Four weeks in.

In the morning I will be picking up Trev, so I thought I would get a quick blog in while I still have a moment.

It has been four weeks, since we landed in Entebbe. In some ways it feels like it has been 4 days, and in other ways it feels like 4 months have passed. Hopefully time slows down a bit, and we are able to get what we need done- done.
I am happy to report that everything with the HIV Awareness Day is moving along well, and we can’t wait for October 2nd to come along! We have t-shirts made for volunteers(which will also be part of the awareness, as they have the theme of the day “know your status” printed on the back.) The banners just arrived about an hour ago from Brian, one of the local boys who has been incredibly helpful throughout the planning process. The most important part of the day will be getting as much people out to be tested as possible, so getting the word out is key. As per guidance received, and looking at what volunteers did last year, we are setting a banner up in the community a week before the event. The banner advertises the free testing, and entertainment. We have printed 2000 flyers, which we will be delivering around the community, along with the peer educators, who are local women that work together to support a healthy and safe community in Namuwango.
*Sidenote*Oh my goodness, a rat just ran by my feet, under the table and to the bathroom. Gross.
The day before the event, we are planning a “drive by.” This is a popular attraction here, where we will take a vehicle and drive up and down the roads of the community, playing music and reminding everyone to come and attend the event with mega-phones. Should  be an experience!
Last night, we were also able to confirm the entertainment with a local group called Bavabuka. We were invited to a ‘meeting’ to get to know a few of the members, and finalize plans. This meeting ended up being a weekly hip-hop freestyle, open-mic type event, called Bonfire. They started with poetry, and then all of a sudden there was acrobatics, dancing, rap, you name it. Each of the amateurs on the stage were incredible, as we just sat and watched, being reminded of how much rhythm we do not have! When I get home I will be sure to post some videos.
So, yah. If you are in Kampala the weekend of October 2, you don’t want to miss out!  Other than planning for the day, we have taken the task of sorting and distributing the extremely unorganized and completely random storage room of donations. Massive bags of old clothes, new clothes, hole-y clothes, toys, uniforms, christmas decorations, women’s lingerie (??), golf  club covers, you name it! We have been able to give away most of the clothes and uniforms to the UH4H children and families, as well as another small local school in the same area. Now, we are sorting through toys, and craft stuff, setting aside bags for Christmas gifts, and making sure that there is a basic inventory of what is left over. We really had no idea what we were getting into when we agreed to take on the storage room. Actually, the only reason we took this on was because we were looking for the banners that they used for the HIV Day last year (which were NOT in the room, and are nowhere to be found!) When we saw the state of the room, we said we would work on it as it could use a few days of cleaning and organization.....almost a week later, and let’s just say we’re getting there.

Immaculate 

*Sidenote update*  Jonathan (our guard) just trapped the rat in a bag, and is beating it with a stick. Again, gross.
One of the highlights we have had in doing this task, is a young girl (6-7yrs?) named Immaculate who has been helping and entertaining us as we work. Because she has a disability, she is not able to attend a local school as schools in Uganda do not practice inclusion. However, she attends the top nursery class at H4H, and will hopefully(sponsorship pending) be able to attend a school for children with disabilities soon. She loves high-5’s, and if you don’t see her swinging, will usually slap you wherever she sees fit. It’s much more amusing when Sarah or Michelle don’t see it coming! I also think she may be the happiest girl I know, as she is always waiting with a beautiful smile and giant hug.
Tomorrow Sarah, Trev, and I are going for a 5 day trek in the Semien Mountains of Ethiopia. We are looking forward to some peace and quiet (unkown here!) but will definitely be missing Uganda and the projects. We will be back just in time to help with final preparations for the HIV Awareness Day. Have a great weekend!
Blessings,
Chels
PS: The rat is dead.

A Friday afternoon walk.

As part of our upcoming HIV Awareness Day planning, this past Friday afternoon Michelle and I were sent to scope out the best possible place to hold our venue. The International Hospital of Kampala (IHK) will be completing the free testing and counselling on the planned awareness day. So, nurse Deborah from the IHK set us up with a local community volunteer to choose the best possible place to hold the venue.

Violet came to meet us and give us our tour of the areas in the afternoon. Both are in the slums, and about a five minutes walk apart.

