Spring Semester

This coming Spring semester begins on Monday, January 23rd. The break has given all of the members a nice break from class but we're happy to get things rolling again. Spring semester is going to take on a different role than the Fall semester did. Our biggest goal in the Fall was to teach new members about Lingira, about community development, and ready their minds for envisioning new work to be done through EDGE. This Spring we plan on changing gears and opening up the floodgates of ideas for new work over the coming summer. We're moving into research mode. There are new project leaders ready to host members' research and prepare projects for summer as best as possible.

The idea of researching projects has always been a concept that lacks structure. We want people to come up with a project that they are interested in but want them to make it reasonable for Lingira. Ideally the research portion of a project doesn't take days of reading and struggling through the library looking for projects to base your work off of. Actually, the research portion of a project is usually the shortest part. The more important part of the process comes when we refine a project and make it plausible for Lingira. This requires thought from both sides of the world. Our ideas are sent to Lingira for analysis and come back with opinions and thoughts about projects. Our interaction with residents of Lingira before traveling is helpful for preparing projects on the island even before our travelers head out. This way, students or members of the community have an idea of what we are bringing and (though idealistic) create a sense of excitement for them.

Project development will be the base of our semester, but we will be having plenty of other things to do for the campus end. We're expecting some new members in the next couple of weeks with the Spring student organization fair next week (Wednesday the 25th). Later in the semester we will be having our Spring fundraiser event, which is in planning right now, but they tend to be fun events that are open to anyone from campus and the public.

Of course we will be selecting travelers for the summer and preparing them for what is to come. It's a difficult process, preparing someone for a place that they have never been. An important thing to mention is the fact that EDGE has some really great friends in Uganda. We always feel welcome and continue to go back for that reason. Our friends on Lingira are what makes what we do possible here on campus.