Uganda through Jessica's Eyes/Camera

Dear Readers,

Please excuse my long absence from the blogging world. Things have been busy: 7 weeks in Africa, 3 days in NYC, 1 week as a camp counselor. I've been able to wind down and clean some of the chaos in my room after 11 weeks of an intense, but incredibly rewarding, summer. I'm working on putting together reports and albums to wrap up my African experiences. I'm also preparing internship materials to guide the next few months (and maybe the rest) of my journey toward nonprofit accounting.

I've been trying to upload as many videos as possible, but Vimeo has a weekly limit. Thankfully, I've been able to upload all my footage from Uganda (see below)!

Enjoy!

Jessica K. Nguyen
Senior - Accounting & Finance
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com
accountantforAfrica.blogspot.com

Here they are in chronological order:

Africa 2009 (Uganda): Corporate worship at Mnamuwongo Revival Church from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Africa 2009 (Uganda): Simon singing and dancing at Mnawumongo Revival Church from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Africa 2009 (Uganda): Sunday School at Mnamuwongo Revival Church from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Africa 2009 (Uganda): The ride to work from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Africa 2009 (Uganda): Paul and Julius making biofuel from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Africa 2009 (Uganda): Rain storm in Soroti! from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Africa 2009 (Uganda): jammin' in the rain from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Africa 2009 (Uganda): Practicing Beacon of Hope Song from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Africa 2009 (Uganda): It's a BAT! from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Africa 2009 (Uganda): Soroti Municipal Chorus Performance (1) from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Africa 2009 (Uganda): Stories from Simon from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Africa 2009 (Uganda): Kids choir at Mnamuwongo from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Africa 2009 (Uganda): So Long, Farewell! from Jessica Nguyen on Vimeo.

Inventories (Uganda) as of 6 June 2009

Creepy Crawly Creature Encounters
25 - bug bites
2 - cockroaches in room at Kampala guesthouse
1 - bat in room Soroti guesthouse
WAY TOO MANY - ants in dinner roll
1 - caterpillar in corn husk
1 - brown dragonfly
1 - bright green dragonfly

Questions about marriage/residence in Uganda
2 - "Are you engaged?"
6+ - "Are you married?"
4 - "Are you married to Paul?" (also, "Is Paul your husband?")
4 - "Will you move to Uganda (permanently)?"
2 - "Would you ever marry a Ugandan man?" (sometimes followed by, "I have a list!")
3 - "When are you coming back?"

Names I have been called
20+ - "Muzungu!" ["white person" in Luganda] (also, "Muzungu, bah-yee (bye)!"
5 - "Emosugut!" ["white person" in Ateso]
3 - "Mudugu!" [children mis-pronouncing aforementioned words]
4 - "Jennifer"
1 - "Naomi"

Media
799 - Photos taken
43 - Videos recorded
10 - Videos shared
6000+ - Songs shared
too many to count - Songs sung
5 - Unexpected songs heard (Celine Dion, *N SYNC, Faith Hill)
3 - Books started (to read)
3 - Books finished
4 - Books still being read
3 - Books purchased

These inventories should also include a countless number of amazing people I have met, various new phrases/words learned, and a whole lot of laughter and smiles.

Paul and I are in South Africa at the Cottages at Injesuthi now. We arrived on Wednesday evening and it's been a blast so far. I'll be sure to keep inventory on interesting happenings down there, too =)

Nerding out,

Jessica K. Nguyen
Junior - Accounting
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com
accountantforAfrica.blogspot.com

Africa thus far: Beautiful weather, hospitable people, broken people, and cockroaches.

My friend Paul Storms and I arrived in Kampala, Uganda on Tuesday! We had two flights that were about 8 hours each, with a stop in Amsterdam in between. I think this was a very fair amount of traveling, considering that it took 40 hours to get to our destination when I went to South Africa in 2007!

Here we are at an Irish Pub (Murphy's) in Amsterdam, Holland. I got an Irish Shamrock and some Amsterdame Bitterballen and Paul got a Murphy's Red and some Fish+chips+mushy peas.

Uganda is beautiful, to say the very least. I'm a big fan of puffy clouds and there are a bunch of fluffy white clouds. Right now I'm in the offices at Pilgrim in Kampala, which is right next to Lake Victoria, the biggest lake in all of Africa! Paul just left for Soroti to do some farming work with Aaron Ruud and I'm in Kampala for about another week working on a project with the finance/accounting department here. It's been a humbling experience so far; Angella, the head accountant at Kampala, has a bachelor's in Finance and an MBA in Accounting and Finance. Jane, the bookkeeper, has her degree in Accounting. I haven't even finished my senior yet! But I think this means there are a lot of opportunities for me to learn from them.

