Nsanyuse okulaba! Welcome!

The Village Health Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established by a small group of undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

After returning home from a three week nutrition-based study abroad program to Uganda, supported by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the students decided they wanted to something to improve health and nutrition in the communities that they visited.  Through funding from the Wisconsin Idea Fellowship, their ideas have become reality.

Future Uganda study abroad participants will collaborate with local community members to build the tanks in a rural village, providing a clean source of water where it is much needed.  Through a new service-learning component of the study abroad program, UW students will be able to give something back to the communities that welcomed them, shared Ugandan life with them, and taught them so much during their visit.

Background

In January of 2005, fourteen UW-Madison students studied abroad in Uganda , a small country in eastern Africa filled with beautiful landscapes and beautiful people. This study abroad experience not only opened our eyes to a rich culture and history, but also to the many problems of a developing country.  The necessities that one may take for granted, such as clean drinking water, food security, and physician availability, are daily struggles for the majority of Ugandan citizens.

While we were studying, we saw things that left lasting impressions: young children climbing down into stagnant water pits to collect drinking water, long lines of people waiting hours to be seen at an AIDS clinic, and scores of small children whose bellies were swollen due to malnutrition. After seeing things like this, the group collectively felt a sense of helplessness and futility. We were there but could do nothing to help the people we saw.  Upon returning to the United States we felt compelled to take action.  Our goals were to find ways to make a difference in the lives of Ugandan people and also to provide future study abroad students with hands-on opportunities to help while in Uganda . Since then, we have established the Village Health Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a means to help us reach our goals.