The tranches run throughout the community, filled with garbage, sewage and disease

We were walking towards the second location, listening to Violet's countless stories about life in the 'slum' community. It seemed she knew every single person we passed, with men, women and children calling out to her, and greeting her in Lugandan "Jebale Ko, Nyabo" which means hello/well done/thank you for your work. She would greet them back, and thank them for there work, ask about there homes/families and our walking continued. She would tell us who each person was, explaining where they live, if/where they work and give is a brief background history as we continued.
Walking up to one row of shanty houses, which was overcome with sewage and garbage, we stopped to greet an older lady laying on the porch area of anothers home. In front of her, and under a small tarp filled with holes was what looked to be a small homestead, of a blanket, some cardboard boxes, and tattered clothing. Violet explained that this woman was of the Acholi tribe from the north, and when the LRA invaded her village years back, her son was taken and soon after, she and her husband fled in fear of there lives. They 'settled' in Namuwango,  picking up odd jobs with the few skills they had to survive in the city.  Between seven and ten years ago, the husband died, leaving the woman sick, and completely alone. Her illness made her too weak to work, and after 6 months of not paying her landlord rent, she was evacuated from her home.  Since then she has been homeless in the slums, sleeping in decrepit conditions every night, with no family and friends to help out. I asked Violet why neighbors don't offer assistance, and was given the answer that "they are just too many." "They" referring to the totally helpless. She went on to explain that most of the people living in this slum are incredibly desperate and vulnerable themselves, so taking care of strangers is often not a possibility, never mind priority.

Children of Namuwango sitting on the railroad tracks. 

Even in the slums, rent costs are a months wages for most, and more than a months wages for many. Landlords do very little to keep the homes in decent condition, and no amenities are included. No water. No power. No toilets.  Many of the houses are merely mud shacks, falling apart and full of holes, Some are made with wood and cardboard, and some of the newer homes are made of plaster with a tin roof. One bedroom homes are standard, although we have seen a couple two bedroom homes. Five to ten, or more persons in a house is normal, which lends an idea to the quality of living these people experience day in, day out.

It is hard to swallow this fact, and for a moment I felt claustrophobic as the helplessness sunk in. No matter what one person, or organization can do to help, and alleviate the suffering, there is always more. You give one family a home because they lost theirs to devastating circumstance, to turn  around and meet another family, who's story is even more overwhelming. For every child given hope through sponsorship, there are a hundred who want nothing more than to be able to go to school.

Sisters.

This is where, again, the hope comes in. It surprises me everytime I meet someone with a story like this woman. They are full of hope, and grateful for the day, the food they might have, and the care that God has given them so far. Truly grateful. I really don't think I knew what genuine gratefulness looked like until I arrived in Uganda, where it's not 'more, bigger, better, newer', but 'thank you, Lord for food and family', and 'praise God for another day.' I am blessed by these people every day, and can only pray that one day I will be able to feel the hope and trust in God to have the extent that they are living in.
I had three stories, of three woman of Namuwango in mind when I started this blog, and am getting tired again, so I will end with a quick note about one other family.
There is a girl in the slum, who is lame and has no use of her legs. As she was crawling her way into her home one night, she was raped by a man passing by. A year and a half later, she has an eight  month old beautiful little boy named Edwin, whom she struggles to care for. Her aunt, whom she lives with is her only living relative, and has just been admitted to the hospital with cancer. Soon this young mom will be unable to pay her rent, as her aunt made enough money selling charcoal to pay the rent each month.

Mama Fauda, and Edwin(8mths)

The situation seems dire, and without either government ( not going to happen!) or NGO help, there is little if any hope that this woman and her boy will survive, never mind thrive. But, with programs set up to help the vulnerable, there are options for support. These programs are created with self-sustainability, empowerment and attacking the roots of poverty in mind.  I see it here, and can attest that it works. When we all put our hearts and hands together, and focus on what really matters, change happens.
Thanks for reading. God Bless, and good night!  
Blessings,
Chels

Boda bodas and a rollex.

Boda bodas and a rollex.
 These are two of my favorite things in this beautiful country.

A boda is by far the best and least safe way to get around Uganda. It is a small motorcycle, that weaves in and out of traffic when you are stuck in a jam, and can dodge any massive Kampalan pot-hole around. There are 'stages' everywhere, which consist of 2- 20 drivers sitting on top of there motorcycle seats yelling 'mzungu' at you and whistling to get your attention. Sometimes when they see we need a ride they bombard us all at once, fighting to get some business. If you don't know the prices they will double the charge, but still it is more than affordable. I have never paid more than $2.50. Yet, a good boda driver earns a decent living, more than the average Ugandan.

