Nalusse Rock Star

School today was much better, the kids really opened up. I think it was mostly because I brought gifts (always the best ice breaker). After lunch (posho and beans… yuk) I pulled out 2 soccer balls and some skipping ropes, and of course they all went crazy. I didn’t have to peal anyone off another person this time but it was sheer hysteria there. Don’t worry I caught it on tape.

As with every morning when I arrive at the school I am greeted by a swarm of small children. They immediately run to me and all started grabbing my hands. I felt like such a rock star. They all just wanted to touch me or stand near me. Even when the other kids were playing there were 2 or 3 little girls that wouldn’t leave my side. So cute.

I tried to explain to my kids that I had created a website about them. None of them have ever touched a computer and I think mine might be the only one they have ever seen. I don’t think they grasped the full concept but they did think it was cool that other people around the world have seen them. Kakembo was so happy when I told him that I named it after him.

Speaking of Kakembo….. he has been so shy to talk to me but didn’t leave my side the first day. After school yesterday he hung around for a bit but when he saw me talking to other kids he starting walking home. Every 5 feet he would turn around to see if I was looking. I caught up to him with other kids in tow and we all walked together to the main road. He was really happy then, but I had to keep inviting him in the circle to talk with us.

I was completely blown away by the living conditions of the teachers here. They all stay in 1 room homes (if you could call them that) They are 10 x10 and have no electricity and no running water. Some don’t even have windows. The rent is $25 per month, which is hard for them to afford. It’s very sad to see. Just think… they have their bed, which they share with their children, a sofa and a place to cook. That’s it!

I checked out the cooking area at school to see if I could maybe make a meal one day. I think if I do, I may die in there. It really is a cave at the back of the school with no windows and two open fires to cook over. It was so hot I could barely stand to be in there. I feel so sorry for the school cook who is in there every day from 7 am to 3 pm. WOW!

I’ve already told the school about paying for the lunch program and they were very excited. They had an assembly today to thank me. I have started showing my kids the pictures of all of you who donated. They are very interested in seeing your faces and keep taking the paper away to see you all closer.

At the end of the school day I was talking to the teachers about Jimmy (the bad kid) being transferred to another school. They told me they found out he had AIDS and was being treated for it. I spent some time talking to some of them about it, and explaining how you can get AIDS (some of them thought you could get it by washing hands). About 10 minutes later, at the end of the day one of the students ran up to me and gave me a letter that was from Jimmy. I asked where they got it from and they told me that he was hiding around the corner. I ran over and found him hiding then gave him a huge hug. He told me that he had seen me walking in Mukono the day before and wanted to bring me a letter with some pictures of him. (this is a big deal because he would have had to pay someone to take the photos of him) I decided to walk him home that night to talk to him a little more.

When we arrived at his home the people in the surrounding houses were very excited and shocked to see me because white people don’t usually visit the local’s houses. They invited me in to have a chat. I spoke with Jimmy and his guardian aunt about coming back to Nalusse. His aunt told me that one of the reasons she removed him from Nalusse was that the P5 teacher was beating Jimmy so bad they had to take him to the hospital. I assured her that I would talk to the school about this and that we would very much like Jimmy to return. She agreed, but we never discussed whether or not Jimmy was had HIV.

Well, I think that’s it for now. Uganda is great, I’m still sweating but loving every minute of this country.

Jenn