My last day was a sad one, as expected. I decided I wanted to spend as much of the day as possible at the school with the kids. Before I went to the school I met up with Jesse, Kakembo, Ruthy and their parent to give them some money to go back to Kampala to finish the passport application process.
At morning break I headed over the school and hung out with the kids. A few were already crying when I arrived as they knew it was my last day. It was raining again, so we stayed inside and took a few photos. I told them that I would come back at lunch time to do some video taping and to just have some fun. There were very excited about that.
At lunch I returned and sat with Jesse and Nansubuga for a bit. The school had made me a special lunch which consisted of meat, posho, beans and some greens. I had already eaten so I took it to the classroom and gave it to the kids. When they saw that there was meat and greens on the plate the class exploded into mayhem. Everyone wanted some and the poor girl I gave it to was swarmed. I wasn't expecting that reaction. I guess I still forget was little variation these kids ever get in their food. At the end I handed out some M&M's from Canada and the kids were overjoyed to have some chocolate. I wish I had brought more.
After we all ate I put on some music and all the kids started to dance. I was expecting to leave the school in the afternoon because I didn't want to disrupt class but they insisted that I stay and play with the kids. We had such a great time dancing, singing and videotaping. My camera broke on me during the trip so I am thankful I brought a back up. Just means the DVD will have 3 different camera styles used. Oh well. Kakembo kept asking me to tape him riding his new bike. He had brought it to school and was so proud of it. All the other kids were happy for him and would take turns touching it and sitting on it. They were excited because he said he would bring it to school the next day so others could ride it as well. Cute!
I realized it was getting late and that I hadn't packed so I told the kids I was leaving for an hour or so to get ready. Again some were crying and other's passed me notes they had written. I knew that when I returned it was going to be bad for all of us.
After packing and buying some toilet paper (for the crying) I returned to school. I passed out balloons and we played for a bit longer batting them around the classroom. When school ended everyone came out of their classrooms and gathers for a meeting. I knew that Nansubuga had told them all the gather so that they could say goodbye. I wish she wouldn't have done that because it only made me more emotional. I think I would have held it together if they hadn't had done to assembly.
As soon as Nansubuga started to talk I started to cry. I was embarrassed because there were 150 students standing there watching me cry probably wondering what was wrong with me. They all thanked me very much and told me to send greetings and thank you's to everyone in Canada to helped support them. At the end they told everyone to head home.
Most of my kids stayed behind because they always like to walk me home. It's been our thing even during my last trip. I gathered up my things, said goodbye to the teachers and we headed out. Once we reached the guest house I started to cry again. Earlier in the day Ruthy slipped me a note to say she wanted to talk to me privately after school. I pulled her aside to ask what she wanted and she just said to send greeting to all the wonderful people in Canada. I thought that was really sweet. Ruthy was one of the kids who really had a hard time with me leaving. As with last time she cried a lot. I'm glad I chose her to come her because she really is a great kid.
As we were all saying good bye and I was crying my 2 roommates walked up. I felt embarrassed that they saw me like that but I couldn't help it. I told the kids to head home and started to walk into the house. They wouldn't go, they just kept staring at me. It was so sad. Finally I just went in and they started to walk home. God I will miss them all so much!
My driver came to pick me up an hour later and we were off to the airport. The traffic was the worst I have ever seen it and he even commented on how bad it was. I was worried that I would miss my flight because we were 2 1/2 hours away. Once we hit Kamapla we got stuck in a HUGE jam. Because of the rains many of the roads were damaged and some had holes so big we bottomed out a few times.
After 3 1/2 hours we reached the airport. I raced in and made it to the gate only to find out our flight was delayed. No biggy, I had an 8 1/2 hour layover in Amsterdam so any time I could take off that wait was welcomed. I spent the time in the airport reflecting on my time in Uganda. I called Josephus to thank him again for everything he is doing for Jimmy. He is such a lovely man and I really enjoy just talking to him.
That's it for Uganda 2010. I love this country, I love it's people and I will never forget them. It is because of them that I am a changed person and they are what keep me grounded in life. I wish everyone could experience just once what it is like to be with these people and to be here in this country. We would all be better people for it.
Jenn
Friday, March 5, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Let The Crying Begin
Today started with Ruth and Kakembo coming to my house to ask me for their pens back. I had put them in my bag and forgot about them. I thought it was funny that they took those pens so seriously because they didn’t have a spare one. As they were about to leave Kakembo asked me when we were going to look for bikes. I told him to go look and let me know how much they cost first. He smiled then walked off to school.
