Friday - February 17
We had another brief, gentle rain while I was teaching at Smile Africa. My interpreter did not show up for my English class so it was a bit of a struggle to explain the Valentine project. One of the women from my Writing class was there early. She attempted to help and did her best, but the language the other ladies had in common was Swahili, not a language for which she had fluency. But it all worked out okay. They made their Valentines and the interpreter and I wrote messages in them. At the end they received their Valentine sweets.
Saturday - February 18
Today we had Valentine projects in Juba. Everyone seemed very pleased with their T-shirts. Pstr. Alex and I wrote the kids' names on the shirts for the English class. For the Reading & Writing class I showed the ladies how to make "God's Eyes". These little craft projects are made with sticks in the shape of a cross and then variegated, brightly colored year is wrapped on the cross in such a way as to make a lovely diamond-shaped pattern until the arms of the cross are completely covered. Pstr. Alex caught on quickly and was able to help some of the ladies who had several false starts. They all seemed very pleased with their handiwork and enjoyed their treats of candy hearts. Thank you Jesse, for teaching me how to do this craft.
Something I noticed today is the very good English a few of the very young children had. There were about 5 children popping in and out of my classroom before class began. The oldest was 7, the youngest, probably, 4. Their English was very impressive. We could easily understand each other. They had very little of the local accent. I am very curious as to where and with whom they are learning to speak.
Sunday - February 19
We had several passing rains during the night which were nice as it cut the heat a bit and made sleeping more comfortable.
Well, I found the mosquito that got inside my net and kept buzzing in my ear last night and gave me several new bites AND guess what? I squashed him!!!!
We went to church at Sacred Heart with Alex (cabbie) and his wife, Harriet. After church I had him drop me at TLT, hotel restaurant, where I was to meet a friend from True Vine who never showed up. I spent 3 hours waiting. I will try once more to make that contact and it if doesn't happen, it won't be because I didn't try. This is a person Pstr. Ruth particularly asked me to make contact with, which I had intended to do anyway.
Monday - February 20
Today I was able to reach the woman I was supposed to lunch with yesterday. She was ill and didn't have my phone number. There is alot of sickness - mostly malaria but pneumonia also and today someone told me she had been diagnosed with typhoid. Not sure about that. I had one person at my Bible study today, a new person. This is actually someone who has been here since I've been coming to Tororo. He told me today that he was one of the pillars of the church. He's been here for ten years, since before they had water at the site. His English is very good. He also writes in 3 languages. He told me he went to school as far as P7 and he is 56 years old. He is a helpful, good-natured man. There is so much to learn from these people. The only other person who came today was my English speaking non-reader. We are struggling but he is persistent and has been here every time. He had on a shirt today that was literallym in tatters and he sits there trying so hard to learn. I have so much respect for him and for many people here.
Tuesday - February 21
Happy Birthday my dear sister, Terry. Pstr. Peter drove me to Wikus today. I have a very high level of frustration with the teacher there. He is constantly interrupting me trying to be helpful. It is such a struggle for my students to get the sound of English vowels in their ears to try to say them. In their speech they use what I term "Italian vowels" which are used in Swahili, Lugandan, most of the local languages and, of course many other languages as well, BUT not English. So I am trying to get them to hear the differences and then say them. James, the teacher, is correcting them with his version of English vowels (short sounds, especially) which he speaks exactly the same as they do. It takes all of my patience to remain calm and civil.
On the way home we had 3 passengers coming from the funeral of a 3 year old. The child died because his "stomach swelled up". What could this be? What occurs to me is parasites. I know a swollen stomach can be a symptom which many children have, of intestinal parasites. The health department tries to regularly "deworm" the children, but it is an ongoing problem.
On this trip to Wikus, on a dirt road through many villages a common sight on the return between 5 and 6 p.m. is a gathering of men sitting in a circle with very long straws (reeds) around a jerrican of "home brew". Only very rarely, can be seen a woman or two. This consumption of raw alcohol is, in most cases, very destructive to a sound, healthy family life. In the churches one hears many "testimonies" of overcoming an addiction to alcohol.
Wednesday - February 22
Happy Birthday Brother Dale. Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The end of my devotional this morning spoke of our individual "messy houses" with the following admonition: "If the house is messy, why not clean it up, why not make it into a place where God might wish to dwell?" A good question - one which I will strive to answer this Lenten season.
Today was a Smile Africa day. I am there twice a week so my Reading and Writing classes get twice as much attention as any of the other locations. We seem to be zipping along. I felt like I made good progress today with sounds of the alphabet in the Reading class. The Writing class had barely gotten started before we had to stop as Pstr. Ruth wanted to meet with all of the ladies.
No electricty all of today.
Thursday - February 23
How sad - the grandson of Peter's cousin was killed - hit by a taxi walking home from school, the baby class - this means a 3-4 year old. They walk all over by themselves. By the time a girl is 5 she is carrying an infant sibling strapped to her back. Sometimes it seems that life is not valued here. I know that this is not true, but precautions are so cavalier.
I went to Busowa for belated Valentine projects. That went well - people left happy with their T-shirts and "God's eyes". Pstr. Charles told me one of the men who made a God's eye, showed it to him and very happily told him he was taking it home as a Valentine gift for his wife.
We have about 20 T-shirts left so when we are handing out the rest of the pillowcase dresses, we will give the boys the T-shirts. This will be in a village of Peter's choice.
Our planned photo safari for this week-end is finally coming together. We are going to Queen Elizabeth National Wild Animal Park in western Uganda, on Saturday. Sunday we will see the park and return home Sunday night.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
WEEK 5 Continued
so spent the whole day here in the house. Got some lesson plans done and some housekeeping. We had a few sprinkles but coud use another nice rain to settle the dust.
I hope all had a love-filled St. Valentine's Day.
