Rebekah McKerley
2019 - 2020
Jinja, Uganda
Empowering Single Mothers in Uganda
Rebekah McKerley (2019-2020: Jinja, Uganda) will work as a social worker with sponsoring organization HEAL Ministries to further their mission of empowering single mothers and promoting family preservation in Jinja.
Hello! My name is Rebekah and I am so happy that you are joining me in this journey as I navigate my first year of working with HEAL Ministries in Jinja, Uganda. I graduated in May with a Social Work degree, and I am so excited to put my degree to use as I expand HEAL’s social work program.
I grew up in Nashville which weirdly enough has lots of connections to Uganda. After graduating high school, I took a gap year and lived in Jinja before going to Belmont for college. I loved it so much that I returned 3 more times during college. I fell in love with the simplicity and community-focused culture. I also fell in love with HEAL’s goal of family preservation after seeing so many kids placed in orphanages because of poverty, not a lack of living family.
Thank you for joining me in this journey! I hope you are able to learn more about me, but most importantly I hope you learn more about the beauty and strength of Uganda.
More about me....
Home Town: Nashville, TN
Major(s): Social Work
My Stories
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A chicken in the house
Uganda is continuing to manage COVID. We had our first deaths reported in the last couple of weeks, but the spread of the
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African Time
If you have ever had the privilege of visiting Uganda, you have probably heard the term “African time.” African time is VERY different
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Jinja becomes a city
On July 1st, Jinja will gain the status of “city.” With that status comes development and growth. Within the town there are a
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Food and Flooding
The lockdown here in Uganda has started to ease up! On May 26th (my birthday!) we were allowed to start driving personal vehicles
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the mundane
Life is slow and simple these days. We are on day 49 of lockdown. I’ve been getting out of the house more often
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The Strength of Uganda
This time in life is crazy and weird and with all the uncertainty of the future, I know we are all struggling in
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Lockdown in Uganda
The world is full of uncertainty in the midst of this pandemic. Here in Jinja, Uganda, the situation has been changing daily, as
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Watching the Virus from Afar
Oh, the coronavirus. It is all people are talking about these days! It has been really interesting to watch from my small-town home
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Empowerment
Empowerment: The process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life and claiming one’s rights. Empowerment has become a buzzword
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Community
My life in Uganda is in some ways just like my life in Nashville, and in other ways it is drastically different. Today
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A New Year
Happy New Year from Uganda! I spent New Year’s Eve watching fireworks and listening to live music at a local hotel, and it
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Rainy Holidays
Rainy season in Uganda normally lasts about 3 months at a time, but this year it has been raining since April. Recently, in
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Thanksgiving in Uganda
It’s rainy season here in Uganda, and this afternoon is particularly rainy and cold (yes, the low 70s feels cold to me now).
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Life is Crazy and Exciting
After some major writer’s block, I am back to update you on all the cray life things happening here in Uganda. The past
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Mukwano
Mukwano means friend in the local tribal language called Luganda. I have this mukwano. She is beautiful, strong, honest, and kind. I met
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Settling in at HEAL
At HEAL we have 80 kids in preschool, 65 in childcare, several women in our artisan program, and around 75 staff members. There
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No Hurry in Africa
There is a saying here that states “there is no hurry in Africa,” and it’s true. Uganda does not run by
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Settling In
Hello from Uganda! I have been in Jinja for 10 days, and tomorrow I have my first day of work. I am super
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Uganda Bound
I can’t believe that in just a few days I’ll be on a plane heading to Uganda! It has been 5 years since
