Village Woman

This poem describes what I see each and everyday on my way out to Keyo...love it!

Village Woman

Look at the woman,

Tired, hungry baby

Clinging to her back,

And she herself so tired

She drags her legs,

The firewood, bundled on her head,

Weighs heavily,

But still she trudges on.

Her skin, once smooth and lovely,

Is now muddied and dark

Her clothes are dusty and torn,

Her feet dirty and cracked.

The child cries.

With parched throat but gentle voice

She sings a soothing song.

She refuses to pity

Her aching, burdened back,

A back that has submitted to the hoe

For hours on end.

Neither old, nor ugly

She is gentle, tireless and brave.

When she reaches home

She fetches water from the well.

Lights the fire, prepares the food. There is more work in the fields

Till the sun sets.

Dear God! When will she rest?

~David Mwenga

Lightning

Friday night after the conference, we went out to eat at Cedars (the greatest Lebanese food ever). Just as we were finishing our meal, I got a call from the Reverend. Instantly I could tell from his voice something was wrong. Three of our students at Keyo had been struck my lightning. Two of the girls died there on the spot, and the third was being treated at Lacor Hospital. I guess the three girls (all close friends) had been out at the well behind the school and were caught in the rain. They were struck as they were venturing back to their dormitory. My heart just sank as the Reverend told me the news. I heart hurts for the their families and the other students at Keyo. I am very grateful for the knowledge I have of God’s plan for us on this earth and pray that the families and students will be blessed with this same knowledge and comfort at this difficult time.

The Road to Keyo

Each morning as I ride out to Keyo on the back of my boda, I find my self often in prayer and reflection. I love the opportunity to be out on the open road (trail) in the pristine serenity of the Ugandan country side. As we pass several primary schools, I am thankful for education and the empowerment it is bringing to these beautiful young children. As we pass women with their children on their backs and their farming hoes on their shoulders, I am thankful for the strong work ethic these women have and their desires to pay the way of their children through school. I think of my own mother and the work she does on our farm and I am grateful for her example. As we pass the Mzee (old wise man) sitting under the tree, I am thankful for the life he has had and recognize the excruciating hard work of his life that is evident in his worn face and hands. As we reach Keyo, I am grateful to see the children at the well. I am grateful to see even they have a crucial part in the survival of their families. As we arrive at Keyo SS, I am grateful to see my students lining up for morning parade. I see their willing attitudes to obey their leaders and their devotion to God and their country. Heck, I am even thankful for Denis and the african aroma the entire way to Keyo!

Shoes

So one of the next disheartening things that has happened to me is a story of shoes. I finished early one day at school and I headed toward the center of Keyo to find a boda. To do so, we have to walk through the campus of the primary school. As I passed one of the little girls, she stopped me and asked me if she could have my shoes! I just looked at her with a distraught look and said, “I don’t think so.” It was so hard to refuse such a precious face. Couple thoughts on this experience. Damn those people who are handing out free things in developing nations. It is not sustainable! I mean, thank you for having a charitable heart, but give them something that lasts. I often think if the fish parable. “Give a man a fish, and feed him for a day, teach a man how to fish and feed him a lifetime.” The one thing that I have learned and witnessed here in Uganda is the importance of sustainability in development work. I look at a lot of things now through that lens. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful for the many great NGO’s that are here doing great things, but when we hand out freebies, we create people who are dependent and not independent.

Discipline

Discipline

There are several things that I have been noting in my notebook (no pun intended) that I need to update on. First, the mode of discipling the students here in Uganda. It is called caning. Basically the student is brought to the staff room or out in the common area before the students. They are humiliated verbally, then commanded to get down into plank position and then they are whipped three times with a reed. I am not sure really how to process the whole thing yet. When it is done in the staff room, especially right in front of where I am sitting, I cringed with every stroke. What hurts me the most is the watching the face of the student being caned. There is no fear and no sadness and that is what scares me the most. Their sternness reflects the mentality that has developed in this country through the effects of the conflict. It is as if they do not feel pain nor do they acknowledge what is happening to them, but you can see the anger just fueling when you look in their dark eyes during the experience. One day that anger we explode and in no doubt it will be in form of opposition to authority. I think this is evident in the LRA and the past twenty years o conflict. I fear most for these boys future families. Will they express this anger against their spouses? Their kids? I don’t know. It’s scary. Morgan and I made friends with a boy in the street the other night and I asked why he was not at home with his family and he responded that his was scared to go home. His uncle was there and he had been drinking. Seriously the most distressful thing I have heard yet in Uganda. This boys home was not a refuge for him but a place of terror and fear. Again, I count my many blessings for the safe home, church and community in which I was raised. There is limited help here. Students and people in general have not place to go where they can have help understanding-expressing their anger. Counseling is not available in schools nor in public settings. It is sad. The large majority of the public is practicing Christian and I hope they are receiving the adequate relief and hope in their places of worship.

