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makes a lasting impact.
01-
Anouchka Lucas-Carter
To appreciate the ‘beauty in the ugly’ you have to understand the world through its people…explore a land unfamiliar from your own and appreciate its cultural beauty by meeting the people that belong to the land, talk to them, see how they live, eat locally grown food and experience firsthand how one simple conversation, sharing your ideas, skills, knowledge, contacts, resources and volunteering your time can leave a life changing imprint on people’s lives…leaving you with memories to last a life time..
I have so many memories’ that I will cherish forever, but on my first trip to Uganda there was so much to do but in so little time, we hardly had time to stop and take a picture but one particular day we decided to bring out the bubbles and face paint…the home was full of laughter the entire day! The children had never seen bubbles before, they loved it! Each having a turn to blow bubbles while the other children ran around trying to catch them, they did this for hours!
My face painting is limited to clowns & random cat like tigers so one by one i painted their faces but little Brenda was scared of the face paint, she didn’t want me to touch her face but the other children encouraged her to join in, she still wasn’t happy & didn’t understand what I was doing to her face so I ran to get my compact to show her how cute she looked… pure silence… confusion at first then none stop chatter, they all crowded over me to take a look into the mirror… all looking into the mirror, then at each other & then back into the mirror trying to understand that it was a reflection of themselves….waw!…in that moment everything was put into perspective (I’m so thankful Kelly Wallace from Ugly Duckling was there volunteering with me to capture this moment & feeling that I will never forget)…they had never seen what they looked like before! I hadn’t realized but in the slums…mirrors are luxury items!…it’s the little things…
LIUU’s made me realize how easy it is to change the life of another, just in our everyday lives…we often forget the value of our circumstances, we live a life full off resources, contacts and knowledge or simply by spreading awareness you yourself can help…volunteer your time & elevate lives! This was the inspiration behind “Conscious Traveler” to give other like minded individuals an opportunity to become part of the LIUU team, only with our collective efforts can we sustain the home and empower these children (elevating their lives) but we can’t do it on our own, we need your contacts, skills, resources or time to achieve this.
For more information on how to become a conscious traveler or to join the LIUU team, please feel free to contact me, anouchka.lcarter@liveitup.org
February 2012– onwards
Anouchka Lucas-Carter
Volunteer Community Engagement
Coordinator for LIU Uganda
01-
Anouchka Lucas-Carter
To appreciate the ‘beauty in the ugly’ you have to understand the world through its people…explore a land unfamiliar from your own and appreciate its cultural beauty by meeting the people that belong to the land, talk to them, see how they live, eat locally grown food and experience firsthand how one simple conversation, sharing your ideas, skills, knowledge, contacts, resources and volunteering your time can leave a life changing imprint on people’s lives…leaving you with memories to last a life time..
I have so many memories’ that I will cherish forever, but on my first trip to Uganda there was so much to do but in so little time, we hardly had time to stop and take a picture but one particular day we decided to bring out the bubbles and face paint…the home was full of laughter the entire day! The children had never seen bubbles before, they loved it! Each having a turn to blow bubbles while the other children ran around trying to catch them, they did this for hours!
My face painting is limited to clowns & random cat like tigers so one by one i painted their faces but little Brenda was scared of the face paint, she didn’t want me to touch her face but the other children encouraged her to join in, she still wasn’t happy & didn’t understand what I was doing to her face so I ran to get my compact to show her how cute she looked… pure silence… confusion at first then none stop chatter, they all crowded over me to take a look into the mirror… all looking into the mirror, then at each other & then back into the mirror trying to understand that it was a reflection of themselves….waw!…in that moment everything was put into perspective (I’m so thankful Kelly Wallace from Ugly Duckling was there volunteering with me to capture this moment & feeling that I will never forget)…they had never seen what they looked like before! I hadn’t realized but in the slums…mirrors are luxury items!…it’s the little things…
LIUU’s made me realize how easy it is to change the life of another, just in our everyday lives…we often forget the value of our circumstances, we live a life full off resources, contacts and knowledge or simply by spreading awareness you yourself can help…volunteer your time & elevate lives! This was the inspiration behind “Conscious Traveler” to give other like minded individuals an opportunity to become part of the LIUU team, only with our collective efforts can we sustain the home and empower these children (elevating their lives) but we can’t do it on our own, we need your contacts, skills, resources or time to achieve this.
For more information on how to become a conscious traveler or to join the LIUU team, please feel free to contact me, anouchka.lcarter@liveitup.org
February 2012– onwards
Anouchka Lucas-Carter
Volunteer Community Engagement
Coordinator for LIU Uganda
01-
Anouchka Lucas-Carter
To appreciate the ‘beauty in the ugly’ you have to understand the world through its people…explore a land unfamiliar from your own and appreciate its cultural beauty by meeting the people that belong to the land, talk to them, see how they live, eat locally grown food and experience firsthand how one simple conversation, sharing your ideas, skills, knowledge, contacts, resources and volunteering your time can leave a life changing imprint on people’s lives…leaving you with memories to last a life time..
