Sick

Today I am fully sick. I took some drugs to at least get me through the day, because I knew I had a lot to do.

I met up with teacher Jesse and the two kids I am inviting to Canada so that we could go into Kampala to process the paperwork. We finally got all the signatures needed and thought we could just go into the city and hand them in. Of course that’s not how things work in Africa. When we arrived at the office there was confusion as to where we should go, and we were moved from one office to the other. We were told that we had to pay first before going into processing. The cashier took our papers and told us to go sit under the tent where several other people were sitting. After a long wait they came out and called our names. We were then told to go into the city and take the papers to the bank to make payment.

When we arrived at the bank the teller processed the papers and told us to come back in 2 hours for the receipt. While waiting I decided to take everyone out for a muzungu lunch. These 2 kids had never eaten in a muzungu restaurant and were so excited to order food. It got them chicken and fries and they ate everything until the bone was dry. During the meal I asked them how often they get to eat meat. But Jesse and Kakembo responded that they don’t know when the last time they even had meat. For them they usually just have posho and beans, for both lunch and dinner. I couldn’t image having that every day of my life. It has no taste and has very little nutritional value.

After lunch we walked around a bit then sat in a public park. By this point I was really starting to feel sick and it was quite hot so I wanted to head back, but we had to go to the bank. When we arrived at the bank there was a huge line of people all trying to get receipts. Soon the line turned into a large crowd of people pushing to the front. Jesse and I got close to the front when it started, then he told me to sit down so that he could take care of it. I was very thankful for that because I thought I might pass out being stuck in all the people. Right after I sat down with the kids the power went out in the bank. For the next hour and a half we waiting to see if Jesse was able to get the receipts. He eventually came back with no success. He was told to come back tomorrow. We left with our heads down feeling tired and defeated. Nothing accomplished that day.

When we left the bank we caught the first mutatu home thinking we would get some relief from the day and just relax. No such luck. We got stuck in the worst traffic jam I have seen in Kampala. I had Ruth sleeping on my lap the whole time and I was feeling so sick I just wanted to be home to lie down. After an hour and a half we finally cleared the jam but were then stopping every 5 minutes to let someone off and to gather a new passenger. I was so frustrated I almost yelled at the driver. Two and a half hours later we arrived in Mukono.

I took Kakembo home so that I could take some pictures of his house and his family. To my surprise no one was there when we arrived and the house was locked up. Kakembo’s family is one of the poorest I have seen. They live in a shack and have a small structure outside for cooking. He is in charge of fetching water, washing and cooking. He often burns himself while cooking and has several scares to prove it. I took a few photos of the house and surrounding area and spoke with Kakembo about how he and his family live. He told me that he only sees his father once a year because they don’t have enough money for him to travel to Mukono from where he stays. He only came in last week to personally see me and to thank me for helping his son. This blew me away.

Kakembo has never asked me for anything and is always very quiet. But tonight he asked me to buy him a bicycle. I told him that I couldn’t make any promises but that he could look to see where to buy one and how much they cost. He could then tell me tomorrow. I know a bicycle seems like a silly gift, but for this family it is a huge deal. They also live far out and I know having a bike will make life easier for them.

By the time I reached the guesthouse and sat down to rest he had called to tell me that he found the bikes. His English isn’t great so the conversation was very funny. When I asked him what the price was he said he forgot then just said goodbye and hung up. So cute.

By this point I was feeling dead to the world. I immediately took some more pills and took my temperature. I was running a fever and had the hot and cold sweats. All I really wanted to do was to go to sleep but I had made plans to go for dinner. I also knew that eating would probably make me feel better, so I went out. We ate at a “pork joint” in Seeta. It was an outdoor pub style place and the food was great. We threw our bones and leftovers to some stray cats and watched them fight over it. The place had a TV so we got to watch some cheesy Nigerian soap opera’s. Very funny.

As soon as we got home I went to bed to sleep off my sickness. Hoping tomorrow I will feel better. I know it will be a sad day because I drop Jimmy off at his new school.

Jenn