Clean water, microwavable dinners, and washing machines are all so simple, overlooked, and without them it would turn your world upside down.

 In Uganda, Africa, I was in another world where I had to retrain myself to deal without these amenities and come to the realization that I will see things most kids my age could never fathom. I witnessed children under the age of five carrying 25- lb water containers from a well-pump. They don’t know how far they will walk or how many more they will have to fill.

In Uganda, children are so important to their family that the thought of education is non-existant.

The mission of our group was to make their future in education a reality. Education is everything- it can prevent the spread of HIV, decrease the death rate among pregnant mothers and, most importantly, elect a president that will lead a country out of poverty.

But I started to become frustrated with the fact that there are millions of children without food or medical help.

I asked myself: How can I possibly make a difference? It was then that I realized I can’t help everyone or do everything, but at least I can do something. I cannot let those I can’t help interfere with those I can. I made a change in the lives of others who live half-way across the world as an 18- year- old from Montana.

The power that we, each as individuals hold is limitless. Indifference or apathy is not what separates us from the Ugandan people, it is merely distance.