Alyssa is a long-time supporter of Beautiful Response and has volunteered with Raising Up Hope for Uganda (RUHU) 3 times. She took her first trip to RUHU in 2014 at 19 years old. “During this trip, I knew I would never forget the faces and stories of those that I met and that these organizations would be in my life for many more years to come.”
When asked why she felt called to go and volunteer with RUHU, Alyssa talked about how her church youth group trips had prepared her heart and opened her eyes to the need that exists around the world. “There [is] a big world out there filled with people that are all God’s children in need of a savior, love, and oftentimes in need of the most basic of needs. I think I was feeling the willingness to say yes to whatever and wherever God was calling me to, no matter how far away or scary that might be.”
For Alyssa, a typical day at RUHU included starting at the boys’ or girls’ home helping serve breakfast. Next, she would spend a little time teaching at the primary school. In the afternoon a couple of days a week would be time in the slums doing wound care and providing a meal. Her day would usually end at the boys’ or girls’ home doing devotions with them. For Alyssa, “The one thing I really loved doing was spending time in the slums providing meals and doing basic wound care. Now I am a nurse and very excited to someday become involved with the medical outreaches.” RUHU has developed so much since Alyssa’s first trip in 2014. Some of RUHU’s programs didn’t even exist when Alyssa volunteered and she noted that she is also excited to volunteer with the new slum outreach program, Muwala Mulungi.
For any of you reading this and wondering whether this might be an opportunity for you, Alyssa has some advice. “If you are coming with the mindset that you have a better agenda or that you can come and fix the “problems” of a third world country you are volunteering for the wrong reasons. Beautiful Response’s vision has always been one of support for what the people of Uganda have been doing. RUHU and Beautiful Response are such a special duo. RUHU was started and is still run by Ugandans that saw a need and decided to make a difference.”
Do you feel called to Uganda to see the work being done at RUHU? Do you want to build life-changing relationships and partner in RUHU’s mission to meet the needs of the most vulnerable? Reflecting back on her experience Alyssa shared, “It is amazing to me how a strange new place can so quickly feel like a second home, and somewhere that you crave to go back to…allowing myself to build relationships and getting to know the children [was] by far my favorite.” We ask you to prayerfully consider if volunteering is what it looks like for you to respond beautifully.
Interested in learning more or ready to take the plunge? If so, please reach out to Laura at laura@beautifulresponse.org. She looks forward to hearing from you!