I hope all had a love-filled St. Valentine's Day.
WEEK 5
Friday - February 10
Now that we have water I spent the morning cleaning. It feels really good to once again have chased the dust away.
I went to Smile Africa in the afternoon. I had five people in the English class write their names on my white board. Now there are only 35 to go. Hopefully, they will all have accomplished this task by the time I leave. Actually, that class is a bit of a challenge as I have in tyhe class who were in the class the last time I was here, so there is a lot of repetition for them and I am sure they are a bit bored, BUT there are many new ones for whom is is all new. Unfortunately, I have not the time to divide them up.
Judging from the homework done by my writing class I did not make myself clear or explain well the concept of an adjective, so I went over all of that again. Plus, I had new people joining my class - always a bit of a struggle, but I can't keep starting over each class meeting to accommodate the new joiners.
I must say, I was exhausted by the time I got home at 5:30. I was glad I just had to warm up my dinner as it was waiting for me in the fridge. Fell asleep about 9 and slept soundly until 7.
Saturday - February 11
A rather slow day - I took care of household duties and went to Juba in the afternoon. There are a group of neighborhood people 2 or 3 women and twice as many men, who occasionally sit just ouside the gate of our compound under a lovely oleander-like tree who socialize and drink alcohol to the point of drunkeness. This disturbs Pastor Peter greatly. Today he said he wanted to talk to the supervisor of this area (politician?) to get these people to stop. My fear is if he complains they may take it out on us - harrass us. I left it to his judgement but let him know my concerns.
Classes went well. One was bigger, one was smaller but both went well and were fun.
Sunday - February 12
We have our first rain including some lovely thunder. It is just a gentle little rain, but nevertheless, it is rain.
We went with Alex (cabbie) to his church this morning, Sacred Heart Catholic Church. It was so nice to participate in a liturgy with responses, creed and prayers that were familiar. The second reader when finished, announced the gospel as "Let us welcome the gospel". I really liked that. When the offering was brought forward it was not only money but food as well, including a live chicken. It was brought forth with ceremony, singing and dancing.
We received a call from Peter this afternoon that one of the "elders" of his church in Juba was killed on the rad last night by a semi. So Peter's night was a difficult one, arranging transport of the body, finding $100 for the post-mortem, finding funds for and purchasing a coffin. The burial will be tomorrow. They have to get them in the ground as soon as possible. He sounded exhasuted.
Well the rain has gotten heavier with much thunder and a lovely wind. It is glorious!!
Monday - February 13
Lawrence picked us up this morning to take us to True Vine before he began his burial/funeral duties. He told us the man who was killed was riding a motorcycle with his sister and his neice. Three women were running across the road, one with a cell phone to her ear, so she was crossing with divided attention. The side mirror of the motorcycle hit her which threw the bike out of control and the 3 riders into the middle of the road in the oncoming path of a semi. People who saw the accident got one of the women off the road, the truck ran over the man, killing him, and the other woman was between the wheels of the truck which passed over her, leaving her with a few bruises from the fall. The man leaves 5 children, the oldest not yet in his teens.
I saw my boy Joseph this morning He was able to beg his way back into school and has begun Senior 2 on probation. We will see how he does. I told him he had better us this chance well.
My Bible study group did not come together this morning. I was saddened, but not surprised. I did see 5 people individually however. Sarah, who is reading "The Book of God" on my kindle brought a young friend whose schooling ended in P2. I worked with her a bit. I think she is quite bright.. Her English isn't good good but she caught on to alphabet sounds and was able to read "Hop on Pop". I found a ride home with Zach of True Vine as I didn't want to bother those at the funeral which was in Maguria, a bit away from Tororo.
Tuesday - February 14
Today is Valentine's Day. I have special projects planned for my classes all week.
I had a surprise this morning. When Peter picked Sue up, he had my girl, Elizabeth, with him who he was taking to True Vine on her way to school in Jinja so I got to see her, give her the gift I had brought plus a little jacket and a skirt and blousem that hopefully, she can use. Sarah seems bigger than Elizabeth who doesn't seem to have grown since the last time I saw her. I hope she does well and finds a good place for herself at school.
Lawrence drove me to Wikus. I had 3 sizes of plain white kid T-shirts with me for all of my classes to draw/design/write on for a child of their choice as a Valentine gift. The people were quite excited about it. Lawrence told me on the way home that he had overheard them talking and they were all pleased and happy about the project, When they had finished with the T-shirts I had a few little heart candies (the kind with sayings printed one) for each of them as their Valentine gifts. It was a good day.
Happy Birthday Don!!!
Wednesday - February 15
Every time I come here, whether it is for 2 weeks or for 3 months, I have a meltdown at some point - an overwhelming feeling of sadness, inadequacy and frustration. I have been staving one off for a few days now, but today came close,
This was my day for Smile Africa. My Reading class was very happy with their T-shirt project. I had my English class make a folded paper Valentine for someone they loved, They drew pictures, made designs and then Anna (my interpreter) and I helped them write a message At the end of the message we had them write their own names. What hit my meltdown button was watching Margret Aketch very carefully, painstakingly with much struggle and time write her name on the card for her grandson.
The other incident today was on my way to the office at Smile Africa with both of my arms full, I saw this small child standing by himself heaving left-over sobs of a really hard cry. I started to walk on but realized I couldn't and turned and just rubbed his back for a few minutes, trying to soothe him. He was filthy, with dried nose mucous smeared all over his face, his clothes in rags and the saddest eyes I have seen in a while.
Many of the children at Smile Africa come during the day from scavanging from the garbage piles in Tororo. They receive at least 1 meal a day, as stab at some small piece of education, and an enclosed safe place to run and play and be kids. Where they sleep at night is anyone's guess, some outside and if lucky, under a tree. Many of these children are tribal Karamajong who are looked down upon by the other tribes and are refugees from the intermittent fighting in the north They flee from The Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel group that raids villagesm captures women to use as slaves and makes "boy soldiers" of the children.
