From church choirs to school recitals, singing and dancing in Uganda are almost always accompanied by drums. Even the nursery school students are learning how to tap out a rhythm on small drums. Drums also accompany the choir during Sunday Mass—when they echo through the airy assembly hall, the sound is really incredible.

On my last day in Nkokonjeru, my fiancé Kollin and I went for a final visit to St. Anthony Nursery School to say goodbye to the children. Kollin is the Theology Content Writer for CARITAS For Children and this was his first trip to one of the locations of CARITAS' child sponsorship programs. I accompanied him and volunteered at St. Anthony Nursery School in Uganda. Saying goodbye was very difficult as we had grown to love the little children at St. Anthony. Kollin and I were very blessed that both Benedict, the boy he sponsors, and Verone, the sponsored child of my parents, attend Baby Class at St. Anthony so we got to know both little boys very well, which made saying goodbye doubly difficult.

After quite a long and uncomfortable flight, I was warmly welcomed by several of the Felician Sisters at the Centre of the Holy Mother of Mercy, just outside of Warsaw. Along with them were, Kinga and Olga, two of the teachers from the centre’s afterschool program for disadvantaged children which is supported by CARITAS For Children, the charitable organization which I’ll be working for during my internship in Poland.

This evening I visited the Sisters' garden with Sr. Carolyne, Program Coordinator for CARITAS For Children's child sponsorship programs in Nkokonjeru. The Little Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi have some land behind the convent and Sr. Carolyne spends many Saturdays there working in the gardens.

Throughout the world, May 12 is designated as International Nurses Day (IND), recognizing nurses' contribution to humanity.

The nurses that I've met are among the most caring, thoughtful, patient people I have ever met. The memory of them is etched on my heart by the care they have provided for my family. I won't ever forget them.

Nurses who care for children who are ill are on a higher plain. When a child, who has experienced hardship herself in the very early years of life, grows up to choose a life of service, it makes one take notice.

Fish is an expensive product in Uganda. Very rarely do the Little Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi or their students and children in their care enjoy a high protein meal with any kind of meat. Sister Immaculate wants to help solve this problem.

by Jennifer Ostrowski, CARITAS For Children Intern

Some of the “original” CARITAS children, the very first to be sponsored who have been with the child sponsorship program for many years have now graduated from secondary school (high school) in Uganda. The sisters call these girls “the pioneers”. I had the opportunity to sit with some of these young women and discuss their plans for the future. Today’s post features my conversation with Lestetutah (nickname Resty), sponsored by Mary Ann M. Resty's answers to my questions appear below in an interview format.

The subject of “family patterns in Africa” is so broad that it cannot be adequately addressed in a few lines. The cultural and physical diversity combined with the dramatic social changes of the last three decades on the continent makes family patterns so variegated.

So my short description of the African family is only a partial view of a complex reality – because Africa is plural and it has complex realities. I am going to limit my explanation to the understanding of Ugandan families, which I believe share a lot in common with other African families found in other countries.

by Jennifer Ostrowski, CARITAS For Children Intern

Some of the “original” CARITAS children, among the very earliest to benefit from the child sponsorship programs in Uganda have now graduated from secondary school (high school). The Sisters call these girls “the pioneers”. I had the opportunity to sit with some of these young women and discuss their plans for the future. Today’s post features my conversation with Sarah, sponsored by Carol R. Since 2008 when she was in Primary Six, Sarah has had Carol's care and support. Sarah's answers to my questions appear below in an interview format.

I would like to begin with a quote from The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “…I call to mind the golden words of the Great Teacher of mankind, ‘Unless ye become like one of these!’ And now, my friend, these children, who are our equals, whom we ought to consider as our models, we treat them as though they were our subjects. They are allowed no will of their own. And have we, then, none ourselves?”