Reaching out to children in need

West alumna aids Ugandan school
By Alondra Canizal
Iowa City Press-Citizen

Liz Whiston says that instead of playing drinking games on her 21st birthday, she celebrated by playing musical chairs with some of her closest friends -- in Uganda.

Whiston of Iowa City was a volunteer at the Kikaaya College, a secondary school in the Eastern African nation located west of Kenya.

"I wanted to do something different," she said. "I wanted to be on my own where I could be absorbed in the culture."

Whiston, whose birthday was in March, had the chance to go to Uganda during the second semester of her junior year at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.

From January to July, she lived in the teacher's quarters in the compound next to the school where she taught. Her living quarters consisted of two cement rooms with no indoor plumbing and outhouses for bathing. She mostly ate beans and unsweetened bananas, called Matooke.

"Being used to comfortable living, it was hard not having running water," Whiston said.

During her stay, Whiston said she helped with fund raising for the school, and primarily taught English. Absorbing herself in the culture opened her eyes to the needs of the school, the students and teachers.

"I realized that what the students needed was a way to pay their teachers," Whiston said.

Whiston initiated the start of Education for Development, an organization that helps support Kikaaya College and other schools in Uganda.

With the help of her dad, John, and three other members of the newly formed group who also are from the United States, Whiston has been able to get support from the non-profit Resource Center at the University of Iowa Law School.

Since it's incorporation in February, the organization has raised $5,000 to pay the school fees of 10 secondary school girls. The fees help pay teachers' salaries.

"A lot of the problems with education are acute when it comes to females," she said.

Traditionally, Whiston said males in Uganda are more educated than females, who tend to stay at home to do house work or take care of siblings.

Whiston also said school children harbored misconceptions about people in the U.S., thinking they carry guns as part of their everyday lives.

A pen pal program was started toward the end of the school year with 35 middle school students in West Branch, 15 from West High and about 100 from Uganda.

"I thought how great it would be if young students there could connect with young students here," Whiston said.

This next school year, Whiston said she hopes to expand the program to incorporate more students from the U.S.

Dorothy Whiston said visiting her daughter in Uganda left her overwhelmed by the country's poverty, but she found their outlook on life inspiring.

"It was very shocking, but at the same time, I found the people to be very optimistic and joyful in their lives," Dorothy Whiston said.

John Whiston, who is a member of the Education for Development, said the group has a bright future.

"I'm happy to sit back and be the secretary and treasurer," John said. "They're really excited about doing a lot of things."

Within the next year, Liz Whiston and the organization hope to raise $40,000 to help build a school in Western Uganda; students at the school are currently in a temporary building made out of mud. She also hopes to go back next summer and help with the building of the school.

Whiston said that in the future, the organization hopes to expand the aid offered to other areas in Uganda and Eastern Africa.

• Age: 21.
  
• Hometown: Iowa City.
  
• Education: West High; senior at Smith College in Northampton, Mass., studying classics, Greek and Latin.
  
• Family: Mother Dorothy; father John; brother Tom.
  
• Hobbies and interests: Reading, playing the viola, international politics and fashion.