Thursday - February 16
Today, my Roy would have been 73. This has been a really strange day. Peter's car broke down taking Sue to True Vine, so he called and canceled my trip to Busowa,
Thursday, February 9, 2012
WEEK 4
Friday - February 3
The power continues to be out for all of Tororo. There seems to be a problem at the sub-station.
The chairs had been returned at Smile Africa so my classes could sit more comfortably. It also made it easier to do the "stand up/sit down" exercise. I have all ages - an 80+ to young mothers. We worked on colors today and reviewed body parts. Next time we will work on more verbs.
The Writing class is doing quite well - catching on. There is a woman in that class who has a special needs granddaughter for whom she is responsible. She has asked me for help for school fees and supplies. I told her she should speak to Pstr. Ruth. She said she is fearful to do so and asks me to do so for her. I will and I am sure will learn more from Ruth.
I will soon be up to 20 in number of those who have approached me for funds. Again, I say this has not happened before in such numbers. People are hurting.
Good news! The power is back on,
Saturday - February 4
A day to sleep in for a bit and here I am awake at 6:30 - oh well.
There is a sizeable population of Muslims in Busowa and also in Juba. In Juba many are refugees from the war in Sudan. The pastors at Juba were talking about the countries that have been sending money here to build mosques and schools: Libya (before the end of Quadaffi sp?), Saudi Arabi and Pakistan. They said that young boys are invited in with the promise of 50,000 shillings (roughly $25.00) if they stay for three months. They stay in the compound of the mosque and schoof\l for those 3 months, being fed and sheltered and, I imagine, indoctrinated in the Muslim faith without being able to leave. At the end of 3 months they are given new clothes, 50,000 shillings (alot of money here) and sent home to convert their families
Well a new wrinkle tonight - no water. We thought with tanks in the yard we were protected from this problemm but the flow valve has not been working properly. However, there has been no water flowing into Tororo for 3 days we have learned so now our reserve tanks are empty. It is 9:00 at night and Pstr. Lawrence just brought us two jerricans fulll of water from the well in Juba so we can flush the toilet. He said he would bring more in the morning. It is a mistake to take anything for granted here..
Sunday - February 5
Still no water - we are flushing from the filled jerricans Lawrence brought last night.
We went to Juba for church this morning Hope 4 Kids purchased a tent to be used until they can get a building up. It was really a wonderful service. We got there about 9:30 and left at 1:00. The adults were on plastic chairs and the kids on grass mats on the ground. Even the littlest (2 & 3 years old) know to take their shoes off and leave them on the edge of the mat. They sit quietly or sing and clap when appropriate and sometimes curl up in a ball and go to sleep. There were 4 choirs, 2 young people and 2 adult. The music was all a capella with just drum with alot of dancing and clapping. When an anthem llike piece was sung which moved ito a prayer period it conjured images in my mind of Christians all around the world doing the same thing as the world slowly turns for the sun to shine in each time zone moving to the west. There were announcements, "testamonies" of how God had worked in their lives (5 people), welcome to visitors with time for them to introduce themselves, 2 sermons and much prayer and praise. It really was a wonderful way to start the Lord's day.
I met a friend, Ikibo, for lunch. It gave me time to hear where he was in his life and then Alex and his wife, Harriet, brought their estimates for household expenses and details for starting a business. They didn't come right out and ask, but I, unfortunately, had to let them now I did not have the kind of money they needed, either to invest or lend them.
When I got home, I swept up all the red dust that had blown into the house on this very windy day. I could have filled a sandbox - perhaps that is a slight exaggeration.
Monday - February 6
Still no water. We both went to True Vine. I went back to the Orphan Office to speak about Obbo Joseph, my sponsored boy. He failed all his classes, was caught drinking and forged his report card to turn into the Orphan Office. As it turned out, Joseph came, his uncle guardian came, the Director of the orphan program, his assistant and Joseph's field officer and I. We met for 2 hours to hear what Josehp had to say for himself, and for him to hear that we all agree as to our expectations of him.
Following this meeting, I met with the field officer of the 4 other children I have in boarding school. They are 2 brothers and their 2 sisters. The boys and oldest girl were all number one in their class at the end of last term. This new term they all advanced a grade. The younger sister was 6th in her class so she is doing well also. She is now in Primary 7. The two boys are in P6 and P5. The oldest girl will be leaving True Vine boarding school and going to Senior 1 in a good school in Jinja (about 5 hour drive from where she lives). Everyon here is very excited about this family and the possibilities for their future. I was able to meet with the 3 younger ones today.
After that I met with the gentleman who is trying to learn to read. That was all I got accomplished today. I was not able to see any other adults because my schedule got all turned around because of my meetings with, for and about my sponsored kids.
We do have power now, but our fridge is not working. What next?
Tuesday - February 7
We had power during the night enough to get the fridge working so that was good BUT it is off again this morning. Still no water. For the town of Tororo now this is 6 days without water. For us it is 3 as we had our reserve tanks for 3 days. Thank goodness for the few boreholes scattered around. They give people water to drink.
What a strange day this has turned out to be - no water, intermittent power and the car broke down and was at the mechanic's all day so I never got to Wikus. This evening I will have a sponge bath like I used to have at my grandmother's who never had running water in the house. Hopefully, our faithful Ugandan friends will refill our jerricans as we will be needing the water.
Wednesday - February 8
Still no water though Peter says his reserve tank has been filled. However we do have lovely fresh morning air coming in the windows. It is always refreshing in the morning. By early to mid-afternoon, it is HOT everyday, in the 90's. Getting to sleep is a bit tryng as we must shut the house up against the mosquitos, so the house is stuffy. It is always a relief in the morning to let in th fresh air.
