Saturday…We Saw the Kids and Got to Play…

Hi everyone! Well, we’ve just finished a dinner of Talapia (which I watched them wash, scale, cut open, take out the innards, all in the dirtiest bucket of water I’ve ever seen), French fries (home made), Mac and cheese (Kari are you jealous)(Steve we used some of those many noodles and cheese we brought) and avocados which you can buy six large ones for about 40 cents! Yes, we are suffering!! Lunch wasn’t as good, but then I didn’t get to eat any because I was too busy taking pictures. I thought this would be a challenge but the kids practically attack me to have their picture taken. I have been pulled in a million different direction to get my attention screaming Muzungu (which means white person). I think in the last two days between Amanda the other photographer) and I we have close to 2000 pictures! And hardly any of them are candid’s because they just line up and yell up for another picture. I was exhausted and that was after 30 minutes but I was definitely in my element.

Today we started the day a little late. (Did you hear ME say a just a little late!) We didn’t wake up until a little after 8 (of course, we didn’t go to sleep til after midnight). Then we sat around and talked and shared as a group, relaxing just a bit. I must say it was rather nice. After that the day just turned from relaxing to hectic at a rapid rate. We took the girls (about 30 of them and spent the day talking to them about health issues and sex education). I will say I was in awe. The girls never once opened their mouths out of turn. They sat so quietly and listened to all we had to say. Fortunately Susan (Phil’s assistant) translated for us. The conversation lasted for over two hours in the hot sun with them sitting on mats on the ground. We were sitting in the shade in chairs and we were dying in the heat. But they just sat there and listened. At the end we asked them to write questions on note cards if they had any and almost every child wrote a question for us to answer. It was amazing. Afterwards they walked the one to one and a half miles back to their quarters down a dusty dirt road.

We then headed down the same dirt road, which walked us down a little village. The shacks we passed were probably no bigger than 10x10. And they were lined up side by side all the way down the road. There were chickens and goats in the road and all the little kids (not a part of our program) were so excited to see Muzungus. They all came out running into the street to greet us with handshakes and fist punches. We spent about two hours at the housing facility ( all clay floors, and mud walls). It was not nearly as nice as I expected but it does the job. In front of the house is a soccer lot (a red clay field which they all play on in bare feet). They are building another room to house the girls which will be a huge help, but then everything costs money. We did get a chance to play with them, at least the others did. I just took pictures all day long. If you can imagine, I took pictures until the battery completely died! By the time we got home we were all ready for a short break and just kind of collapsed for a short reload.

So what touched me today. I think the fact that these kids are so desperate to be loved and touched. They all want to be individually recognized and talked to. They need financial help but they also need someone to just care. I can see that I will have a task before me. I want to make the sponsors aware that these kids need to be corresponded with as much as they need financial support and that takes time. I guess I also got a good look and understanding of how poor this nation is, or at least this town. It is just amazing the conditions they live in. It is unbelievable how different our culture is. There is just nothing to compare our experiences to to give you a feel for what life is like here. I’m hoping my pictures will help with some understanding.

Anyway, I am about to begin watching the live broadcast of the USA World cup game. It’s quite exciting to be watching the real deal. But it’s on Uganda time – it was suppose to start at 9 and its now 9:15 and we got nothin’ so we’ll wait and see. I’m cheering for the USA!!!

Love you all.