Students are taking their initiatives to aid Uganda to the next level this year.

Kampala Project participants, for example, aim to involve the entire community in their efforts with a new student group, Kampala Organization.

It drew more than 70 students to its first informational meeting earlier this month.

"The goal is to bring what we learned back to Vanderbilt and to further help the people of Kampala, Uganda," said Ravi Patel, a junior involved with both Kampala Project and the new organization.

Kampala Project, sponsored by the Office of Active Citizenship and Service, uses a spring semester course and an intensive Maymester course to provide students the opportunity to intern at local clinics, AIDS hospices, orphanages, hospitals and schools in Uganda.

Possible fall semester projects include bringing computers back to Uganda to help the ailing health care infrastructure and raising AIDS awareness.

"We hope to work with the engineering department to develop software to help hospices and clinics to keep up with patients and critical treatments needed in Uganda," Patel said.

Likewise, Enjuba founders Henry Manice and Wil Keenan will work toward "transforming a group of Ugandan artisans into a team to develop new high-quality products made and sold by Ugandans," said Manice, a junior, who has visited Uganda twice.

So far, Manice and his team, which includes Keenan and four other students, have developed a Web site and assembled a team of 10 to 15 artisans. They are now developing a business plan and seeking investors.

Enjuba, a company that sells Ugandan products to people around the world, aims to help Ugandans develop entrepreneurial skills and bolster the Ugandan economy.

It provides "a way for them to grapple with the problems of extreme poverty in Uganda and to find a solution," Manice said.

"(Enjuba) spun out of a desire to make a tangible difference in Uganda and something more hands on that could effect change in Uganda," he said.