Continued Blessings...

Another great week … the website 'Projects' page was updated, I rec’d messages of Love and encouragement from family/friends back home (thank you!), I finalized the purchase of 100 excellent quality mosquito nets at a great price and gave the first one away to a special little 3 year old HIV+ Angel (thank you to those who helped facilitate the purchase, we’ll soon be in touch with you directly to share more details…), I worked with the Skills Development group and learned all about raising poultry as an income generating activity, spent a whole day in a field with the ACIO group, and today, visited infants in the malnutrition ward at the hospital.



On Thursday, I was asked by Vincent of ACIO ( see ‘ACIO Child Care Center, Sironko’ on the ‘Projects’ page) to make a visit to the land where members were getting together to work on digging some drainage ditches. What a great day! Perhaps 50 people were there, mostly women and thankfully some very strong guys too. The ditches that needed to be dug by hand had to be about 3 feet deep by a couple feet wide, spanning the perimeter of an acre of pretty wet (...heavy soil) land. What a fantastic, very special community effort!



Lots of people had brought along a digging tool, the ladies (many in ‘gomesi’, traditional dresses women wear, shown in the photos having pointy shoulders) started on removing stumps and breaking apart huge termite hills within the interior, while the men started on the perimeter of the property. A group of about 6 women got together under a tree, started a small fire and began to prepare posho (maize flour cooked in salted boiling water, creating a very thick porridge) and thinly sliced cabbage sautéed with tomatoes. I spent some time with the ladies talking about the food they were preparing, children, the local language of Lugishu and eventually, brought out the laminated world map I carry with me everywhere. We discussed the location of Uganda, Africa, Canada, the US and UK, the equator and climate/crop differences between our 2 countries. I explained how I had flown in 2 different airplanes taking 2 nights to get here, I rolled the map into a globe shape and showed them how when it is day time here in Uganda it is night where my family are…they were amazed to learn this and said some of them had wondered if it was the earth that was turning every day or it if was the sun that was moving around the earth.



After some time the other women who had been digging sat down to take a break in the shade of a large tree. They called me over and placed some cardboard on the ground in the middle of them all for me to sit on. We communed. One woman started playing with my hair (this has happened a number of times now) and although my hair feels about as dry as it could be to me (the sun being so hot and getting hotter these days), to her and to several others who touched it, my hair felt very soft. They laughed at how quickly a braid without a tie at the end came out when in such contrast they can twist a portion of their hair between 2 fingers and it’ll stay like that all day and longer. It was a great visit, we laughed, had many an understanding moment, felt very close with one another. Soon it was time to eat and the ladies who had cooked brought over several bowls of food for the large group of us under the tree. Everyone washed hands with water from a jerry can. We shared Gratitude for the food. A photo ‘had’ to be taken so Vincent did the honors. As he figured out how to work my camera, the lady behind me started to fix my hair and I noticed how many of the women were reaching out to touch me for the shot…I wished I had more appendages, I wished I could physically touch them all too because these women were so lovely to be with… enthusiastic, warm, open, welcoming, very present and awake, happy and genuine, strong and caring, many of them young widowed mothers, some HIV+, some grandmothers, all caregivers of orphan children, all stakeholders in the child care center that will one day be built on the land where we were sitting. Vincent took a picture I am treasuring because of the connection we were feeling at that moment and the joy that is showing on so many faces (…it is interesting, most people really want their picture taken, they are quick to ask for one, and when the camera is ready to shoot they put on the most serious facial expression…a local has told me he thinks it is because people are cautious of appearing or being judged ‘undignified’). We went on to enjoy eating by hand, sharing from the communal bowls. (So...how long will it take you to spot the muzungu in this picture? I know, I know...where I was placed didn't much hinder your search...!)



There were many moments at the ‘field of dreams’ that I will not forget… a couple really stand out. A group of children had gathered while I was visiting with the women who were preparing food. After we had looked at the map together I called the children over, we had a photo and then we all sat on the ground and had a visit. A woman interpreted for us. Some of these children, I was told, were seeing a white person for the first time. One little boy, maybe 2 years old, never did get past his fear…but he did bring laughter to us all a few times when he would come a little close and then, when I looked at him, would take off running fast as he could, his little naked bottom jiggling as he made great haste half way across the acre! I was telling the little ones about children back home, about how many of them are light skinned like me and have light eyes…they stared at my eyes, touched my hands and arms…I was saying that we may look different yet we are all the same, we are all one in our hearts. ‘Children in Canada and all around the world like to play and run and laugh and learn new things just like you!’ I was noticing how the woman interpreting sounded so enthusiastic to mention what I was saying to the children and I could see smiles of agreement and a knowingness on the other women’s faces…it was a warm moment that expanded in me…seeing these people was seeing oneness…being with them was being in oneness… simply living/living simply…seeing inside the moment, a beaming reflection of authentic community, wealth and power…here was Love and everything was crystal clear. I looked up to see all these faces smiling at me...wow...exquisite …thank you.



