EAGER LEARNERS! THE PHOTOS SAY IT ALL!!

"TEACHER.....WE ARE HERE TO LEARN!"

My "slow burn" has evaporated .............because we had our first, real class today. Boy did we luck out with Rona and Lillian. They are really wonderful teachers, and great with the kids. The teachers were so excited with all the material that they finally had in their possession, saying that they wished we could start a 'real' school. They certainly did have enough teaching material and school supplies. Our students were absolutely delightful! The first two, in their eagerness, arrived 1 hour too early. "Teacher, we are here to learn!", they shouted as they walked through the gate of the In-Need Home. There was a little bit of shyness and reluctance to talk on this first day, but they soon warmed up under the guidance of the 2 Ugandan teachers,myself AND Adrian. Today was more of a get acquainted day, where we tried to learn even more about the children and their skill levels. We introduced them to the building and the most amazing spot that some of them had ever seen......the bathroom with its toilet. The majority of the children are more familiar with the pit/latrine in the back of their homes. Many had to try out the flush a number of times! You should have seen their eyes when we brought out their schoolbags to present to them at the end of the day. And then when we showed them what we had put inside....... - a pencil, a notebook, a comb, crayons, a sharpener, an eraser, and stickers.........the smiles on their faces indicated that every penny we raised, every school & student that contributed material, whatever trials and tribulations and costs we went through here until today was worth everything! The teachers explained that these items were a gift from Canadian children and their schools. Many of the children have never received a gift before. You could see how special they felt! They had schoolbags and supplies! In many families these children are cared for by relatives with children of their own. The relatives' children may go to school, but the families do not have the fees for these children for whom they are caring. They remain at home watching the other children, in their school uniforms, leave with schoolbags and return later in the day.They left the In-Need Home proudly today, trudging down the dirt road with schoolbags on their backs. For the next hour, many of them returned with friends to proudly show them 'their' school!

As far as the shipment goes.....the story continues! Talk about contrasts! Yesterday Awel (our G.F.I.C/host) brought us along on a lunch that we were all invited to, in Jinga, at the home (mansion - pictures above) of the Ugandan Consul General to the United States, She is a born and bred Ugandan of Indian heritage. Her family owns the Kakira Sugar Cane plantation and the makers of Kakira sugar....among many other things they own. The home and grounds were absolutely magnificent. Truly, I have never seen a home so beautiful. When we arrived we were each presented with a tall, chilled glass of home made sugar cane juice, heavily spiced with ginger. Later, we were served, by the house staff, a traditional Indian lunch on the patio (while the peacocks strutted right next to our chairs. I couldn't help myself but bring up my Friday's frustration with the $'s we were charged for storage and taxes. The consul general was also shocked.....but not surprised! She felt that the taxes should have been forgiven on this first occassion. However, she explained that the Cargo is run by a private company and they set their own rules. However, she agreed that she would bring up the issue with those in the government who might make a difference. We can only hope, but we have learned valuable lessons for next time!

A SLOW BURN.................

Today has probably been the most frustrating, if not the angriest day I have spent since arriving in Uganda. As I have mentioned in previous BLOGs, we have working endlessly trying to get our shipment of donated school supplies and teaching material from the airport to the In-Need Home in Namuwongo. It has finally happened......but there is a story!

Today, Friday was the day I was supposed to leave for my Safari adventure to Murchison Falls and finally see all those African animals, including HIPPOS! However, my plans were changed Thursday evening the moment I heard that the Ugandan Revenue Authority was prepared to release the shipment. Having everything available for Monday was of paramount importance and took precedence. Thing continued downhill from there when I was informed that we were going to be charged a total of 1.5 million Ugandan shillings ....................... almost $1000.00, Canadian. The majority of the charges stemmed from 'storage' fees assessed because the boxes had to remain at the airport until they were cleared by Ugandan authorities. My rant/tirade was delivered to Awel, my host here at GFIC (he was the messenger of the news).

I was flabbergasted!! The goods remained at the airport not because we didn't want to pick them up, but due to bureaucratic inefficiency and, as far as I am concerned, corruption.

I could not understand how a group coming in to Uganda, wanting to assist the poorest of its poor children by providing an educational program to those who would not otherwise be able to go to school, was being charged such an exorbitant amount of money for goods that were donated by other children and teachers, to be given, free of charge to the children of Namuwongo. This African country, I felt, was pleading for assistance, yet throwing roadblocks in the way of those who were trying to help. Money we needed to give to these officials for 'storage' was being taken away from the children!

