It is unpopular seeing a tourist who visits a destination, comes back frequently, and finally finds themselves lending a hand to the extremely vulnerable children from severely poor families.
To the assisted Children in Kanungu district, Bwindi National Park communities and surrounding communities in South Western Uganda, Norgard is more than just an Angel and a life saver. With the new development and trends in the ever growing world composed by challenges and facilitated by education and proper healthcare is something not to skip an eye but an utmost point to ground on.
Taking care of upto 186 extremely vulnerable children in Kanungu through the Educate Bwindi Charity Organisation, Gina Norgard – an American New York based Family property manager, Tourist and now Philanthropist was not only propelled by amazing natural beauty, rich culture, diverse attractions and wildlife species in the Pearl of Africa Ten years ago but also inspired by Ugandan hospitality upon her first visit to Uganda in 2011 and thus she found her self-building a living house, Primary School and medical centre to assist communities in Bwindi National Park.
Gina’s Experience as a Tourist in Uganda
Gina Norgard confesses to have traveled so many Countries in the World including; Nepal, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Democratic Republic of Congo, China, Columbia, and Venas but never seen no place so diverse like Uganda.
‘’I have traveled the World over but never seen a destination so diverse and hospitable like Uganda; from the rich cultures, the Gorillas at Bwindi National park, the Zebras at Lake Mburo National Park, the Giraffes at Kidepo Valley National park, the cool mist in South western part of the country, indeed Uganda is such a life thrilling and changing experience’’ – commented Gina Norgard.
‘’Every time I come here for a trip and step in the plane for a flight back to the United States, I always feel like something is happening to me, thus am missing out on something big in the Pearl of Africa’’. She adds
Gina testifies to doing things she has never done before in her entire sixty (60) years while back home but was compelled to do them in Uganda as she says..‘’Uganda is more than a push-away from your comfort zone to embarking on extra ordinary things and adventures as you get to learn and see new things every day’’.
She further reveals, ‘’I remember my driver at one of the UWA banders we had camped at in Kidepo National Park during one of my trips earlier telling me that in Uganda, we buy and slaughter chicken and to us in the United States, chicken is bought in the supermarkets all prepared and ready to cook, so I had no idea on how its even slaughtered and reared but I was compelled into trying out and damn…I was super excited’’.
She narrates her other extra ordinary experience carrying on head Kilograms of Posho climbing upto the hilltop in Kanungu district, Bwindi National Park community area.
‘’In Uganda, I learned of certain customs and traditions I had no idea about and that given society setting in Kanungu with no hierarchy whether your rich or poor, entering someone’s house – however dilapidated it is, removing shoes and keeping bare footed is a norm and part of the traditions, that alone tells you how disciplined the people of Uganda are’’ Gina adds.
L-R: Gina Norgard (L) receives The Best of Uganda book from Sandra Natukunda, Uganda Tourism Board Senior Public Relations Officer (R) at The Boma Boutique hotel in Entebbe on Tuesday
Gina has been to over ten Countrywide national parks in the past decade that she has traveled here since her maiden trip in 2011 comprising 16 trips plus the current one she is taking on to Bwindi National Park, South western Uganda this week as these parks consist; Kidepo National Park (3 times), Bwindi National park, Lake Mburo National park, Queen Elizabeth National park, Murchison Falls National park, Virunga National Park, among many more tourist attractions and destinations in Uganda.
‘’How many places in the World can you ever find all these attractions just in one destination? never, the Pearl of Africa is so diverse and every time I tell people about Uganda while in the US, I feel the Country is literally blessed; from the Nyero Rock paintings, to the beautiful climate and landscapes which are so unique, shoebill bird, lush wind windy green eco natural vegetation and if anybody asked me, I will always tell them I chose Uganda for a trip or holiday’’.
Gina Norgard’s Turnaround from a Tourist to Charity
As she celebrates her 60th birthday this year come next month of May, Gina’s anticipation was to have it celebrated in the Pearl of Africa like she did during her maiden trip when she just turned 50 years in 2011.
Gina’s venturing into charity in south western Uganda started way back almost a decade ago during her maiden trip to Uganda. While in the United states and planning to travel to the Pearl of Africa, Gina opted a try into prompting to doing things differently while in Uganda and wanted to know every bit of places they were to go to with or without a tour guide or trip group member, this urge compelled her to reading a book called ‘’Uganda Guide’’ as she would get acquainted with most tourist information when it comes to the Country she plans to travel to like any other Foreign tourist.