Here in Namuwango, we like to use a driver named Sam. He is safe, and knows the city like the back of his hand, and is always fair with his charges. He has a wife, and two children, and a great sense of humour. It is relieving to be able to take a boda at night, and know that we can trust Sam to both drive well, and protect us from other crazy drivers and the dangers of Namuwango at night.
When Sarah and I are sharing Sam's boda, we sing most of the ride-taking requests of course. When we arrive to our destination, we always try and get a discount for the free entertainment we provided....and it never works. But it is fun, and Sam loves being our boda man!

Geoffrey. Sorry about the sideways angle, to solve this problem just put your left ear to your left shoulder.

And, then there is rollex. The delicious, greasy, addictive rollex! 
A rollex consists of  basic chapati (Indian flat bread) but made Ugandan style- meaning ten times the amount of oil necessary for chapati. Once the chapati is made, the rollex vendor (our favorite is Geoffrey) mixes two eggs in a cup, then adds salt, cabbage, onions and tomatoes. He throws the egg mixture onto his magic hotplate- a cast iron flat plate on top of a small round charcoal stove. Once the egg is thoroughly cooked and flipped a good three to four times(and he has sprinkled more oil onto the plate a few more times), Geoffrey throws the fresh chappati on top of the 'omelette' and rolls the two together with the egg inside. And Voila! The most delicious street food in the whole country....perhaps even the whole world.

A day in the life...

I thought I would break down what an average day looks like for us, while working in the slums of Namuwango, just outside of Kampala.
We wake up at about 7:30 am, as breakfast is somewhere between 7:45- 8:15. Philista is the girl who cooks for us, and takes care of the house when no one is around. We really appreciate her.

For breakfast, we usually get fried or hard boiled eggs, and an assortment of local fruit(my favorite!) Philista cooks over charcoal, in the kitchen area outside.
We are supposed to be at work at 8:30. I say supposed, because with four girls living in the house right now, there is a pretty good chance that one(or all) of us is tired, or will remember something and have to turn around just as we are running out the door.
What we do at Hands for Hope changes daily. Sarah and I have been out in the community(slums) every other day to help with assessments, or sit in on a  medical visit or follow up. The first day we went into the slum, we were taken to one of the mothers because she was very sick, and wanted Sarah(who is a nurse) to do a quick check-up. Sarah was very concerned, as the woman had a very high fever, and appeared dehydrated and extremely weak. The woman was laying down, and Sarah tried to get as much information as possible, but it was difficult with no translator. Sarah encouraged the woman to come to the clinic as soon as possible.
That day, we also visited a young three year old girl who was dehydrated and lethargic. Sarah and the nurse from Hands for Hope, named Margaret, looked at the girl, and gave them advice on how to recognize and deal with dehydration. The young girl, Madrine was feeling much better and in school within two days. Sadly, we learned that the mother who Sarah had visited died of AIDS on Monday. We did not know this was her condition, but learned that she was taking ARV's for years, and was to weak to continue taking them. She left behind a three year old daughter, and we know of another daughter who is eighteen. The eldest sister will now be taking care of the young one, as well as two small children of her own. This is life here.

Teaching the kids in the pm program how to brush their teeth. 

On top of our visits to the community, we are also doing work with the different teachers at the nursery school, and afternoon program that Hands for Hope runs. Hands for Hope assists 101 children in their sponsorship program, and about 40- 60 with their afternoon program. The afternoon program is for children from the area who have been targeted as coming from the worst poverty, and have no schooling. They are the ones who are on the 'waiting list' for sponsorship and will be next to go to school through Hands for Hope. The program runs from 2-4 each day, and 9-1 on Saturdays, as well as all day (9-4) during the holidays. At this program, the children are taught basic academics and given social skills in order to help prepare them for going to school. Some of these children are as old as 15 years, and have never attended school, or attended only when they were very young.
Many of the families H4H helps are refugees from Congo or Sudan, or internally displaced persons from the war in the North.  This makes it difficult to help establish a strong sense of community, and often there are internal quarrels within the slum. The diversity of cultures in such a small area also makes for struggles in communication and language.

Dance class with Ivo.