After we had all eaten and the fire was put out, pots and dishes loaded atop a few women’s heads for transport and young ones wrapped onto backs, the group gathered once more to have a few words and make their next plans. After some conversation and a prayer in Lugishu they stood quietly for a few moments. No one moved. I don’t even think birds flew, or bees buzzed. Everything just stopped. It seemed all was joined in a most powerful moment of intention, a collective silence, the loudest one I may have ever heard. And then, everything being complete, goodbyes were shared, ‘safe journey’ was called out over and over and everyone set off in their various directions, some with hours of walking laying ahead before reaching their villages by night fall.



PS…In these 2 photos you can see framing for the temporary building ACIO members are currently putting up to house some of the orphan children while we work on bringing more permanent structures into reality! This structure is using hand hewn muvule tree trunks (in 2ft deep holes in the ground with soil pounded around the pole to hold it in place), smaller tree trunks for trusses and will have mud walls and iron sheet roofing. Nails cost about $4 per kilo, 30 gauge 3x10ft iron sheets are about $9 each. So far ‘Love is the Answer’ has contributed 100,000Ush to purchase 7 of the 70 iron sheets needed for the roof and 50,000Ush towards feeding people on the community building days :)







This is Sebi, he is 3 months old. I sat with him and his Mom today in the ward at the hospital in Mbale where he is recovering from a very near death experience brought on by malnutrition. His Mom, HIV+, is a client at the NGO. She was in the center a few weeks ago visiting with her counselor who, after making inquiry with the client about her child, decided she should do a home visit to check on the baby. When she arrived at the home she found Sebi desperately ill, his body completely swollen. She immediately had him brought in to the hospital. It was found that he was starving to death; he has TB, and is HIV+. Treatment was started and little Sebi has made quite a miraculous recovery in a very short period of time. Today while visiting, the counselor said as recent as last week he could not raise his arms, so she was sure delighted to see that he was reaching for me and my hand as I tried to take a picture of him for her files. It’s pretty clear that this sweet young counselor, maybe 20ish herself, helped to save this little one’s life. She said she cried for 2 days after discovering baby in such a state a couple weeks ago. Today, in balance, was a very good day for her and little Sebi too.



This is Sebi’s older brother who is also staying at the hospital with his Mom and brother. There is no one to take care of him if he were to stay home. While Sebi recovers, his brother receives attention as well and Mom can learn about proper nutrition and care for her children. Here, big brother is proudly showing us what a hospital room looks like. It is quiet on the ward today, there are ‘only 8 children today… last week there were 17, many of whom have recovered and gone home’.



Here is another child I met today, taking longer to recover than Sebi. This little girl is 3 years old, very weak and outside of herself. Returning from bathing the child, who was dripping wet and whimpering when we met, Mom wanted to pose with her for a photo. After taking the picture I stood with them, compelled to speak softly to the little one and to rub her back between her shoulder blades as gently as I could manage. Literally within seconds she calmed, tucked in and fell to sleep in her Mother’s arms. Amen.



As the counselor and I were leaving the malnutrition ward these two caught my eye…the man, the Dad of this little patient was head to head with his son, gently speaking to the little one; the boy, perhaps afraid or maybe just feeling lousy was hiding in the safety of his Dad's arms. I found myself wanting to take a picture of them both in that moment, not understanding why they had captured my attention. Then I realized…this is the first time since I have been in Uganda that I have seen a man loving his sick child. How beautiful is that!

With Much Gratitude and Love,
Catherine

'Projects' Update

This past while one of the things I’ve been working on is an update for the ‘Projects’ page here on the website and today I’m happy to say Erynn has posted it for us. Thanks Erynn! If you click on ‘Projects’ above you can read about some of our actions taken and accomplishments achieved since my arrival in Uganda, as well as learn about inspirations we are now focusing on.




It seems like a good time to bring new and current information about ideas and projects going on here to people’s attention back home. I know in the west the 'Holiday Season' is fast approaching. Of course meaning different things to different people, for many it can be a time when the Light of Love and the Spirit of Giving and Gratitude can be present. Knowing there are some who want to expand their giving this year by remembering people I have shared about with you here, I invite you to check out the ‘Projects’ page to receive some ideas that may help you decide on how to proceed. Please know that I will happily help you fulfill any inspirations you have to give a hand up to someone here...now and during any season of the year!




