Changes in Gulu: Handing Over the Keys

Hello! Happy Holidays! My name is Martina and I am the new voice for social media here in Gulu, Uganda. I live at the One Mango Tree house where the women come everyday to work. I attended Westmont College in Santa Barbara and earned my degree in English. When I was home for the holidays one year I saw a presentation by Watoto about the work being done in Uganda and the effects of war, poverty, and disease on the country. I loved the vision of cultivating a generation of leaders to lift Uganda out of its crisis and create a sustainable country.

Starting with the dream of coming to work with Watoto, I eventually made it out with no certain organization in mind and was able to find a children’s home to work with. Hearing about possible opportunity opening up at One Mango Tree I applied online. After I arrived in Uganda I was contacted by One Mango Tree and hired to take Lauranne’s place as she continues her journey. Lauranne was here for almost a year and has given me such a wealth of knowledge! She has taught me so much about the Acholi people, the language, and what our organization is serving to do in this city and around the world.

I love living where the women work, visiting them in their homes and seeing the good their work at OMT has done in their lives. They are able to feed their children and provide for the basic needs of clothing, schooling, and shelter. My highest hope for my time at OMT is only that I would get individual time with each of the women who work here and be able to invest deeply into their lives. I want to help them learn to save their money, become even more English literate, and become fully self-sustainable. I'm excited to share this journey with you.

Christmas Blessings,
Martina