More Than Volunteers: From Calamocha to Kitega
When Esther, Martin, Marta and Valeria travelled from Calamocha, Spain, to Kitega Community Centre in Uganda, they came ready to learn, share and experience community life. Two weeks later, they left carrying far more than memories — they carried relationships, a new understanding of community, and a story about Uganda they had lived themselves.
Their journey also came at a time when concerns around Ebola and questions about safety had led some other expected visitors to cancel their travel to Uganda. Esther, Martin, Marta and Valeria chose to come — and that choice allowed them to move beyond what they had heard and experience Uganda for themselves.
Their time at Kitega was shaped as a learning journey rather than a traditional volunteering placement. They spent time across the Centre’s different programmes, interacted with children and people with disabilities, visited families and communities, met local leaders, and shared everyday life with the Kitega team.
But as they reflected at their final gathering, some of the most important lessons weren’t found in the programme.
They were found in the people.
Learning Pole Pole
For Martin, one of the strongest lessons he carried home was pole pole — slowly, step by step.
He reflected on how life in Europe is often filled with schedules and the pressure to keep doing something. At Kitega he found another rhythm — not about doing nothing, but about recognising that not everything has to happen immediately.
What matters is continuing to move.
Pole pole — but moving.
It’s an idea deeply connected to how Kitega understands community transformation: meaningful change takes time, relationships matter, and people grow step by step.
The Strength of Community
The volunteers were struck by how people shared, welcomed one another and looked out for each other — a contrast, they reflected, to the individualism that can sometimes define life elsewhere.
They encountered a way of living where life is understood not only through what belongs to one person, but through what people can share and build together.
There were challenges and limitations, but there was also laughter, generosity, friendship and people finding possibility within what they already had.
It was a reminder that abundance isn’t always measured by possessions.
A Two-Way Exchange
The exchange was never one-directional.
Esther, Martin, Marta and Valeria brought their own food, language, culture, humour and friendship to Kitega — even sharing in the excitement of celebrating Spain’s World Cup victory together with the Centre.
For a few weeks, Kitega became a little more Spanish, and the visitors became a little more Ugandan.
That’s the kind of international volunteering Kitega hopes to nurture: not people arriving because they believe they have all the answers, but people meeting, listening, sharing, learning from one another, and discovering what each community already carries.
By the end of their stay, they were no longer simply four visitors.
Children knew them. Team members knew them. Community members had welcomed them into their homes and everyday lives.
As one Kitega team member put it, they had each “added a brick” to the continuing story of the Centre.
Witnesses, Not Just Volunteers
Beyond the relationships, their visit carried another meaning.
They saw for themselves something that is frequently missing from international stories about Africa — ordinary families living their lives, people creating solutions, children laughing and learning, people with disabilities developing skills and contributing to their communities, and neighbours supporting one another.
They also experienced the challenges.
But now they could see those challenges alongside the dignity, creativity, resilience and possibility that exist within the same communities.
They return to Spain not simply as former volunteers, but as witnesses and ambassadors — able to tell a story about Uganda they have actually lived.
Come Back
At their farewell gathering, Esther, Martin, Marta and Valeria were given one invitation:
Come back.
Having experienced many sides of Kitega on this first journey, a future visit could mean going deeper into a particular project, community or relationship that captured their hearts.
The connection between Kitega and friends in Spain has been growing over many years. This visit added four more names to that continuing story:
Esther. Martin. Marta. Valeria.
They came from Calamocha to discover Kitega.
They left as friends, family and ambassadors.
Because sometimes the greatest impact of volunteering isn’t what you leave behind. It’s what you carry home.
Interested in a learning journey to Kitega Community Centre? Email us at: volunteer@kitegacc.org to find out how you or your group can visit.
