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!