It seems incongruous that I can sit with my laptop and communicate with people across the ocean but I turn the water tap on and nothing comes out. These people here live with this unreliability all of the time. I think often we in the United States forget how truly blessed we are to have been born there.
I met with my classes at Smile Africa. I now have over 40 in the English class so I have split it in half. Half will meet on Wednesday and half will meet on Friday. I look at those women and know how hard they work every day: up early morning to "dig" in their garden, cook food over an open fire, struggle to keep their children and grandchildren in clothes and shelter and then walk long distances of an hour or more to come to learn English and how to write their names, and for the Reading class struggling to remember the sounds of the alphabet to help them read "Hop on Pop", or the Writing class learning to construct a proper, meaningful sentence. They are simply amaziing! They encourage one another, clap and sing for one another. It is a humbling experience to know them.
Thursday - February 9
It appears we have WATER in our reserve tanks - don't know how much BUT the toilet flushes and WATER comes out of the taps. WOW!!!! I had a real shower tonight. It felt wonderful. So far our water seems to be working.
Had a fun time with my students in Busowa. Lots of laughing, learning and doing verbs. Lots of clapping and encouragement for those who can write their names, which was most of them. Lastly, Lillian INTERRUPTION - I kept smelling something bad - not out of the ordinary here and all of a sudden I remembered I had beans cooking on the stove - now they have been BURNED on the stove - PUDDLEDUP!!!! Okay, back to Lillian, who read from my kindle. Two other women stayed and read with her. They were all fascinated by the "gadget". What impressed me most is that when we came to a stopping place, Lillian went back and found all of the words she din't know the meanings of and asked for their definitions. It wass a good day - a real shower and intellectual curiosity!!!
The power continues to be out for all of Tororo. There seems to be a problem at the sub-station.
The chairs had been returned at Smile Africa so my classes could sit more comfortably. It also made it easier to do the "stand up/sit down" exercise. I have all ages - an 80+ to young mothers. We worked on colors today and reviewed body parts. Next time we will work on more verbs.
The Writing class is doing quite well - catching on. There is a woman in that class who has a special needs granddaughter for whom she is responsible. She has asked me for help for school fees and supplies. I told her she should speak to Pstr. Ruth. She said she is fearful to do so and asks me to do so for her. I will and I am sure will learn more from Ruth.
I will soon be up to 20 in number of those who have approached me for funds. Again, I say this has not happened before in such numbers. People are hurting.
Good news! The power is back on,
Saturday - February 4
A day to sleep in for a bit and here I am awake at 6:30 - oh well.
There is a sizeable population of Muslims in Busowa and also in Juba. In Juba many are refugees from the war in Sudan. The pastors at Juba were talking about the countries that have been sending money here to build mosques and schools: Libya (before the end of Quadaffi sp?), Saudi Arabi and Pakistan. They said that young boys are invited in with the promise of 50,000 shillings (roughly $25.00) if they stay for three months. They stay in the compound of the mosque and schoof\l for those 3 months, being fed and sheltered and, I imagine, indoctrinated in the Muslim faith without being able to leave. At the end of 3 months they are given new clothes, 50,000 shillings (alot of money here) and sent home to convert their families
Well a new wrinkle tonight - no water. We thought with tanks in the yard we were protected from this problemm but the flow valve has not been working properly. However, there has been no water flowing into Tororo for 3 days we have learned so now our reserve tanks are empty. It is 9:00 at night and Pstr. Lawrence just brought us two jerricans fulll of water from the well in Juba so we can flush the toilet. He said he would bring more in the morning. It is a mistake to take anything for granted here..
Sunday - February 5
Still no water - we are flushing from the filled jerricans Lawrence brought last night.
We went to Juba for church this morning Hope 4 Kids purchased a tent to be used until they can get a building up. It was really a wonderful service. We got there about 9:30 and left at 1:00. The adults were on plastic chairs and the kids on grass mats on the ground. Even the littlest (2 & 3 years old) know to take their shoes off and leave them on the edge of the mat. They sit quietly or sing and clap when appropriate and sometimes curl up in a ball and go to sleep. There were 4 choirs, 2 young people and 2 adult. The music was all a capella with just drum with alot of dancing and clapping. When an anthem llike piece was sung which moved ito a prayer period it conjured images in my mind of Christians all around the world doing the same thing as the world slowly turns for the sun to shine in each time zone moving to the west. There were announcements, "testamonies" of how God had worked in their lives (5 people), welcome to visitors with time for them to introduce themselves, 2 sermons and much prayer and praise. It really was a wonderful way to start the Lord's day.
I met a friend, Ikibo, for lunch. It gave me time to hear where he was in his life and then Alex and his wife, Harriet, brought their estimates for household expenses and details for starting a business. They didn't come right out and ask, but I, unfortunately, had to let them now I did not have the kind of money they needed, either to invest or lend them.
When I got home, I swept up all the red dust that had blown into the house on this very windy day. I could have filled a sandbox - perhaps that is a slight exaggeration.
Monday - February 6
Still no water. We both went to True Vine. I went back to the Orphan Office to speak about Obbo Joseph, my sponsored boy. He failed all his classes, was caught drinking and forged his report card to turn into the Orphan Office. As it turned out, Joseph came, his uncle guardian came, the Director of the orphan program, his assistant and Joseph's field officer and I. We met for 2 hours to hear what Josehp had to say for himself, and for him to hear that we all agree as to our expectations of him.
Following this meeting, I met with the field officer of the 4 other children I have in boarding school. They are 2 brothers and their 2 sisters. The boys and oldest girl were all number one in their class at the end of last term. This new term they all advanced a grade. The younger sister was 6th in her class so she is doing well also. She is now in Primary 7. The two boys are in P6 and P5. The oldest girl will be leaving True Vine boarding school and going to Senior 1 in a good school in Jinja (about 5 hour drive from where she lives). Everyon here is very excited about this family and the possibilities for their future. I was able to meet with the 3 younger ones today.
