Our volunteer reviews

Chris, a graduate of the Freies Gymnasium Zurich, has a passion for programming and cybersecurity. He has worked on numerous projects in these fields and is an active contributor to the open-source community.

For his thesis, Chris designed and developed a novel programming language, earning him recognition as one of the top Matura theses. He is also ranked in the top 4% globally on a prominent hacking platform with over 1.1 million members.

Beyond his technical accomplishments, Chris has been actively involved in extracurricular activities, serving as the head of IT for both the school’s Model United Nations and Finance Club. He later founded his own business club, which focuses on outreach to women in business, and is currently establishing a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women in oppressive regimes. The platform he’s developing ensures complete anonymity, allowing women to freely exchange ideas and strategies.

Having tutored programming at school, Chris now teaches coding at the Love Uganda Foundation, with a focus on young women, who are often underrepresented in computer science. He is committed to helping students build skills that will empower them in their future careers.

Ansh Modani is a sophomore at Manalapan High School, where he is part of the Science and Engineering Magnet Program. Passionate about STEM, Ansh is particularly interested in computer science and mathematics. Outside of academics, he is an award-winning Bollywood dancer and a varsity tennis player.
Ansh is the founder of YourGivingBack.org, a nonprofit dedicated to improving literacy in Africa, and also volunteers with A-2nd-chance.org, setting up libraries in juvenile detention centers by donating books. His leadership in organizing book drives has made a significant impact, providing educational resources to underprivileged schools in Ghana and youth correction centers in New Jersey.
At school, he established the Read and Recycle Club to foster a love of reading while promoting sustainability through recycling and upcycling initiatives, focusing on empowering underprivileged communities. Ansh is also a dedicated member of Junior States of America, serving as a fundraising agent for the organization’s initiatives. He has received high commendation in the global John Locke Essay Competition for his work on the historical significance of the Colosseum.
His love for mathematics drives him to share his knowledge through tutoring for the Love Uganda Foundation. This opportunity has allowed him to build connections with students from diverse backgrounds and help them grasp subjects like algebra and geometry, encouraging them to develop a positive attitude toward learning.

Ariel is a dedicated advocate for music education and community outreach, serving as a Music Teacher with the Love Uganda Foundation since July 2022. Passionate about empowering underprivileged Ugandan students, Ariel teaches violin and music theory, coordinates violin concerts, and organises fundraisers to support music resources, including instruments.

Since age seven, Ariel has pursued a lifelong passion for the violin. In high school, she was the concertmaster of various orchestras across Asia. For the past two summers, she attended the Aspen Music Festival and School, performing major orchestral repertoire alongside principal players from the New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago orchestras, as well as students from leading conservatories like Juilliard and Curtis. During Ariel’s time at Aspen, she also played in Family Concerts, where she introduced instruments to young audiences and promoted musical outreach in Aspen’s wider community.

Ariel demonstrates extensive service leadership in music and beyond, such as leading a club to bring live music performances to elderly homes and hospitals. Active in both athletics and academics, she competed in Women’s Varsity Tennis and Basketball and tutored peers at the Math and Science Centre in her high school. Now studying at Columbia University, she aims to continue these efforts, sharing music’s transformative power and deepening its impact across new communities.

My name is Rishabh Mohapatra. My primary interests lie in mathematics and computer science. I previously conducted research in the intersection of chemistry and machine learning, using computational tools to investigate ligand binding problems. My interests in this area extend beyond research, where I also explored the structures of addiction through a historical lens with two studies on the causes and roles of historical leaders on the First Opium War. These interests also are tied to my work as a practical advocate, where I was able to collect data on Narcan accessibility and costs throughout my community, while also advocating for access to opioid response drugs as part of a youth advisory group with members across the US. At Princeton, I continue to support these interests through an organization collaborating with harm reduction centers throughout New Jersey to create overdose prevention kits and distribute them across high risk areas in the state. Our goals also are expanding to involve grassroots lobbying related to relevant laws and regulations. This emphasis on advocating for and helping others is part of my reason for volunteering at Love Uganda Foundation (LUF).

Before working with the Love Uganda Foundation, I sought out experiences in my local community to teach, empowering youth to develop their skills in math and programming skills through 1-on-1 instruction and small classroom environments. I thrived upon seeing my students’ progress and was interested in the ability to shape my plans / lessons to better fit their needs.

Experience:
At the Love Uganda Foundation, I was provided with the fascinating opportunity to create a personalized math curriculum to teach students of all ages, that was also designed within a cultural context. I learned about the students’ stories and was able to connect with them, learning about their aspirations and goals. While making sure to teach all necessary math fundamentals, I was able to use feedback after lessons to shape the curriculum to include lessons related to specific interests and important cultural connections. The tournament event at the end of the experience was fun to design and oversee, and it was a great way to collaborate with the other amazing tutors working with this organization while displaying the students’ evident progress in mathematics. Through this experience, I learned more about Ugandan culture while joining a strong community of determined students and tutors. For this experience, I offer nothing but gratitude to the organization and all the staff involved.