Today was also the day I was to drop Jimmy off at his new school. He came to the guesthouse this morning all ready to go. As soon as we went to leave it started to pour rain. It was seriously the hardest rainstorm I have ever seen. We got stuck at Nalusse in the office for ½ an hour waiting for it to slow down. When it did we stopped by the P6 classroom to say good-bye to everyone. The girl Jimmy secretly told me he liked was not there, she had went with Jesse to
After the rain let up we headed out to the new school. By the time we got there it started to pour again so we got drenched walking into the school. We spent some time with the headmaster and settled up payment of school fees and the cost of uniforms and clothes. I also gave them some spending money for Jimmy so that he could buy some snacks and other small things throughout the year.
When the money stuff was all settled we went to the dorm to unpack his things and get him settled there. By this point he was acting a bit strange and I think was getting sad about me leaving and about being left there without knowing anyone.
To my surprise the school kept their promise and gave Jimmy an entire bunk bed to himself. We made the bed and unpacked a few things then hung the mosquito net (I gave him mine) I then told the dorm master about when Jimmy is to take his medication and what schedule he is on. I really felt like his mother giving them all his information and how to properly take care of him. I really want to make sure that his is in good care.
Before we left for the school I had printed out all the photos I took of Jimmy while on this trip and gave him a copy. There was one with him and Ruth as well as one of us together. I think he really appreciated that and didn’t want to put them away. I also gave him some envelopes with stamps already attached for him to send me a letters while I am in Canada.
By this time it was after lunch and I had to get going. I asked him to walk me to the road and I had already started to cry. It was still raining at this point and I am sure he was cold so I wanted to make it quick. I started balling and he teared up. He didn’t want me to see but I did and told him it was ok to cry. We hugged then both turned and walked away. It was so hard to say goodbye because I don’t know when or if I will ever see him again. He is well now but who knows how long he really has.
While I was with Jimmy Jesse had taken Ruth and Kakembo to Kampala to finish the passport paperwork. After getting the receipt they went back to the office only to find out that the parents needed to be there. We were told ahead of time that we didn’t need the parents but apparently things had changed. They came back to Mukono and called the parents to come. Only Kakembo’s mother showed up and they left Mukono for Kampala again around 4 pm in hopes of making it there before they closed. Turns out the reached Kampala 5 minutes after they closed and were told to come back tomorrow. I know Jesse was trying to get everything done by the time I leave and I really appreciate that but I feel bad they had to do so much running around. They will try again in the morning
In the afternoon I met up with Ruth’s mother and we went to her house to take some pictures. They live far away and I can’t believe Ruth walks it every day. It takes her 2 hours to walk to school each way. She gets up at 5, washes up and has tea then walks 2 hours to school to arrive for 7:30 am. She then goes to school until
I took some photos of their house and spoke with the mother for a while. We had a very interesting conversation about witchcraft and people killing other people in Uganda because her neighbor was a witch doctor. She was telling me about how if someone steals your property and they get caught a crowd can form and beat that person, sometimes to death. I asked her what happens if they beat the person to death and she told me that they just light the body on fire and run away. She then asked me if this type of thing happens in Canada. When I told her no she told me that there is a good amount of killing in Uganda, and that husbands often kill their wives out of jealousy. She spoke so matter of factly about it I found it so strange. At the end of our visit she gave me some cushion covers she made. Nothing I would ever use but extremely thoughtful considering these people have no money.
As soon as I arrived home Kakembo showed up telling me he found a bike and that he wanted to go look at them right away. It was already dark and we were about to have dinner but he was so excited I couldn’t say no. When we arrived at the bike shop they were just closing but we were able to get them to pull out the bike Kakembo picked. It was definitely used and needed a few repairs. We negotiated on a price then they agreed to fix it up and make everything work.
After spending some time shining my trusty finger flashlight (thanks mom) on the bike and helping screw and unscrew some parts we finally got it all ready to go. It was so worth it because I have never seen Kakembo have such a reaction. He started to stutter a bit and thanked me over and over again. He had called to tell his mother that he would be late and she started calling me back to say thank you for buying him the bike. It was another one of those great moments, and I got a great photo of him on the bike to prove it.
Tomorrow is my last day and I am sure there will be many tears to shed. Better get a good nights sleep.
Jenn
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
A Day In The Garden
This morning Valance came by to pick up the donated money. When I told him what we would pay for he was so moved. He just looked at me and said, “sometimes it is so overwhelming and I don’t know what to say, thank you very much.” I started to cry. In fact, this whole last week I have cried a bit every day. I know it is going to be very difficult to say good bye this time. Valance also told me to thank everyone who contributed, which I thought was great that he didn’t think it was just me and remembered that there were many people behind this. I gave him enough money to build the two classrooms as well as doors and windows for 2 other classrooms. It was the second largest donation we made next to the lunch program at Nalusse. Not sure if I mentioned this already but things hear have almost doubled in the past year and a half since I was here. The lunch program is now $4000 and the cost of building supplies has sky rocketed. We are still making a huge difference but the money doesn’t go as far as it did last time. At this we have the exchange rate on our side.