While perusing through the magazine cover, Norgard landed on Sanyu babies home page as they needed supplies, and without telling them or directly contacting them and revealing she was traveling to the Country, she had to reach out to friends in England, United Kingdom on her way to Uganda and together with their financial support, she shopped for Mosquito nets, powdered formula, sterilizing tablets and had two huge bags shipped into Uganda.
Upon arrival, she asked her driver from Entebbe International Airport called January to drive her to Sanyu babies home so as she could deliver the items upon her maiden trip to sub Saharan Africa before she could embark on her ten days tour with a group of other fifteen group members to Bwindi National Park for Gorilla tracking among other tourist activities.
During the trip, Gina asked her incumbent driver who currently operates in Bwindi area called Nobert who drove them to Bwindi what she could assist him with and he replied ‘’School Fees’’.
Norgard went through an Organisation called Bwindi Community Programme based in the United States although helping communities in Bwindi Area and started educating three of Noberts’ children who is still her incumbent Ugandan driver in the last decade. Two years later, she returned to Uganda and wanted to see the Children as she was only interacting with their father and the Organization.
Along the due course, she decided to come back again and people involved in the Bwindi Community Programme invited her to be part of the board where she became a representative as she came back couple of times a year but as the Organisation grew and the Organisation focussed on Secondary education with Bishop Combone Secondary school in Kanungu, Bwindi Nursing school among many more where they sponsored and fund Children to go to higher education.
Gina and her other colleague opted to branch off and do establish their own Non-profit Organisation currently known as ‘’Educate Bwindi Organization’’ starting off with a Primary school fully purchased called Butoto School where they have sponsorships as board members reach out to friends and family back home for donations and support and while on ground the team here taps onto tourists who go to Bwindi National Park for tourism activities as they invite them to visit the School and see if they can support in a way or the other through contributions while they currently have 186 children as a boarding school; 90 children are sponsored and they feed them on proper nutrition every other week while children without sponsors their parents pay a certain half bursary amount for their children to get through primary school.
Butoto school criteria for selecting out extremely vulnerable children in Communities is aided with information from guardians and local leaders as the school singles out orphans and single parent children especially from very poor schools so as to help them build a future through attaining basic skills such as reading and writing. Foristance they have a child whose parents perished in an inferno and started staying with the grandmother, when Gina shared the boys story with the world on Facebook, he immediately got a sponsor.
Gina Norgard narrating her Ten years Uganda Tourism Experience and how she got her self into Charity works with the Bwindi Educate Programme.
Some sponsors are asked if they would wish to continue with Children upto primary seven and for Children that perform well are admitted to two best performing schools which include; Bishop Combone Secondary top best performing secondary school and St. Jovan in Kanungu where a small number of their Children go.
Gina adds that, ‘’We a graduate from our hands who went through school and she’s now a teacher at one of the best secondary schools together with several others who have gone through the system are now into motor vehicle mechanics, animal husbandry among other works that enable them to fend for themselves and support their families and others’’.
Getting through Challenges of the Covid – 19 Pandemic
With the outbreak of the Coronavirus in the whole world and Uganda in particular, Gina reveals they dished away school food stock among other essential items to local communities valued at $150,000 so as not to let them get wasted as children were instructed by Government to go back home and schools closed while the Country went through a lockdown.
She says, ‘’We really went through a tough time given the outbreak of the pandemic like other people in other parts of the World and hence, we had to give away all we had stocked for a year to the local communities since the lockdown would subject essential and perishable school food items to mere waste’’.
Gina adds that, ’By time of the lockdown, I was away back home in the US but relied on my ground team for information on Coronavirus hotspots in Uganda, along the course noticed the Country didn’t have a lot of cases compared to our home Country in the US, and as a result, I had to book for my flight to Uganda by October 2020 when Entebbe International Airport reopened while lockdown was relaxed abit so as to return to Uganda and re-strategize on how we would step back to helping the communities again as its been.’’
American Female Tourist, Real Estate manager and Philanthropist, Gina Norgard is in Uganda for a couple of days as she is set to traverse the Pearl of Africa embarking on different tourism activities including Gorilla tracking at Bwindi National Park among other adventures, and also check on her Bwindi Educate Organization as lower primary school classes are prospected to open by mid-June this year.
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