P7 Party, Interviews, and a Ugandan Education…

The top ten Uganda moments:

1. Me telling Liz “Don’t bite me”. Yes, we are a good example to the children at all time!
2. Liz continually yelling at me to, “Get out of the street”.
3. The kids pouring water on our hands to rinse them before eating and then eating with our hands, only to find out that the water is from a borehole contaminated with typhoid and all the other diseases that are prevalent here.
4. Going to a church service and celebration party for small children that last for hours on end. The phrase “all things in moderation” has not yet made its way to this country.
5. Seeing young babies and having them stare into your white face and burst into tears!
6. Listening to Phil’s housekeeper rattle off the dates of birth of her children; 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006… and we’ve only talked to five of the thirteen!
7. Playing Uno with, American cards, Ugandans can read and react to the cards faster than Liz can! But in the end she was victorious!
8. Coming within a foot or two to live baboons and their little babies and being more afraid of the traffic than of them.
9. Seeing our kids laugh at the Mzungus as we try to speak their language. Between us we know about four words!
10. Teaching little Phiona yesterday in the car after buying her shoes to say, “Cool shoes!” She was so proud of them and kept saying “Cool shoes” over and over again!

Today the day started with pancakes. Definitely not a bad beginning to a Saturday. We then rushed out of the house as Phil got a call that the Primary 7 (seventh grade) celebration at New Grace was waiting for us to begin. No surprise there!! So we waited for Moses to dress in his Sunday best (as he was giving a prayer) and off we went. The ceremony was held in one of the bigger classrooms (originally built as one of the boys dormitories) and with few windows and a lot of people it was very hot! This group had 160 children all together but only six of them were ours; Dorothy Kogoya, Agnes Anyakun, Sumaya Nangobi, Zipola Nangobi, Michael Achila, and Emma Aliau. At the end beginning of November these kids will take a state mandated exam that will determine if they will be passed onto the senior level. The exam is done at a pre-determined sight and the exams are brought in under police escort to make sure that there is no foul play. When the kids are done they are removed under the same protection (the tests, not the kids). The interesting thing is because the kids have come to us at such various ages the kids in this grade vary in ages from about 12-20. So there were teachers there as well as some of the parents of the other children, though not many. The celebration started with the National anthem and then the emcee pointed at Liz and I and asked if we’d like to give the opening prayer. Liz quickly deferred so up I went caught totally off guard and not really liking to pray out loud. So there I was in front of 160 expectant faces and praying that something worthwhile and meaningful would come out of my mouth. Fortunately God did speak through me and I managed to pray for peace and God’s love for each of them as they prepared to take this test. And then I sat down and gave a short note of thanks to my one time boss who made me, on my second day of employment as a young 20-something, prepare and give a speech to the president of the company I was working for! And that was the beginning of a celebration that lasted almost five hours! Poor Liz got so desperate half way through that she broke down and used the outhouse… she says it smelled like the zoo. I’ll let your imagination take you where you want to go with that detail!

There were speeches and there was singing and dancing; the latter was much more fun than the former. At one point two girls got up and danced and people in the audience (including the students) would go up and hand them money. Phil said this was a way of them showing their appreciation for the performance. Liz and I both spent the whole time during the dancing trying to figure out what was going on. There was one young man (who is our child) who danced with one of the girls rather provocatively. I was a little surprised that no one stopped him. Phil has said that he will talk with him tomorrow though they are just copying what they see on TV. I asked where they get the chance to view television and the response was from the different vendors as they are walking through the market. He could have been Michael Jackson reincarnated!

One of our young ladies, Zipola Nangobi, got the award for the best discipline. By this I mean she was the most disciplined in her studies, something I never would have gotten! For this she was given a prize. She was the only one in our group who was pulled out and individually recognized.

The headmaster of the school stood up and spoke for nearly an hour. He was speaking in English and their native language but regardless it was hard for me to understand. I must say after three hours of sitting on a hard wooden bench in the stifling heat I had lost my focus. And he had only started his ramblings. Meanwhile all the children sat patiently, five or six to a bench. If I was hot they had to be boiling. The circulation was non-existent and did I mention they had a DJ that only knew one volume – LOUD! The base was vibrating so strongly I thought it was going to bounce the kids right off their seats! We started with 160 students and parents and still they kept bringing in wooden benches for the stragglers that came in late. The room was packed to the gills. Children were crowded on the floor and peering in the windows through the bars. And finally it was over… I said a silent prayer of thanks and thought that meant we would head home for a few enjoyable minutes of cool circulated fan air. But no. Instead it meant us moving to a smaller classroom and being served food… my worst nightmare. I have been so blessed so far to be able to pick and choose what I eat. And now I was being served as their guest. Phil had taught me how to say, “kotono, kotono” which means only a very little bit please. But they didn’t even ask! I felt so ripped off. First, however, they came around with a big bowl and a yellow water pitcher so we could wash our hands. This is where the borehole-contaminated water came into play. So I rinsed my hands, (mind you there are no towels to dry with) and proceeded to pick very carefully at my food using my fingers as utensils. I managed to eat the rice and the potato and avoid all things green and the meat. After eating I went back outside to get a picture of the kids who were involved in the P7 celebration. We then hung around the school for a while talking with the children. What a great group they are!

Finally we left the school with the van loaded with a carful of kids, all children of Ida’s, Phil’s new housekeeper. She has 13 in all. Her husband died in 2010 of AIDS and she currently is HIV positive. As it turns out her husband had two wives; the second wife is still alive and living on the farm. Ida, however, cares for all the children, which is very unusual in this country. Knowing Ida though, this doesn’t surprise me at all. Phil and I spent the next two and a half hours talking to her younger kids trying to find out things about them. She must have had a child every year for years. And every one of them looks just like her and they all look alike. It is just like looking at stair steps. Sitting with Ida she had to really think about birthdays as that is something they don’t celebrate here. They all look out for one another; in fact, when you ask them about their best friend they often will tell you the name of their sibling. I love my sister now very, very much, but at twelve I would have been hard pressed to tell you I liked her much less than tell you she was my best friend!! Several hours later after it was long past dark, the kids finally began their trek back to the kid’s house. Rehema, Angela and Sylivia are staying with us another night and are just now sitting down to eat. Liz is serving them dinner and it is a wonderful sight to see. I wonder when the last time was they were served and not being the servant!

Every day I learn something new about life in Uganda. Today I learned that wives are often the target for abuse and the abuse often lends itself to the abandonment of their children. I heard two different stories today from our children; in both cases their mothers left them. I pray that they are learning a new way of life. That they are learning to love because they are loved. I pray that they will continue their education so they will have a chance to better their lives. I pray that marriage will not be the only choice they have. I have also learned that the kids here are much better prepared to sit and listen than any child I have ever met. I was antsy at the end. In fact, I was antsy in the middle. I have learned that the kids really do look out for one another and that since this is the only family many of them have they take that very seriously.

It’s been a good day. Love spending time with the kids though I have to say I am exhausted from being in the heat all day. I talked to Steve tonight and he was in the food court eating pizza. I have to say I was a little envious. He didn’t need utensils but I bet he had really clean hands.

I love you all. Debbie thanks for taking care of Maddie. You are such a blessing to me.