuine excitement
about computers, he has taught himself quite a bit about
computers and running a business center. He sees the problem
most young men have of thinking and not doing, and he is working
hard to be someone who accomplishes things. I was excited by the
programs he has started as well as the programs he would like to
start. With a contagious, can-do attitude, Fred is very popular
with both students and teachers. His hope is to offer the
community a certificate program in both computer use and repair,
which would become one of the profit centers in the
St. Denis Community Internet and Business Center. I believe that
with great young leaders like Kawuki Fred, the business center
will become a viable school-based business helping St. Denis
achieve economic sustainability, and we will all see the fruits
of our labor bloom for many years.
