Jackson resident headed to Uganda with Peace Corps

When Will Lindman, 22, was a student at St. Paul Lutheran School in Jackson, he was on a different path in life.

"I thought I was going to be a basketball player," he said.

Lindman left Jackson on Sunday to begin a string of airline flights, orientations and training that will lead him to Uganda through the Peace Corps.

For nearly two years he will work on water sanitation and HIV education in the east African country that borders countries like Kenya, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

While there, he will correspond with students in a fifth-grade class at his former school, where he attended third through eighth grade.

"I want them to be able to connect with kids their age over there," he said.

He said he will correspond with letters and share the view of his world far from Southeast Missouri.

"I definitely want them to know they're also going to school halfway around the world," he said. "They're playing the same sports."

Educational use

Students will use the correspondence to supplement their study of writing and social studies, said Tim Mirly, principal at the school.

Mirly said Lindman approached him about working with St. Paul students during his time abroad. Knowing that he used to be in their shoes will make the experience more powerful for the students, Mirly said.

"The connection we have with cultures in the world, it seems like it's so much more automatic now," he said. "Because of that, it is much more important."

Mirly taught Lindman math in seventh and eighth grade. He said he knew then Lindman was destined to do extensive volunteer work, such as in the Peace Corps.

"He's got the heart for that kind of ministry," he said.

Lindman graduated from Notre Dame Regional High School in 2005. He said he wanted to join the Peace Corps then, but put it on the back burner to gain work experience and go to college.

He recently graduated from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo., with a degree in criminal justice. He said a website project in college prompted him to start the application process, which took about a year and a half.

"Everyone says I'm crazy, but then again that's what drives me," he said.

Language barrier

During college he studied language and culture in Ecuador and Peru for three weeks each.

In Uganda he will have to tackle a new language, Luganda. From his study abroad experience, he said he knows interacting with people in the community is the best way to develop language skills.

"Since I know that's my learning gateway, I'll have to try that with learning Lugandan," he said.

Lindman said he will go through three months of training once he arrives in the country to learn the culture and also how to build wells and latrines. After the training session he will find out where he will spend the majority of the program.

"I think the part I'm most nervous about is not knowing where I'm living," he said.

During the 23-month program life will continue in Missouri for his family and friends. He said he will miss his younger brother graduating from college. A college friend is also expecting his first baby.

To make up for the events he will miss in Missouri, he said he will make memories in his new African home.

"I'm sure I'll see births, deaths and marriages," he said.

abusch@semissourian.com

388-3627

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