I have so many memories’ that I will cherish forever, but on my first trip to Uganda there was so much to do but in so little time, we hardly had time to stop and take a picture but one particular day we decided to bring out the bubbles and face paint…the home was full of laughter the entire day! The children had never seen bubbles before, they loved it! Each having a turn to blow bubbles while the other children ran around trying to catch them, they did this for hours!
My face painting is limited to clowns & random cat like tigers so one by one i painted their faces but little Brenda was scared of the face paint, she didn’t want me to touch her face but the other children encouraged her to join in, she still wasn’t happy & didn’t understand what I was doing to her face so I ran to get my compact to show her how cute she looked… pure silence… confusion at first then none stop chatter, they all crowded over me to take a look into the mirror… all looking into the mirror, then at each other & then back into the mirror trying to understand that it was a reflection of themselves….waw!…in that moment everything was put into perspective (I’m so thankful Kelly Wallace from Ugly Duckling was there volunteering with me to capture this moment & feeling that I will never forget)…they had never seen what they looked like before! I hadn’t realized but in the slums…mirrors are luxury items!…it’s the little things…
LIUU’s made me realize how easy it is to change the life of another, just in our everyday lives…we often forget the value of our circumstances, we live a life full off resources, contacts and knowledge or simply by spreading awareness you yourself can help…volunteer your time & elevate lives! This was the inspiration behind “Conscious Traveler” to give other like minded individuals an opportunity to become part of the LIUU team, only with our collective efforts can we sustain the home and empower these children (elevating their lives) but we can’t do it on our own, we need your contacts, skills, resources or time to achieve this.
For more information on how to become a conscious traveler or to join the LIUU team, please feel free to contact me, anouchka.lcarter@liveitup.org
February 2012– onwards
Anouchka Lucas-Carter
Volunteer Community Engagement
Coordinator for LIU Uganda
02-
Sarah Bennett
I spent my Spring Break returning to Uganda to visit the children homed by the ‘Live It Up Uganda’ charity—a home for abandoned children. I had previously spent 10 days with them in December, helping decorate their new home and celebrate their first ever Christmas.
I got involved with the Charity because, after 6 years in Dubai, still feeling fortunate and blessed with the wonderful lifestyle I have, I also felt I wanted to do something to help others not as lucky as I am!
I have had some amazing holidays, but decided to put future holiday plans on hold and use my spare time helping a worthy cause.
This visit, we had a big joint birthday party for ALL the children, as they do not know when their birthdays are. I also spent time decorating, making games, cooking and playing with the children. I was very grateful for the kind donations the EY2B children made – I took piles of clothes, toys, books, along with personal letters our class had written to them.
It has made my class reflect on what they have and they have become more sensitive to the needs of others, whilst educating them about cultures around the world. The children at both ends are genuinely keen to learn about each other! The children in Uganda have nothing in the way of personal memorabilia, so when they received the letters, cards and photos from my class, they truly treasured them and were so touched knowing that others DO care!
03-
Gabriella Docche
I truly believe what Marcel Proust said regarding the aim of travelling: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes”. This is what comes to my mind when I think about being a conscious traveller: you just need to keep your eyes wide open, make an effort to see even if you don’t want to see and especially, you need to challenge all stereotypes, preconceptios, fears that may prevent you to be your real self in a stranger field. Being a conscious traveller means travelling with your mind but especially with your heart, and when you realize that you start to love unconditionally people you have never met before, or people who don’t belong to your life or nationality you get to understand that you may bring something special in someone’s life.
This is what happened to me during my very first visit to the orphaned kids of Kampala: I let myself go and I felt like my heart was overwhelmed with so much love, good energy, and joy. Those little kids saw me the very first time in their lives, yet they were willing to give and receive so much love, affection, especially willing to put their lives in someone’s hands, ready to trust again. That day I felt something special, and I felt I could give so much to them, and that my little help maybe could mean the world to them.
It is an experience that changes you forever and doesn’t leave you untouched. On my second visit I was so happy to see them in good shape, always smiling and willing to play, and I am still impressed of how educated, kind and respectful they are no matter what they have been going through.
I want to thank Anouchka for inspiring me so much on my first trip and for being such a perfect example of high committment and unconditional love. Thanks also to all the ladies I had the pleasure to meet, especially Jaja’s with her great strenght and divine love, and thank to all those kids, to their strenght, to their unique willing to live and survive: you all just motivated me to be a better person, to let the best come out of me.
I will do my best to keep helping this foundation and especially to raise awarness towards the kids and the need for donations and sponsors. May God bless you all.
February 2013
Gabriella Docche