Thank you for this eye-opening experience, and I hope to continue supporting the organization in the future in years to come. I forward my best regards to the students and others who guided me during this teaching experience!

This month of volunteering was a deeply moving experience, an immersion that offered me much more than I could have imagined. I had the chance to discover a new facet of life, to be enriched by the lessons that only such an adventure can teach. Living at the pace of the foundation and participating in the development of Love Uganda Safaris has enabled me to understand the power of collective commitment and the importance of every gesture. Spending time with the children has been a real joy. Their smiles, their curiosity and their communicative energy filled me with happiness and reminded me of the essential values of mutual aid, benevolence and simplicity. These moments spent playing, laughing and creating memories together will remain engraved in my heart. This month has not only enabled me to make a small contribution to the foundation, but it has also transformed my perspective, encouraging me to see the world with more gratitude and openness. It’s with immense gratitude that I end this voluntary service, taking with me lessons and memories that will continue to inspire me for a long time to come.

Eshaan is a sophomore at South Windsor High School, Connecticut. He is passionate about learning and has shown deep ability to understand complex themes quickly.
Besides academics, Eshaan is a performing artist for his award-winning High School show choir Choral Spectrum, plays Piano, plays goalie in High School Varsity Soccer team and Connecticut top premier soccer club CFC. He also volunteers at the Boys and Girls club of Hartford where he works with young children, engaging them in various activities.
Eshaan is also a member of his school Model UN Club, Debate Club and Mock Trial Club. Of his many accolades and awards over the years, his score from Royal Conservatory Music exam got him an invitation to play at the famous Carnegie Hall. Most recently, he was awarded the Congressional Bronze Certificate, a very prestigious honor, awarded for outstanding service to community.
Eshaan from a young age demonstrated a keen love for humanity in general and sensibility towards people in need of help. He plays piano on select weekends at an old age home called “The Village” in Connecticut mostly with patients in care. His passion for education motivates him to actively engage in tutoring with the Love Uganda Foundation, where he eagerly shares his knowledge with students from all walks of life. His guidance encourages students to cultivate a positive mindset towards learning, inspiring them to explore their potential and embrace education with enthusiasm.

Aarush Kalia is an advocate for education and youth development, serving as a Math and Science Coach with the Love Uganda Foundation since April 2021. As the Lead Coordinator for U.S. Student Volunteers, he oversees a network of students contributing to educational initiatives, ensuring impactful experiences for both volunteers and communities.
Aarush’s commitment to education extends beyond Uganda. He founded a-2nd-chance.org, a nonprofit that builds libraries in juvenile detention centers across the U.S., providing educational resources to over 1,300 incarcerated youth. He also leads the student research group at Yale School of Medicine, focusing on healthcare disparities and improving access to telehealth.
In recognition of his outstanding service, Aarush received the Daily Point of Light Award, founded by former President George H. W. Bush, which honors individuals creating positive change worldwide. He also earned the John Locke Institute’s Very High Commendation Award for his research on applying complexity theory to understand the collapse of civilizations—a distinction given to less than 1% of the 15,000+ students who apply globally.
A high school senior with a passion for STEM and global outreach, Aarush excels academically, taking advanced coursework in mathematics, and anthropology. Looking ahead, he plans to leverage mathematical principles of complexity to deepen our understanding of societal collapse and contribute to historical and policy analysis.

My name is Alex Davies, but the children at Love Uganda Orphanage, call me “Papa”.

I volunteered at the orphanage from January 2019 to January 2022. A lot happened during my stay at the orphanage (including Covid-19 & a 2-year lockdown).

When I arrived, there was a tap (for running water) … but it didn’t always work. So, we had to walk 3km, sometimes 2 to 3 times daily, to bring water to the orphanage. The water came from a polluted spring in Kakoola. There WAS a source of clean water in Kalagi…, but it was always jam-packed with people…, so we stayed away.
There was no plumbing. Outdoor bucket showers were our only option.
There were no toilets—only 3 outdoor latrines. The shower area and the latrines had no doors until late 2021… so personal privacy was an issue.

There was no stove. The kitchen was outside, and all meals were cooked over an open fire. In 2020, one of the kids built a clay stove (with room for 2 fires), but it didn’t survive long.
There was no furniture. Wooden benches made of pallets (inside), an encircling veranda & front patio (outside), and the kid’s beds in the bedrooms were the only way for us to sit down (2019-mid-2021).
There was no ceiling. Every sound that was made in any room could be heard in every room. Just like the plumbing… privacy was an issue.

In 2019, there was an orphanage manager, 3 primary caregivers, 1 cook, 1 security guard, 19 children, and Foundation employees visited a few times a week. Over the course of that year, the orphanage manager left the orphanage. 2 of the primary caregivers, as well as the security guard, also left. Leaving only 1 primary caregiver (me), 1 cook, and now 20 children.

