Like any high school student, I have spent many late nights staring at my ceiling contemplating my future. In these lonely conversations, I often wonder what my role may be in contributing to something bigger than myself while also pursuing my passions. I am endlessly drawn to service by my love for human connection. Academically, I am captivated by science […]
It’s been a year since I had the privilege to travel to Uganda with RUFC. Although it may sound like a cliché, it truly transformed my life for the better.
The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly illustrated both how connected we are and how vastly unequal the world is. At this time we all need to be focused on continuing to help #levelthefield for all youth, including ensuring that all kids have the resources they need to continue to learn safely. Without urgent action, the gap between well off children and those less fortunate will continue to expand.
Six years ago today I had an experience that I have come to recognize as the most defining moment of my young life and the spark that led to Ray United FC. As I have stated over and over again, the opportunity to engage with rural Ugandan kids on the soccer field redefined my world view. But how did this […]
In late October, I traveled to Uganda and Malawi for two weeks to train and live with two soccer academies there, Football for Good (FFG) and Ascent Academy. I got connected with FFG through Ray United FC, which my dad has been involved with. When visiting RUFC camp earlier this year, he made a video project called “I am Ray […]
9/24/2019 A few weeks ago, I pulled up to find a boxy news van in front of my house. I was expecting it. For a few days I had been excited to share about my work partnering with at-risk communities in Northern Uganda with millions in Southern California. The interviewer from the station set up his camera in my living […]
As a part of this workshop, I had the opportunity to share two of my own pieces of advocacy with the students. The first is entitled Mother, and it uses the analogy of a dying mother abandoned by her negligent children to encapsulate the global climate change crisis. The second was shared solely with my students, and it speaks about the importance of bonding together as women in response to the gender inequities that women globally face.
I am often asked when people hear that I am traveling to Uganda whether or not it is safe. There seems to be a prevailing misperception that African countries are dangerous, especially more dangerous than high-income countries in the West. Lately, I have been struck by the hypocrisy of US citizens questioning public safety in other countries.
Earlier this summer, I had the privilege of attending the RUFC Youth Vision Trip in Uganda, allowing me to meet many new friends and be immersed in an incredible culture and country. Uganda is the first place I have traveled outside of the US and many people told me that I had picked “quite the trip” for my first international experience. Although this made me a little bit nervous, they were right; it was quite the trip. I had the experience of a lifetime and I cannot wait to go back.
This June, RUFC successfully implemented our fifth annual soccer and health camp. It came at the cost of a lot of work from us and all of our wonderful Ugandan partners, and I couldn’t be happier with how it went. For the first time ever, the weather held up! We didn’t have one downpour! That combined with four years of […]