Founders of Meaningful Volunteer - Malcolm Trevena and Megin Alvarez – are set to wed in Uganda as they wind up various projects. They describe the upcoming event in their own words below.
We are both extremely lucky people. We have not wanted for much in our lives.
We do not worry about food in our bellies, shelter above our heads, clean water, or an education for ourselves and our loved ones. Many others in the world are not so lucky.
We write this in the small rural parish of Buyaya in Eastern Uganda surrounded by people we love. They are some of the most generous and warm hearted people you are ever likely to meet.
Just yesterday we were given bananas, pumpkins, beans, and mangoes. How they can afford to feed their own families and shower us with gifts is beyond us. It is a humbling place to be.
The sad reality here is that people go without.
They go without adequate food, shelter, clean water, and an education. It is just not fair that we are so lucky and they are not. Meaningful Volunteer was set up in 2008 as an act of human solidarity to address this imbalance. We can think of no better place to make a public declaration of our love than here in Buyaya.
We are different people. Malcolm is an atheist from New Zealand and Megin a practising Roman Catholic from Canada. What we share – the ties that bind us together – is a common love of humanity. We weep the same tears when a child passes away needlessly from HIV or malaria or a host of other reasons.
I’m sure many of you would love to be with us here in Uganda, but we understand that it is not practical or feasible for most of you. We have set up a special email address for any messages you might want to send: wedding@meaningfulvolunteer.org
As already mentioned, we are fortunate people and do not want for much. The same cannot be said for those around us. As a result we are not asking for wedding gifts for ourselves (how many toasters does one person need?), but donations that we will use to help improve the lives of people in Buyaya.
At the time of writing, the solar powered school that we are building in conjunction with the School for Andy movement is almost done, but there are still more things that need doing. We need blackboards, chairs, pencils, pens and the latrine finished. Ideally we would like to plaster the inside of the school as well, but we just do not have the budget for it.
Any amount you can give – small or big – would be appreciated.
Donations can be made via two methods
1. Via our Paypal account volunteer@meaningfulvolunteer.org.
2. Direct credit into our Canadian Bank account TD Canada Trust …
Name: MEANINGFUL VOLUNTEER SOCIETY
Account Number: 93240-004-09365240748
Bank: TD Canada Trust
Country: Canada
BIC/SWIFT code: TDOMCATTTOR
Take care Malcolm and Megin