I was to be picked up at 8:00 a.m. the next morning by the clearing agent and taken to Entebbe. I was in a fighting mood! At 9:30 a.m. the clearing agent called to say he was in Kampala and forgot to pick me up. I took a Moo Ta Too to Kampala, went to the bank to get sufficient funds, called the clearing agent at 10:15 to say I was ready. "5 minutes" he said. At 11:30 he finally showed up..........I have been told that this is typical Ugandan time.

During the hour-long drive to Entebbe I released my tirade once again on the clearing agent. He seemed sympathetic. I was determined to get the storage charges waved. Once at the airport, there were other lines we had to wait in, and then.........everyone we needed to speak to was at 'lunch' or 'away'. By 3:00 p.m. I was defeated!

I was angry I had missed my Safari! I had no one else to vent my frustration upon!

But then, I remembered the real reason I was in Uganda.............the children! When I look at their faces, see their smiles and eagerness to learn, and remember the little one who kissed my feet and thanked me for being his teacher, I just paid the money, arranged for a truck, and thought of how wonderful Monday morning would be. I hope I can arrange another Safari.

The Bead Ladies of the In-Need Home

Today, I have decided to focus on the mothers or caregivers of some of the children in our program. There are a group of women who have been coming to the In-Need Home for 2 years to work on a small business venture........Bead Making. They create these wonderful looking beads, completly by hand, and then try to sell them to earn some money for food for their families. They all live in Namuwongo, and we have given priority to their children to attend our program. During their time together, they are taught business practices such as material cost vs selling cost, inventory management, etc. However, for me, the really facinating part of this story is how they make the beads.

Believe it or not, these beads are made entirely of paper. They use clossy, magazine pages. These pages are cut in particularly shaped strips. Starting at the pointy end of the paper strip, they roll, onto a string, with infinite patience, the entire strip into a small, ball/cylindrical shape. The color of the bead is dependant on the printed material that was on the magazine page. Once they have created a long strand of these paper beads, they dip them into varnish.....repeating the dipping several times. They are then hung to dry for several days. A very hard, glossy bead has then been created. They then separate these beads and create wonderful necklaces, earings, bracelets, small baskets, etc. They are truly beautiful. It is hard to believe that the finished product has actually been made out of paper!

If any of our teacher volunteers are reading today's BLOG, it would be helpful if you could bring as many glossy magazines as you can carry. The women must buy these pages from someone else who has scrounged them elsewhere, thereby diminishing their profits. Everyone is trying to make a few Ugandan shillings. I will be bringing back to Montreal a stock of these necklaces,bracelets and earings to use a fundraisers with a portion of the profit going back directly to these Bead Women of the In-Need Home. The pictures that acompany this Blog really do not do justice to the beauty of their product. Feel free to conatct me at my email address (oppih@vdn.ca) if you wish to purchase any, or arrange for a BEAD PARTY to help raise funds for the Namuwongo Literacy Project. By helping the moms, we are helping the children!

FINALLY...THE POWER IS BACK ON ...& JOFREY'S STORY

A local lizard! Orphan street child on streets of Kampala

Namuwongo child Rona - one of our Ugandan teachers

The electricity has been off for 1 1/2 days, so no power=no internet=no BLOG entry before this one!

Today and yesterday have been quite fruitful as far as planning goes for the educational program for our Literacy Program. Both Ugandan teachers and myself have been preparing lesson plans, meeting the children and going over our notes on them................ and hoping we'll get our boxes filled with the donated school supplies and teaching material. Believe it or not, they have still been just sitting at the Entebbe airport. Clearing the goods just seems to be taking forever. I have been in contact with the Uganda Revenue Authority who assumes responsibility for releasing shipments. Revenue Authority? ......... delays?......... airport storage fees?.........have I found an explanation?

Adrian, a student from the Education Faculty of Concordia University has joined me in Namuwongo. Adrian, who is working on his Master's thesis, will help develop a Needs Assessment and long term direction for the Literacy Program. It's great to have him here!

