Back Again

PIt has been almost 5 days since we got back from Uganda and I am still readjusting back to home life. I really miss the place, the people and of course the food! The trip was incredible and now that I am home it is very hard to put into words. We met so many amazing people (kids and adults) and experienced so many different traditions (wabela...). I have been pounded with questions about my trip and I keep finding myself at a loss for words. It is strange for I am usually very talkative and am able to get across my excitement and emotions, but this trip was different. This trip moved me in ways I am unable to explain. The only way to truly understand is to experience it for yourself. All I know is that I have not stopped thinking about Kamuli and those 52 kids. I know that I will be tied to those kids and to Uganda for the rest of my life. I will be going back, that I am absolutely sure of.

I want also mention a person who had a real effect on me during my time in Uganda...

Benaleta is a fourteen year old girl who is part of the 52 kid foundation. The first time I met her, I overlooked her merely because I was surrounded by fifty or so other faces all greeting us. It was complete chaos, but as things began to settle down, there were some faces that stood out and some kids I would later get to know a lot better. One of those was Benaleta. She has a smile that takes your breath away and a laugh that is able to completely hide the impoverished life she leads. She is the most energetic girl I have ever met and I instantly grew attached to her. Over the course of the two weeks I saw her multiple times, one of those being at her house. Of all the home visits we made, Benaleta's home was one of the worst I had seen. It was hard to see the conditions in which such a brilliant girl lived. It also put much of my life into perspective for me, for here is a girl who is loving life simply because there is life to live, and not for the material things many of us deem necessary to be happy.

This girl is my role model and she does not even know it.

I miss seeing her and I can not wait until I am able to do so again.

I would also like to quickly thank John and Colleen for making all of this possible for me and giving hope to these children.

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Thanks to everybody

Our volunteers list keeps growing!! Thanks to Caleb, Collen, Lindsey, Madison, Sara and Zoe for all your efforts in volunteering your time in furthering the 52 Kids Foundation and its mission of helping the kids and families in Kamuli be self reliant. I know all kids in the foundation had a great time meeting everybody and the construction of the dorm gave the whole town a boost of confidence. Hope to see everybody soon and looking foward to those lemon bars. Your friend, smelly feet.

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Home (rejoice and regrets)

We arrived home last evening after a solid 30 hours of traveling. As we passed a replica of the Statue of Liberty in Newark, John teased Lindsay that she should salute. She said, "I'm not really sure I want to be back." It was a powerful experience, and I'm hoping we can post more photos and stories as we get our pictures and ourselves up and running.
Colleen

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Hey guys, Jahala here. (For those of you who do not know me, I made a similar visit to Kamuli last summer, 2008)

It's great to here from you all and know what you have been up to in Uganda. For me, it's just another way to stay connected. I'm happy for Zoey and Lindsay on participating in the home stay. This was one of the most important experiences I had in Kamuli. John urged Nick and I to take a hold of that opportunity and I'm so glad we did, as I am with you two. I stayed with Jacqueline, thirteen, I believe. Last year, we also carried water, and I was utterly embarrassed when a young girl, half my size, put the jug on her head and walked away smiling. Sounds like things are going well! Can't wait to here more, keep us posted!

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Carrying Water

A couple days ago, we got the pleasure to meet and help Rita's grandmother. We found her home with friends mourning the lost of her eldest child. They had set up the traditional approach which is very similar to sitting Shiva, where they sit and remember the individual for up to five straight days. We thought it would a helpful experience to carry water for them. It didn't seem like it would be that bad and as soon as we mentioned our plans, people came running to give us their Jerry Cans. These yellow containers, originally used for petrol, are about 5 or 6 gallons and are ubiquitously used for water carrying. Almost every family has multiple cans to hold and transport liquid. Our group, Colleen, John, Lindsay, Zoe, Sarah, a couple locals and I, all walked to the bore hole laden with multiple empty cans. It seemed like a fairly short walk, no more than a half mile, and in comparison with the distance many of the kids have to walk everyday, it was nothing. John didn't seem to think so and bet any girl 500 dollars they couldn't walk all the way back with a can on their head. I was surprised to see Colleen take up the challenge and after filling all of our cans and a couple for the locals who were waiting, she strode out undeterred. Although she had a smaller can, it was still impressive and funny to see try the African way of carrying things. Zoe, Linds, John and John all grabbed one of the big cans and I thought I could do two. As we set out from the bore hole the cans didn't feel two heavy and all of us were going pretty strong. Luckily the day wasn't to hot and it actually started to rain which cooled us all of but made the cans extremely slippery. Once we were about halfway back, it was a effort to keep going. These things got heavy fast. Soon I could manage 30 steps and then had to lay down the cans for a few seconds. Colleen didn't stop once and managed to hustle all the way back. Us mortals though soon felt the weight and struggled to maintain a good hold on the cans. Non the less we all made it back and were rewarded with hot tea, grounds nuts, hugs, smiles and thanks. Just doing this short walk once was enough to make all of us further respect the incredible work it takes just to get water every day.
Photos by Sarah Morris

