While many students are just returning from much-needed winter breaks, Taylor Utz is completing volunteer work in Africa. The Madison County High School ninth grader and BRVGS student is spending the first two weeks of 2013 in Kampala, Uganda. She went with other members of The Summit Church in Madison, who partner with a Ugandan church, and also support an orphanage and widows’ center there.
Before she left on her trip, Taylor said, “I sponsor a student named Joy [at the orphanage]...I receive regular pictures of Joy, and we have written to each other a little...so I can’t wait to actually hug her in person.”
Part of Taylor’s time in Uganda is devoted to helping with eyeglass clinics, training and equipping teachers, conducting church visitations, and teaching life skills. She is also getting a first-hand look at the role of women in that culture. Taylor’s mother, Debbie, is the administrative liaison for this ministry. It is her initial meeting with the African partners, and it is Taylor’s first trip out of the United States.