In February, 1 young boy chose me to be his sponsor (I still sponsor him, to this day).
Also, in February, 1 young boy was abandoned at the orphanage gate. His father had brought him to the orphanage. The father slipped out the gate while the boy was playing with the other children (and me). This is how our numbers increased to 20 children.

Before anyone began leaving the orphanage, it was decided (by the Foundation) that the children would go home to their caregivers for a visit. The Director said (to me), “Love Uganda is not a prison.” Every child went home, except for one 8-year-old boy. We became very close, very fast. We did everything together, and I took him everywhere. What was originally going to only be a 2-week holiday for the kids, turned into a 4-week holiday. The 4-week holiday then turned into an 8-week holiday. I was a single parent to 1 total orphaned boy for 2 months.

The children attended the school “Little Stars Infant & Primary School.” For 1st term 2019, I was a 2nd teacher for the Primary 3 & Primary 4 class. I became quite good friends with the Headmaster of Little Stars. I assisted a boy from the orphanage to fast-track (or skip) from P5 to P7. The school held numerous events throughout the year (2nd & 3rd term included), and I attended all of them. Also, for all of 1st term, 2019, I paid the school fees for (or sponsored) every child in the orphanage.

At the end of May 2019, one boy (from his caregivers) returned to the orphanage. The next day, another boy came back. That day, I booked a day safari with Love Uganda Safaris. The 2 boys who just returned, the 1 boy who stayed at the orphanage, and I travelled to Jinja, The Source of the River Nile, Mbira Forest, and Ssezibwa Falls. We returned to the orphanage that evening.

When all of the children returned, 1 little girl did not return. So our numbers fell back to 19 children.
The orphanage used to pay for a local (Kalagi) doctor to come to the orphanage when the kids were sick. I began taking the kids to a Mzungu doctor, where they received the best medical care in Uganda. This continued for as long as I was in Uganda.

In January 2020, I was called into the office (I was already in Kampala at the time). A young boy from Western Uganda was dropped off at the office. My job was to take him from the office back to the orphanage. He didn’t speak a word of English, and I didn’t speak a word of Runyankole. Even though there was a language barrier, from the start, we had no problem communicating with each other. Our numbers increased to 20 children, again.
Also in January of 2020, the Foundation switched the children from Little Stars Infant & Primary School to Father’s Children Nursery & Primary School. There were both advantages and disadvantages to this.

On March 21, President Museveni locked down Uganda. We had 0 cases of Covid-19 yet… but he locked us down anyway. It was the beginning of a 2-year lockdown. We were at “the tap” in Kalagi, gathering water, when we heard the news over the radio. All public transportation… stopped. All schools… closed. All socialization… stopped. All tourism… stopped (And this affected the Love Uganda Safaris, which was the director funder for Love Uganda Foundation. Ugandan airspace… closed. All foreigners… went home. I was home. The Ugandan economy… shut down. Uganda… shut down. I and Love Uganda Foundation did everything in our power to protect the children from COVID-19 and shield them from the realities of what was going on (in the outside world) regarding the pandemic.
The children enjoyed 1 week of holiday (with no school), as I began homeschooling them the next Monday. Every subject (following the Ugandan National curriculum), at every grade level, for every child. I wrote every lesson… so I knew exactly what the children were learning.

In 2020, different children began suffering from chicken pox. I took them to the local clinic, and was shown how to check them for spots (what the spots looked like, etc.) and how to apply skin cream to the spots. I had chicken pox as a child, so I have an immunity. The mama had not had chicken pox, so she could not help me treat the children without the risk of becoming infected.

Not long after the chicken pox outbreak, we had a measles outbreak. There is no immunity to measles… but the Foundation Staffs and I treated the children regardless.

In early 2021, the children returned to school. Not long after the children had returned to school, Covid-19 came back. Homeschooling continued. However, this time, various teachers from Father’s Children came to the orphanage to homeschool the children and Funded by the Foundation.

In mid-late 2021, 3 chefs from Kampala came & stayed at the orphanage (the transportation ban had changed. Not lifted… but changed). They taught the kids how to cook many things for one month and few weeks.
On Christmas Eve, 2021 (Dec. 24), the Mama left the orphanage for Christmas.
On Christmas Day, 2021 (Dec. 25), I took the children to African Village Hotel. African Village is a resort hotel just outside of Kalagi. We went to African Village to go swimming.

On Boxing Day, 2021 (Dec. 26), we opened gifts. From the inception of the orphanage in 2017 until Dec. 26, 2021, the orphanage did not have a television. The children entertained themselves. The Director of the Foundation bought the kids a special gift… a flat-screen TV & a satellite dish. Everything was installed that day.
On January 10, 2022, Museveni restarted the Ugandan economy… thereby ending the 2-year lockdown.

Also, in January of 2022, I returned to Canada.

These are only a few events during my time at the orphanage.

I documented and photographed everything.