Uganda Reflection: Kyra Fawcett
07/24/18 | Women's Soccer, O Heroes
Oregon soccer student-athlete Kyra Fawcett reflects on her experience with the Courts for Kids service project to Uganda earlier this summer.
After 37 hours of traveling, we finally made it to Porogali, Uganda. We were welcomed by the community with a group of children singing for us. As we got off the bus we all had so many emotions going on. Personally, I was so excited that we finally made it, but then seeing the community show so much joy and happiness, it warmed my heart. At that point I knew I had made the right decision in coming.
Being in a whole new culture gave some of us a harder time than others. We got to experience so much in such a short amount of time. Going to church with the community the first full day we had arrived showed how close the community was, and how happy they all were to be there. Over the course of our stay, we learned so much from talking to the locals and asking questions. We learned about their culture and how they lived. Seeing them live off the land and their surroundings really put things into perspective for a lot of us. We came out of the trip humbled and noticing more about what was truly important in life. The community in Porogali taught us valuable lessons that we never even knew we needed. They may be poor in some aspects of living, but they are rich in life.
Building the court was hard work; after the first full day a lot of us didn't know how the rest of the days were going to go. But day after day, seeing more locals coming to help and support us was really amazing to see. You could just see how happy and excited they were for this court to be made. Even just walking around the village, locals would say hello and then followed with a thank you. Watching the court grow each day made the next day that much more pleasurable, until we all were motivated to finish. We were able to get the court done with the help of many locals, and on our final day in Porogali, we broke out the basketballs, soccer balls, and footballs to play with the kids. We even brought sidewalk chalk to teach them hop scotch. It was so cool to see all the children so happy and excited to play with us. After a while the adults started to join in too. Seeing how happy they all were made every ounce of sweat and effort put into this court worth it.
I would say one of the best parts about the trip was talking with and befriending the locals. They were all so friendly and so eager to get to know us. Many of us spent time with the kids, learning from them just as much if not more than whatever we taught them. Playing with the kids and teaching them things like tic tac toe in the dirt, or how to sing and dance to the macarana, was such an amazing sight to see. The children were nothing short of happy: always having smiles on their faces and always having a blast no matter what we did. Despite the cultural differences and language barriers, we were all able to laugh and have some fun. That just goes to show that happiness knows no barriers and is all around us.
This was an experience of a lifetime and has taught me so much about myself and about life in general. It has impacted my life in more ways than I ever thought it could, and it is something that I will always remember for the rest of my life. I am beyond grateful for my family and friends and all the opportunities that I have had during my life, and since I have been back I have learned to just enjoy life as it happens and continue to smile and be happy. They didn't have much in terms of material things and life was hard. Gathering food and just staying alive are their main concerns, and yet they were a happy people that smiled and laughed a lot. A great lesson is taught here – you can always choose to be happy no matter what your circumstance, and the sooner you can enjoy each stage in life the happier you will be. There is a special place in my heart for the locals that impacted my life, and I left a lot of sweat and a big piece of my heart in Porogali, Uganda.