The rest of the day was a day of sacrifice on my part. Nansubugu has been begging me to come to see her garden because I was the one who bought her trees last time I was here. She really wanted me to see how they were doing. As all of you know, I am not a garden person and really don’t like getting dirty, so I could care less about the garden but felt obligated to go.
It was about 10:30 at the time and I told Nansugua that I needed to be back at the school by 1 because I promised the kids I would show them a video. As usual with Africa we didn’t leave until 11:45 so I knew we weren’t getting back by 1.
We took a 1 hour boda bodo (motorcycle) ride to the garden, which was at the end of a road in a really remote village. When we got there she gave me some rubber boots to wear, and of course I had no socks so that was pretty repulsive for me. We walked around the whole 5 acres and she pointed out every tree and plant. When she started picking greens I just stood on the side because I wasn’t about to work in the garden. My dress was fully of thorns, it was hot, I didn’t have any water and I just wanted to get the hell out of there. Finally we left after Nanusubuga tore a strip off there garden helper for not doing good work.
Once we arrived in Mukono, Nansubuga insisted on taking me for lunch. We talked a lot about the garden, her son and life in general in
I spent the afternoon with the kids and showed them a video of some South African kids who are orphans and who have made a CD and DVD of themselves singing. The kids seemed to really like it, but when it came to the part of a man dying of AIDS a few of the students started to cry. There is so much death and sadness here that you never really hear about unless you end up having a private moment with someone. At the end of the movie they tried singing some of the songs even though they were in a completely different language. It was very cute.
During the video Jimmy called me and asked to meet me at the nearest road by the school. I asked him why he didn’t come to school and he said his cow had a calf that morning and he was looking after it. He wanted to talk to me about the phone I wanted to give him. Apparently his aunt heard me talking about it and asked him to ask me if she could have it. I was a bit pissed that she would even ask because I know she has her own phone. When I told Jimmy this he told me that someone came and took her phone this morning. I wasn’t buying the story. Just when I thought I was making head way with his family and that things were becoming clear she turns around and tries to pull that. I wasn’t impressed.
After school Nansubuga insisted that I go to her house for tea. I went with her and another female teacher from the school. She had a lovely house and 2 house girls to do everything for her. We had tea and some plastic looking cake then discussed the garden again and a few personal things about the female teachers. I learned that teacher Milly’s husband recently died from Diabetes, which was very sad to hear. Finally after the proper amount of time I told her that I had to get going because it was dark and I can’t see well at night. They found me a boda boda and I headed back to the guesthouse.
Luck for me, the girls at the house decided to cook spaghetti so we had a nice western meal that night. I recently caught a cold from the 2 little girls that live with us so I decided to take it easy and go to bed early here. When you get sick in Africa it hits you like a ton of bricks because your body isn’t at full strength and can’t fight it as well as it would at home. I know tomorrow it’s going to be bad
Jenn
New Project to Love
This morning Leslie took me out to one of her pet projects, it is run by a Rwandese man named Valance who has several school projects here in
When we arrived at the project I was immediately blown away at how awesome it was. I knew this was the place I would like to volunteer at and where I would like to donate a good amount of the money towards. Valance is a brilliant man who is unlike any other Uganda I’ve met. He had a vision and plans ahead. When he is planning a project he starts slowly with things he and the children can do hoping that one day someone will give them the money to finish the project. He told me that he starts early so that if someone comes along who wants to donate he is ready to go.
The school has a western school feel. They were donated 8 acres of land so they have spread out the classrooms and teachers living quarters. They even have a garden where they grow food for the teachers. School fees are minimal as most of the kids families can’t afford them, yet they get to go to an amazing school.
I spoke with Valance about what the greatest needs were and he told me they were trying to build another 2 classrooms because 2 classes were under a temporary structure and when it rained they couldn’t work. He had a full written proposal that he gave me which broke down the costs. He also mentioned that they needed doors and windows put on the existing classrooms so that people wouldn’t steel the school supplies and books. I told him that I would look everything over that night and that he should come by the guesthouse the next day and I would give him the money.
After the school visit we went for lunch in Biukawa and picked up a volunteer who is leaving early because she is sick and need surgery back home. No she did not catch anything here, but rather has an illness that flared up when she arrived.
In the afternoon Jimmy came over to the house and we decided to take all his new things to his new school so that we wouldn’t have to carry everything on Thursday when I drop him off. I asked if his aunt would like to come so that she could see the school and she agreed to join us. We labeled everything with his name and packed it up for our Mutatu ride to the school.
It was nice to have his aunt there because she could negotiate the price of the Mutatu. I paid 2500 per person last time only to find out that it was supposed to be 500. They love to rip off us white people here.
