By: Stephen Roberts, American Red Cross

In June, two lifelong friends reunited face-to-face for the first time in a quarter-century. They met 32 years ago during an international trip for Red Cross youth volunteers. The experience lasted two months, but the new friends spent years exchanging letters. There were also family visits. One in the United States, and the other in Uganda.

For Kristin Cugnon it all started in the 10^th grade. As a teenage Red Cross volunteer in Charlotte, North Carolina, Kristin worked with blood services and educated her peers about HIV/AIDS. Her work inspired two younger siblings to spend time with the Red Cross Clown Troupe teaching children about fire safety and entertaining the crowds. It was a family affair.

Kristin began attending national conferences. And in her sophomore year of college, she was picked to go overseas. Seville, Spain hosted the World’s Fair that year. It would be her job, along with young volunteers from around the world, to lead tours through the Red Cross pavilion. Fittingly, Seville Expo ’92 took place in a city famous for its cross-cultural architecture.

A young man was also chosen that year to represent Uganda. The boy who would become Dr. Samson Barigye began volunteering with the Red Cross at age 14. In 1992 during the expo, both Kristin and Samson were 20 years old.

Kristin says, “As soon as I met him, I was like, ‘he’s my kind of person.’”

The Red Cross needed the young volunteers to teach fair visitors about their history and the organization’s mission. Kristin doesn’t think The Red Cross knew they were facilitating lifetime friendships for all these young volunteers. “They just thought how cool it would be to have these volunteers from all over the world,” she said. “You know, to change mindsets and to make people more global and for humans to be talking to each other across lines.”

Samson says he was forever changed during that summer in Spain after meeting so many young people with extraordinary purpose. “People who wanted to change the world, people who were passionate and compassionate, people who wanted to help humanity, people who wanted to change communities, to contribute to the betterment of their communities,” he said.

“I went to probably 25 countries as a youth volunteer on exchange programs, sharing knowledge and skills, learning from other people, promoting international cooperation in a world where there are lots of prejudices and biases and stereotypes and where there are, all these inner constraints,” said Samson. “My perspective changed how I look at things and it probably helped me to become who I am today.”

The last time that Kristin and Samson were in the same place was around 28 years ago in Uganda. Kristin took a trip to his hometown to learn about the Red Cross projects happening in his hometown. Her friend’s family hosted her during the visit.

Kristin says a year before that, a young Samson stayed with her family when he joined the Charlotte Red Cross as a counselor for a three-week youth leadership camp. At the time Disney’s “The Lion King” had just come out. Kristin says the campers were blown away when Samson led them in call and response version of “Hakuna Matata.” The popular hit song describes a “problem free philosophy” derived from Samson’s native language, Swahili. “The students went crazy. They couldn't believe it was a real word, you know,” said Kristin.

After a 25-year career with the Red Cross, Dr. Samson Barigye now works for the United States Agency for International Development advising the embassy in Uganda on conflict prevention and mitigation. It was that work that brought him back to the U.S., this time for a conference in Washington, D.C. But he knew he had to take a trip back to North Carolina to reconnect with his old friend Kristin and her family at their home on Lake Norman. Kristin made the trip up from Atlanta, Georgia where she lives with her husband and daughter, and works as a sales engineer.

Both of their faces lit up with full-toothed grins when they recounted this latest meeting, first seeing each other after so many years at the arrival area at Charlotte Douglass International Airport.

“It’s like it was the first time we met in 1992,” Dr. Barigye said.

The two of them have now vowed not to let that much time pass again. After sharing dinner and catching up, Kristin says they worked on a plan to launch a cultural exchange program next summer for local Ugandan communities. They aim to recreate the opportunity that the Red Cross afforded them. 

If anyone is interested in getting involved, you can email Kristin at kristin.cugnon@gmail.com or Samson at sbarigye@gmail.com.

To begin your journey as a Youth Volunteer with the Red Cross, check schools in your area for Red Cross Clubs or look for College Student Internships. To learn more about opportunities that are right for you, go to www.redcross.org