Carli Travers has never shied away from a challenge.
Growing up in Port Coquitlam, she was involved in outreach projects in the Tri-Cities and in Vancouver's downtown eastside, helping women and children in particular.
At 19, the BC Christian Academy graduate took her first run for political office, challenging New Westminster-Coquitlam MP Paul Forseth for the Green Party. A year later, she sought the Burquitlam seat in the provincial legislature as well as a place on the Coquitlam school board.
At 21 and newly married to a fellow community activist, Travers packed her bags for Uganda to start a three-month practicum with Douglas College, where she was a social service student.
And she felt the connection immediately. The land-locked African country "got into my blood" and Travers returned home to Canada determined to follow her heart and to help the numerous street kids she met while working with AIDS and mental-health patients.
With her new partner, Robert Birungi, Travers, then 22, adopted six abandoned kids and launched Carli's Kids, a non-profit organization that runs a school for 90 children in one of Kampala's low-income neighbourhoods.
It wasn't enough. With donations from Please Mum children's stores and AG Hair Cosmetics and others, the couple bought 10 acres outside of Kampala to build Abetavu Children's Village (Abetavu means "haven").
Their goal is to create a self-sustaining campus for up to 200 orphans, complete with satellite houses, a primary school, community hall, garden, sports fields and health clinic, among other things. The village will also be home to the pair and their 17 children, who range in age from 16 months to 15.
Travers, who will be in PoCo with Birungi and their three young biological children until Jan. 20, said they've collected about $70,000 since arriving last month - half of their total for next year's operational costs and their permanent Abetavu home (estimated alone to cost $80,000 to construct).
During their visit to Canada, they've held fundraisers around Metro Vancouver, sold Ugandan crafts handmade at a Kampala women's centre and flown to the Okanagan to meet with their supporters, the Kelowna Gifts to Grandmothers.
Still, the toll of the trip has been enormous, Travers said. Before leaving Uganda, both she and her husband contracted malaria; she was also involved in an accident, which wore her down physically. And Travers said she was fed up with Ugandan authorities and landlords, who believe - as a Caucasian - she is rich and they try to extort her.
Also, the bureaucracy to adopt children has been frustrating in Uganda, where the median age is 15 and unemployment runs rampant.
However, despite the never-ending workload and the sleep deprivation, Travers said she remains as passionate as ever. "I knew, when I started and adopted the first six kids, that it was a huge commitment," she said. "Now, I think, 'This is just the beginning for us.' We are still young and want to push ourselves."
Birungi, who like many African children grew up as an orphan and was raised by his grandmother - and later became an electrical engineer - said the couple will not only provide a home and meals to neglected and abused children at Abetavu, they will also offer stability: Travers and Birungi will become the legal guardians to nearly all 200 children - mainly to prevent government workers from arbitrarily transferring them - and act as role models, showing respect and equality.
Birungi, 27, gives the example of his late father, who was a soldier with four wives. As a result, Birungi has never had a traditional family nor knows how many siblings he has. He believes instilling self-esteem, especially with boys and men, is the key to make the Ugandan society run.
They don't do it alone. With the donations they receive, they pay for a teacher at their school; sometimes, social service students from Douglas College volunteer. Next year, they anticipate 12 more college helpers. "We are grateful for whatever we receive," Travers said, "because they are making a difference in these children's lives."
For more information on the Abetavu Children's Village, go to www.abetavu.com.
