Hi Everyone! I knew my blogging would suffer once the semester got into full swing. I am teaching four classes, so there is never a dull moment for sure. My students are sweet, kind, and really grateful to be here on campus. I am struggling to keep up with the demand and number of students, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
On Friday night, I decided to have some friends over for an American
meal. One of the girls here, Zenique, is studying for a semester. She is a
writer from Philadelphia and previously participated in the Uganda Studies Program (USP).
This program allows Americans to come and study here and Ugandans to go
and study in their place in America. It is a very beneficial program
for all college students involved. Anyway, after talking with Zenique last week,
we realized we both graduated from the same high school (Alton High
School) just two years apart! I couldn't believe it!
I borrowed the projector from my department and we watched movies on the wall. It was so relaxing and fun. The electricity held out all night!
We made burgers, fries, pineapple, and salad. It was delicious! I am
thankful for food here, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss
American food. I am really tired of rice, beans, and bananas, so burgers
and fries were a welcomed relief. Oh...and I made chocolate chip
cookies!!
I LOVED the home fries. I have been using my oven more and more, even though it doesn't have a temperature gauge. Mom is sending me one through the mail, so hopefully I will be able to control the temperature a little better.
On Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early to head out to Lwengo to visit Judy's charity. I have to admit that I was really, really grouchy because I had been up late the night before and had a long week, but I had made the commitment and knew I needed to go. The roads here are not the best and it takes a long time to get places. The drive took us 4 hours each way, even though it was only about 200K (124 miles). We stopped at the equator and took a picture. It was really cool. Then, we headed on to Lwengo. Lwengo is a rural, farming area where nearly 50% of the families are affected by HIV/AIDS and 90% of the families care for at least one to three orphans. Nearly 95% of adults can't read or write. It is the poorest of the poor and the hardest thing I have seen since coming here. For me, it is difficult to see poor adults, but poor, hungry children really disturbs me deeply in my soul. My friend Judy (who is a Fullbright and lives behind me) started a community-based organization called Widows & Orphans Support Organization (WOSO) along with one of her sociology students, Peter. They focus on child cognitive development, health programs, and micro enterprise. Through donations, they now support 35 children. Sponsors pay $250 a year, which pays for tuition for three terms, school supplies, a uniform, shoes, and two meals a day. The most vital part of this partnership is the meals because food prevents children from getting sick and allows them to concentrate. I met the children that are being sponsored and it is incredible what education can do for them. I was surprised that most of them was suffering from "flu" (a cold), but one of the board members told me this is normal for the dry season.
They are enrolled in the best private school in the area, but the school would be like our worst school in the states. You can't imagine what the government school looks like, but I saw it and it was very, very basic. I forgot to take a picture of the public school, but it is a one-room structure, which looks unfinished. The public school teachers are on strike right now, so even though students were supposed to start last week, they have yet to start school. There are 80,000 public school teachers and the government promised them a 20% raise, but they have only see 5%, so the teacher's union (Uganda National Teachers' Union) is on strike. You can view the latest information about it
here through the Daily Monitor (private newspaper) or
here in New Vision (government owned newspaper). There are so many students out of school. It seems that public school teachers make about $150 a month here. The president has been urging them to go back to work, but we will see what happens.
There other struggle here in this town is access to water (not to mention clean water). There is no water source and there is literally one borehole for a whole community. Water goes for about Shs1500 a jerrycan, which is about .50, but money is difficult to find for most families. Things are incredibly primitive, people use firewood to cook and a pit latrine, which I used too! I now understand why women wear skirts most of the time!
Yep, it's just a hole! Because I had to make a "short call" (urinate), I used the pit latrine. Yes, there were flies, it smelled, and there was no toilet paper, but I didn't have to use a bush! You would think I would learn to bring my own toilet paper by now, but I have been so spoiled on campus! I am not sure what they use for a "long call," but I didn't stick around to find out!
The kids were absolutely adorable and greeted us when we came. We played games with them and many people from the community came out to see what was happening. I was shocked to see all of the girls had their heads shaved, which is the norm for children here. They shave girls' heads for sanitary reason and so that they do not distract boys in class. Some of the schools require girls to shave their head all the way through senior 6 (high school)!! I honestly could not tell the difference between the girls and the boys because they were little and had developed yet. Their uniforms helped me identify their gender because the girls wore skirts and the boys wore shorts.
This was the "baby" class or primary 1. They were about 5 and 6 years old.
This is the school yard. You can obviously see how dry and dusty everything is because of the lack of rain. Although it is the rainy season, they have yet to see much rain (totally the opposite of where I live - it rains nearly every day).
This is the office for WOSO, which is located at the school. Peter will be located here.
We played lots of games with the kids.
The kids here were looking for a coin. The teacher leading the event is a UCU graduate and she is doing amazing things. I love that there are UCU graduates going back and leading their communities! She spoke in the local language while Peter translated in English. The kids don't really start learning English until primary grade 6 or 7.
The kids were so fascinated with taking pictures.
I know I am not supposed to have favorites, but this little girl in the middle, Ednita, was my absolute favorite. Her eyes told her story of losing both parents. Peter told me her father died by his own spear. Apparently he was hunting and came back to pick some mangoes off of the tree for his family so he climbed up the tree to get them. But some how he fell out of the tree onto his own spear and the village people found him some time later. Really crazy, bizarre story. Peter went to the funeral and said it was horrible.
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| jack fruit |
The kids were creeping into the office as Peter was explaining the events of the day. They couldn't hide their excitement about meeting new visitors, which is rare for this part of the country. Kids are so curious and innocent...they are definitely the same all over the world.
After the events at the school, we headed across town to see Peter's mother. She has some land and many trees. As I have stated before, most of the trees here bare some kind of fruit. I can't believe that I have spent this many years without seeing food in it's natural habitat. I have been so distanced from our food source that I didn't even recognize a coffee bean. Although I complain about the size and lack of meat here, things are smaller because they are actually grown in time, without hormones. I have had so much fresh, local food and I have not had any issues. The foods tastes so fresh, but also goes bad more quickly. I have learned to just buy what I can use that week. Oh...and eggs don't have to be refrigerated! The things you learn in your mid-30s!!
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| coffee :) |
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| mangoes |
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| Peter's mom |
I want a coffee tree at home! One of my goals while I am here is to visit a coffee plantation.
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| drying beans |
Do you see the mats that Peter's mom is sitting on? She makes these and Judy sells them for her. I am hoping to bring some back with me.
We were driving to Peter's mom's house and I saw a guy drying beans. I was totally fascinated!
Overall, I had an incredible, life-changing day. If you are interested in sponsoring a child or learning more about WOSO, you can check them out
here or email me (jlcardwell77@gmail.com). Although I have attached pictures, I wish everyone could see what I saw today because you would definitely see life differently.
