Two Douglas College students have come home exhausted yet elated after a 10-week trip to Uganda, where they helped set up a new child care centre.

Katie Kump and Tara Derby, both from Surrey, travelled to Masaka, Uganda to complete work placements - Kump in Early Childhood Education (ECE), and Derby in Community Social Service Work (CSS).

They say they learned as much as they taught while there.

"Working with children who are extremely self-sufficient helps you to grasp just how capable children are," says Kump.

"The people in Uganda are very resilient. They make the best they can with what they have in life and work hard for it," adds Derby.

The duo worked with local teachers to incorporate traditional Ugandan activities at the child care centre, such as making balls and dolls out of banana leaves. They also exercised their creativity, using available materials like bottle caps for children to make shapes and designs.

Meanwhile, Kump introduced Canadian activities like molding playdough and using flannel boards and shapes as visual aids to storytelling.

"Spending 10 weeks working with children who have no English really helps you to understand that there are so many more ways than speaking to communicate with a child," says Kump.

It was the first time Douglas students from different programs have teamed up in an overseas practicum. CSS students have been going to Uganda since 2006.

The pair says the experience opened their eyes to how much Canadians take for granted. For instance, the effects of high gas prices are much more far-reaching in Masaka.

"I visited countless homes where children had become physically and cognitively disabled from malaria. If parents were able to pay for transport to get the proper medication, their child would be healthy within a few days and have the opportunity to live an independent life," says Derby.

Both women hope to return to Uganda in the future. Derby is planning to start her bachelor of social work next year, while Kump is continuing her studies at Douglas in the bachelor of child and youth care program in September.

"I met people there that I will never forget and I hope to continue to support them in any way I can," says Kump.

Source: bclocalnews.com