As much as I'd love to pretend everything is happy and dandy and perfect, it's not. Don't get me wrong, I've loved my time here thus far. But yesterday we went into town (downtown Kampala) and spent four hours trying to withdraw money from our accounts and get SIM cards and airtime for our cell phones. Barclay's, a large bank, ATMs only accept VISA cards and both Paul and I had Mastercards so we had to see a cashier. The debit/credit card authorization system at Barclay's was down so we had to wait. And... weren't able to access our accounts anyway because our cards are embossed (as opposed to flat) so we had to buy shillings (Ugandan currency) and pay a $25 processing fee. Then we spent at least another hour trying to get a SIM card to work with Paul's phone. Our guide, Simon, waited very patiently throughout the whole thing. He never uttered a word of complaint and was respectful and straightforward when driving and asking people questions and directions. For four hours. Wow.

While we were walking to and from all our destinations, I saw a whole lot of broken people - literally. Many were missing limbs, several were crippled. I saw one lady lying against the wall around Barclay's and there was a baby sitting next to her wearing a beaded thong. Neither of them looked happy or healthy. (I don't have photos because I think it would have been rude for me to gawk at them and treat them like photographic fodder.)

I'm never sure how to reconcile the disparities I see in Africa. I've only been here three days and have ridden in vehicles ranging from a beater van to a brand new compact car with a camera in the back to see what's behind. I've seen people who are broken and in desolate positions and people who are looking fresh, clean, and very wealthy. It is all very interesting to take in.

On a completely different note, last night when I was talking to Paul we found a cockroach in my pants. Thankfully, the pants were hanging on a bedpost and were not on my person. Paul courageously hunted it down and flushed it down the toilet for me. The brand of toilets here are called "Hindware" and the models of sink are "Vitreous." This amuses me.

This post may have been really scatter-brained.. but I just wanted to update as soon as possible. Next time I will make a more sensible, organized post!

Blessings from Uganda,

Jessica K. Nguyen

Senior - Accounting

Michael G. Foster School of Business

University of Washington, Seattle

accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com

accountantforAfrica.blogspot.com

Send Jessica to Africa, help orphans/widows/refugees! (updated post)

Dear Readers,

Some day I’d like to be a nonprofit tax accountant working for an accounting firm like Clark Nuber, Moss Adams, or Sweeney Conrad (who all have significant nonprofit clients). Some day further down the line I’d like to start an association of accountants to provide accounting services for nonprofits working in third world countries. Ultimately, I want to use my skills and degree to enable nonprofit organizations to become more (financially) efficient so they can help more kids in destitute situations.

One of my stepping stones toward these goals is to spend six weeks in Africa this summer to learn more about how nonprofits operate and how administrative decisions affect program work. This summer I’ll be spending three weeks in Uganda doing admin work with two accountants at Pilgrim Africa [http://www.pilgrimafrica.org] and possibly working with students at Pilgrim’s Beacon of Hope College [http://www.pilgrim-uganda.org/soroti.htm]. Then I’ll spend three weeks working at an orphanage in South Africa with the Agathos Foundation [http://www.agathosfoundation.org] loving on kids whose parents/relatives have been murdered or otherwise affected by HIV/AIDS. This trip will directly benefit orphans, widows, refugees, and former child soldiers. My work will also serve these nonprofits AND provide me with priceless insight into issues they face so I can know how to better serve them.

The only problem is… I’m about $3,000 short of my goal ($4,300). This amount covers airfare, housing, food, travel insurance, and other travel expenses. Personal/recreational expenses are on my tab. My payments are due on Monday, May 25^th, and if I don’t make this deadline… I don’t know what I’m going to do (other than, you know, cry). So I need YOUR HELP.

If you know ANYONE who is willing to support me in my endeavors to practice accounting for the sake of kids in Africa, please pass on this letter! Any amount helps; every dollar counts! I am willing to provide administrative, basic accounting, child care, organizational, and manual labor services in exchange for contributions.

Tax-deductible ways to give:

1) Make check(s) payable to Agathos Foundation and send to 702 N 128^th St Seattle, WA 98133 (preferred)

2) Agathos' Secure Online Giving: Please note "PT - Jessica Nguyen" or else the money won't go to my trip!

3) Let’s meet up for lunch/coffee; I can tell you more about my trip/vision and you can give as you feel led =D

OR: 4) PayPal (NOT tax-deductible)

Screenshots of my brochure (hard copies available): Click to enlarge

Kindest Regards,

Jessica K. Nguyen
Junior – Accounting
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforafrica.blogspot.com
accountantforAfrica.blogspot.com

tossing and turning.

It's happening again.

My mind is whirring. Ideas are formulating. Fears are irking.

Africa.

I can't get away from it..

Africa.

How do I verbalize this burden? It's on my heart, on my shoulders, on my mind...

I need to write support letters.

But where do I start?

Hi, my name is Jessica. I need $6,000 to help widows, orphans, and refugees in Africa.

Okay. Well, that's vague. What does that even mean?

I want to spend three weeks in Uganda doing administrative work for an NGO (Pilgrim Uganda) that serves refugees through a school, university, and relief work - physically and spiritually. Pilgrim also has an anti-malaria program (Move On Malaria) that has been so successful that the Ugandan government wants to adopt their program as a template to fight malaria throughout the entire country. Pilgrim is also making moves to fight malaria in Congo, which is in a very dangerous state right now. Your money will enable me to enable Pilgrim to run more efficiently and accomplish its goals more readily. Your contributions will bring Pilgrim one step closer to eliminating malaria, one step closer to bringing hope to this nation.

