News
February 9, 2017Cross-Continental Children’s Exchange
On Tuesday February 7, eight Capital Region residents traveled 7,000 miles to Africa, to volunteer at a children’s home in Kampala, capital of Uganda. Eighteen former street children live together in the home and attend school regularly. Through individual donations, Capital Region residents are the primary funding source for the home as well as for an outreach program providing education and recreational opportunities to the surrounding community. These programs were created and are supported by Jajja’s Kids, a local, all-volunteer nonprofit organization founded by Diane Reiner of Cohoes.
A major highlight of the visit will be a Skype session between the children in Uganda and students at Albany’s Delaware Community School. Singing songs of peace and friendship in the other group’s language, the children will laugh and converse with their friends across the ocean as they learn to better understand the other’s culture. It will be the third time in three years that these children will together experience this cross-cultural interaction.
The Skype exchange is the brainchild of Music Mobile’s Ruth Pelham and second grade teacher Susan Fowler. In previous years Ms. Fowler was on the Albany side of the children’s exchange. This year, however, she will travel to Uganda with the volunteer team, and her students will communicate with her while she is with their African friends.
Since its inception, Jajja’s Kids has grown steadily. Ronnie Sseruyange, who started life on the streets at age 6, manages the home and outreach program in Uganda. He has dedicated himself to helping other children have a better life than the one he experienced. Starting school for the first time at age 29, Ronnie serves as a role model in many ways, inspiring others to believe that they too can succeed in fulfilling their life ambition.
