IntroductionI want to make a difference. I love my job; I get up, I come to work and I give 100% to what I do. I help, in some small way, to enrich the world of digital communication each and every day. However, I want to do more; I want to in turn be given the chance to work, not for multi-national brands or companies, but for people who have not had the opportunities that I have been so lucky to enjoy.
If successful in awarded a sabbatical, I will travel to Uganda to work for the National Lake Rescue Institute (NLRI). Although it is landlocked, over 16% of its land mass is covered by fresh water, supporting hundreds of thousands of people on the shores of the Great Lakes (Victoria, Albert, Kyoga and Edward).
Drowning and water-borne diseases claim many thousands of lives each year; a consequence of working, travelling and living on the lakes. This holds especially true for children, with 60% of deaths on the water within the last 6 months were children under the age of 5. In 2002, in an effort to combat this unnecessary waste of life, the NLRI was founded, providing the first Search and Rescue (SAR) operation ever seen on the Great Lakes.
In short, NLRI operates a small-scale SAR service and also provides education and training to local people, as well as assisting local entrepreneurial groups.
Mission & objectivesNLRI's mission is simply to save lives on water; their vision is to help those members of the water-borne community by making critical areas of the water environment accessible and affordable to all. To accomplish their mission and uphold their vision, they have formulated the following objectives:
• To prevent loss of life;
• To support safe transport and trade routes;
• To provide education in safe boating practices;
• To develop a capacity for self-help and self-rescue;
• To grow an effective water safety strategy and dedicated waterborne search and rescue network throughout East Africa.
How I would be making a differenceIf I were successful I would be assisting with the design and implementation of the NLRI's 'Watoto Apana Zama' (Kids - Don't Sink!) programme. A culture of fatalism exists within the water-borne community in Uganda; people consider death by drowning or AIDS/HIV inevitable. Watoto Apana Zama aims to combat this attitude through educating the next generation of Ugandan children.
I'd be expected to be pretty hands-on from the start of my time there; for example, one day I might be helping a trained teacher with a kids' swimming lesson or teaching them elementary water safety the next. I would also be helping out with the administrative side of the organisation, putting the skills I use every day at Carlson to use by helping the NLRI with planning, recruitment and seeking partners. I would also be assisting in liaising with government officials and, very importantly, their ongoing fund raising effort.
I would also be making a difference by using my IT sills to organise an IT training session for NLRI staff. Computer skills are almost non-existent in Uganda and courses relatively expensive, slow and often inadequate.
One of the most important schemes run by NLRI has been the introduction of life jackets into the area; buoyancy aids are a previously unheard of concept to the waterside-dwelling people of the Great Lakes area and have proved extremely effective in saving lives.
Since the NLRI started operating, there has been a 50% drop in water fatalities within their area of operation, showing that, despite chronic underinvestment, the water safety programmes it is pioneering in the area are really making a difference.
The challenges I might face out thereLife in Uganda can be hard for its inhabitants, with many communities ravaged by HIV/AIDS, and drug addiction and alcohol abuse rife. Government bureaucracy and inefficiency hamper efforts to help people, and entrenched cultural and religious beliefs make lasting change difficult to implement. Many organisations ignore these troubled areas, but it's here where the NLRI step in to help, providing a lifeline to people who, in some cases, are in truly desperate conditions.
And finally...Without trotting out the clichés, I truly feel that this sabbatical would allow me to make a real difference to some of the most deprived people on the planet. Working with the NLRI would mean helping them to save even more lives, educate even more children about water safety and - hopefully - helping to set in place some lasting change for the people of the Great Lakes. The NLRI does not receive large-scale funding and the issues it tackles are not particularly well-publicised or 'glamorous'. However, on behalf of Carlson Marketing, my time will help raise awareness of the vital work this organisation carries out.
Closer to home, I will hopefully see and experience things that will make me realise just how fortunate I am; I have a job I enjoy, good health and the worst I have to worry about is avoiding the rain when I am cycling to work! In light of this, I hope that, once my sabbatical is over, I will continue to find ways to help others and share my good fortune where I can.
Finally, as befitting an employee of a digital comms agency, I've posted my application to a blog where I intend to keep anyone who's interested in what I hope to get to, updated on a regular basis!
