Heart and Art in Uganda

19/07/2010

While some are spending the summer months at home, Dimitri Paraskeva has signed on as a volunteer to help vulnerable adolescents and young adults in the streets and slums of the Mengo area on the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda.

Dimitri's one-month project (commencing next month) will have him running a summer program at the Mengo Youth Development Link in support of young people undergoing a variety of life's challenges from terminal illness and bereavement to the anxiety and uncertainty of entering adulthood.

Dimitri is no stranger to Kampala. He spent last summer there learning about the needs and expectations of the teenagers living in Mengo. This summer, Dimitri intends to practice some of the counselling skills he has learned at Richmond in order to empower the youth of Mengo to seek solutions in their own community.

As is true of all voluntary care programs, the Mengo Youth Development Link needs financial support. To this end, Dimitri is working with the women of the Mengo area to produce paper bead necklaces to support his youth center. He is calling his project Heart & Art in Uganda. Dimitri will be leaving for Uganda in the next several weeks, but you can order a necklace now to support his work! Please download the attached form below.

If you prefer to donate to the Mengo Youth Development Link itself, Dimitri has set up a website in order to collect donations. Please visit MYDEL

Link to this page: http://www.richmond.ac.uk/n/942.aspx