Today, Karen and I decided to hang out with Jennifer all day. (Jennifer is our cook!) We spent the morning talking to her as she waited to get her grocery money.
Her story is amazing. She told us how her father died when she was only 2 months in her mother's stomach and then her mother died when she was 5 years old. She went to live with a step mother who had taken in all her mother's 25 children. Jennifer was the only one to come out of her step mother's home alive. She says she is very happy and thankful to have survived so she works hard. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she works fate conspires against her. She was married and had two children with her first husband who was abusive to her. Once he ran into some money he ran her out of the house. He still has the children (in Acoli culture the children belong to the man). She then married her current husband who she paid school fees for who finally finished his university degree, but doesn't work.
After hearing her story, Karen and I decided to take her to lunch. On our way there we stopped by her grandmother's sister's home and said hello. She was a beautiful, rotund older woman who was now supporting her children as well as the children of her late husband's 2nd wife. While we were there, Jennifer amazed us by touching hot coals and a hot pot with her bare hands! We left there and went to a fancy place called Bomah and watched a movie as we waited for lunch.
After lunch, we walked to the market and watched Jennifer shop in the main market. I have no idea how she would manage all those bags on her own normally, but she does.
I am amazed constantly at the strength of the women in this place.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Circle of Life - Safari weekend
Last year I was deathly ill during our Safari weekend. I was so excited not to be this year. Our river safari was met with tons and tons of hippos and many a croc with his mouth open. It was a great time all around. Our land safari was also great and exciting but we didn't get to see a pride of lions this year :(
Upon return to Gulu, I was supposed to meet with my teacher to do planning but he had some horrible news over the weekend, his cousin had died suddenly. She was only 26 years old, she had three children, she feel ill on the 21st and died on Saturday the 24th. Otim had grown up with her and they were very close. He is assuming a lot of the financial responsbility on behalf of his family. We will not be in class tomorrow. I do not know what this week will look like.
Upon return to Gulu, I was supposed to meet with my teacher to do planning but he had some horrible news over the weekend, his cousin had died suddenly. She was only 26 years old, she had three children, she feel ill on the 21st and died on Saturday the 24th. Otim had grown up with her and they were very close. He is assuming a lot of the financial responsbility on behalf of his family. We will not be in class tomorrow. I do not know what this week will look like.
Rain, Rain and More Rain
It has been raining almost every evening for a week. I would love to make it back out to Mother Theresa's but it is always raining. Karen and I were able to make it out one more time before Group 1 departed on Friday the 23rd.
We met with Kevin and the girls and taught them the Macarena! They loved it. We had so much fun. I feel so guilty that I have not been able to make it back. Pray for a dry evening so we can make it out at least 2 or 3 more times before we leave.
We met with Kevin and the girls and taught them the Macarena! They loved it. We had so much fun. I feel so guilty that I have not been able to make it back. Pray for a dry evening so we can make it out at least 2 or 3 more times before we leave.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Mother Theresa's Primary School and Orphanage
Today I finally made it out to Mother Theresa's orphanage. It is the orphanage run by Sister Hellen, a teacher at Layibi college I met last summer. There is a deaf population there and one of the teachers in our group knows sign language. I went today with Karen, our T/Ex intern. Karen is pretty amazing. She is in her last year of university and she is one of the most caring and thoughtful people I have ever met and she gives great messages (although Tim gives the best!)
When we got there we felt a little lost. The other teachers all had a niche, the Sassers are super athletic so they were playing sports with the kids. Jenny and Amanda were reading / signing a book for another group of students, but Karen and I were at a loss. What could we offer?
That is when the inspiration cloud struck! Bam! Dancing!! Karen and I both really, really love dancing. I started teaching the kids how to do the basic salsa step and we had the girls show us some Acoli dancing. This is when we met Kevin. (Kevin is a girl's name in Gulu.) Kevin quickly became our team leader / organizer, she got us towels to wrap around our waist, drums and created choreography. She is in P5 (5th grade) and is so intelligent and sweet.
We danced with the girls for an hour and then it was dinner time so we headed home promising to come back. Today felt like a bit of redemption after the horrible events of the previous day.
When we got there we felt a little lost. The other teachers all had a niche, the Sassers are super athletic so they were playing sports with the kids. Jenny and Amanda were reading / signing a book for another group of students, but Karen and I were at a loss. What could we offer?
