Juliet

Yesterday was so amazing! Chels and I met the World Vision team at their office and started the long trip to the Rakai district of Uganda (about 4 hours south). It was a great road trip, especially because we were in a private vehicle with only 4 people as opposed to a taxi with all kinds of folks practically in your lap! (We enjoyed that on Tuesday 3 hours each way to Jinja!) It was 3 hours to the district office where we picked up James, the man who checks on all 300 sponsored kids in his area, and the last hours or so of the trip was all off road! It was a crazy four wheel drive experience, but we were cutting through the most gorgeous countryside, very hill-y and the most beautiful sky (Kampala's way too smoggy to see much sky). I was so excited to find that "my girl" that I sponsor was reached even out there in the middle of nowhere. It's crazy that James visits all these children frequently, when all he has transportation wise is a bicycle and most of the time he can't take that because the families live in these steep valleys, so he'll trek down to check on 2 kids in this valley, climb back up, trek to this school to see these 3 kids. What an amazing work they are doing though. We stopped at Juliets' school at first and all the kids swarmed us; we were so far out, not many had seen a "Mzungu" yet. From there we headed to her house (very bouncy ride) where the family was waiting for us. They are so beautiful! They live on this hillside where they grow their family garden, they had 2 neighbors relatively close by (still, a climb), and they all walked over to see what was going on. I met the beautiful Juliet and her best friend Fiona. :) She was extremely shy, especially at first, and James sat with us on a mat and interpreted for us. Once Chels and I gave her gifts she loosened up a little bit and was very excited to try her dress on. Her little sister, who's about 4, started crying and saying "Where's my mzungu?!" so we took more pictures with her too so she wouldn't feel left out. She is registered with WV, and waiting to be sponsored. We were very honored by how they treated us, and the father stood and gave a speech thanking us over and over for coming. I didn't know it was such a big deal to be visited by a sponsor, but that is how much they honored us. And for me it was a huge honor to see the good thorough work that WV is doing (the huge team that it takes to take care of these kids), to be invited so closely into the family's lives for that visit, and to sit with this girl who has been sending me letters across the ocean. I am sad at the thought I may never see her again, but excited to keep writing to her from home, building relationship that way. I met a girl Sarah, who attends university and interns with WV, she was sponsored through Compassion as a child and it made a huge impact on her life, she still has all the letters from her sponsor family in an album. She made the long trip back to Kampala with us.

We have a crazy week ahead of us: one more trip to the slums, one more to Ssenge, then out to Queen Elizabeth Park for a safari; off to London for our 19 hour layover (we're going to explore a little) and then home! It's gone by too fast. Don't know when I'll have internet again and there's so much I haven't written about, but it'll be on here at some point! Thanks for reading!

This weekend most of the team spent out in Ssenge. Saturday we did chores with the kids (I’m sure they thought it was ridiculous that they had to show these grown women how to ACTUALLY wash clothes by hand) and then we played the rest of the day. Aunt Candy and Uncle Larry I wish you could have been there- we gave them some of the gifts you paid for (soccer net, personalized art supplies) and they were ecstatic. They had as much fun posing in front of the goal as they did actually playing. My favorite of course was when they received their sketch books with their names on them and you could tell they just treasured them. They spent hours sprawled on the floor drawing animals and sports heroes and cars. It was a great day. Sam, who’s maybe 10 (they don’t know any of their exact birthdays or ages), is becoming my little shadow. We both love to draw and have been blessed with a lot of time lately to just sit and color while he tries to teach me Lugandan and I butcher it and he laughs. Drissa also tried to teach me while we were doing dishes and we ended up resorting to singing songs we both knew instead because communication both ways was not happening.

Sunday we went to the church in Ssenge, most of which was music (1.5-2 hours of a 3 hour service), it was so beautiful and fun. We spent time with the boys in the afternoon and then headed back to Kampala. Kim and Kurt are a couple from Arizona that are on our team and Chels and I just love them. We went out for coffee at 1,000 cups on Sunday late afternoon and had a great time.

Yesterday the slum program went very well, although not too much more organized then Friday, but then, we did have a lot more kids again, and some order because we had all kinds of stations going: writing and drawing, circle games, songs, manicures, medical… We did a Bible study as a group and the feeding program at the end.

