It is hard to believe that 3 months in Uganda have already passed me by! When your days are packed with high-energy meetings and strategic organisational planning with your fellow Blossom Africa team members, I suppose it is easy to lose track of time. My last month here has seen some of the final processes for Blossom Africa to become an official community-based organisation (CBO) in Bunambutye, several interesting partnership meetings with like-minded organisations, and some great strides forward in the pilot training model and modules. I could not be more pleased with the collaborative efforts from all of our team members (Ezra, Jeremiah, Aaron, Mubarack, Ivan, James, Winnie, and Phaima) in these final days as we close 2016 and prepare for 2017.

Although I will be leaving Blossom Africa to join Young 1ove, an NGO in Botswana, I am very excited to remain a strong contributor to and supporter of Blossom Africa’s efforts. As our team finalises plans for our pilot programme in 2017, I will continue to develop and refine the training materials at a distance to ensure that our first programming is of high quality and impact. Additionally, I cannot imagine not staying in touch with all of the team members who have made my work with Blossom Africa incredibly joyful and worthwhile. Fortunately, I was able to spend my final evening in Mbale with the Blossom Africa team during a farewell dinner at Robert & Rose’s (R&R) Guesthouse. We feasted on a delicious home-cooked meal, celebrated our successes so far with a certificate ceremony, and shared memories, many thanks and hopes for the future.

2017 promises to bring more exciting progress from the team as we gain our official CBO status, introduce a new international volunteer, and implement the long-awaited pilot training programme! Also, Jeremiah, one of our key Ugandan volunteers, will attend and observe an intensive training programme sponsored by Educate!—a model and likeminded organization—in Kampala in early January. He is bound to learn some critical training techniques for facilitators and some fascinating approaches to teaching entrepreneurship in a Ugandan context. So although I am sad to bid my goodbye to the Ugandan team, I am confident and excited for the path forwards and trust that 2017 will be a fruitful and pivotal year for Blossom Africa. It has been my greatest pleasure contributing to this organisation over the past several months—I cannot wait to see where the team guides the work in the future.

Thanks for tuning in and happy holidays to all!

More from the new international volunteer in 2017.

Cheers xx

Gabby

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