first week: officially over.

we have survived our first week at the office, and it is pretty much the craziest, best thing i've ever done. the training is intense, there is no time to ourselves, but everything is becoming more exciting by the day. we have learned everything from the history of the war/context of the conflict to the strategies of all of our programs on the ground in uganda to the logistics of the database we will be operating on. i feel so much more confident in everything (which i was already extremely confident in to begin with) that we are doing on the ground in uganda- we are not giving aid, we are partnering with people to help rebuild self-sufficient communities that can live up to their full potential and continue their lives. i LOVE it, i LOVE everyone involved- i just couldn't be happier. the whole staff is youthful, idealistic, and brilliant, and all the programs are truly innovative. although the house, experience and people are so much fun and challenging me in so many amazing ways, the thing i still adore about ic is that they have never lost sight of the cause; they have never lost their sense of urgency or their deep desire and drive to share the stories and live up to their promises. they have never forgotten their outrage and the demand to see the WAR END. and yet they find a way to do it in a culturally relevant - and dare i say, fun - way. they find joy in their sacrifices (and believe me, the ic staff make ridiculous sacrifices), do what it takes to get it done, and remain happily humble. i just can't believe i've been afforded such an amazing opportunity to learn from the best and am continually inspired by the possibilities of this movement. i will be in training for 9 hours in one day and at the end of it, all i want to do when i go home is watch more media and study...wow. i just can't say enough. for more on our specific programs and the way they are laid out (schools for schools, the bracelet campaign, tri, teacher exchange, mend, visible child scholarship program, and more) check out www.invisiblechildren.com/theMission

i am just becoming more excited every day to get out and do what we do best- get people fired up to do what they can to end this war.
but there is still a lot of work to do before i am fully prepared to do that, so...time to put on a pot of coffee (we consume LOTS of coffee around here) and keep at it.