In today's BLOG, I have decided to feature JOFREY, one of our students (see picture above). Jofrey is a 'true' orphan. Many of the children in Namuwongo do not have a definitive explanation for the loss of parents. They may have only one parent, or their parents may reside elsewhere but do not care for the children, or they have just been abandoned. In Jofrey's case, it is a known fact that his parents were killed when his village was attacked by the rebels 4 years ago. Jofrey, now 7 years of age, was 3 years old at the time. With the help of Rona, one of our Ugandan teachers, I was able to piece together Jofrey's story from his limited English but more fluent Lugandan (a native dialect).

"my auntie came to get me because my mother and father are dead. She brought me here". His aunt explained that there was no one to care for him in his village. He survived on hand-outs from other villagers for a few weeks. Local villagers got word to Jofrey's aunt, who had already fled to Namuwongo. She returned to the village and brought Jofrey to live with her and her 4 other children. Although 3 of her 4 children attend school, she has not been able to send Jofrey to school because she does not have the 'fees' for him. Priority has been given to her own, natural children. Her youngest is not of school age. I asked Jofrey what he did all day. "I look for firewood. Sometimes I find something to sell, so I give it to my auntie to buy some food for me."

Jofrey had arrived at the In-Need Home for his interview with me accompanied by his aunt. He was cleanly and neatly dressed. He was painfully shy and just appeared to be quite sad. Getting him to say anything, even in Lugandan, was a long process. He perked up a little when he was offered a drink and a locally made donut.

Jofrey will be a challenge. He does not interact with the other children, tending to hold himself back and hide behind a chair or his aunt.

I do look forward to having him as part of our class. I am sure I see a little, bright spark behind some of his fear and shyness!

Tomorrow we will be visiting the homes of all our students and meeting their care-givers. Aside from seeing where each child lives, and with whom, we will be able to establish some communication with the child's family/care-givers. If, for some reason, a child does not show up for several days, we will know where to look for them and determine the reason for their absence.

I have been alerted that there is jelousy developing in the community and possible hostility in the form of taunting and some physicality towards the children who will be attending our program. I will have to work with our Ugandan partners to better understand how to deal with such a situation.

More tomorrow......if we have power!

SOME PICTURES - BUT READ THE PREVIOUS BLOG AS WELL!

SOME OF THE CHILDREN IN NAMUWONGO

children collecting clean waterin Namuwongo NAMUWONGO

This is Lillian, one of the Ugandan teachers.

5 = 20....and A Traditional Ugandan Wedding

This morning I only expected to meet 5 children. It had been my intention to continue with my assessments for those children I had not met as yet. I guess I should have not been surprised that as soon as the gates were opened, in poured 20 children. They were all eager to come to school with the Muzungu. They walked in, and, without any instruction, just sat down quietly looking at me with those wide, beautifully expectant eyes. I was able to introduce them to the 2 Ugandan, fully qualified teachers I had just hired - Lillian and Rona. They will be the constants in the educational lives of these children, introducing our Canadian and 2 American volunteer teachers who will be arriving in teams, monthly, until September. Since our teaching material was not ready as yet, I decided to teach the children some English songs, introducing some new English vocabulary. Searching back into my limited musical repertoire, I introduced the song 'Where is Thumbkin'. They adored it........ often forgetting the names I had given to each of the fingers, but plodding along joyfully nonetheless. Then they sang for me 'Baby Jesus' to the tune of ' Frere Jacques'. Imagine how impressed they were when I sang it in Polish and then in French. I also taught them my famous rain dance - to keep away the rain - 'Ooo Ah, Eee Ya, Funta Zee Ah'! Oh, and by the way Romy & David 'Ging Gang Gooli' are real African words in the Swahili language. When introducing these songs it was easy to spot those children who are really 'sharp, especially the little girl Fiona.

What I did remember to do was keep that promise to myself about food. I went to a local market and brought them all juice and biscuits. All waited patiently until every child had received their juice and biscuits before even attempting to open their containers and begin eating. The look on their faces was worth every penny of the cost of those snacks (see first photo)!

In the evening I was invited to a traditional Ugandan wedding hosted by Awel one of the founders of GFIC,- Global Forum For International Co-operation - and what a spectacle it was! A traditional Ugandan wedding is more of a......play. The compound was well decorated, 3 tents set up and white material covered chairs for the 300 or so guests. Special couches are rented for the honoured guests and V.I.P.'s. The bride's guests sit on one side, the groom's on another and all the others in a separate area. Then the 'play' begins. The emcee announces that there are some visitors at the gate looking for some rest and welcome. They are invited in. In fact these are the groom and his closest relatives. They are brought to a special area and chat with the bride's immediate family for awhile. It is then revealed that they have heard there is a potential bride in the area. The bride's side says there are none. But after some insistence they agree to bring out some of their women. They are all dressed in traditional costumes. The groom examines the group but finds none to his liking. There must be more.....so he implores them to bring out others. The same thing happens again and then for a 3rd time. The 3rd group appears and sure enough he find his bride among the group. While the invited guests wait, and enjoy the spectacle, the 2 families haggle and agree on the price for the bride - 3 cows! Then the entertainment begins. Tribal dancers in costumes dance to the beat of the African drummers (top right photo). This was truly something to enjoy!!