When we arrived at the school we took his aunt to the boys living quarters. As mentioned before it is very modest and I think she was a bit surprised. They man who looks after all the boys opened Jimmy’s case and started going through all the things we brought. He was just checking to make sure we had everything but he also looked a bit too excited about a few things. When he saw the soccer ball he thanked me over and over again for bringing the school one. I had to remind him that everything in the case belonged to Jimmy and that is was his to share if he wanted too.
They pulled a few things out of the case that were excess and decided to put them in storage. In theory it is good because Jimmy may just blow through all the pens and paper right away and not have any for the rest of the term, but I was also worried that we many never see them again. I had to again tell them that all of this was bought for Jimmy and that I expected that it not be given to any other students or get lost. I guess we’ll see how it all works out.
There was also an issue with beds when we got there. Initially they told me that they had lots of beds and that Jimmy would get his own bunk bed, the top to sleep on and the bottom to store his things. Well, when we got there they just shoved him in a bottom bunk where another kid was on top. There wasn’t even a mosquito net for them. I told the director that this wasn’t acceptable and they assured me that when we come back on Thursday he would have his own bed.
We finished the tour of the school then sat down with the director to discuss some details. When we asked Jimmy who should go with him to get his monthly ARV medication, he asked that his aunt take him. We all thought it was a great idea to keep his family involved. Plus then I wouldn’t have to worry about paying for transport to and from Kampala for him and an escort. I do have a feeling that his aunt is going to ask me for something though.
Josephus (the angel) spent some time talking with Jimmy’s aunt about treatment and what should be done. When they finished they promised to keep me posted on the progress he is having with the medication.
I also asked the director if I could leave a phone with Jimmy so that I could call and check up on him. I was advised not to because the other kids would try and steal it to sell for extra money. They told me that I could call their phones if I wanted to talk to him.
One the way home Jimmy’s aunt thanked me over and over and seemed to be very happy that he was getting this opportunity. I’m happy that everyone seems happy with this decision to send Jimmy to boarding school.
Jenn
Chimp Trekking
This morning we got up very early to drive to Kibale forest. The drive was absolutely beautiful. When we arrived for chimp trekking there were a few other groups there that were to join us (18 people in total). One group was of 6 Italians who couldn’t have looked more European. We had a good laugh at them and prayed that we wouldn’t be in their group as they were all chain smokers.
We were told to break up into small groups of 6 so we had a European couple join us. They were loaded up with fancy cameras and proper hiking boots, while we were in our running shoes with ankle socks. Before we entered the forest we were told to tuck our pants into our socks to protect us from the safari ants. Of course none of us could do that because our socks weren’t long enough, so we were just careful where we stepped.
As we started the walk our guide told us about all the things that live in the forest which included, chimps, several other types of monkeys, snakes, elephants, antelope, and of course many types of bugs. Two of the other volunteers were terrified of the snakes and were constantly on the look out for them. When I asked the guide what he was most afraid of, he told me the snakes (because they were extremely poisonous) and the forest elephants. He described a time where he was giving a tour to some older people and they came up on some forest elephants who started to charge them. They all had to run for their lives and many of them fell and hurt themselves. You know its bad when your guide starts praying to God and telling you to run as fast as you can.
We were very luck in the fact that we ran into some chimps about 15 minutes into our walk. They were in the trees as well as on the ground in front of us. We watched them groom each other for about 40 minutes while our guide told us lots of interesting stories about how they live.
After some time our guide radioed to the other groups to see if they found any chimps and none of them were successful. He invited them to come where we were so that they could see them close up. When they arrived they all swarmed the chimps and scared them off. Idiots. We just left and went for a walk through the forest where our guide talked about all the different trees and bugs and what they are used for. We even had a bit of a sex ed class. He pointed out a certain tree that is used for men “who have low batteries” (
After the walk we started our 6 hour drive back to Mukono. When we arrived we just ate and went straight to bed.
Jenn
Drive to Fort Portal
This morning 3 other volunteers and I left for Fort Portal to go chimp trekking. Rather than take one of the “death busses” we decided to pay a bit more money for a special hire. Our driver was a friend of Leslie’s who drives many muzungu’s around. It was nice to have a whole mini van for just 5 people rather than the usual 20 to 24 people.
It rained the whole day and we almost got rear ended on the way up there. For what ever reason the Ugandan road authority feels it necessary to put very large speed bumps every 20 feet or so. This lasted for over and hour and a half so there was no way to sleep and we were all very tired.
6 hours later we arrived in
We spent the day just walking around enjoying ourselves and even managed to find a muzungu restaurant. The food wasn’t great but it was sure nice not to have posho and beans.
Our hotel was quite nice by Ugandan standards. Each room had two single beds with mosquito nets, a bathroom attached to the room with a western style toilet (that actually worked) and a proper shower. The water was of course cold but it was still nice not to be splashing water on myself in a bucket.
Tomorrow we drive another hour or so into the rain forest to go trekking.
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