After that I met with the gentleman who is trying to learn to read. That was all I got accomplished today. I was not able to see any other adults because my schedule got all turned around because of my meetings with, for and about my sponsored kids.
We do have power now, but our fridge is not working. What next?
Tuesday - February 7
We had power during the night enough to get the fridge working so that was good BUT it is off again this morning. Still no water. For the town of Tororo now this is 6 days without water. For us it is 3 as we had our reserve tanks for 3 days. Thank goodness for the few boreholes scattered around. They give people water to drink.
What a strange day this has turned out to be - no water, intermittent power and the car broke down and was at the mechanic's all day so I never got to Wikus. This evening I will have a sponge bath like I used to have at my grandmother's who never had running water in the house. Hopefully, our faithful Ugandan friends will refill our jerricans as we will be needing the water.
Wednesday - February 8
Still no water though Peter says his reserve tank has been filled. However we do have lovely fresh morning air coming in the windows. It is always refreshing in the morning. By early to mid-afternoon, it is HOT everyday, in the 90's. Getting to sleep is a bit tryng as we must shut the house up against the mosquitos, so the house is stuffy. It is always a relief in the morning to let in th fresh air.
It seems incongruous that I can sit with my laptop and communicate with people across the ocean but I turn the water tap on and nothing comes out. These people here live with this unreliability all of the time. I think often we in the United States forget how truly blessed we are to have been born there.
I met with my classes at Smile Africa. I now have over 40 in the English class so I have split it in half. Half will meet on Wednesday and half will meet on Friday. I look at those women and know how hard they work every day: up early morning to "dig" in their garden, cook food over an open fire, struggle to keep their children and grandchildren in clothes and shelter and then walk long distances of an hour or more to come to learn English and how to write their names, and for the Reading class struggling to remember the sounds of the alphabet to help them read "Hop on Pop", or the Writing class learning to construct a proper, meaningful sentence. They are simply amaziing! They encourage one another, clap and sing for one another. It is a humbling experience to know them.
Thursday - February 9
It appears we have WATER in our reserve tanks - don't know how much BUT the toilet flushes and WATER comes out of the taps. WOW!!!! I had a real shower tonight. It felt wonderful. So far our water seems to be working.
Had a fun time with my students in Busowa. Lots of laughing, learning and doing verbs. Lots of clapping and encouragement for those who can write their names, which was most of them. Lastly, Lillian INTERRUPTION - I kept smelling something bad - not out of the ordinary here and all of a sudden I remembered I had beans cooking on the stove - now they have been BURNED on the stove - PUDDLEDUP!!!! Okay, back to Lillian, who read from my kindle. Two other women stayed and read with her. They were all fascinated by the "gadget". What impressed me most is that when we came to a stopping place, Lillian went back and found all of the words she din't know the meanings of and asked for their definitions. It wass a good day - a real shower and intellectual curiosity!!!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Week 3
Thursday - January 26
First, I was mistaken in my posting re the videotaping women - they were not BRR but BFR, Be Free Revolution. If you are interested, check out their website.
I have been having some very intense dreams - this could be a side effect of the malaria meds I am taking. Anyway, last night's dream was about the loss of childhood innocence and my part in that loss. I woke with a great sadness and the realization once again of how grateful I am for the forgiveness given me by the Grace of God. It also brought to mind the story I heard yesterday from one of the pastors. His wife's mother was the first wife of her husband with whom she had 5 children. The husband took another wife who proved to be barren. This 2nd wife became fearful of being abandoned and was very jealous. One day she prepared food for the children while their mother was away. The youngest child was playing in the banana plantation. When the youngest child and the mother returned home they found the other 4 children laying on the ground vomiting - they all died of the poison they had ingested in their food. The extended family derided the husband so the point that after the burial, he took his 2nd wife and went to Kenya, abondoning his 1st wife and only surviving child. That child is now the wife of this pastor. Recently, this woman's father and his 2nd wife returned to Tororo. The father had a bicycle accident and needed to be taken to the hospital. The pastor counseled his wife that as they are Christians they needed to forgive the father and his 2nd wife and come to their aid - to care for them in their old age. I ask myself, could I live my faith the way these people do?
Friday - January 27
Spent the a.m. waiting for my internet connection to send 2 emails to the 2 people who will be joining us in March. Also worked on lesson plans. Getting the emails sent took 2 hours. Anyway by the time I left at 1:30, they were on their way and my lesson plans were ready.
It took a while, when I reached Smile Africa, to get all of the ladies sorted out so thay they were in the correct class at the correct time. We got off to a rocky start as we had children disturbing us with much noise and running in and out. The English class is huge so to give everyone the attention they need will be a challenge. I am going to use an interpreter this time in that class as it is too hard with so many. We got through a greeting, "God bless you" and "please" and "thank you".
I made the same mistake with the writing class that I did the last time when I started teaching. I didn't plan enough. Also, it really is a challenge not to have a chalkboard. I borrowed a white board from my daughter-in-law which works but not half so well as a blackboard would. The white board is small and I need to keep erasing AND it is hard for all to see. Oh well - we will make do with what we have.
Saturday - January 28
Spent the morning housekeeping: cooking, laundry, cleaning the floor, emails and also did some lesson plans for Juba.
Juba is undergoing a flurry of activity to prepare for the opening of the new school term on Monday. Rooms are being repaired, repainted, blackboards are being painted - their blackboards are concrete with blackboard paintm all over a cross between adobe and kiln-fired bricks, which they use for construction. The boys' dormitory is being constructed along with the kitchen. The girls' dormitory has been enlarged with new beds. It will be a small miracle if all is ready by Monday morning.
