Laura Leach ‘95 worked as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda for the past two years. She has been sending updates to KWConnect about her experiences in Africa — this is her last post. Click here to read her story from the beginning.
_____________________________________________________________________________

Welcome Home!

O-F-Z-Q-P – I flew through the eye chart with my left eye. I was in the middle of my close-of-service physical exam, and it seemed impossible that my two years were already up, but here I was just two days from flying home.

When I switched to my right eye, everything looked blurry – really blurry. Since I’m the last remaining member of my family who is not yet sporting a pair of glasses or contacts, this made me nervous, but Karen, the Peace Corps Medical Officer, assured me my vision was fine.

What I was soon to discover when reaching home is that I was now going to see things clearer than I ever had before. That’s what happens when you spend two years in a foreign country and come home. You see things differently and notice details that have gone unnoticed for years.

Now I was going to see things clearer than I ever had before. That’s what happens when you spend two years in a foreign country and come home.

I left Uganda on April 28. There were walk-to-work demonstrations going on in Kampala that day, and I was a little bit nervous about getting from Kampala to Entebbe to catch my flight, but the Peace Corps driver got me safely there in plenty of time. My flight was from Uganda to Amsterdam, where I quickly devoured a lot of cheese during my layover, and then flew to Detroit.

In Detroit, my sister Kelly surprised me at the airport. It was my first time back in the U.S. for more than two years, and the first time I had seen anyone from my family during that same period of time. I was stunned (in a good way) that she flew from New York to meet me.

The two of us flew the last leg of the journey together and were met at the airport by my Dad, Mom and sister Lisa. As soon as I saw my mom, I started to cry. It had been a difficult week saying goodbye to the friends I had made, the work that gave me such a sense of fulfillment and the country I had grown to love, but now I was home!

What I Learned
The number one thing I’ve been asked about my experience with the Peace Corps is if I am glad I did it. The answer is a resounding YES! I learned so much from this experience. I learned how much I take for granted every single day while people on the other side of the world are so grateful for the very little bit that they have.

I was greeted with enthusiasm, acceptance and joy almost every single day while I was in Uganda, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world. Certainly things in Uganda were not perfect, but the things that bothered me while I was there seem so insignificant now that I am home, I can’t imagine why I let them bother me so much at the time.

I was greeted with enthusiasm, acceptance and joy almost every single day while I was in Uganda, and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.

I also learned a lot about the challenges that women face in other parts of the world – domestic violence, an inability to exercise their reproductive rights, unequal access to education and good jobs, and I could go on.

I learned about life for children in Uganda where many children are treated like property, or neglected, or sexually abused, or fail to receive an education, or are living in poverty, and yet they are so light hearted and full of joy. I became good friends with a little girl who was HIV+ and learned a little bit about the challenges people who are HIV+ face as well as their families and communities. I even learned a little bit about myself along the way, too.

What You Can Do
I have enjoyed sharing my story with the KWC community. The Peace Corps was a wonderful experience for me that I would recommend to any students finishing their academic career. You will learn about the world, about yourself, and develop important skills that will help you in your future careers no matter which path you chose. To learn more about serving in the Peace Corps, you can go to their website at www.peacecorps.gov or you can feel free to email me at lauraleach38@yahoo.com.

Thanks for reading!

Laura. Uganda. Kids. Perfect.

<>

Another successful commencement has now come and gone — 164 students graduated from KWC last Saturday, and while we had to move the ceremony inside because of the rain, it was still a great day.

CNN’s Ali Velshi delivered the commencement address and did a wonderful job. His executive producer is Kelly Frank, a 1996 graduate of KWC. She briefly addressed the graduates at their Senior Farewell/Honor Breakfast Saturday morning.

We have photos and a couple videos from the weekend now posted online. You can see links to the various Flickr photo sets from the Photos page in the Commencement section of our website.

 Sets posted on Flickr include:
- Graduation
- Senior Breakfast
- Senior Dinner
- Miscellaneous (rehearsal, class photo, etc.)
- Class of 1961 50-Year Reunion

We’ve also got some new videos on YouTube, including:

- Highlights from Ali Velshi’s Commencement Address
- A clip of the Faculty/Staff Chorale’s enthusiastic rendition of “Wesleyan” (complete with instruments)
- A clip of remarks from Kelly Frank ‘96 at Senior Breakfast

We should have more graduation photos soon, as well as the complete text of Ali Velshi’s speech and a video of the entire ceremony. Until then, enjoy – if you see a photo you’d like a copy of, just send an email to bhoak[AT]kwc[DOT]edu.

