Second Day The New Day

I found the old path and I feel renewed. It was further up the hill. I taught these kids how to add and most of them learned very fast. I feel very good. Then after teaching them(the older students) this we all danced and sang. We all felt good, Judy felt more than just good,she felt fantastic. Two students are going to regular school because they are sponsored. And two new ones are coming. What more do we need to make our day? Huh. Watching these students. Seeing the joy on their faces,the intensity of their interest,their hands rising, as their emotions rise,their hands like the flickering of a fire.... Can you not almost feel the heat? And where once there was only an icy coldness, now a fire,a real fire, And now two new students are coming...

Bob

The First Real Day

Well after flying 24 hours and trying to recover we had our first real day in Africa(somehow things seem to have altered ever so slightly. I got lost my first day. Why? ) But Africa still seems to draw me. The red roadways with the even more red "sidewalks", the houses hiding behind the walls. The slow walkers on the roadways, on all roadways oblivious to those North American rabbits racing or trying to race. Why do I so love this place? But above all those wonderful children and their wonderful teacher Joyce who are waiting for me as I finally find my way now on a relatively flat roadway(where is the Mt. Everest I used to climb) toward the school. Those kids so thrilled with the desire to learn,ready it seems to pounce on all information that comes their way. Now they sit caught up in working out their puzzles,e.g. what letter comes after c. Now they are trying to do Miss Mary Mack. I don't know what to smile more about: watching the the children laughing,smiling or seeing Judy,Joyce trying to remember --sometimes they forget--which hand to hit Tomorrow. I teach the older children how to add. I will be in further touch

first day!

It was a homecoming! With the addition of 2 tables....heaven. There were 2 groups :upper and middle, with little Teddy, a girl in lower. She is tiny. We enjoyed Joyce, the new teacher. When we went to the P1 class for porridge,the teacher wondered if Doreen and I were sisters. All the teachers were thrilled at the photos, as were the children.The kids and Joyce were eager to show off the song Ellen had taught them. It was a great first day. We basically observed. I began teaching Miss Mary Mack,and introduced the clapping that goes along. That was a hit, and will be continued. Tomorrow we will work on maths. It was far less stressful this year. We knew where we were going, the layout etc. (It will be easier for Doreen and Ellen next time!)Some of the kids we knew from last year.But seeing the In Need Home kids from 2006,now growing, and in regular class because of sponsorship... that brings tears to my eyes. The climb up the hill back, after classes, was interminable... More tomorrow J

Please dont consider this a blog. Bob will blog tomorrow... We arrived safely. Andrew was there to meet us at Entebbe, as planned.It is all very familiar....today we walked briefly down Tank Hill Rd., and saw a sign for the Diplomat....and then, Le Foret. Any comment, D or E. ?Went to the Chinese restaurant we love for eggplant yui sing.We start at school tomorrow, and are all set with lesson plans! Will I be able to handle a small group of 5? Dont be sure.I feel good to be back here. Howard,the PHONE DID NOT UNLOCK!. Had to buy new phone

Almost 1 p m. Our plane leaves around 9:30. The next time I sit at a computer, I will be in a very different world.The internet cafe will be buzzing, and I will be upset because I cant get to where I want to be,and Bob will tell me to slow down and breathe. I find it hard to do that...there is
so much I want to accomplish while there. My main goal is to review and discuss the budget so that the coming year will go smoothly. We have material for our classroom, and are armed with lesson plans.I have been lucky enough to find 3 new sponsors,and hope Peter Okoth will help match the sponsor with the child. Of course Im anxious to meet the children Ellen and Doreen have been raving about!!When I consider all this, I continue to be amazed that the project is doing such good work. Yes, its a drop in the bucket, but so many people have added drops,we may need another bucket. Wish us a safe trip. Keep us in your thoughts. Judy

Butterflies

Bob and I are leaving Montreal next week, arriving in Entebbe and then travelling by "hire" to Kampala. We're hoping that Andrew, who was a wonderful help to Ellen and Doreen, will pick us up at the airport. We'll be staying at the Kenrock. It's our fourth time in Uganda. I should be blase(this computer has no accents, so please add your own!), but Im not! I have the proverbial butterflies in my belly....Please read our blogs and add your comments! Believe me, it brings us great pleasure when we're in the crowded,hot ,internet cafes, when the computer suddenly breaks down, after a long day, to hear from you all!Despite the butterflies I look forward to meeting Joyce and the children, most of whom are new to me. Judy

TWO MONTHS LATER

It has been two months since we left Kampala. So much has happened in my life I feel as if my head is a whirley bird-like the propellers on a helicopter.
I am now a grandmother of two babies-a boy(Jeremy) and a girl(Sofia) born nine days apart.
Of course they are wonderful and beautiful and thankfully healthy and growing well.
But although joyous, I am not "over the moon" as someone put it.
Don't get me wrong. I adore my grandbabies and all my children ,my husband and my family and friends. But everyday I find tears dripping down my cheeks and they are not tears of joy. They are what I call Namuwongo tears.

My grand babies were born here in Canada. Neither birth was totally simple. I ask myself what would have happened in the shanty town of Namuwongo. Almost 50% of delivering mothers and their babies die in Africa. If they survive, such an enormous proportion of them live in the squaller, sadness and disease. One of the young men working at our hotel told us Namuwongo was a soft slum. " you don't want to see the others" he said.
So I cry softly at the miracle that Jeremy and Sofia were born in one of the best countries in the world to marvelous parents with overflowing love in their hearts and higher educations. Both these babies are already way ahead of most of the others born on their birthdays around the world.
I love you Jeremy and Sofia.
But the tears still flow for the children of Namuwongo.

Ellen Bacal Segal