It has been a long time and much has happened since the last newsletter in June. I am now back in North America and have been in my favorite place in the whole world, Metis sur Mer, for the month of August. Now I am back in Philadelphia and am gearing up to speak about our project in seven different places over the next three weeks. Then I will head back to Uganda by the end of the month

Life is exciting and very full at the moment. So what is new? We had nine outstanding volunteers come to Bududa from the USA, Canada and England.  They brought with them their skills and interest and an eagerness to contribute to the well being of the two programs that we run, and also the village. They took away with them, something intangible, an insight into how the rest of the world lives, by living it themselves. We had an amazing family of five Canadians from Kelowna, BC, Alan Monk and his wife Diana and their three teenagers. David Mraz, an outstanding math teacher from Germantown Friends School came for a month and is continuing to work for the people of Bududa, by connecting us to his school and other Quaker schools in the area. Sophie and Michael came from London for only two weeks and completed this incredibly wonderful mural in that short space of time. We are also hoping to connect with their British schools in London, and I will be visiting their schools as I pass through London on my way to Uganda.     I never met Zack, from Yale University, but he came for eight days and clearly had a wonderful time as you can read from his tribute below.  During his stay, he built an outdoor oven.

So July was a busy month for all of us volunteers and for the whole school, BVI and the Children of Peace. The students in both programs performed for each new set of visitors as they arrived and as they departed. The visitors then got down to work and taught classes,  did physical labor and painted

Since I have been back in North America, we have been involved in processing grant applications from two foundations that we have had contact with.  For me, this is very exciting work and challenging as well as I have never done this before and if we succeed it will be the first time that our funding will come from other than individuals.  It is only because I have such an amazing team behind me that we are able to do this. My sister Sally Bongard came to Bududa last winter and she has experience in grant writing and so she is spearheading this effort. Geri Fitzgerald who is the international banker who volunteered in Bududa, in February of 2008, has completed our financial statement for 2008 and (earlier this year) our budget for 2009.  So I feel very blessed to have had these folks on my team.

There are two more volunteers coming in the fall. Scott Douglas who is returning for the second time, is paying for the whole BVI student body to tavel to Entebbe on a field trip when he arrives.   Can you imagine what this will mean to these kids who, in most cases, have never left the village? Even the faculty have never been to Entebbe. Joey Marosi, a Canadian, and an old friend from McGill, has also said she is coming in October.

      I am going to let these two notes from Alan and Zack speak for the rest of this report as I think they say it all.