<>

Laura Leach ‘95 is working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda. She is sending updates to KWConnect about her experiences in Africa. Click here to read her story from the beginning.
_____________________________________________________________________________

A new director has taken over the Haven, and in the past month, most of the children who had been at the Haven for a long time have been resettled. In some cases, I felt nothing but relief and joy that the children were getting to go home. Josephine was one of those cases. Josephine had been staying at the Haven for a year, and she was so homesick. She always greeted me with big smiles and hugs except on the days that another child got to go home. On those days I knew someone had gone before everyone had arrived to the classroom just by the expression on Josephine’s face. Josephine’s parents came in for some counseling, and then they were reunited with Josephine. I wasn’t there when they took her home, but I can imagine the joy and excitement surrounding that trip home.

Regina was another girl who stayed at the Haven for a long time. There is just something special about Regina. You can ask anyone who worked with her, and they will tell you the same. She has a big heart. She was the little helper at the Haven. I remember one day I arrived wet because it started raining while I was walking there, and Regina went and made hot tea to serve to me to help warm me up. No one told her to do it…that’s just the kind of girl she is. Regina loved story time, and heaven help any of the kids who acted up or talked during the story. Regina was quick to let them know they needed to be quiet and listen.

When Regina was going to be returned home, I asked if I could go along. It was an interesting day because it turned out that almost everything I thought I knew about Regina wasn’t true. Regina was a runaway, and I thought her mother wasn’t alive and her father didn’t have the means to care for her. I didn’t get that story from her, but one of the counselors had shared it with me. The truth was that Regina has both her parents. They had been separated, but had reconciled while Regina was away. I didn’t meet either of her parents, but I did meet her grandfather who is a fisherman in Mayuge district. We ended up leaving Regina in the care of her grandfather. That was a difficult day because Regina had gotten used to the Haven and the people there, and she was not happy to go home.

I talked to her grandfather about her education, and he took me to meet the headmistress at the local primary school. I went back to visit Regina a week later to take her some things and check in on how she was doing. It was a great visit, and I hope to go back one more time before I leave and keep in touch once I’ve returned to the U.S. (a challenge since her grandfather doesn’t have a phone or immediate access to a computer, and the closest post office is about an hour away).

The difficult aspect of working with the Reginas and Josephines is that although each girl is unique, there are so many girls in Uganda that have stories exactly like Regina and Josephine of abuse, neglect, being treated like property and like they don’t matter. It is a huge problem here and in other countries around the world, and it is a problem that we all need to work together to solve.

<>

As our presidential search process nears a conclusion, we will have Open Forums on campus with our three finalists over the next week — please make plans to join us to learn more about them:

Wednesday, April 20, 2:45-3:30 p.m., Rogers Hall
Thursday, April 21, 2:45-3:30 p.m., Tapscott Chapel
Tuesday, April 26, 2:45-3:30 p.m., Tapscott Chapel

Laura Leach ‘95 is working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda. She is sending updates to KWConnect about her experiences in Africa. Click here to read her story from the beginning.
_____________________________________________________________________________

I started going to the Haven last June. The Haven is an emergency shelter for women and children who are experiencing domestic violence and need a safe place to stay while their case is being sorted out. While the idea was that it would mainly be used by women and their children, there ended up being a lot of children placed there on their own. These children have faced problems such as defilement, incest, physical abuse, and some are runaways.

Laura with The Haven girls during Christmas 2010.

Such cases are not easy to resolve in Uganda. According to a survey done by the Uganda Bureau of Statistic in 2005, the Ugandan police are considered the most corrupt service provider in Uganda. Part of the problem is lack of resources, and part of the problem is poor ethics and a culture where corruption is commonplace.

In some cases when a child is defiled and the case is taken to the police, the family of the perpetrator will offer a bribe to the police to make the case go away. If the child’s family can’t come up with their own money to pursue the case, then that child will never receive justice.

Another challenge is that girls are treated like a commodity here. Their value rests in how much their parents receive for bride price when they wed. If a child is defiled, her parents will often settle the situation by accepting some payment from the defiler, because the girl is now spoiled and won’t command a bride price if or when she weds.

Some of the cases prove challenging just because of geography. Right now we have a girl who is from Bwindi which is in Western Uganda, so the challenge is researching the situation and finding family who can take her in, and then getting her there. Due to these challenges and others, the children were staying at the Haven for extended periods of time, and there was no programming in place for them.

During my first visit with the children, they greeted me as a visitor and recited their alphabet chart and number chart. I quickly went from visitor to Teacher Laura, spending a couple hours with the children every morning. We read stories, color pictures, solve math problems, play games, sing songs, and generally have a good time together.

The most important thing I try to do with the kids is instill confidence in them and make them feel loved. But in truth, I feel like I receive far more from the children than I give. Every day when I arrive, they come running to greet me, grabbing my purse and bags to carry in for me. Every day when I leave, I am engulfed in hugs and well wishes. The truth is, they’ve increased MY confidence and made me feel loved by them. What a great gift.

Next time: two individual stories of girls at The Haven …