I have written before about a deep need and desire for transformation concerning traditional charity and aid here in Uganda and I'm guessing, other countries in Africa. I have briefly mentioned how it appears that a metamorphosis is occurring in what I have called ‘supply and demand' aid in an earlier blog posting titled ‘A Conversation’.

I’m inspired these days to notice a little trend developing (around me at any rate!) that involves young locals, usually in their 20’s. You know when you find yourself in different contexts having the same conversation with others over and over…well, we are connecting about ideas and concepts concerning what I seem to be calling ‘community based holistic child care centers' (...bucking the trend here, I'm resisting the urge to establish an acronym just yet...!) Many of these young adults clearly see the need within their villages for local, community based grass roots organizations to form and develop with the intention to help the large number of orphan children and to address the huge concerns and pressures grandmothers and single mothers are presently striving to balance while caring for the children. Many I am meeting are discovering they could play a vital role in bringing solutions into creation!


HIV/AIDS has now been present here in Uganda for over 20 years and has resulted in tremendous growth in the number of orphans during that time. The young adults I am connecting with these days have grown up in similar environments we find very common right now and they are quick to say ‘against the odds they somehow made it’ to where they are today! (…to which lately, I hear myself replying something like…’In the Spirit of Perfect and Divine Order, you, having lived first hand in circumstances similar to many orphan children of today, know exactly what it was like for you, are probably very aware of the growing numbers and current situations for many, likely know what is needed now and ultimately, perhaps with direction, organization and help, may be perfectly poised to help raise the situation up…’)…and then I see them smile!

Those who are crossing my path lately are educated, employed (even if not in their specific field) and supporting themselves. In our conversations they are showing bright inspiration and eagerness to join/lead in taking action based in Love and integrity to uplift circumstances for others, to discover ideas and methods from within that can address the orphan children / single mother / grandmother issues and guide them and their communities forward onto self-sustainability, self determination etc…it's like they’ve been waiting for the moment… similar perhaps to how I feel about being here right now…it’s exciting and extremely creative! I sense there are wonderfully uplifting times coming into sight on the horizon!



Remember to check out the updated ‘Projects’ page...and...
do you occasionally turn up your volume and listen to ‘IZ’ singing when you visit the site…? '...What A Wonderful World'!
Loving you,
Cath

Meet Namulumbi and Namumbia!

As ‘Namulumbi’,’she who is second harvest and ensures that all the people, especially children, do not starve’ I am pleased to introduce you to my tribe member ‘Namumbia’.



When ‘Namumbia’ is not busy ‘coordinating families and making sure all children are being cared for’ she can usually be found dressed as a muzungu, answering to ‘Irish’ and ( most recently ) in Mbale volunteering alongside me at the NGO until her departure, today!

My friend and I have seen and appreciated so many beautiful new sights together...we've put in many miles bouncing alongside one another and received several spinal adjustments in land cruisers and on the backs of bodas…shared huge laughs resulting in tears rolling down our faces and the complete loss of our collective composure…looked on sensitively and completely understood the other during those moments when seeing little children, youths and adults suffering, or witnessing impoverished living conditions and circumstances became momentarily overwhelming…felt like impostors sitting at head tables and through many a juncture at events and gatherings…deferred the required speech at the end of an event to the other (oh, maybe that was just me who did that!) …crawled around side by side on the ground playing cars and puzzles with the little HIV clients in the child care center while their caregivers and parents looked on in astonishment at the 2 muzungu's…learned to communicate with each other in the local vernacular with phrases including ‘ehhhhh’, ‘shure’, ‘Howareyou’ and ‘Iamfine’…and, danced our way 'African style' as Namulumbi and Namumbia into the NGO's Monday morning staff meeting causing uproarious laughter and even a few tears…!



Thank you Eyelash…You have been just about the best volunteer sister I could have imagined having the pleasure to work, eat, live, sightsee, laugh, cry and extend Love and Compassion to others alongside…



Until the next plate of matooke then…



I’m a Mac…and you my girl, are a great PC!

Many Blessings to you,
Cuckoo...I mean KuKu!

('Kuku' is 'Grandmother' in Lugishu...a name the children at the Sironko Orphanage have taken to calling me..! Hmmmm! :)

Return To Morning

A couple days ago I accompanied a counselor from the NGO on outreach to follow up our previous visit to child headed households. (You can read about my first visit in a earlier posting called ‘Child Headed Households’).



