Judy Willson is no stranger to the approximately 27-hour journey to Uganda it’s a trip she’s made six times since 2007.
Willson, 57, of Middletown, attends church at The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Braddock Heights and will make her seventh mission trip to the country on Thursday; her second trip this year and third since August. She founded the Nyakishenyi African Mission, Inc., in 2007 and has been making regular aid trips to support the mission. She said the trips to Nyakishenyi, Uganda have provided a variety of different supplies to the village’s residents, from medical supplies and clean water to animals to be raised for livestock.
But she said the trips also provide a gift to her, allowing her to experience an entirely different culture and help people in need. During the trip, Willson said she stays in the village when she’s working on projects that need direct involvement, or in area hotels when working on other administrative projects.
“For me, it’s been a blessing in my life and in my family’s life to be able to contribute in this kind of time that we’re in and it gave me something to look at beyond myself and my financial situation,” Willson said. “When you see how people sustain on just their faith alone, you learn that there’s nothing here that could compare to what they go through. Mainly it’s just the fact that I’m able to do something outside myself to help people.”
Willson said the major current project is construction of a $78,000 medical center which will provide health care for the community.
“There’ll be more expense to that,” she said, adding that the medical supplies will be the biggest cost. “The main objective is to make sure the money arrives safely, it’s there and the finances we need to continue building, and to make sure the committee is there to continue. That’s really our main goal is to get that clinic going to maintain and oversee. We don’t just give it and just drop it.”
And Willson won’t be alone on this trip. She’ll be joined by 18-year-old Riley Delchamps, a recent Gov. Thomas Johnson High School graduate who said she’s been waiting to take the mission trip since she was 14.
“I first heard about it when I was 14, and I wasn’t old enough to go,” she said. “Since I turned 18 this year, I figured it’s the perfect time to go. …I’ve always been interested in travel; I’ve always really been interested in mission work. The way Judy talked about it; it seemed like such an amazing program.”Willson said the majority of the funding comes via grants and donations from members of the church’s congregation. She said she was “excited” to have a young person join her on the trip, and said she was excited to share her experience helping people.
“This year’s the first time we’ve had someone step up to the plate to take the journey to cross the big pond from our parish,” she said with a laugh. “It’s very exciting because as a mother and grandmother, it’s neat to take someone from the younger generation and give them that kind of exposure. It’s going to be a meaningful event in her lifetime.”
Willson said sharing her trip with someone else would allow her to see the experience through fresh eyes, and that she was looking forward to Delchamps’ point of view.
“I have to not let it be a distraction to me, but some of the best part is having someone else have this exposure and then to critique it,” Willson said. “For them to give me an honest opinion … It’s more exciting than going by myself. It’s much more fun to have someone to share it with.”
Delchamps, who will attend Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. in the fall, said the trip isn’t her first experience with a mission trip. She said she visited Honduras for a week last year, and has participated in a mission trip to St. Paul, Va., where she and other volunteers do home repairs and other similar aid activities. But even though it’s not her first time helping people on a mission trip, she said she’s excited for the month-long journey.
“It’s an experience I’d love to have,” she said. “I love working with other people. [I’m looking forward to] meeting the people and I know I’m making a difference. We’re going to be visiting some of the kids that my church has sponsored.”
And while some soon-to-be college freshmen might be content to spend their pre-college summer at home on the couch, Delchamps said she was glad to have such a fulfilling activity to spend time on.
“I really like that it gives me something to do so I’m not just sitting at home waiting for college,” she said. “I’m not going to miss home as much as I think. I’m just so excited.”
tlaino@gazette.net
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