Bills linebacker Kawika Mitchell teamed up with New York Giants defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka in a charity effort to help villages in Kiwanuka's native Uganda, while also taking in some of the unique experiences that the African nation has to offer. In this installment of Mitchell's blog from Uganda, the Bills linebacker wraps up his weeklong journey while sharing the impressions the country and its people left on him.
The last couple of days of my trip came and went quickly. I'm not disappointed at all that the trip has ended.I feel like I was able to accomplish everything I set out to do and more.Even Mathias saw parts of Uganda that he's never seen before and done things he's never done before, such as the safari and we will continue to do work for the school from home.
The Kiwanuka family has done a great job of organizing everything so that we can still do our part from afar.Plus, I'm very much ready to be home with my family.There is no place like home and I can't wait to finally get there.
I'll be stopping in London on my trip back and from there I'll be heading to home sweet home Atlanta, Georgia. I have to give Mathias a big thank you for booking me in first class, and yes the chairs do recline into beds just like the commercials.He definitely spoiled on this one.
My most memorable part of the trip was sitting in Mathias' grandfather's living room eating with his family and listening to them share stories. I always feel very fortunate when a family brings me in and treats me as if I am one of them.
The impression the Ugandan people left on me was how extremely hard they work at everything they do. They have a lot of challenges that they have to overcome on a daily basis, but the people I spent my days with always had a smile and showed us so much love.
I'm very thankful for how they took care of me. I can also say that I'm very thankful for the life I live and the country I live in. Although I'm sure I will still complain about things, the majority of us in America should enjoy our freedom and basic daily activities, such as drinking clean water.
Hopefully, I can take the things I experienced there and use them to benefit others in America because I strongly feel that we should help others in different countries, but there are a great deal of people in America that could use help. I'm not sure how or what I will do but it will be something.
On a lighter note, I brought back some of the local art and I took plenty of pictures that I will always have to remind me of my experience. I got my daughter a couple of dresses, my son a slingshot (my wife is going to love that). And I got my wife a nice bag and a few other things. They had a lot of awesome artwork over there.
I am planning to make a return trip to Uganda, but I'm not sure when.I would like to be able to take my family with me.Traveling with my family is something I've always planned on doing.Uganda would be a great place to take them.
