Kubungo

It's been a BUSY 3 weeks since I last wrote. Traveling with the student group was wonderful. It was almost identical to the trip Felix and I did last year, with a few minor changes. The trip started in Kampala. We showed the students all of the Come, Let's Dance projects - the farm, school, and slumbase - and put them to work for a few days painting, cleaning, etc. Then we headed up north to Lira for a few days. Northern Uganda was hit pretty hard during the Civil War and by the Lord's Resistance Army. We spoke to some child soldiers at a rehabilitation center - young boys and girls who were pulled out of their beds as children and manipulated and forced to kill their own family members. Their strength, faith, and ability to forgive is both humbling and awe-inspiring. We also visited our friend Sister Jovita at her women's clinic, and ended at an Internally Displaced Persons Camp, where people were sent when they needed to evacuate their own villages during the war. Our next stop was Murchison Falls where we did a short game drive and safari.

　
Next was my favorite spot in Uganda, Lake Bunyoni. This is one place I would safely guarantee anyone would LOVE. It is the most peaceful spot I've ever been to. We promised one of the hotel employees we would visit his village and the school he runs, so during the day, Jamie, 2 other students, and I took a "motor" boat to an island on the other side of the lake. The word motor is used loosely - it was a large hand carved wooden boat with a temperamental motor precariously attached to the back. After a 45 minute boat ride, we pulled up to an island where we were then told we had a 30 minute hike to the school. At that point, we were all a little bitter we had chosen to spend our day venturing out there when we could have been relaxing on the dock, swimming, and drinking a few beers. We got off the boat and began the hike to the village. Words cannot explain how incredible the next few hours were, but I'll do my best to paint you a picture.


Most of the children had never seen white people. They lingered around us and darted away the instant we would turn to look at them; but their curiosity led them up the hill trailing behind us. We would run towards them and they would quickly disperse in every direction. By the time we were at the top of the hill, there was a crowd of kids surrounding us. We attempted to introduce ourselves and shake hands, but most of them wouldn't come within more than 5 feet of us. We walked into a run-down, unfinished church and sat in the first few rows. Within a few seconds, kids were pouring into the church through the doors and through the windows. We were soon surrounded by at least 300 kids, each one more daring than the next, inching closer and closer to me on the bench. Such an unforgettable moment - and the view from outside of the church was literally breathtaking. To one side was the green hills lined with small huts and piles of bricks, and to the other side was scattered islands on the lake. I'm so glad none of us brought our cameras because no picture would have done the sight any justice. The village was called Kubungo, or beautiful village, and that's exactly what it was.


The next day we headed to Rwanda. We spent 2 nights in Ruhengeri and one night in Kigali, the capital city. It's unbelievable how different Uganda and Rwanda are. They are neighboring countries but so insanely different. Rwanda has paved roads, traffic lights, actual infrastructure, no sewage running through the streets, or burning trash piles, or corruption. But in spite of how it seemingly feels so under control and calm, there's still an odd, unsettling feeling I have when I'm there. Rwanda saw some awful stuff during the genocide, less than 20 years ago. The people still seem to be living in fear - at about 8 pm, the city eerily shuts down and no one is out on the streets. Could not be more different from Kampala.


Overall, the trip was great. Although I did most of the same things last year, I was in a different role this year as a trip coordinator. It kind of desensitized me to a lot of the things we saw because I was so concerned with budget and schedule constraints. But it was really neat to watch everyone else experience the trip for the first time. We had a lot of really good group conversations. I loved hearing new opinions and listening to how the trip affected each individual.

After a 10 hour bus ride, getting "home" to Kampala was wonderful! I missed the people, the food, and my bed! The whole first week I was back, I worked at the slumbase and substitute taught at our school. The slumbase is well under way. We've been gardening, painting, cleaning, shopping, planning, outreaching/marketing - and the medical clinic, Global Institute office, and multi-purpose community room should be up and running soon. I know that soon is a relative term here in Uganda, but we're making BIG progress which feels good. I substituted in the 3rd/4th grade class for the week. We did general education activities like newspaper readings, book work, and arts and crafts. All day Friday we did HIV testing on all the students. As sad as it was watching all the tantrums and tears from the finger prick, the results were so much better than we expected - only 1 out of our 70 students tested positive.


I spent Friday afternoon at the kid's house/orphanage just hanging out and painting nails. It was a nice change of pace from a long work-filled week. Every day I fall more and more in love with each kid, and can't imagine ever leaving them.

Nicola and Tim (Felix's sister and her husband) were wrapping up their trip through Uganda this weekend, so I spent Saturday with them in Kampala. I showed them a glimpse of the work I've been doing and took them on a small tour through the Katanga slum. I am so glad they were able to make time for me and it means SO much that they came! Sunday, we all went rafting on the Nile, which was crazy! Besides my near-death experience on the last rapid and my thighs being burnt to a crisp, it was such a great day!! I have spent a lot of time with both Nic and Tim, but Felix is usually there too. And as much as I miss Felix, it was really nice spending time with them on my own. I think we laughed the whole day, even when we were swimming upstream against the current to get back to the raft. I'm excited to see them in Dubai in just 2 months :)

A family from Steamboat, CO, the Andersons, arrived a few days ago. They are a wonderful family and a great addition to the group. This morning during breakfast, the 16-year old daughter hugged her dad and he kissed her forehead and just smiled at her. It was so sweet and made me miss my dad a lot.

