Some Photos From Our Trip!

I had the most amazing visit to Uganda. I took over 2,200 photographs so this is just a small sampling :) I miss the heat, the fresh fruit, the music but most of all the people. I can't wait to return to Kamuli!

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Jinja + The Journey Home

Right now John, Rita, Simone and I are staying at Two Friends B&B in Jinja (which has a superb internet connection!). This morning we picked up Rita from her grandmother's house and are bringing her all the way to Kampala for boarding school. We spent the afternoon walking around Jinja. The town is much larger than Kamuli and we have seen many white (mzungu) tourists. Yesterday Simone, Kaiso and I taught 15 kids a school lesson. Together we created a solution tree that tackled many of the issues that the 52 Kids have to overcome (HIV/AIDs, low income, crime, early marriage...etc.). With Kaiso's help the kids came up with solutions to their problems such as education, counseling/guidance, ABCs of HIV/AIDs (A= abstain, B= be faithful to your partner & C= use condoms). The kids also created leaf rubbings with colored pencils and leaves from local trees. While they came up with solutions to their problems, we pasted the vibrant leaves onto a hand-drawn tree. It ended up being a very informative and wonderful lesson. Kaiso did an amazing job of involving the kids and helping them grasp the different topics. We ended the afternoon with my reading of a short kid's book on Barack Obama's life and his journey from childhood to becoming the President of the U.S.A. After the lesson ended my friend Jimmy (from our homestay) came by Cibiet Gardens which was a fantastic surprise. Hadijja (who we met while at the model farm) + her two friends came to hang out with John, Simone and I. It was a lovely evening filled with nail painting, drawing, laughter and great company. We were so thrilled to have such spectacular (surprise) guests for our last night in Kamuli. Tomorrow we head to Kampala and we plan on going to the banana pancake factory as well as the paper bead factory (look up Bead For Life!). Our plane takes off just before midnight and we will be back in Vermont at about 6pm on Wednesday. Love + kindness to all. (Rita helped write this post!)

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Exploring Kamuli

This afternoon Angie and Liz left Kamuli to start their two day journey back to Vermont. They will be traveling from Jinja to Kampala to London to JFK and finally to BTV! This morning Simone got her hair braided and it was quite the adventure. She pulls off the braids very well. Simone and I spent the afternoon touring Kamuli with our trusty tour guide Prossy. She is the sister of Mariam, one of the 52 Kids. We explored local stores and went to a vegetables, meat and fruit market. We stopped at a few fabric stores and were amazed by the variety of designs and rich colors. We met many of Prossy's family members and introduced ourselves in their native language. Our introductions always get quite the reaction- many laughs and surpised looks. One man today said "You are so close to becoming pure." Ha. Later we went to Prossy's house and spent time with her family. We took some family photos and spent time talking with their neighbors (a group of children ages 9 mo. to 8). Franco stopped by to say hello which was a great surpise. Prossy then took us to a restaurant for dinner and we had chicken & chips (french fries) with ketchup- what a treat! It was a spendid day in Kamuli. We feel so lucky to be here in Uganda and are thankful for our time here. Best wishes to Liz and Angie on their travels back to the states.

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52 Kids Celebration

This afternoon we celebrated all the work the 52 Kids Foundation has accomplished. When we drove up to Tony and George's house we were greeted by a couple hundred smiling faces. They were drumming and cheering for us. It was amazing to feel so welcomed. The kids were all in their pink and purple schools uniforms and looked adorable as always. We sat down and then the show began. The drummers and dancers were phenomenal and were dressed in feathers, grass skirts and vibrant African fabric. All the individuals who work for Kapida/52 Kids spoke and it was translated for us. It was a very moving ceremony especially when they kids came up to perform. Each different age level performed a number of creative songs and dances. John got up and spoke about how much the kids and the program mean to him. He talked about how thankful he is for all the hard work that everyone in Uganda (staff, parents + kids) and the United States (Team USA- aka Angie, Liz, Simone + I, and all the alums and supporters at home) has put in. We then had a catered meal that included greens, kasava, pork, sweet potatoes, peanut sauce and sticky rice. After the meal the dancing and laughter continued. Everyone was in such a joyous mood! Hope everyone at home is enjoying the cold temperatures and snow :)

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Common Phrases!

We have all been learning some common phrases so that we are able to better communicate with the people we meet. You will often hear "Osibyotya"-How are you? You reply by saying "Bulungi"- fine. Thank you is "Webale." Ok= "Kale" If you want to refer to someone as beautiful you would say "Oli mulungi." Another thing we have learned is that people do not eat at the same times as we do in the states. Breakfast is served around 10am, lunch is served around 2pm and dinner can be anywhere from 10pm to midnight. We are continuing to have a wonderful trip!

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Jambo from Kamuli

Simone, John & I arrived in Kamuli on the 9th. Since then we have done a variety of activities including: going to a Catholic mass, writing pen pal letters with the 52 kids, taking traditional dance lessons, learning the native language and we just completed a home stay. We are having an incredible trip! The people here are very kind and have warmly welcomed us into their community and culture. We have been sampling native foods such as jackfruit and kasava. As well as local delicious mangoes, pineapple and avocado. The kids here are amazing and have the most beautiful smiles and hearts. We are getting ready to go to dinner at Jospephine and Stephen's house. Josephine works for Kapida and the 52 Kids Foundation. Tomorrow we are hosting a party for all the kids in the program and their families. It should be a fantastic celebration of life and all the work the 52 Kids Program has accomplished. Liz, Angie and John are all enjoying themselves as well. We are all healthy and happy and hope that you are as well. Love from Kamuli!

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Soccer in Kamuli

We just played soccer with the kids at a local primary school and had so much fun! Liz and I were team captains and got to each have a team to play with. My team won 3-0! Right now, we are back at the dormitory enjoying a fanta and waiting to begin the health assessments of the 52 kids this afternoon. John is arriving today so we are all looking forward to seeing him.

Yesterday liz and I visited the Kamuli district hospital in the morning and got a tour from Ms. Monica who is the head of the nurses. She showed us all of the separate wards and even gave us a tour of the nursing school. We learned what the most common outpatient illnesses are and that most of the wards are understaffed. Many nursing students are expected to treat patients along with the fully trained nurses. We learned a lot from our visit and have been having a great time still in Kamuli!

-Liz and Angie

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kamuli day 1

Hi everyone! Liz and I are finally in Kamuli and so excited to be here! It took us a few days because we got held up on our travels, but it only made us more excited to get here. We stayed in Kampala for one night then took the public transport here to Kamuli last night and got in around 8. (We have been so exhausted after traveling for almost one whole week to get here!)

Today, we walked around a lot of Kamuli with Frank, Franco and Mosas and met a lot of people. We spent some time in Franco's village and enjoyed a meal of pork at his house. In this part of Kamuli, we met some of the kids in the program. Brian, one of the kids, showed us his house and family and gave us some passion fruit and eggs to take back with us that we are looking forward to eating tonight!

We are at the dormitory right now admiring all of the work that has been put into building it. Franco has told us a lot about the stoves that Sarah made and he has promised us that we will have to make our own stoves at some point while we are here.

This evening, Frank is taking us to the district hospital to look around a bit and meet some of the people there. We are planning on beginning the health survey's on Saturday which I am looking forward to doing.

We are anticipating John's arival with the other girls tomorrow!

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