Denis my Boda

Tonight I am again overwhelmed with a feeling that I do not know how to described in words, but I have to write down my feelings. Denis, my boda boda driver, invited Lauren and I over for dinner and o meet his family. Lauren was not feeling well and so I ended up going by myself to his home. Hi lives with his wife, Jane, and their two kids in a small hut in a compound with his extended family. Denis took me into his home and we just sat and visited for a few minutes and then his wife came in. She immediately knelt down and greeted me. It was so sweet. Her voice calm and quiet, but with a smile that was priceless. She came back a few minutes later with Judicia (6 year old girl) and Johnny Evan (1 year old boy). Seriously the worlds two cutest kids. We had a beautiful dinner of chicken, malaquin, rice, boo and other Acholi specialties. After dinner, Judicia sat in my lap and fell asleep. Soon after, Dennis put her in her bed and we stepped outside. Jane was bathing Evan and it was so funny to watch him scream and play in the little bathing pale. Afterwards, we just sat and took it all in. We visited and Jane began to wash the dishes and some clothes. It is all done just there in the dirt using washing pans and water brought from the well in jeri cans. There life is just so simple and easy. I almost came to tears as I sat there holding Evan asleep and watched their family carry on with their lives. I felt fear for Denis’ children. I felt fear for Denis and his efforts to provide for his little family. I then reflected and said a little prayer and was comforted by the spirit to know that they would be watched after. Even though they have nothing and Denis can hardly pay for Judicia‘s schooling, they are happy. They are together as a family and surrounded by the ones they love. After spending several hours on the front step of hi hut, Denis walked me through their village towards my home. He was grinning ear to ear as he greeted his neighbors and others in the center of the village. He was so proud to show off his mazungu friend. I am equally happy to have friends like Denis in Gulu and really can not wait to bring my wife back here one day and introduce her to everyone. Francis also lives their in the same compound as Denis. I guess they are brothers/cousins. He is the one that I found originally, but when he could not take me early in the mornings he referred me to Denis. He is awesome as well. I took a picture with him and his daughter and then I asked where his wife was. He pointed across the compound to a woman and I told him to have her come over for a picture. She came over and said hello, but did not want a picture. A few minutes later, another woman came strolling up. I asked who she was and Francis is like, “ah that is my other wife.” I looked at him with a grin and just said, “m’kay.” It was a lot of fun and I am so happy I had this opportunity tonight.

Bacterial Infection

Note to self: try to avoid bacterial infections when visiting third worlds. The last two days have been a bit miserable. Yesterday I felt like I was buried alive again under 12 feet of sand. I say again, because I felt a lot like I did when I had dengue fever in Thailand two summers ago. Pablo and I paid a visit to the clinic yesterday to have a blood test to make sure it wasn’t malaria and thank goodness it is not. The clinic actually turned out to be very nice and clean. To draw blood, the technician used a fourteen gauge needle to poke my finger and then just dabbed the glass slide to my finger. Not going to lie, made me a little nervous for staff infection. At least Pablo and I both got clean (new) needles! Anyway, not a lot new this week except for being sick since Monday. This past weekend we visited the rhino sanctuary which was awesome! We only got to see three rhinos, but it was really neat to see them in the wild and the fact that we hiked for like thirty minutes to see them made it really feel safari-ish. The sanctuary was started by a South African family in he mid two thousands and is the only location throughout Uganda that has rhinos. The last wild rhino was poached in 1984 during the conflict. Today, the sanctuary has 11 rhinos. Next weekend is our actual safari and I am so excited to see giraffes! By far my favorite African animal. Teaching has been going well the past two weeks. We have our READ conference this weekend and I am excited for Silvio and Alex to come and network with the other North American and partner teachers. I have to say North American now because we have three Canadians now with our group who came with group 2. So we are now 30 teachers in 11 schools. Seems small, but it is a pretty significant impact on theirs and our own ideologies of teaching. I can’t believe we only have two and a half weeks left here in Uganda! This summer has definitely gone too fast. I am excited to spend some time at home before going back to Texas, but I will be super sad to leave these amazing people. The Ugandan people are much like the Thai and I feel like I have made another home here among these people. I can’t wait to return one day and share my experiences/friends with my family one day.