That is when the inspiration cloud struck! Bam! Dancing!! Karen and I both really, really love dancing. I started teaching the kids how to do the basic salsa step and we had the girls show us some Acoli dancing. This is when we met Kevin. (Kevin is a girl's name in Gulu.) Kevin quickly became our team leader / organizer, she got us towels to wrap around our waist, drums and created choreography. She is in P5 (5th grade) and is so intelligent and sweet.
We danced with the girls for an hour and then it was dinner time so we headed home promising to come back. Today felt like a bit of redemption after the horrible events of the previous day.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Back to St Jude's Orphanage
Back to St Jude's Orphanage
It is Sunday and today is our group's St Jude visitation day. A car will take us all to St Jude's so we can play with some orphans who would love some adult attention and interaction. St Jude's is a rarity in that there are not many oprhans, or were not many before the war, in Acoli land. This is because the clan is responsible for the children, not just the parents. If the father dies, the mother can choose among the remaining brothers who she will marry, she has to stay within the clan and the new brother will have to assume responsbility of her and the children. So I say all that to explain that the children here are either not identified, they have no idea who the parents are so they cannot find the clan, or they know who the parents are but the clan cannot afford to take care of them finanacially, so they leave them at St Jude's and visit the children weekly or monthly. St Jude's is run by an amazing woman. The women who help her in the orphnage are local mothers who have a rotating schedule to come in and cook meals, bathe and hold the babies, and generally be around to help care for the children. There are maybe only 5 mothers, so much of the responsbility falls on the older girls there.
Today our group was going to get to go and play with the kids. Last year I had such a great time playing with the babies!
As we pull up into St Jude's I get out of the car and make a beeline for where the babies are. Within minutes I hear a commotion. I look and there is a young girl running out from behind the class blocks she is screaming and crying. She is holding her head and is obviously distraught. I see the other IC teachers running towards the back of the class block and I decide that I do not want to see whatever is causing so many children to start mourning. So I stay and hold the babies and keep them away from whatever horrific scene awaits us. About 5 minutes later I see one of the mothers holding a child about 2 years old, he doesn't look conscious and Big John, Min and Colleen are running with her to our car to run the baby to Lacor hospital.
I later found out that this baby had fallen into a hole full of sewer. The guard of the compound tried to put down a ladder to look for the baby. Big John, Min and Collen had tried to administer CPR to the baby. They got to Lacor and were unable to resscitate him. His name was Samuel and he was 2 and a half years old.
We were all devastated.
It is Sunday and today is our group's St Jude visitation day. A car will take us all to St Jude's so we can play with some orphans who would love some adult attention and interaction. St Jude's is a rarity in that there are not many oprhans, or were not many before the war, in Acoli land. This is because the clan is responsible for the children, not just the parents. If the father dies, the mother can choose among the remaining brothers who she will marry, she has to stay within the clan and the new brother will have to assume responsbility of her and the children. So I say all that to explain that the children here are either not identified, they have no idea who the parents are so they cannot find the clan, or they know who the parents are but the clan cannot afford to take care of them finanacially, so they leave them at St Jude's and visit the children weekly or monthly. St Jude's is run by an amazing woman. The women who help her in the orphnage are local mothers who have a rotating schedule to come in and cook meals, bathe and hold the babies, and generally be around to help care for the children. There are maybe only 5 mothers, so much of the responsbility falls on the older girls there.
Today our group was going to get to go and play with the kids. Last year I had such a great time playing with the babies!
As we pull up into St Jude's I get out of the car and make a beeline for where the babies are. Within minutes I hear a commotion. I look and there is a young girl running out from behind the class blocks she is screaming and crying. She is holding her head and is obviously distraught. I see the other IC teachers running towards the back of the class block and I decide that I do not want to see whatever is causing so many children to start mourning. So I stay and hold the babies and keep them away from whatever horrific scene awaits us. About 5 minutes later I see one of the mothers holding a child about 2 years old, he doesn't look conscious and Big John, Min and Colleen are running with her to our car to run the baby to Lacor hospital.
I later found out that this baby had fallen into a hole full of sewer. The guard of the compound tried to put down a ladder to look for the baby. Big John, Min and Collen had tried to administer CPR to the baby. They got to Lacor and were unable to resscitate him. His name was Samuel and he was 2 and a half years old.
We were all devastated.