We are trying to help the teachers establish new strategies and activities to encourage the children in there learning. This has been challenging for us, as the cultural differences in the way things happen, and efficiency are quite extreme.
One of our major projects is planning an awareness and free HIV testing day on October 2. We are super excited to be doing this, and are planning on having entertainment, education, testing and couciling to create a positive atmosphere and relieve some of the anxieties that surround getting tested and knowing your HIV status. The theme for the day is going to be 'know your status.' We are having t-shirts printed, banners and a big march through the slums the morning of the event. These marches are used often in Uganda to advertise events, and attract locals. The idea is that as we march, the parade will grow more and more until we get to the main venue, where there will be entertainment and free HIV testing. We plan to have speakers from local AIDS organizations and hospitals to educate about various subjects related to HIV and the struggles connected. We are hoping to have over 250 people tested. Planning any event in Uganda is frustrating and slow at best, so patience is a virtue that is being forced upon us more each day.
I am sure you are getting tired of reading, as I am tired of writing right now, so I will end here. It is not easy to put into words all that is going on here, and I even feel a bit limited in my descriptions. I am planning on adding pictures soon, in order to try and do justice in my wanting to give you a bigger picture of life in Namuwango. The poverty and struggles are incredible, but it is the hope that is most evident.

Some of the boys playing at Hands for Hope.

Hoping for peace and miracles in Uganda,
Chels

Thirteen days later...

It has been thirteen days since I left home, and so much has happened.
Sarah and I had a fun and long trip to Entebbe...after over 40 hours of traveling we are safe and settling into Namuwango, Kampala.
In some ways it's the same old Uganda that I have known and love since my first trip almost six years back. But at the same time, the slums are a whole new world. The air is dirty, and possibly the cleanest aspect of slum life. The poverty is humbling and difficult to come to terms with.  And, as with the rest of the country, the people are amazingly resilient, and surprisingly so full of hope. There us always a smile to be found, even in the most difficult of times.

The 3 doorways were 3 seperate home. The first you see here was Rose and Esther's home.

In the first week of working at Uganda Hands for Hope, we have already witnessed such times. Last Thursday, the rains were torrential, rivaling the storms we have had back home this spring. It poured rain for about two hours, and then continued to rain at a steady pace for a couple more. At the point where it was raining hardest, one of the teachers darted a rain barrel under the sloped roof. It was full within 45 seconds, pouring over the edges.
It was quite the storm, and the next day we learned its devastating consequences.

The bottom of the slum, where the baby was taken away. You can see the swamps behind this child.

Four adults were killed, as they hid from the rain in their shanty houses, which collapsed on them. One mother was about to leave her house to retrieve her toddler when her house fell on top of her, trapping and preventing her from getting the baby. After a few minutes, the walkway quickly turned into a river, and the baby was carried away into the swamps below. The ladies from the slum community (I will just say 'Namu', which is short for Namuwango when I refer to this area) told us that within minutes the walkway near the lower section of Namu. was a quickly moving river of mud/water, over 5 feet deep. The body of the young toddler had not been found last we heard.

Esther and her children the day after losing their house.

On top of the death and physical harm, countless homes and businesses were destroyed. One of the women whom Uganda Hands for Hope(UH4H) helps had her house collapse in the storm. Her name is Esther. Thankfully, she and her seven children had a neighbors home to take refuge in during the rains, as she said she did not trust her home in stormy weather. They watched their home, with the few belongings they owned collapse in front of them. Four years earlier, her husband was killed by the LRA up north, and she journeyed south to take refuge in the capital city. In one week she will graduate from the tailoring program that UH4H sets up for local women. On top of the sewing knowledge and technical skills the women receive, they are given a sewing machine upon graduation, and the hope of self-sustainability.  It is a wonderful and empowering program.  
It was very difficult to visit Esther on Friday, and see the newest devastations handed to her and her family. But, like most Ugandans I have met, she is a strong, and hopeful woman. It was humbling to see her standing strong and talking calmly, welcoming us in to her neighbors home, and showing us where her home had been. It was a humbling experience.
UH4H has offered to help set Esther and her family up in a newer, safe home and try and replace the belongings that are now buried under the mud and bricks. It's a hard reality to come to terms with the fact that there is just too much poverty and devastation to try and help everyone in this slum of over ten thousand people. H4H is doing a fantastic and thorough job, however. They have been working in the community for almost five years, and have learned to assess the families and children they work with in order to help support the most vulnerable.
So, almost two weeks in, our eyes have been opened wide once again. The people are extremely friendly and helpful, and there are smiling, waving children calling out "mzungu" (white person) everywhere we go in the community.It did not take more than a few days to settle down and feel welcome here in Namuwango.
Please pray for us, that we will be strong and stay healthy. And for the people of Namuwango slum, who face trials that we can not even dream of. And for everyone back home, that we as Canadians will know how blessed we are to have been born in such a great homeland.
Sula Balunge- Good night!