Pstr. Alex and I will team teach the women at Juba. He has an English class and combined Reading & Writing class. I worked on alphabet names and sounds with both classes. The English class is doing very well. They all wrote their names and he has them doing written homework every class period. When it was time for the Reading & Writing lass to end they wanted to continue and were disappointed I would not be there Wednesday when Alex holds his next classesm but I can only be there Saturdays as the rest of my schedule is filled. Working with those women and Alex put a smile on my face and most especially in my heart.
Sundaty - January 29
In my nine visits to Uganda, this morning I experienced a first - a Ugandan had to wait for me, a muzungu (what we foreign whites are called). We were supposed to be ready at 8:00 to with with Pstr. Peter to Buwendo where he was going for the first time to a newly planted church. When he knocked on our gate my clock read 5 minutes to 8:00. He came in and had to wait those 5 minutes. We were ready at 8:00 but his clock was 5 minutes ahead of ours. Anyway, it was a first and we all had a good laugh.
The village is to the east of Bugiri on the Kampala road. The dirt road into this village was very bad. It will be impassable during the rainy season. This poor village is without a school, any medical care and most importantlym a clean water source. They have put up a frame structure for their church, roofed with a plastic tarp, with walls of the same. However, it was lovely to hear the druming, singing, praying and preaching with no sound system hurting one's ears. As this was Peter's first visit (the "overseer") he was dressed ceremoniously in a kanzo (a long white dress, long sleevedm with some embroidery at the neck and down the front; under were his suit pants and he wore his suit coat over the top. He was the guest preacher of the day. The whole premise of his sermon was so simple and yet deeply profound: What is worship? Worship is loviing God above all things and living accordingly. I love listening to him preach for the homely little examples he uses. He pokes fun at himself and also at his listeners in such a gentle, non-judgemental way, that they laugh and agree, "yes, it is true" and understand how they are asked to improve in responses to God's great love for all of us.
After the service was over, Sue and I, with the help of the men present, fitted the little girls with pillow case dresses from Hope 4 Kids' Dress a Girl Around the World program. It was crowded, hot and little ones cried, but all were joyful and anxious to have their photos taken. We had a small bag full of matchbox cars which the littlest boys received with happy smiles.
Finally, we were served a meal of rice, chicken, beef, soda and kalo (a soft, dough-like bread made of cassava flour, millet and a little sorghum). I don't like the texture and the flavor is very bland. They pinch a piece off and use it for dipping in their other food. Finally we bid them all good-bye and started the long, dusty, HOT journey to Tororo.
The road between Bugiri and Tororo goes through an area where a fairly large troop of baboons live. They appear to be ranging over a much larger area and many are seen along the road. They are coming closer to the villages. Peter says this is because there is no food in this dry time of no rain - they will start raiding the villages for food. This is very scarey! I would hate to fight a baboon over food - they are viscious and could easily kill a man let alone a child.
Peter forgot to get gas in Bugiri, so the next small town we came to, he purchased gas by the liter - literally 2 plastic bottles of a liter each which got emptied into the gas tank.
We arrived home about 4:30, ready for a shower and something cool to drink. Altogether a really great day!!
Monday - January 30
Both Sue and I went to True Vine - the first day of the new school term. Lots of confusion, small attendance (no school fees probably being the reason) and long meetiings of adults. Sue ended up working with 3 teachers of the "baby" classes (3 and 4 year olds).
I met my group whivh had a new personm one who did not show up, one that came late, and 2 that arrived after we had finished our Bible Study/Prayer time. I then proceeded to work with individuals who had made appointments. The first was Margret who is struggling to learn to speak English. I was able to get her to understand using some Swahili phrases and then added learning the names for body parts (this is helpfu when they go to the clinic when no one speaks their tribal language). Next I worked with a man whose spoken English is quite good but he can't read at all so we started with the ABC's. Then a young man who reads fairly well, but who needs help to improve his writing came and finally Sarah arrived. She is a well-educated woman. I let her read the Wangerin book on my kindle for an hour while I went outside and discussed the map I had brought along with Pstr. Aggrey. Pretty soon, Rita arrived, overseer for the True Vine widows, to take me to see Jaja (grandmother) Andera. However, she had failed to arrange transport so we never got there before our ride home arrived.
Just finished dinner when the power went off so said "lala salama" (good sleep) early.
Tuesday - January 31
Washed all the floors in the a.m. after Sue left at 8:00 for her return to True Vine. Then got a call from Pstr. Peter who wanted to leave for Wikus 2 hours early as he and 2 others had some things to attend to there
When we arrived in the small village of Sonim the children were about to be fed their porridge (gruel of posho, finely ground corn) as part of their being at school. So many of the little villages struggle to educate the children. There were several adults of varying ages helping, trying to make a difference in the lives of these children.
My classes at Wikus went well. We are still getting acquainted - getting used to each other's accents, style of teaching, etc. James insists on all the formal classroom politeness. I believe we are all adults togetherm learning together so our styles are very different. I told the students they did not have to stand to answer questions and to please call me Bonnie and not Madam. After the 5th person still called me Madam, I said it made me feel old. The reaction to that was general laughter which was good. I think we can have fun while learning. I want them to feel equality and not be in a one-down position just because there is a student/teacher dynamic.
Wednesday - February 1
Here we are already in February. Went to Smile Africa early to save Peter some gas. As Ruth had let a church borrow her chairs, which were not yet returned, the ladies had to sit on the floor. I was very pleased with the Reading class. They understood the exercise I had given them for their homework. I now have over 30 for the English class. It really is too big. To give all the ladies an opportunity to speak takes a long time to get around the class. I did think of dividing them into 2 groups of 15, one on Wednesday and one on Friday but that would create problems for Jane who is teaching Mission Character Development during the same time slots. Each lady has 2 classes to attend each day she comes. Finally, my Writing class - some did not understand the homework assignment. It is hard to get them to tell me when they don't understand and get them to ask questions. To them it is very impolite to say no, and to ask - so it is a bit of frustration I have not yet discovered how to overcome.
