1-612-432-4473 info@gvctravels.com

Uganda Community Connection

Students learning best farming practices at Buyanga Primary School

Explore Uganda on a 10-day journey to the Pearl of Africa.

The Pearl of Africa

Engage with partner communities, learn traditional dance and drumming, witness breathtaking natural wonders, and encounter mountain gorillas up close. We’ll be staying in the eastern part of Uganda, where we’ll have a real connection with communities we’ve been working with for years. We’ll visit Buyanga Primary School, teach, meet students and teachers, learn to cook Ugandan style, meet with women’s groups, hike Sipi Falls, white water raft in the Nile and you’ll have the option to spend Shabbat with the Abayudaya community. You can add on a 3-day gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable National Forest and a 2-day safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Enjoy the beautiful surroundings and an average summertime temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

Highlights

  • Visit Global Village Connect’s community partners
  • Try some drumming and dancing and learn the various dances unique to the different regions and tribes of Uganda.
  • Buyanga Primary School We will have an opportunity to visit students in their homes and in their community.
  • Enjoy a musical Shabbat, with the Abayudaya community, African style.
  • White Water Rafting on the Nile River
  • Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Forest
  • Queen Elizabeth National Park Safari
  • Hike Sipi Falls and visit a local coffee farm

Itinerary: 10 days
+ 6 day Add-ons

October 14-29

 Day  Activity

1-2

 Depart US & Arrive Entebbe, Uganda
Welcome to Uganda! After your international flight lands, a representative will be waiting for you at the exit gate.  Overnight in Entebbe.

3

Drive to Mbale, stop en route to tour Tikkun Olam School
Head to Mbale, where we’ll be staying for the next few days.  Cross the Nile, have lunch in Jinja, and stop en route to visit one of our partner schools, Tikkun Olam Primary School.

4-5

Full day at Buyanga Primary School Project
We’ll be doing a hands-on project, experiencing village life and Ugandan culture, and spending time with the students. Buyanga Primary School, in eastern Uganda, enrolls 14600 children aged 5-16. Visit their 13-acre farm which provides meals for students, their goat farm, classrooms and meet some of the students who were given goats which help pay their school fees. You’ll have an opportunity to visit local families in their homes.

6

Meet Global Village Connect’s beneficiaries, African drumming and dancing
Meet GVC’s beneficiaries and learn about vocational and business training programs. You’ll have a traditional African drumming and dance lesson. There’s an option to spend a musical Shabbat with the Abayudaya, Ugandan style.

7

Hike Sipi Falls and visit a local coffee farm, Optional Shabbat Ugandan style
Hike Sipi Falls and visit a local coffee farm where you can participate in shucking and roasting your own coffee with Patrick’s dad and his family. Alternatively, you can spend Shabbat with the Abayudaya community. Visit one of the Synagogues for Saturday services.

8

White water rafting
Home to some of the world’s finest whitewater rafting, the water is warm, the scenery is beautiful, and you can choose to do a wild rafting adventure with #5 rapids or a mild float with no rapids at all. Spend the day on the river, and enjoy lunch on an island in the Nile.

9

Visit the women entrepreneurs & Ndere Dance performance
Meet the women who are empowering themselves and their families through their small businesses. These women graduated from our business training program and are thankful to be earning income and able to pay for their children’s school fees.

10

Kampala historical visits & departure
Take a  historical tour of Kampala and gain insight into the politics and history of Uganda, including the role of the Kabukah (the king who currently resides in Uganda), and the tragic reign of Idi Amin, and learn about the effects of colonialism in Uganda.

Depart Uganda or stay overnight in Entebbe for gorilla trekking

Optional Add-ons

11

Fly to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Fly to Bwindi Impenetrable National Forest, with it’s 350 square Kilometers of pristine rainforest. It’s a sanctuary for approximately 400 mountain gorillas (almost half of the world’s total population ) and is also the only forest on the continent where mountain gorillas and chimpanzees coexist. You can spend the afternoon relaxing or walking to the nearby village.

Staring into the eyes of a silverback is an amazing and heart-pounding adventure through tangled vines, bush, and bamboo.

12

 Gorilla Trekking
After breakfast, drive to Bwindi National Park for your encounter with endangered mountain gorillas. Trekking can range from 30 minutes to 6 hours depending on the location of the gorillas. There are 3 groups of 8 trekkers per day and many rangers to lead the way and accompany you. Upon return, relax at the lodge or visit the “Top of the World” for some stunning views of Uganda.

13

 Return to Entebbe for night departure or continue on to safari
Fly back to Entebbe in the morning and spend the day in Entebbe before departure or continue on to a wildlife safari in the Queen Elizabeth National Park. Enjoy the ride. When you enter the park you’ll pass through the Ishaka sector, with its tree-climbing lions, and then drive on through to your accommodations with plenty of opportunity to view the animals along the way.

14

 Queen Elizabeth National Park
Head to Kyambura Gorge, where you’ll get out to look for the chimpanzees. In the afternoon, you’ll take the boat down the Kazinga Channel to see the animals come to drink at the river’s edge.

15

 Back to Entebbe for departure
Fly back to Entebbe from Queen Elizabeth, spend the day in Entebbe and evening departure back to the U.S.

16

 Arrive in U.S.

I fallen so in love with this country and all the people we’ve encountered. I am so grateful to you for showing this amazing place to us and organizing everything so well,
My favorite part of the trip was the village and developing a close relationship with the kids. Their love and hope is so inspiring.
Thank you again for taking care of us!

-Hannah Worrell

Contact us for more information about our summer trip or to learn more about opportunities for your group!

Get Started
Back To Top