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Guest Blog: Arizona Young Women's Service Project for SMF in Uganda!

Aug 03, 2010

By Amy Hill

Our young women’s program from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints wanted to do a service project that we could share with everyone up at our Girls’ Camp this summer. We knew we wanted to do something that would really have an impact on other’s lives and give us the opportunity to serve. We knew about the SHROPSHIRE MUSIC FOUNDATION from a presentation we attended where Liz Shropshire spoke.

We decided that we wanted to reach out to the Youth Volunteers in Uganda, who give so much of their time to help and instruct other kids on the power that music can have in their lives.

The main instrument that the Youth Volunteers teach to the kids in Uganda is the pennywhistle. We received donated material and sewed 50 penny whistle bags for the children in the Uganda classes to carry their pennywhistles in. We also earned enough money and collected donated items to give each of the 9 Uganda Youth Volunteers a backpack, baseball hat and a fun pen.  They will receive the Backpacks when Burim travels to Uganda in September.

Inside each backpack is several letters from each of us. We told the Uganda Volunteers all about us and how much their volunteer work has inspired us. Their favorite song to sing is Popcorn Popping. So we thought it would be fun to learn to play that song on the pennywhistle!

In honor of the Shropshire Music Foundation Youth Volunteers in Uganda, we purchased pennywhistles and performed our own “Popcorn Popping” on the pennywhistle at our summer Girls’ Camp.  It was a huge hit! Everyone loved our performance and we did too! We all will have our pennywhistles for the rest of our lives to remember our new friends on the other side of the world! We hope they will write us back!

Here are a few comments from the girls who participated:

I felt so moved by what these kids are doing; thinking of others when they have nothing themselves. – Sierra Schuyler

 

Over these past few weeks, I’ve come to the conclusion that pennywhistles are so much more difficult to learn than people think. – Ciara Voy

 

Putting together the backpacks was really humbling. I’m so lucky to be in a country with the freedoms we have. – Emily Birkmeyer

 

I felt very helpful and felt as if I made some kind of impact in someone’s life. – Tatum Hill

 

I admire the youth volunteers for their strength and willingness to serve. – Karen Manning

 

I really enjoyed learning to play the pennywhistle and sewing the bags. – Shaelee Riding

 

I felt amazing knowing that I could help the lives of children in Uganda! – Abby Clark

 

Writing a letter to the volunteers was the time I felt the happiest. – Cassandra Tobler

 

I was grateful for the opportunity to help those less fortunate. – Alyssa Allred

 

When we first started learning to play the pennywhistles, I thought it would be easy. Then, it was hard! I think it’s beautiful that the volunteers have learned to play them and so many other instruments! – Gabi Manning

 

Serving the Uganda Volunteers was really a neat experience. I especially enjoyed sewing the pennywhistle bags. – Ashlyn Galloway

 

It was fun and I enjoyed helping out the best I could! I loved trying to play the pennywhistle. - Jami Soledad

 

I really enjoyed playing the pennywhistle! – Makenna Payne

 

I really enjoyed learning how to play the pennywhistle. I had fun being a part of the service project. – Victoria Enriquez

 

My experience in helping with the backpacks, pennywhistles and letters to the volunteers, I thought it was a wonderful experience and I hope those

kids will be happy. I hope the best for them. – Cameron Church

 

It was an unforgettable experience learning to play the pennywhistles! – Samantha Sund

 

I loved playing the penny whistles and making the bags. – Liz Briscoe

I wrote to Policarp, I felt great! This is such a wonderful foundation! - Paige Galloway

The foundation is amazing and being a part of it made me feel like I was making a difference. – Hannah Manning