We had Alex (the cabbie) take us to the Prime Hotel for dinner this evening. What a treat!! I had some dry white wine and fish tika masala and chips masala. Both were delicious. They usually do a nice job with their Indian dishes.
There is a sizeable Indian population in Uganda. They were orginally brought in by the British to build the railroad in the 1800's so their ancestry in Uganda is quite old - like min in the US. Some of the Indian food has become standard fare for all of Uganda such as samosa (deep fried pastry filled with a variety of meat and vegetables) and chapati (a flat bread).
Thursday - February 2
Sue reminded me it is Groundhog Day - I doubt whether the shadow/winter connection works here. The other problem is I don't believe there are any groundhogs. It is also the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple.
We drove to Busowa. In the countryside they are preparing their fields for planting by the long-discarded method in the US of "slash and burn", so there is much smoke mixed with all the red dust. In Tororo the dust from the cement factory is also added to that mix so that the air is really thick.
I had new students in Busowa which I had expected so it was a lot of review for the first students who joined the class. I was delighted to see one of my former students, Lillian, my African madonna. In 2010 I had taken a photo of Lillian and her baby that turned out to be one of my favorite photos
Just a side note - once again we have been without power about 22 hours.
First, I was mistaken in my posting re the videotaping women - they were not BRR but BFR, Be Free Revolution. If you are interested, check out their website.
I have been having some very intense dreams - this could be a side effect of the malaria meds I am taking. Anyway, last night's dream was about the loss of childhood innocence and my part in that loss. I woke with a great sadness and the realization once again of how grateful I am for the forgiveness given me by the Grace of God. It also brought to mind the story I heard yesterday from one of the pastors. His wife's mother was the first wife of her husband with whom she had 5 children. The husband took another wife who proved to be barren. This 2nd wife became fearful of being abandoned and was very jealous. One day she prepared food for the children while their mother was away. The youngest child was playing in the banana plantation. When the youngest child and the mother returned home they found the other 4 children laying on the ground vomiting - they all died of the poison they had ingested in their food. The extended family derided the husband so the point that after the burial, he took his 2nd wife and went to Kenya, abondoning his 1st wife and only surviving child. That child is now the wife of this pastor. Recently, this woman's father and his 2nd wife returned to Tororo. The father had a bicycle accident and needed to be taken to the hospital. The pastor counseled his wife that as they are Christians they needed to forgive the father and his 2nd wife and come to their aid - to care for them in their old age. I ask myself, could I live my faith the way these people do?
Friday - January 27
Spent the a.m. waiting for my internet connection to send 2 emails to the 2 people who will be joining us in March. Also worked on lesson plans. Getting the emails sent took 2 hours. Anyway by the time I left at 1:30, they were on their way and my lesson plans were ready.
It took a while, when I reached Smile Africa, to get all of the ladies sorted out so thay they were in the correct class at the correct time. We got off to a rocky start as we had children disturbing us with much noise and running in and out. The English class is huge so to give everyone the attention they need will be a challenge. I am going to use an interpreter this time in that class as it is too hard with so many. We got through a greeting, "God bless you" and "please" and "thank you".
I made the same mistake with the writing class that I did the last time when I started teaching. I didn't plan enough. Also, it really is a challenge not to have a chalkboard. I borrowed a white board from my daughter-in-law which works but not half so well as a blackboard would. The white board is small and I need to keep erasing AND it is hard for all to see. Oh well - we will make do with what we have.
Saturday - January 28
Spent the morning housekeeping: cooking, laundry, cleaning the floor, emails and also did some lesson plans for Juba.
Juba is undergoing a flurry of activity to prepare for the opening of the new school term on Monday. Rooms are being repaired, repainted, blackboards are being painted - their blackboards are concrete with blackboard paintm all over a cross between adobe and kiln-fired bricks, which they use for construction. The boys' dormitory is being constructed along with the kitchen. The girls' dormitory has been enlarged with new beds. It will be a small miracle if all is ready by Monday morning.
Pstr. Alex and I will team teach the women at Juba. He has an English class and combined Reading & Writing class. I worked on alphabet names and sounds with both classes. The English class is doing very well. They all wrote their names and he has them doing written homework every class period. When it was time for the Reading & Writing lass to end they wanted to continue and were disappointed I would not be there Wednesday when Alex holds his next classesm but I can only be there Saturdays as the rest of my schedule is filled. Working with those women and Alex put a smile on my face and most especially in my heart.
Sundaty - January 29
In my nine visits to Uganda, this morning I experienced a first - a Ugandan had to wait for me, a muzungu (what we foreign whites are called). We were supposed to be ready at 8:00 to with with Pstr. Peter to Buwendo where he was going for the first time to a newly planted church. When he knocked on our gate my clock read 5 minutes to 8:00. He came in and had to wait those 5 minutes. We were ready at 8:00 but his clock was 5 minutes ahead of ours. Anyway, it was a first and we all had a good laugh.
The village is to the east of Bugiri on the Kampala road. The dirt road into this village was very bad. It will be impassable during the rainy season. This poor village is without a school, any medical care and most importantlym a clean water source. They have put up a frame structure for their church, roofed with a plastic tarp, with walls of the same. However, it was lovely to hear the druming, singing, praying and preaching with no sound system hurting one's ears. As this was Peter's first visit (the "overseer") he was dressed ceremoniously in a kanzo (a long white dress, long sleevedm with some embroidery at the neck and down the front; under were his suit pants and he wore his suit coat over the top. He was the guest preacher of the day. The whole premise of his sermon was so simple and yet deeply profound: What is worship? Worship is loviing God above all things and living accordingly. I love listening to him preach for the homely little examples he uses. He pokes fun at himself and also at his listeners in such a gentle, non-judgemental way, that they laugh and agree, "yes, it is true" and understand how they are asked to improve in responses to God's great love for all of us.
