King City Secondary School student set to volunteer in Africa
By Jon Yaneff

Taylor Jackson, 18, of Nobleton will be volunteering in Uganda in September.

It's a strong statement when people try to make a difference in poor places, such as Uganda.

Taylor Jackson, 18, of Nobleton will do her part as a registered volunteer with the Global Volunteer Network by spending two months working in that central African country. She will be helping to provide relief directly with a local organization, The Real Uganda.

Jackson will be working at various primary schools, which exclusively focus on the education of orphan children.

She will be leaving Sept. 13, with the program starting Sept. 16.

"Uganda has a huge HIV/AIDS epidemic going on now and it wiped out the whole middle generation of the area, so most of the population is elderly or children," said Jackson. "So a lot of the children's parents have died, which means 21 per cent or about two million, of the Uganda children are orphaned."

"I feel like I have an obligation to help people since I've been so privileged in life, I have to give back," she added.

In 2001, an estimated 2.2 million people were infected with HIV and about 800,000 Ugandans had died since the epidemic started.

Jackson will also be part of the Mukono Youth Project, where local and foreign volunteers work together to help the elderly, disabled and people living with HIV/AIDS. They help with the daily challenges these marginalized groups in Uganda face.

Jackson will be traveling alone and is looking forward to the opportunity for new experiences. Once in Uganda, she will meet new people and learn a new culture while helping out with the programs.

"I've been doing a lot of research on teaching, because I know I'll be in the classrooms and I'm very motivated to do this," she said. "I'm really hard working and I want to make a change."

Jackson worked as a counsellor at the Township of King summer camps for the past two years and said some of those experiences will help her while teaching the children in the Uganda.

"I'm taking what I know and what I've learned and bringing it to Uganda where I'll hopefully teach the children our culture and broaden their horizons," said the Grade 12 King City Secondary School student.

Jackson will take part in public speaking and running programs for young adults regarding HIV/AIDS awareness, the generation of small business, the importance of basic education and women's rights and empowerment.

Jackson started with the Global Volunteer Network (GVN) just by finding the Wellington, New Zealand based group over the Internet at www.volunteer.org.nz. GVN was established by Clin Salisbury in 2000 after he visited Ghana and saw the impact volunteers could have in disadvantaged communities. The network placed its first volunteers in 2002, and besides Uganda, they currently offer programs in Alaska, Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Honduras, India, Kenya, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, South Dakota, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam.

Traveling to help in Uganda is an adaptation of the volunteering and commitment attitude she has developed in her own community and at KCSS.

Her school has allowed for many opportunities to give back. She is the current student council president, and has taken part in King for a Cause volunteer organization, which has done several walks like the "Walk for Breast Cancer" and a CN Tower climb. Her volunteering resume also includes starting the first Green Bin program at KCSS with fellow student Maggie Hall which began this week, as well as helping coach the Nobleton senior girl's volleyball team and planning a food drive.

She hopes to visit a homeless shelter in the next month.

After Jackson's two months in Uganda, she plans to take the year off to work then study business, preferably at Laurier University in Waterloo. The young humanitarian would one-day like to work for a non-profit organization, as well as start her own foundation.

A good way to spread word of her aspirations on to others, as well as to help raise funds for her Uganda adventure is to hold a benefit dinner and dance. It will take place at Glen Eagle Golf and Country Club Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $50, there will be a silent auction and the band Grey Matter including Taylor's father Tom Jackson on drums, will be performing. Silent auction items so far include two rounds of golf at Carrying Place Golf Course near Pottageville, an electric generator and a framed picture of the two gold medal winning Olympic Canadian hockey teams from Salt Lake City in 2002.