A Saturday in July
A Saturday in July
Otim is running for MP (Member of Parliament), it is similar to running as a representative of a district. On Saturday we went to a village near where he grew up in in Amoro district. This is near Keyo Secondary School, one of the Invisible Children schools. He was going to hear the village's concerns and state what he would do about them if elected.
I met Otim at school and found out he had been trying to arrange a car to take us out to the village (he usually just rides his motorbike), I thought that was so sweet. He was unsuccessful but it was the thought that counted. I sat side saddle on the back of the bike he was driving for 30 minutes as we maneuvered through some rocky terrain. Needless to say my hands hurt at the end of the ride as I clung on for dear life!
We get to a fork in the road and there are 2 teenage boys and about 5 little children waiting for us to guide us from main road into the vilage. We pass by huts and cows and as we approach we hear the women yelling a greeting. As we pull up the young women and men are waiting to perform a dance for us. We park the bike and are guided to the only two plastic chairs in the village. We seat as the dancing begins and the whole village is comig out to join us. There are mats being pulled under the biggest tree so the women can seat and the men dring out wooden chairs to seat upon. I LOVE to dance so as they are dancing I am bopping in my seat. One of the elders in the clan notices and takes me out to the dancing circle. I am elated! I take off my sandals and join the young women with the dancing. Otim is laughing and gets up to take photos with his phone. Once the dancing is over we go back to seating.
Then the real meeting begins .... in Luo. The person in charge has an agenda written out in a notebook and begins the meeting by sharing the agenda. First there are 30 minutes of introductions, they introduce all the elders, then the dance/culture society, then the business people, then the boda bodas, then Otim introduces himself and he asks me to say a few words. Ugh! I hate public speaking and although a large part of my job includes talking to a large group I have never gotten over the fear of speaking to my peers or elders. I say something to the effect of thanks for having me here, I look forward to meeting and speaking with you after the meeting.
Then the meeting starts with people voicing their concerns, three people are allowed to voice their concerns, each person being allotted 10 – 15 minutes. Then Otim addresses each of their concerns for 30 – 45 minutes. Did I mention this is all in Luo? This cycle goes on for 5 hours. I have no idea what anyone is saying but when Otim speaks everyone is riveted, even the babies stop crying and stare at him. While I didn't understand the concerns or the answers, I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that this is such an auditory culture. People listen to each other. This village has a meeting once a week on Saturdays and they allowed Otim to have a large part of that meeting this Saturday, but this is usually what they do. They meet and discuss issues in the village and how to resolve them. They work together, they listen to each other and try to reach a consensus. There was a dance break an hour before Otim and I departed to re-energize everyone (it certainly helped me wake up). Before we left the meeting, there were concluding remarks made by Otim and he asked me to say a few last words. Again, flabbergasted I thanked them for letting me be a part of their beautiful culture, for letting me dance with them, and that i hoped I got to play with some babies before leaving. As Otim gave his concluding remarks (another 30 minutes), a woman brings me a baby to hold. He was so cute, very chubby and did not cry at all (although he did pee on me!). I played with him until he started hiccuping, I guess he was hungry.
Otim and I get up to leave and the meeting continues. We motorbike to the main road and Otim pulls over to make a call. He tells me he is so impressed with me. In Acoli culture if a visitor asks to hold a baby the while village will love them because children are the most treasured of possessions. He also thought it was brave of me to dance.
I had so much fun! I would love to stay in a village for an extended period of time to see what the day to day is like.
Otim is running for MP (Member of Parliament), it is similar to running as a representative of a district. On Saturday we went to a village near where he grew up in in Amoro district. This is near Keyo Secondary School, one of the Invisible Children schools. He was going to hear the village's concerns and state what he would do about them if elected.
I met Otim at school and found out he had been trying to arrange a car to take us out to the village (he usually just rides his motorbike), I thought that was so sweet. He was unsuccessful but it was the thought that counted. I sat side saddle on the back of the bike he was driving for 30 minutes as we maneuvered through some rocky terrain. Needless to say my hands hurt at the end of the ride as I clung on for dear life!
We get to a fork in the road and there are 2 teenage boys and about 5 little children waiting for us to guide us from main road into the vilage. We pass by huts and cows and as we approach we hear the women yelling a greeting. As we pull up the young women and men are waiting to perform a dance for us. We park the bike and are guided to the only two plastic chairs in the village. We seat as the dancing begins and the whole village is comig out to join us. There are mats being pulled under the biggest tree so the women can seat and the men dring out wooden chairs to seat upon. I LOVE to dance so as they are dancing I am bopping in my seat. One of the elders in the clan notices and takes me out to the dancing circle. I am elated! I take off my sandals and join the young women with the dancing. Otim is laughing and gets up to take photos with his phone. Once the dancing is over we go back to seating.
