Green at the end of the tunnel...

When I heard about the bombings in Kampala, Uganda my heart stopped. Mike Zuckerman, one of the most important people to me, has been there screening the World Cup games to a local village through the Kampala 2 Cape Town Project. The thought of anything happening to him was heartbreaking.

Even though I was able to speak to him and hear he was safe, I couldn't sleep that night. I was devastated. I'm still devastated. All I can think about is how thankful I am it wasn't at his screening but at the same time, how terrible I feel for those who lost loved ones. I'm still in shock about it. It's just hard for me to comprehend that a group could be filled with so much hate that they would bomb innocent people during the World Cup Finals; one of the most unifying and positive events in the world.

Through Mike, I've seen and heard how positive the World Cup has been for Kampala. Mike has been there providing the village of Kyebando with a safe, community friendly space to watch the World Cup.



Given the excitement throughout Kampala for the first World Cup played on African soil, the screenings were always packed! Mike soon realized the powerful and uniting platform the World Cup created and used the screenings to inspire positive change in the village.



He used halftime to educate the crowd on the environment and inspire them to be more environmentally conscious. Through a variety of community projects, Mike taught the village how to go green! He successfully organized four village cleanups, planted trees, set up recycling and composting programs, and even helped find a solution to the overwhelming plastic waste problem! Mike and Charles Nsawo came up with a way to turn all of the plastic waste (which is literally thrown along every street) into something useful....plastic soccer balls! Together, they developed the "Buvera Ball Project" which recycles the plastic waste, cleans up the streets, AND enables children to play soccer.





Here are some really great videos on the Buvera Ball Project! They've definitely helped me feel better today.









So as you can see, over the last five weeks I've only associated the World Cup with positive change for Kampala. Although I'm still overwhelmed with sadness, I know that Mike has brought so much joy to the village. Generations to come will have a cleaner and more sustainable environment because of his efforts. While the bombers chose to use the World Cup as a means to terrorize innocent soccer fans, Mike spent the last five weeks using it to spread peace, love and environmental sustainability.