After the service was over, Sue and I, with the help of the men present, fitted the little girls with pillow case dresses from Hope 4 Kids' Dress a Girl Around the World program. It was crowded, hot and little ones cried, but all were joyful and anxious to have their photos taken. We had a small bag full of matchbox cars which the littlest boys received with happy smiles.
Finally, we were served a meal of rice, chicken, beef, soda and kalo (a soft, dough-like bread made of cassava flour, millet and a little sorghum). I don't like the texture and the flavor is very bland. They pinch a piece off and use it for dipping in their other food. Finally we bid them all good-bye and started the long, dusty, HOT journey to Tororo.
The road between Bugiri and Tororo goes through an area where a fairly large troop of baboons live. They appear to be ranging over a much larger area and many are seen along the road. They are coming closer to the villages. Peter says this is because there is no food in this dry time of no rain - they will start raiding the villages for food. This is very scarey! I would hate to fight a baboon over food - they are viscious and could easily kill a man let alone a child.
Peter forgot to get gas in Bugiri, so the next small town we came to, he purchased gas by the liter - literally 2 plastic bottles of a liter each which got emptied into the gas tank.
We arrived home about 4:30, ready for a shower and something cool to drink. Altogether a really great day!!
Monday - January 30
Both Sue and I went to True Vine - the first day of the new school term. Lots of confusion, small attendance (no school fees probably being the reason) and long meetiings of adults. Sue ended up working with 3 teachers of the "baby" classes (3 and 4 year olds).
I met my group whivh had a new personm one who did not show up, one that came late, and 2 that arrived after we had finished our Bible Study/Prayer time. I then proceeded to work with individuals who had made appointments. The first was Margret who is struggling to learn to speak English. I was able to get her to understand using some Swahili phrases and then added learning the names for body parts (this is helpfu when they go to the clinic when no one speaks their tribal language). Next I worked with a man whose spoken English is quite good but he can't read at all so we started with the ABC's. Then a young man who reads fairly well, but who needs help to improve his writing came and finally Sarah arrived. She is a well-educated woman. I let her read the Wangerin book on my kindle for an hour while I went outside and discussed the map I had brought along with Pstr. Aggrey. Pretty soon, Rita arrived, overseer for the True Vine widows, to take me to see Jaja (grandmother) Andera. However, she had failed to arrange transport so we never got there before our ride home arrived.
Just finished dinner when the power went off so said "lala salama" (good sleep) early.
Tuesday - January 31
Washed all the floors in the a.m. after Sue left at 8:00 for her return to True Vine. Then got a call from Pstr. Peter who wanted to leave for Wikus 2 hours early as he and 2 others had some things to attend to there
When we arrived in the small village of Sonim the children were about to be fed their porridge (gruel of posho, finely ground corn) as part of their being at school. So many of the little villages struggle to educate the children. There were several adults of varying ages helping, trying to make a difference in the lives of these children.
My classes at Wikus went well. We are still getting acquainted - getting used to each other's accents, style of teaching, etc. James insists on all the formal classroom politeness. I believe we are all adults togetherm learning together so our styles are very different. I told the students they did not have to stand to answer questions and to please call me Bonnie and not Madam. After the 5th person still called me Madam, I said it made me feel old. The reaction to that was general laughter which was good. I think we can have fun while learning. I want them to feel equality and not be in a one-down position just because there is a student/teacher dynamic.
Wednesday - February 1
Here we are already in February. Went to Smile Africa early to save Peter some gas. As Ruth had let a church borrow her chairs, which were not yet returned, the ladies had to sit on the floor. I was very pleased with the Reading class. They understood the exercise I had given them for their homework. I now have over 30 for the English class. It really is too big. To give all the ladies an opportunity to speak takes a long time to get around the class. I did think of dividing them into 2 groups of 15, one on Wednesday and one on Friday but that would create problems for Jane who is teaching Mission Character Development during the same time slots. Each lady has 2 classes to attend each day she comes. Finally, my Writing class - some did not understand the homework assignment. It is hard to get them to tell me when they don't understand and get them to ask questions. To them it is very impolite to say no, and to ask - so it is a bit of frustration I have not yet discovered how to overcome.
We had Alex (the cabbie) take us to the Prime Hotel for dinner this evening. What a treat!! I had some dry white wine and fish tika masala and chips masala. Both were delicious. They usually do a nice job with their Indian dishes.
There is a sizeable Indian population in Uganda. They were orginally brought in by the British to build the railroad in the 1800's so their ancestry in Uganda is quite old - like min in the US. Some of the Indian food has become standard fare for all of Uganda such as samosa (deep fried pastry filled with a variety of meat and vegetables) and chapati (a flat bread).
Thursday - February 2
Sue reminded me it is Groundhog Day - I doubt whether the shadow/winter connection works here. The other problem is I don't believe there are any groundhogs. It is also the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple.
We drove to Busowa. In the countryside they are preparing their fields for planting by the long-discarded method in the US of "slash and burn", so there is much smoke mixed with all the red dust. In Tororo the dust from the cement factory is also added to that mix so that the air is really thick.
I had new students in Busowa which I had expected so it was a lot of review for the first students who joined the class. I was delighted to see one of my former students, Lillian, my African madonna. In 2010 I had taken a photo of Lillian and her baby that turned out to be one of my favorite photos
Just a side note - once again we have been without power about 22 hours.
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