Then the real meeting begins .... in Luo. The person in charge has an agenda written out in a notebook and begins the meeting by sharing the agenda. First there are 30 minutes of introductions, they introduce all the elders, then the dance/culture society, then the business people, then the boda bodas, then Otim introduces himself and he asks me to say a few words. Ugh! I hate public speaking and although a large part of my job includes talking to a large group I have never gotten over the fear of speaking to my peers or elders. I say something to the effect of thanks for having me here, I look forward to meeting and speaking with you after the meeting.
Then the meeting starts with people voicing their concerns, three people are allowed to voice their concerns, each person being allotted 10 – 15 minutes. Then Otim addresses each of their concerns for 30 – 45 minutes. Did I mention this is all in Luo? This cycle goes on for 5 hours. I have no idea what anyone is saying but when Otim speaks everyone is riveted, even the babies stop crying and stare at him. While I didn't understand the concerns or the answers, I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that this is such an auditory culture. People listen to each other. This village has a meeting once a week on Saturdays and they allowed Otim to have a large part of that meeting this Saturday, but this is usually what they do. They meet and discuss issues in the village and how to resolve them. They work together, they listen to each other and try to reach a consensus. There was a dance break an hour before Otim and I departed to re-energize everyone (it certainly helped me wake up). Before we left the meeting, there were concluding remarks made by Otim and he asked me to say a few last words. Again, flabbergasted I thanked them for letting me be a part of their beautiful culture, for letting me dance with them, and that i hoped I got to play with some babies before leaving. As Otim gave his concluding remarks (another 30 minutes), a woman brings me a baby to hold. He was so cute, very chubby and did not cry at all (although he did pee on me!). I played with him until he started hiccuping, I guess he was hungry.
Otim and I get up to leave and the meeting continues. We motorbike to the main road and Otim pulls over to make a call. He tells me he is so impressed with me. In Acoli culture if a visitor asks to hold a baby the while village will love them because children are the most treasured of possessions. He also thought it was brave of me to dance.
I had so much fun! I would love to stay in a village for an extended period of time to see what the day to day is like.
Monday, July 12, 2010
I'm OK....today's tragic news
Today is a sad day. There was a terrorist attack in Kampala by a Somalia terrorist group. One of the Americans killed was a roadie for Invisible Children (click here for more info). The people at the Invisible Children office were understandably shaken up. The roadie's name was Nat. He had come out 2 weeks earlier than the rest of the roadies to meet up with people he had befriended in Kampala. One of my friends in Kampala witnessed the whole tragedy. He survived. He left the Rugby club with his friends minutes before everything happened and he is now trying to deal with the dead bodies and blood he saw every where.
In Gulu, I feel safe. It is not a target. We are 6 hours north of where everything happened. I feel deep sorrow for my friends who had to witness such an atrocity. I feel pain for my fellow lover of northern Uganda and Invisible Children who lost his life. But most of all my heart goes out to Nat's family who will now be trying to make sense out of this tragedy.
This is a sad reminder that we live in a world tinged by hate and heavily marked by poverty.
Somalia is a place where terrorism caan flourish because there is no hope.
I am ok, thank God, but the hurt will live on and the terrorism will continue until we start caring about ALL of our fellow human beings.
Let's fight this act of terror with love and peace and not by adding anymore hate to this horribly fallen world.
One Love,
Raysa
In Gulu, I feel safe. It is not a target. We are 6 hours north of where everything happened. I feel deep sorrow for my friends who had to witness such an atrocity. I feel pain for my fellow lover of northern Uganda and Invisible Children who lost his life. But most of all my heart goes out to Nat's family who will now be trying to make sense out of this tragedy.
This is a sad reminder that we live in a world tinged by hate and heavily marked by poverty.
Somalia is a place where terrorism caan flourish because there is no hope.
I am ok, thank God, but the hurt will live on and the terrorism will continue until we start caring about ALL of our fellow human beings.
Let's fight this act of terror with love and peace and not by adding anymore hate to this horribly fallen world.
One Love,
Raysa
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