I also want to spend two to three weeks in South Africa at the orphanage I visited in 2007. I spent almost four weeks at the Cottages at Injesuthi and it completely changed my life.

Where do I begin with how it changed my life? How can I iterate the life-encompassing implications of holding a dying child in your arms - not knowing how long the child has left, but knowing that his time will be spent with people who love him unconditionally, fully, faithfully....? How do I tell people about the sobering effects of hearing the stories of horror and redemption in these people's lives? Have you ever heard a grown woman tell you about her aunt sending a witch doctor to rape her when she was a child? Have you heard her story of victory - fighting off the man and being rescued from that life? Have you heard her story of redemption? She used to never know where her next meal would come from - or if there would ever be one. All eleven of her brothers and sisters have DIED - mostly from HIV/AIDS. But now she's staying at a place where she's served three square meals per day, she's a caretaker for several of her nieces and nephews, she's got her own business (Lungile's Cards), and she's using proceeds to build a house so that her family can be together. She has the love of her community and her church and her God, when before she only experienced fear and sorrow from blood relatives.

I left the Cottages knowing that I wanted to do something about what I saw. Staying at the Cottages burdened me to the point where I lost sleep and grade points because I couldn't rest without reacting to the glimpses of redemption I saw. After MUCH deliberation, thought, and prayer, I came to the conclusion that I want to use my degree to help these kids. I want to practice accounting to help organizations run more efficiently and better accomplish their mission of serving others.

But I won't be doing accounting work in South Africa.

The Agathos Foundation's flagship orphan village is located in Loskop, RSA (Republic of South Africa). I spent every single day there with a thirteen-year-old girl (Nothile). While she was at school I hung out with two toddlers: Mfundo and Kwanele (HIV+). I got to know a few other kids, but left regretting not spending enough time/effort getting to know them. Ever since I boarded the plane back to America, I have wanted to go back. I want these kids to understand that people DO consistently think about, care for, and love them. I want to go back and get to know them better, offer any advice they might need, and be a person who can just listen to and pray for them. I want to lead Bible studies and point them to Jesus to remind them to have HOPE - because He is the true Source of HOPE.

But this trip isn't all about me and what I can get out of it. It's about the kids. I just want to go there and love on them - show them Jesus' love through my words and actions. I know that I will learn more from them than they'll learn from me... that's what happened last time.

Do you see Kwanele's eyes? Do you see the hope in them? That hope is there because of God's work through the Agathos Foundation - through the help of people like you.

Will you help me do this? Will you support me in your donations and/or prayers to make a difference in the lives of orphans, widows, and refugees in Africa?

I have a PayPal account, but prefer to not use it because they charge for transactions and that's taking money away from these kids. If you are interested in supporting me or in being part of my email list serve of people to pray for my trip, please contact me at jesknguyen@gmail.com.

Okay, it is 2:17 am and I have class in six hours. (Apologies for grammatical/syntactical errors. It is 2am, after all..) I hope you will join me in efforts to better these people's lives.

Kindest Regards,

Jessica K. Nguyen
Junior - Accounting
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com

Beacon of Hope in Uganda

Here's a video on Pilgrim Uganda's school in Soroti, Uganda:



(The girl who speaks at 7:44 is great, by the way.)

Another intern and I watched this on Monday as part of our training. We're working to refine accounting procedures, policies, and systems for Pilgrim's Uganda offices in Kampala and Soroti. This will allow them to keep better track of their finances, spend more wisely/efficiently, and create better financial accountability. This is a huge deal for them because there is not much of an "accounting mindset" that's been fully established. Also, it's always great for donors/investors to know that their money is being used with due diligence.

I'm excited... are you?

Jessica K. Nguyen
Junior - Accounting
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com

Recalibrating.

It has recently come to my attention that all the stuff I'm doing (or trying to do, at least) - if I want to succeed in accomplishing the goals set before me - needs to be focused on something other than myself. It was quite convicting, actually, because I realized that my last several blogs posts have been about nothing EXCEPT me, which is NOT the purpose of this blog. Nor is it the purpose of my career orientation.

So from now on I will make a stronger effort to fulfill the purpose of this blog, of my career. It's the purpose described in the header of this blog. All of this is about the KIDS. It's about LIVES CHANGED, lives changing, and lives yet to be changed. Accounting for Africa means I'm doing this all of the sake of the kids and people there. As indirectly related as it all sounds, I firmly believe that proper accounting practices make a material difference in how able a firm is to accomplish its goals.

And so, I'm starting an internship with the Agathos Foundation this winter. AF is the nonprofit I went to South Africa with in summer of 2007 and I hope to go back again this summer. I've also got an extended internship lined up with Pilgrim Uganda for spring and summer. Pilgrim serves refugees in Uganda. Details are still up in the air, but the hope is that I'll be able to help out with payroll and taxes overseas 'cause that's a very large expense for them. Hoping to also help out at the local school that Pilgrim works with. I expect this summer to see many, many lives changed... and this is what it's all about.

Jessica K. Nguyen
Junior - Accounting
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com