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Homestay at Sharifa's Home

After only one day in Kamuli Lindsay and I hopped on the back of boda bodas (motorcycles). We were headed to the home of Sharifa, one of the 52 Kids. Upon arrival we were greeted warmly by her family, each person kneeling down and holding our hands. The women greeted us with the traditional welcoming shriek and giant loving embraces. Kaiso, one of the employees of 52 Kids here in Kamuli stuck around with us for a while and helped translate so we could get to know the family better. Before we knew it the sun had set, and we were without light. Luckily, Lindsay and I had brought headlamps which helped profusely as we played the Ugandan version of "UNO" with Sharifa's uncle, Daniel. At around 8:30 PM we were served a delicious snack of roasted groundnuts, which taste a lot like peanuts, and fresh tea. As we waited for the actual meal Lindsay and I played tons of games with Sharifa, her siblings and cousins, as well as two of the other 52 Kids, Gerald and Jesca. We played thumb wars, ring around the rosie, the slap game, and even the macarana. In turn they taught us a few Ugandan games, and soon we were all having the greatest time. For dinner we were served a feast. It included mashed plantains, baked casava (which is a type of flour that they use here), greens, beans, and chicken. The women had been slaving over the meal for hours, it was incredibly kind and generous of them. After eating it was almost 11:00 PM, so we decided to head into bed. Sharifa's family, along with the help of Josefine, had set up a beautiful looking bed for us to sleep in. We felt incredibly lucky to be able to experience such a wonderful family. In the morning we woke up so that we could walk around the village and meet other neighbors and friends of the family. Each time we were greeted warmly, and we even learned how to greet the proper way for a woman, kneeling down and saying "wasazo tia nyabo/sevo" (definitely not the right spelling!) We had such a great time talking to each family, and every time we were given a parting gift such as fruits, eggs, or groundnuts. Finally, it was time to leave. It was sad to say goodbye and it was hard to describe how thankful we were for their generosity and kindness. A few days later we returned to Sharifa's home to bring a thank you gift of sugar and a pan, the family again was so excited to see us, and we hope to visit them one more time before our departure!

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PR, surveys and the 'Breakthough Coach'

I just finished up summarizing the results of our survey about people's reaction to the HOUSE campaign, spear-headed by Peter Brady. The response (from nine different clients) was wonderful and overwhelmingly positive. My meetings with Alexandra from KSV (PR help) were also great, and she made a really nice customized PR strategy for the 52 Kids on PowerPoint. On Friday I'm going to be in Whitehall NY visiting Mal 'the breakthrough coach', who has been a regular supporter of the Foundation for over two years. I hope everybody in UG is having a good time and gaining from the experience. Please keep us posted.

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Internet, Pen Pal Letters, Music, and more...

I cannot believe that I am sitting in the dorm writing this blog! Sarah and John have been working with the internet connection in the dorm and it is working faster than we ever expected it to. This opens up so many possibilities... communication with our folks on the ground here, kids using technology while living in the dorm...it is huge! On Sunday we traveled to some of the homes of the kids to deliver the pen pal letters and give them the clothes that I have collected for them. I helped them read the letters and explain the questions that their pen pals asked. It was a very special moment with each kid. Today we are working on the song about self reliance with the group of musicians, and then teaching beading to a group of women. Later today we will go to Township to visit the 5 kids that are boarding students there. The teenagers are fading in energy a bit today but those of us that are tough are crusin along!

photo by Sarah Morris

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