On Saturday I attended the religious (Muslim) part of the wedding in Uganda's oldest Mosque, followed by the reception in a downtown hotel.

It was a beautiful affair. However, after being in Namuwongo it was difficult to see all that food on the buffet. Such are life's ironies..........

And Then There Were 28......And Still Counting!

I arrived at the In-Need Home to find that all the shelving had been completed. The Carpenter had done a wonderful job. And then......the children began to arrive. A group of 8 children were first to arrive with an older boy of approximately 13 years of age. He had escorted them because they needed to cross the Namuwongo tracks, and then a very busy dirt road travelled by oil spewing trucks and boda bodas. As I mentioned in the previous blog, I decided to interview each child separately so as to assess their English and academic skills. I met with each child for approximately 15 minutes. Most of the children were very shy and spoke extremely softly. It took a long time for me to get their names, until I realized that it is their tribal custom to give their name starting with the family name first, followed by their given name, i.e. Uwihanganye Sharon. Their family names were tremendously difficult for me to understand, let alone pronounce; but I easily picked up on their first names. I would ask each of the children to write their name on a piece of paper for me. If they did not know how to do so, I wrote it out and asked them to copy it (I was checking fine-motor skills as well). You can see Sharon's (aged 6) efforts above. I photographed every child, with their name in order to create a photographic file for future reference.
The vast majority of the 28 children seen yesterday and today had minimal English speaking skills, aside from being able to say "My name is.........". All, except 1, were able to count to 10 in English and some up to 50 before I asked them to stop. When I asked (through my interpreter) where they had learned to count in English, they all responded that an older sibling had taught them.
Originally, we had intended to take only 5 & 6 year olds, but the personal situations we were made aware of compelled us to taken in some who were 7 & 8 and even a 10 year old named Winnie. Winnie was found in the village, wandering and begging for scraps of food. She has no parents and no extended family to care for her. Coming to our school will provide her with some shelter, and at least a snack, for part of the day.
One of the questions I asked each child was whether they had eaten as yet. Not one had had anything, When I asked when they would be eating, most just shrugged their shoulders indicating that they did not know. In fact, many of the children, while waiting their turn, were .......grazing (I don't know what else to call it). I noticed them pulling out and eating the grasses and especially the clover they found in the In-Need Home compound. We will be providing a snack, daily, before the class starts once the program is in regular operation. However, until the program starts, I will make it a point to bring some food items with me for the children I am still to interview (why did I not think of this before?).
The picture above shows some of the children who will be participating in our program. They are among those that I interviewed today. From left to right they are: Joseph (7), Anny Ngoga (In-Need Home founder), Jofrey (5- in Anny's lap), Prissy (8-rear), Immaculate (6- on my lap), and Evans (7- yes there is an 's' at the end).
My 13 year old interpreter, Peter, noticed the scar on my arm (from my heart by-pass surgery) and then showed me his scarred arm...................from a bullet that went through his mother's body and into his arm and side, when they were in a bus ambush a few years ago in Northern Uganda. His mother did not survive. He is the sole support and care-giver for his 4 siblings.
Tomorrow I will meet 7 more children that have been selected for the program!

On a separate note, a special thanks to all the Hillcrest Children who have been leaving messages on the BLOG. I can't answer them individually, but I do read them all, and love getting them. I am so pleased that everyone is talking about the BLOG in the hallways! I hope to see messages from the other schools as well!

Here I Am Crying Again......The Children Have Arrived!

