From the Field Uganda: WorkWell Program Begins in Uganda!
WorkWell is the youth summer jobs initiative that operates at the GOD Nashville Headquarters, providing jobs to several dozen youth each summer. This year, we commenced WorkWell Uganda. Immersion student Walt Reynolds, and former WorkWell near-peer, reports.
Written by Walt Reynolds, Immersion Participant to East Africa
With the commencement of the Eastern Hemisphere portion of Summer Internship 2024, another program of GOD Int’l began in our East Africa region - WorkWell.
What is WorkWell?
WorkWell is a program that runs for 7 weeks every summer in Nashville, and has been doing so since 2017. The mission statement of Workwell is to
“Provide Meaningful Summer Jobs For Youth ages 14-24 in Nashville To Become Confident And Skilled Leaders In The Workplace.”
In Nashville, there are a multitude of spheres that employ youth on the GOD property that include things like agriculture, media creation, and kids summer camps.
Walt Reynolds (in red) as a near-peer tutor in the WorkWell program in 2022. This summer, Walt Reynolds was a part of the East Africa immersion team and got to witness WorkWell East Africa.
Launching The Program
The launch of the program in Uganda this summer has employed 6 teenage workers with one of the most important jobs there is - cooking. This team of Ugandan WorkWell employees has had the opportunity to cook meals for the team of summer interns as well as ministerial leaders from Kenya and Uganda who have been traveling and ministering with the summer interns. The WorkWell team has been serving food for almost every event GOD Int’l has hosted this summer: a SLAM service camp, a pastor’s conference, and even a road trip.
The WorkWell employees traveled to Eastern Uganda to serve meals for a fellow church community the internship team visited; providing food for a SLAM service plunge and a community wide banqueting table that brought fellowship to a community in need of reconciliation. For almost every meal, the incredible team of 6 (with the help of experts and occasional summer interns) fed nearly 100 people, sometimes more.
The WorkWell team played a vital part in preparing meals for 100+ during various conferences hosted by the GOD International teams.
Early Results
With this being the first summer to launch WorkWell in an international region, the program is shorter and in earlier stages of development, but it is evident that the program’s goals are still being produced. The employees involved in WorkWell have testified that they are finding meaning in their work, as well as developing both hard and soft skills in the tasks they’re engaging in. The managers of WorkWell, Brianne Aaseby and Ryan McAllister worked with the media team of WorkWell in Nashville to produce a video giving framing and context specifically for the East African employees. With this video, previous WorkWell “near peers” (older supervisors of youth employees that are under the program managers) discussed the WorkWell curriculum with the East African employees and helped them to identify main takeaways from their first job experience.
Through the program, the youth were empowered and trained in cooking for large groups, which they will be able to continue to develop in. Over the course of three weeks, they developed a team dynamic, grew in communication, and learned from an expert Ugandan chef regarding hospitality and food service. They loved their time in the kitchen and learned many lessons over the short first iteration of the program! What we do here is what we do there, as always.