Sorry this is so “bullet-y”, i.e., we did this/went here/saw them/the end/goodnight…. I just don’t have that much time and wanted to get something out before we head to Jinja for the day.

Photos! (...if they ever load)

[me and Ronaldino]

[kids at the new site]


[coloring!]


[Chels and our Shafiq]



[we were excited because we were actually clean on Tuesday]



[Shafiq]


















Location Location Location!
As you know we go to the slums Monday Wednesday Friday. Wednesday we had a new team of about 5 volunteers come into Kampala. Up till now we have been doing the medical and feeding programs open air at the Gulu wall, where alot of older boys hang out, and alot of the younger ones from Chisenyi are afraid to come and eat because of the territorial feel of the place (the older boys will sometimes hit and push them around). Anyway, it all came together last week that African Hearts actually has a place with covering from the sun and ...well, at least 3 walls (way more then we had!) A local church is letting us use their building 3 days a week, as well as chairs, and a shipping container to store supplies so not everything has to be packed in every time! The best part is it's on neutral territory so no one has to be afraid to come. Also, with a building comes more ability to create structure so we can start doing basic literacy with the kids like they had done before in Chisenyi, we can say no drugs within these walls, and in general there's less distractions.
And the kids did come! It was a great turn out for day 1. Some of the Chisenyi boys, even some of the older boys, and several new younger kiddos. We had a great day with them.

Back to Ssenge
Yesterday, Thursday, 2 of the Ssenge boys had birthdays (though no one really knows their ages or birthdays) so we taxi'd out to Ssenge, planted trees untill the boys came home and then ate Moreen's amazing fried chicken and Jess's amazing Chipati, cabbage and peas (Ronald, one of the birthday boys, planned the menu). We taught them to play Red Rover which was a lot of fun. LOVE those boys.

Quick update on necklaces

[Ssenge, right after a great rainfall]

To those of you that wanted necklaces, I found out they are actually 4,000 shillings (a little less then 2 US dollars) so if that changes your order any, let me know.

Beautiful Ssenge

[Photo: Abdul, from Ssenge]

This weekend we spent the majority of our time in Ssenge, African Hearts home for the younger boys. I love the busy life of Kampala, but Ssenge is such a peaceful refuge from all the noise and smog and traffic. Best of all, it holds these happy, happy boys I am coming to love so much. Abby Tracy, AfriCHO staff member, has told us the boys there really need someone there to play and interact with. They are blessed with caretakers like Moreen and Richard, but those two, as well as the “Mothers” of the home, carry such a heavy workload from day to day, it’s hard to just sit and play. We had a wonderful time playing Rummikub & Uno, coloring, drawing, and making movies with the boys. Today they all did interviews for me on my camera stating their names, ages (range there is 6-14), and what they like to play or what they want to be- a lot of pilots, pastors, and football players!


On our way to Ssenge yesterday we stopped at a home called Open Doors, that houses 82 children, they work to place as many kids back with (safe) relatives as possible, and the children are always involved in that process, whether they feel ready or not. The youngest there is 4 months, and the oldest is around 17. When this is not ideal or available they look for adoptive parents for the kids. I have a new "favorite" (I have a new favorite every 20 minutes- they are all my favorite!) This solemn 2 year old baby toddles over and latches on to my leg and stuck with me the entire time we were there. We were joking that he looked like a little bishop. I got a few giggles out of him but mostly he just stayed quiet and hung at my side. When I found out his name was Meshach I thought that was very appropriate for his personality! My baby Meshach.

[Photo: my baby Meshach!]

This weekend I am feeling so grateful to God that He is taking such good care of these children. 40+ at Sanyu, 82 at open doors, 750+ at Byumba (God cares school, where we taught last Wednesday), 13 at Sanyu, 30+ at Miracle Center.... here, there and everywhere He has called mama's and dad's and aunties and uncles to care for His own. Even those who aren't ready to leave the streets- so many of them know they always have the staff at Calvary, Auntie Jess, Auntie Abby, Uncle Collins.... Who can love like He loves?


