My Ugandan Voyage of Discovery
A calling. A purpose. A passion. We all have them. I am reminded of this every time I walk into a doctor's office, listen to a professor lecture, or talk to my ten year old sister about her dreams of becoming a famous artist. When, where, and how we find them are a little less certain. For me, it took four months of field research under the equatorial sun, sharing and experiencing those raw human interactions we are left with when we strip away the conveniences of a common language and culture. This website provides insights and reflections from two Ugandan summers of discovery, the maiden voyages for a lifelong commitment to human development, founded in dignity and compassion for all.
My name is Kristen Kelly and I am an undergraduate senior studying anthropology and international development at the University of Notre Dame. During the summers of 2011 and 2012, I researched a participatory development initiative in 12 rural villages in central Uganda. At some point during the course of this research, I found it. That calling. That purpose. That passion. As I wrote in the final entry of my journal from those two Ugandan summers...
"I'm a changed person, different than the one who sat at her airport gate nearly a year ago, unsure of the events that were to transpire but willing to begin the adventure of a lifetime. I can't define the change. I'd have trouble expressing the process of transformation. But as the wheels of my AA flight 99 hit the runway and the aircraft rumbles and slows to its gate, I assure you I feel it - and with it, a deep appreciation and understanding that this change will be decisively formative in the shaping of my future."
The purpose of this website is to discuss the research and experiences that were so formative in this process of transformation. The slideshow below provides a visual backdrop for what it was like to live, research and adventure in Uganda, the Pearl of Africa.
My name is Kristen Kelly and I am an undergraduate senior studying anthropology and international development at the University of Notre Dame. During the summers of 2011 and 2012, I researched a participatory development initiative in 12 rural villages in central Uganda. At some point during the course of this research, I found it. That calling. That purpose. That passion. As I wrote in the final entry of my journal from those two Ugandan summers...
"I'm a changed person, different than the one who sat at her airport gate nearly a year ago, unsure of the events that were to transpire but willing to begin the adventure of a lifetime. I can't define the change. I'd have trouble expressing the process of transformation. But as the wheels of my AA flight 99 hit the runway and the aircraft rumbles and slows to its gate, I assure you I feel it - and with it, a deep appreciation and understanding that this change will be decisively formative in the shaping of my future."
The purpose of this website is to discuss the research and experiences that were so formative in this process of transformation. The slideshow below provides a visual backdrop for what it was like to live, research and adventure in Uganda, the Pearl of Africa.