I arrived in Namuwongo early this morning in order to meet and pay the carpenter, take the tent-maker around the compound for measurements, interview the teachers, and, hopefully, meet 3 or 4 of our students.
And then Rose walked in! She is a rather tall, neatly but raggedly dressed, rheumy eyed woman. I later learned she was 43 years old. Following obediently behind her were 2 of her daughters, Miriam, aged 7 and Grace, a deaf child of 10. She formally presented both of them to me. Both girls got down upon their knees in front of me.I was somewhat taken aback by this gesture. It was later explained to me that young women get down on their knees when introduced to someone of age (I guess that means me!) as a sign of respect. Rose is one of the success stories for the In-Need Home, she proudly told me. She is H.I.V. positive. When she arrived on their door-step, 2 years ago, she was in terrible condition. She had trouble with her vision due to her medications; she was rail thin and was asking for help. Specifically, she wanted some money for transportation to go back to her village in Northern Uganda, from which she had fled,....to die. Rose had been abducted by the Rebels, raped repeatedly, cut on her breasts and thighs, and had her 2 front teeth cut out. I asked why her teeth had been removed. "To leave their sign on me", she explained. If she died on the streets of Kampala, there would be no one to care for her children and she feared her body would just be left in a ditch. The In-Need Home did not have sufficient dollars to feed her in order to bring her back to health. They felt that they had no option but to give her the few Ugandan shilling necessary to go to her village to die in the presence of her remaining family members. When she arrived in her village, she was informed that the camp where her sister had lived had been destroyed and that her sister had died, leaving 3 orphans. Somehow, Rose found the inner strength, using the few dollars in her pocket she had been given for food, to hold on a little longer, as there would now be no one to care for hers and her sister's children. Having nothing in her village she returned to the In-Need Home with 3 extra children. Because of her desperate need, food was found for her and the children. She gained some strength and was determined to survive. She was given old clothing to sell on the streets for a few shillings. She was successful! She made things improve for herself as has been able to grow stronger. She cares for all her children well and has even saved the extra shillings necessary to send 2 of her children to school. Today, Anny Ngoga gave her 2 hand-me-down school bags for the children, as well as 2 pairs of worn but usable shoes. You should have seen the smiles!
Next,in came a little boy and girl. Lillian informed me that these were 2 of the children that would be part of our group. Both were orphans. I greeted them warmly and invited them into the meeting room where I planned to do some brief academic assessments, including assessing English speaking skills. As soon as we entered the meeting room, the little boy went down on his hands and knees and kissed my feet, saying "Thank-you for coming to be our teacher." He did not understand my tears,which I could not keep away. I gave him a hug and thanked him for coming to visit me. He found my hairy arms fascinating and just wanted to sit next to me stroking the hairs on my arm (it's a good thing I didn't show him my chest!). As part of the assessment I discovered that his name was Bosco, and his sister's name was Sharon. He was 7 and she was 6. Both had never been to formal school before. Bosco was able to write his name and recognize and write numbers up to 10. His English speaking skills were limited. Bosco encouraged his sister to speak, but she had no English language skills. Sharon was, however, able to copy, with some reversals, her name, once I had written it on a piece of paper. Both were delightful and I am eager to include them as students!
I went outside to meet the next 2 or 3 student candidates and was greeted with an orderly seated group of 20 children (see photo)! The word was out! The Mzungus were here to help children! Unfortunately, many of them were not eligible for the program, being too young, too old, or already attending a school. How will we ever be able to choose.....and say no to the rest.
Seeing all these smiling, eager faces was a wonderful way to end the day. I am eager for tomorrow!