Update on the slum program- we returned Friday, first to the Gulu boys site, where Chelsea helped do medical- I am so proud of her. Part of it was funny, because this little boy had a wound on his head and Collins shaved around it so they could treat it, only it was a haircut gone terribly wrong, and the more he tried to fix it, the worse it got. Abby made Collins promise to take him straight to the barber after we were all done, so the others wouldn't make fun of him.I really want to see if we can update their first aid kits once I get back to the states. There is never enough gloves, bandaids, tape.... list goes on...for all the wounds they treat. Going to Chisenyi we had such a sweet time with the boys, we also went on a house visit to a mother of 5, AfriCHO is helping pay school fees for those old enough to attend. She honored us with these beautiful necklaces she makes out of paper. Anyone want to order one? It's her livelihood. There about 75 cents. Kafiki, (my favorite boy :)) stayed with me all day, and 2 other boys stayed with Abby and Chels, even as left the slums, so we got to take them to the store and let them pick whatever they wanted. You would have thought they won the lotto. I wish I could afford to take the whole lot of them. :)


Love to all!

Happy Birthday Heather!
[Photo: me, Chels, Abby Tracy at church.]

Heartbreak and Hope

[Photo: our "Rhino Room" and Chels and I enjoying some "emergency chocolate" from Kelly!]

So much happens here in just a few days!

Monday was our first day out in the slums. Jess, our fearless leader sent us to meet Collins, since she had to check on one of the other team members who was sick. Collins has grown up in Kampala and knows it inside and out. First he took us to Kisenyi (Chisenyi?). One minute we were downtown in the market and then we took 2 turns and were in an alley way, the younger boys swarmed us and Uncle Collins and so I didn't notice right away that we were surrounded by "homes". It was so hard to learn names because everyone was talking at once: "how are you?!" "what are you called?" "Mzungu, do you love Jesus?" They were hugging us and shaking hands. One young man was showing me his marijuana leaves and a 3 year old boy wanted to shake my left hand (I was very grateful when I found out his right hand was covered in poop- sorry if that's too much information!) With most of these boys, old and young alike, I saw their left fist cupped, as I'm getting more and more accustomed to seeing. They hold cloth dipped in petroleum or adhesive, and huff it throughout the day to stay high. It was so heart breaking. They boys took us to where the alley narrowed to show us their homes. By now we are walking through garbage and who-knows-what. There are small metal structures- like narrow storage sheds spread all over the dump. The boys have 2 they can lock themselves in at night to be safe. 5 could easily fit in one, but I think Collins said it was more like 15 in each. The farther in we walked, the harder it was to process. You can know in your head people live in dumps, and even see pictures of it, but it was so different for me to see the faces of these Real Life Human Beings doing life in garbage: cooking, raising their kids, visiting with neighbors, everyday life. It was sad to see Prossy, the little girl we met over the weekend (she never wants to leave Jess) standing in the middle of all this in her school uniform. This is what she comes home to.

So many special kids we met that day. Hasan, I call him Mr. 100, since he kept asking for 100 shillings, hung onto me most the afternoon. One boy, who calls himself the Chairman, was our tourguide through Kisenyi and back out again, he took us to the Gulu wall, where they do the feeding program/medical treatments. One little boy told Chelsea about 30 times "I'm going with you!" One little boy saw I had gotten my feet all filthy and kept trying to clean them off. So sweet. He even tried to share his shillings with me and when I said "no I don't need it" he said thanks you! and shoved it back into his pocket. It was a lot of hard things to see but I enjoyed the opportunities to just visit as I passed out food.

That night it was good to play with the babies back at Sanyu and help put them to bed, safe and sound. I love this little one, Oscar, he's 2 and deaf but has an amazing memory. Needs lots of love!
[Photos: playtime @ Sanyu, Andrew and Solomon at dinnertime]



Wednesday I ventured out on my own since Chelsea was not feeling well (don't worry mom, I don't actually mean I was alone, I was just Chelsea-less). Met up with a group of African Hearts volunteers and we went to a field where the kids meet up to play Football. It was fun when we drove up some of them recognized me from the slums on Monday and were running up to my taxi window hanging onto my arm. We painted faces and visited with the kids, and the brave payed football (I was not one of them). The heat was so intense and there were no trees, but the kids were happy. :)

After lunch we headed to the slums (the Gulu wall I mentioned before) to talk with the boys and do a feeding program, where the Gulu boys, from N. Uganda, sleep (usually under banana trees). I watched Jess do "medical"- disinfect wounds, bandage cuts, and specify to Collins, another team member, which kids needed to go to the clinic. This may be something Chels and I will be doing in the coming weeks (just basic first aid).

