ConnectAbaana allows people to experience Ugandan life

This Saturday, Chapel Hill residents will get the chance to experience the life of a Ugandan child — right in their own backyard.

ConnectAbaana, a nonprofit in the Triangle that works to improve the lives of Ugandan children, will host an interactive exhibit at Southern Community Park starting at 10 a.m.

While admission to the event is free, residents will have the opportunity to donate to the organization during a trail walk. The walk costs $5, which would pay to keep a child in school for one week.

Tori Lebrun, spokeswoman for ConnectAbaana, said the purpose of the trail walk is to demonstrate Ugandan children’s daily walk to school and provide interesting facts about the Ugandan lifestyle.

“The community outreach event will bring a little bit of African village flavor to families, students and individuals,” she said.

The event will give residents the chance to try African drumming, as well as carrying water jugs that Ugandans lug back and forth from wells.

Every activity will allow residents to explore what it’s like to grow up in Uganda.

Christopher Kigongo, founder of ConnectAbaana and a UNC alumnus, said he started the organization after growing up in poverty in Uganda.

He said he was inspired to make a difference in Africa after escaping poverty through the help of a teacher.

“I initially thought this was unique to my country, but I was wrong,” Kigongo said. “I went to several African countries and saw similar images, faces, situations.”

“Such imagery helped to clarify the urgency but also the responsibility to do something sooner than later,” he said.

Winkie La Force, the program director in the U.S., said Ugandan school systems and ConnectAbaana both benefit from the program.

ConnectAbaana works with seven schools to get them the resources they need to be successful and sustainable.

She said the schools they work with run independently. They select their own teachers and curricula and choose what they think is best for their community.

Since ConnectAbaana’s first supported school launched in 2001, Lebrun said it has worked with schools to provide business and leadership training to teachers.

“Empowerment is one of ConnectAbaana’s highest values,” Lebrun said. “We want to empower the teachers there to recognize their own strengths.”

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