A Scarry Moment & The 'Foundation' Gets Stronger

I was unable to establish an internet connection yesterday. Therefore, today's Blog will contain 2 days worth of info!
With Anny Ngoga still ill, we met yesterday morning with Lillian and ironed out some of the details still not settled. Appointments with the tent maker (for our shelters) and the carpentener (for the shelving) were made for this a.m. As well. 2 potential teacher candidates were to come in and meet with me on Tuesday. After concluding meetings with all these people I was then going to start welcoming the children, a few at a time. With nothing left to do yesterday, I left Drew with Lillian, and decided to walk through Namuwongo myself. I cannot help but being struck each time with the complete poverty in which these people survive. The word got out quickly that the Mzungu had returned and I was quickly surrounded by children and curious adults.
One young man with a bicycle stopped to introduce himself. He explained that he was a bicycle Boda Boda driver (Kampala is loaded with scooters and bicycles with their drivers soliciting passengers - they are cheaper than taxis or the mootatoos, their mini-van type busses). When he discovered that I was a teacher, he asked if he could come to the school; I responded that he was too old........he then begged if I could take his younger brother, aged 10. Explaining that the decission was not mine, he smiled and thanked me for my time and left me with the hoards of surrounding children. I continued my stroll, taking lots & lots of pictures. Suddenly, from one of the ramshackle huts, an old man burst out, shouting at me: "Where do you come from? Who invited you here?' he demanded! I tried to explain that I came from Canada, I was here at the invitation of the In-Need Home and that I was a teacher; but he was not really listening. "You are taking pictures of us because you think we are less than human....you think we are animals!" Once again I tried to explain that I was there to help the children, and that the pictures would help people in my country understand how they could help the people of Namuwongo. He kept on ranting, and was joined by another man. "You have no right to be here.....we do not like you....you will be killed....you will be killed!" At that point I thought it wise to thank him and politely made my quick good-byes, walking back in the direction from which I had come. This has been the only time I felt uncomfortable and at risk since I have been in Namuwongo. I do feel confident that it was a very isolated incident and not at all indicitive of the welcome anyone can expect in Uganda. I DO FEEL SAFE!
This morning was a disapointment. Only the carpenter showed up. At least he will begin his work tomorrow....I hope! The teachers did not show up, nor did the women who were supposed to bring in some of the children. The tent-maker did not arrive, so I made an appointment to go and see him in old Kampala. I guess I must get used to the slower pace of getting things acomplished in this part of Africa. I have been assured that teachers for interviewing and the first group of students will be there tomorrow!
Working with the children and teachers can only enhance what has already been a truly wonderful experience!

The Source of the Nile!

Earlier this evening I got back from visiting Jinja, where we found the source of the Nile. Driving to Jinja enabled me to experience a more lush,, more self-sufficient part of Uganda. We stayed at Gately On The Nile, a very nice bed and breakfast, overlooking Lake Victoria. A short, 15 minute walk brought us the the spot where Lake Victoria begins to feed the Nile River. It was truly a spectacular site, especially knowing how filled with history the Nile River has been.
Today we went to Bujigalli Falls, about 1/2 hour from Ginja. I only watched the white water rafters, since I was too chicken to try, especially after seeing raft after raft over-turn. The high-light of today, however was the visit to a real Uganda village in the middle of the jungle. I met a Ugandan gentleman who invited us to see his village. What I saw were the same things I had seen only in text-books. These villagers were quite self-sustaining. The grew, 3 types of bananas, guava, passion fruit, mango, coffee, peppers, corn sweet potato and ...........marijuana (for local consumption only we were assured)! There homes were the round, mud-clay huts with the thatched roofs. We were invited to share the lunch meal with him and his family. The children, giggling and smiling all the time, invited us in to the tiny round hut, brought hand-made chairs for us to sit on, and then served us a meal of boiled, mashed, green bananas (tasted like potato), delicious brown beans and a maize paste (tasted like palenta). Everyone was so proud to have these Muzungu visitors in their hut. I took pictures galore with promises to send pictures...................but how do you send a photo to a hut in the middle of a Ugandan jungle?
Tomorrow, more preparation for the opening of our 'free' school. On the Friday evening, before we left for Jinja, we were informed that Anny, the director of the In-Need Home and our very important partner, was hospitalized as a result of Malaria. We'll continue our preparations with the help of her second-in-command, Lillian. Hopefully, Anny's stay in hospital will be short-lived.
I do hope all the mothers who are reading this are enjoying, or enjoyed (depending on when you are reading this) a happy Mother's Day!
More tomorrow!

A TREMENDOUS DAY!

Today, I had the ex-street children (the ones that we had visited yesterday) perform for the Namuwongo children. Those 30 boys are actually tremendously talented and put together a circus act that rivals the Cirque de Soleil (but without any costumes). They sang songs for us and played the 2, battered instruments they have bought (trombone & tuba). I cannot believe how positive they were, especially knowing that they had not eaten that day. They made the children in Namuwongo cheer, laugh and applaud.
Everyone cheered and applauded Drew and I just for being there, and showing an interest........and we haven't even done anything yet!.
Drew and the rest of his group will be a tremendous asset to our program in years to come.
I am so anxious to actually begin working with the children. Good news is that the shipment of boxes will be arriving Monday or Tuesday.
Tomorrow I am off for a little R&R. I will be visiting Jinja, the source of the Nile. I will spend the night there!
Thanks for leaving comments and/or emails. Keep on doing so. I love to get them.