Life is still so good and as cliche as it sounds, each day really is a new adventure. I don't think I'll ever get over how lucky I am to have such an incredible support system in my life. I love and miss all of you very much!

The 3 B's

Wasuze Otia from Uganda! It absolutely blows my mind that I have been living here for over a month now. It is also unreal how much I've been through in that one month.

I am finally completely settled and comfortable - I can get myself to places on my own with public transport, I can feed myself, go shopping, and get done whatever I need to.  I started running in the mornings or early evenings, exploring our neighborhood, and most mornings, I wake up for the sunrise because it's just too good to miss. My friend Cody asked me the other day, if for some reason, we all needed to leave Uganda and go home, if I'd be happy? The truth is, I wouldn't be happy at all. My time here is nowhere close to finished. I know there is still so much I have to do and I have plenty more to learn.

With that being said, it got me thinking about the things I miss from home, and who/what was hardest for me to leave behind, which leads me to the 3 B's:

1. my BED - don't get me wrong, my smaller-than-a-twin, foam, bottom bunk is wonderful, and I look forward to coming back to it every night, but it was difficult to leave my super comfy bed (with amazing mattress thanks to my Mom) and down comforter and tons of pillows.

2. my Boyfriend - obviously, leaving this guy behind wasn't easy. I am so grateful he was able to be in Africa with me last year so he knows where I'm living and the kind of work I'm doing. I am so lucky to have him, always supporting my dreams and adventures. I wish him a wonderful 3 months at Fisher Price this summer!

3. Lastly - and this was the one that was hardest to leave behind - my Beliefs - For those of you who don't know, Come, Let's Dance is a Christian organization, they are apart of a ministry out here. Not all, but a majority of the volunteers come out here as a sort of mission trip. Every morning we have an hour of devotion, prayer, and song. We share testimonies, stories, and encouragement for the day. Religion is so deeply rooted in the people and the culture in Uganda, it is difficult to get work done in a community if you can't relate to them on a religious level.

Any expectations and die hard beliefs I had, I left at the airport in Denver. Every aspect of my beliefs have been questioned. I am challenged each day to look at things from different perspectives. Someone very special once read me the quote about living life "with an open hand, an open mind, and an open heart." And I'd like to think I'm doing just that. But religion aside, all the people out here do have one HUGE thing in common - we are out here to serve the poor and improve the lives in this community, and that manages to override any religious issue that may arise.

I successfully ran my first medical outreach last Saturday. We had 7 stations: hand washing, toothbrushing, vitamins/hydration, de-worming, head fungus, wound care, and pharmacy. We saw and treated over 250 people in just 3 hours. We saw everything from kids with runny noses to a man whose foot had been run over by a car. We also treated 8 babies with malaria and gave a small health class to a group of mothers. Everything ran in an incredibly organized chaos. These days are always tough for people when it's their first full day in Africa, but the whole group did so well and helped run things so smoothly. It's neat to watch everyone find their own way of helping out and taking themselves out of their comfort zone. The work we do at these clinics is purely relief work - it's not sustainable health care but it helps us to identify individuals who are in need of further, more serious care, as well as help us to evaluate the types of medical needs in a specific area.

We spent Thursday night in a village about 3 hours from Kampala called Kaliro. It was true Africa living - sleeping on the floor in a mud house, going to the bathroom in a long-drop (a large hole in the ground), and fetching our own water from the bore hole 1/2 mile from the house. It was peaceful and a nice break from everything going on in the city. I'm continually amazed at how welcoming people are. It was only me, 2 other girls, and our Ugandan friend, Simon. The neighbors cooked us dinner and we hung out with the village kids, read, and ate mangos. The thing about the village is that's all you ever do. So we "villaged" for 2 days and got a good taste at how a majority of the people in Africa spend their days. It was a cool experience and I am looking forward to going back next month for a lot longer.

Yesterday and today are pure slum research days. The large student group who I'll be traveling with a little bit next week got in on Monday, along with 2 professors who are conducting a needs assessment in the local slum, Katanga. Yesterday was the first research day and went better than I expected. Between all the teams, we got about 40 surveys completed. The goal is to gather basic information about the slum, like population, medical information, and prioritized needs to improve living conditions. Gathering data sucks - it's tedious and awful and no one wants to do it. But, the idea is to get enough information to create a solid base for further research in Katanga. The research I helped conduct last year helped in the decision to buy land for the new medical clinic, which is the slumbase clinic I have been working on. I absolutely LOVE the slums. It is incredibly humbling spending time with the people - and while there is obvious pain and despair, there is still such a sense of community and feeling of love.

Yesterday was one of the most incredible days since I got here. I spent the morning with the slum research team, surveying about 10 ladies in a few hours. After, I headed to the school which is on the other side of town - it was Cardboard Village Day. Each class built their own cardboard house and then they were judged on creativity. Then we had the 1st annual Wakiso Christian International Acadamy 5th grade boys (Uganda) VS. Come, Let's Dance volunteers (USA). The game was so fun and we ended up tying 5-5. We had over 60 people on the sidelines cheering for both sides - it got pretty intense!

The ins and outs of an average day working here is not easy. In fact, there have been times I've asked myself why I'm out here and if there is even a point to what we're doing. And then sometimes (and I mean it's rare), something subtle happens, and you are suddenly and quickly reminded that IT IS ALL WORTH IT. That feeling re energizes you from all the frustration and disappointment. And that feeling is powerful - powerful enough to keep people coming back here.