It's easy to feel overwhelmed in these areas, like how can we possibly do anything, and the African Hearts team had told us we needed to see the full spectrum, but I didn't really understand that until we left the slum and went to Miracle Center. This is the other home, like Ssenge, only right in the middle of the city (Kampala) where the boys live that they rescue. These boys were all older and they did a concert for us with their brass band! It was so so excellent! I wish I'd had my camera! They all marched out in uniform and by song 3 everyone was dancing and having the greatest time. These young men were so respectful, and kind, and handsome, and confident. There wasn't that fear and pain we saw so much of on Monday. It was really beautiful.

Lutaaya, founder of AfriHCO, explained the vision for the Miracle Center, and for the band. It was so good to hear the heart of this humble man. He knows the severity of the things these youths face, and the corruption of this city, but that is so overshadowed by his bright hope and his belief in his boys; he sees a brighter Uganda in them. One of the biggest things has just been getting the boys to believe in themselves, and believe that they can have a different life then slums and drugs and fear. I haven't witnessed so much the process but I see the fruit in all the boys I met that night. They are gems!

I walked home filthy and exhausted but I am so full of hope. Now I see a clearer picture of what I can hope for all the lost boys.

Thanks for all your prayers and love!
Happy Birthday Aunt Netta, Mallory, Thalia!
Check out Chelsea's blog too! chelsealyndilbeck.blogspot.com

Happy Monday

I am home. :)

(This is a more detailed look at my first few days here, which I sent out in an email).

Today's the day we are supposed to head to the slums for about 4 hours. So far I've met 3 sets of kids, beautiful kids! The first set was at our home, Sanyu Babies home, it was so fun watching Chelsea get mobbed by babies, one on her back, one pulling on her hair, 2 in her lap... it was great. Dinner time was very entertaining, you'll see a few mellow babies, who would be clean if you were just feeding them, but they get just as messy because of their neighbor food slingers. I walked away with quite a bit of mash all over my pants as well.

The second set was the street kids that attend Calvary Chapel-Kampala (yes, Charlie- I'm going to a Calvary Chapel almost every weekend this month!) Several kids fall asleep all throughout the service but it's the one place they really feel safe enough to do that, so it's good. At first I was pretty sick from my malaria meds but it passed after about 45 minutes and I was better able to participate in songs and hanging out with the kids afterwards. We played card games and hangman and they had fun with our sunglasses and cameras. After that they had a meal provided for them, as well as clean shirts and a bar of soap. I fell in love with this little boy named Edwin, who I was helping sound out words; he was working on Genesis in English so you had to give him a lot of credit trying to sound out those Bible names.

The 3rd set was Saturday afternoon we took a taxi out to Ssenge (small village where African Hearts has their boys home) and once we were as far as the taxi would take us we got on boda-boda's (motorbikes) and that was a fun experience! The sky was getting very heavy, but I felt cooled off for the first time that day, and as we arrived near the home, we were hit with the first fat drops of rain, and no sooner were we under the porch roof the sky just unleashed the most amazing rainstorm. It was so beautiful!!!!!!!!!! We were met warmly by all the staff and children grabbing our hands and pulling us inside. It was a fun afternoon with no power but just enough natural light to play uno and memory and toy cars. I love these boys! Marina, one of the staff members, took me to her room and showed me pictures of before and after the boys were rescued, such a difference- light in their eyes and food in their tummies! She also told me of some of the heartbreaking stories of the boys who ran away because their addiction was so strong.

We've met some amazing people from different teams and our guesthouse roomies. So many people here to adopt, one amazing girl from New Zealand- she's a lawyer working at the refugee camp, Jess, our AH leader... these people give so much, they are so energizing to be around.

Thanks for all your continued prayers and support. LOVE TO ALL.