Day 4 - Visit to Nsambya Ex-Street Children Organization

When it rains in Uganda it really pours! Yesterday and last night and once today we had torrential downpours. We are just at the end of the rainy season.
Anny (In-Need Home director) expressed her fears for the people of Namuwongo. When it rains so hard, many of their homes fall apart. As well the pathways are flooded and/or mud-filled and the latrines over-flow. At the end of the day yesterday, when I finished my meeting with Anny, a gentleman came into her office. He was neatly dressed and carrying an attache case. I assumed he was a businessman here to meet with Anny so I left the room so she could speak to him.
When he left, Anny explained to me that he was there for counselling. He is HIV positive. He came to her because he was desperate, she explained. He has 8 children, no job and will soon have no place to live. He has recently stopped taking his medication because it needs to be taken with food...... and he has no food. So, he has decided.......... what's the use! I remember his smile at me and good-bye as he left the In-need home. We will make certain to have the 2 youngest of his 8 children included in our school group. I only wish we could have included them all.
Our school should be ready soon. The carpenter has been in to measure and then begin building the shelves for all the supplies we brought to Namuwongo thanks to the tremendous assistance we have had from individuals and schools.
Today we visited Nsambya Ex-Street Children Organization. Drew, from EMERGE, a Montreal Arts group, is here with me for a 2 week observation. We hope to have EMERGE join our school group with an ARTS program. He may also develop a program for the nsambya ex-street children organization. This is a group of teens who have all lived on the streets of Kampala and have no one to care for them.
Patrick, a 17 year old welcomed us and invited us in to the very small office which also doubled as the bed-room for the 25, or so, young people who were living there. When we finished our visit and were ready to leave, he rushed back into the office and came out with an obviously, previously worn baseball cap to present as a gift to Drew. They who have nothing are eager to give to us.............what more needs to be said!
Tomorrow I hope to meet with the Ugandan teachers I will hire for our school group. I hope to be able to provide you with pictures on this BLOG so that you might be able to see the wonderful people and children I have the privilege to work with.
Feel free to leave a message, I read and appreciate them all.

Day 3 - The visit to Namuwongo

Where to begin!
First I need to whipe the tears from my eyes, because what I have experienced is amazing.....heartbreaking, yet up-lifting. Yesterday we visited Namuwongo and were given the 'tour' . Instantly, I was surrounded by children. They were eager to meet the new mzungua who was walking around with a camera. They all wanted to have their pixtures taken and then, of course, see themselves in the screen. The children were poorly clothed, unclean, some with distended tummies.....yet they were all smiling, laughing, wanting to hold my hand, but not begging. The conditions in which these people live is indescribable. Shacks of 1 room where a family of 8 live, eat and sleep. Nonetheless, even the adults all smile, welcome you sincerely calling Mzungu (white person used as a term of endearmrnt) as you pass by.
Last night as we walked through the streets of Kampala, I saw street children begging. One little group of 3 had a child who was no older than 3, the same age as my grandson, the oldest probably about 8 years old. Imagine how I felt, just thinking of my grandson, unable to imagine him walking these streets looking for food and a safe place to sleep, and then giving these kids a few Ugandan shillings. I am wiping away tears just typing this. These parts are emotionally draining and I have only been here 3 days!
Today I met with Anny, the wonderful Ugandan woman who runs the In-Need Home where our school will be located. We have begun the planning for the welcoming of our students and the setting up of the school. How will we ever select the few children from the hundred who are roaming the Namuwongo shanty-town. We have decided to take, as a priority, the orphan children who are looked after by the kindness of others in the community (who have nothing themselves). Anny says that " For them, to be able to come to school, will be like Christmas".
Drew is here as well and joined in all the meetings! Tomorrow we will visit a street children's shelter in the hopes of partnering for an Arts program .

Day 1 in Uganda

After a long flight, I have finally arrived in Uganda! Interestingly enough, the destroyed plane from the Entebee airplane hijacking during the time of Edi Amin, still sits on a now unused run-way. The countryside is very green and lush because the rainy season has just ended. The people appear to be very friendly. They smile as we ride by, calling me Mzungu (Swahili for white person, meant as a term of endearment..........I hope).
Tomorrow I meet with Anny Ngoga who runs the In-Need Home where we will be setting up the classrooms that we will be using. Then the work begins!
I am anxious to see Namuwongo and, of course, all the children.
If we have power tomorrow and/or if we have Internet access, I will give you my impressions of Namuwongo.