First we visited Naume’s home…you may recall, she is the girl in Primary 5 (maybe 11 years old?) who we had left money with to have her school uniform sewed by a tailor in her village. When we arrived, there was no one at the property. The children in primary are in final exams right now as the school year is ending in December so their schedules are different than usual. We learned from neighbors that the children were likely at the market close by. News spreads quickly and soon Naume, with a huge grin on her face came running up and, after kneeling her hello to me, threw her arms around me in a big embrace! A happy and heart filled moment indeed! See here how ‘smart’ (a very Ugandan way of describing someone who looks great in their clothes ) Naume looks holding up her new uniform. This visit, we left a pen and scribblers for her and gave her a little more money to have a new blouse sewed to complete her uniform. There is a long list of needs that this child family has…it feels like I have only just begun my association with them.



From Naume’s we traveled to see Morning and his family once again. At the compound I was greeted by 3 children sleeping on the ground (in the photo can you see how the middle child has encephalitis or ?), an older woman sitting nearby, and soon Grandmother (who we had met last visit) came around from somewhere. Morning was not there, or at least did not show himself. Older sister Betty, the 16 year old primary caregiver at this property, was not present either. We learned from Grandmother that she had gone in to the market to sell some of the maize they eat to survive, in order to buy salt and soap.







I learned a little more about the children’s story. After their parents both died (I'm not sure when that was) relatives split up the children taking them here and there. The oldest sister, Betty, heard that the little ones (I think there are 3, including Morning) were sad, crying, being mis-treated and not cared for. She took it upon herself to gather together her younger siblings and bring them back to the land and hut their parents had left behind. Once they had all returned their paternal Grandmother came to stay with them, perhaps not so much to help out but rather to have a place to stay. This increased Betty’s work load and concerns to provide for them all. Lately, Betty’s auntie has dropped off her 3 children without food or money, we are not sure for how long…



Perfect timing prevailed and we met up with Betty just as we were leaving. When she saw we were there, like Naume she came running up grinning a big smile and embraced me, her Spirit exuding beautiful Joy and Light. This is one incredibly strong girl who is so obviously filled with Grace and Love as she appears to completely accept her circumstances and spends her time searching for ways to care for everyone around her.



This is by far the situation that I have come to understand requires the most immediate focus of our Love. I understand now, that is what Morning was telling me the first time I met them. Including Naume and her siblings, these 2 child families are at the top of my UPLIFT NOW list. As I learn more I will continue to share…



With Love,
Cath

Some photo info, all taken at Betty and Morning's...

~Look at the wonderful artwork on the inside wall of their hut.

~Those are dried cow peas in the bowl and a chicken roosting on the floor below.

~Can you see their toothbrushes in the rafters by the door?

~And here, of course, is our Beloved Betty.

Source Of The Nile!

I have just returned from a couple days in Jinja, a town some 150K SW of Mbale. Sitting on the beautiful shores of Lake Victoria and considered by some to be at ‘The Source Of The River Nile’ (… both Burundi and Rwanda also claim ‘the source’ …) Jinja attracts a great number of muzungu tourists, volunteers and business people. Reading my travel book I learned that Jinja has large Indian and Asian communities ( many Asians who left during the Amin years have now returned ) and because of it’s tremendous wealth and power throughout many years, it was spared destruction during the civil war. There is a street overlooking the beginning of the River Nile as it branches off from Lake Victoria that is lined with huge mansions and is opposite a golf course…yes, a 9 hole! I noticed a few locals there, not playing, but rather resting on the grass in the shade of the huge trees that line the fairways…! Fore! Quite a change from where I have been so far…




I stayed in a hotel on the shores of Lake Victoria, the scenery from my balcony very beautiful, the 360 degree sunset on the evening of my arrival absolutely stunning! While in the dining room and the lobby I had this recurring feeling of being a British Aristocrat in, say, the early to mid 1900’s…THAT was quite interesting!



I arrived at the hotel in the afternoon and was very quickly whisked off for a boat ride to visit the spot where the River Nile begins. After checking out the captain and sensing I'd be ok I boarded a boat that had ‘Ugandan Prisons’? painted on the side...



I felt a bit like a runaway explorer especially as we glided up on to the rocky shore of a small island and I climbed the concrete monument there that marks the spot…’Land ho…and all that! How brilliant! I do believe this is exactly where the River Nile begins…!’

Some Jinja observations…
I saw many whites in Jinja, but I found that most of them didn’t want to have any eye contact or conversation. I was wondering about it and brought it up with a Mennonite man from the US who shared my table in a restaurant. Although I had noticed ‘trekkers and business men’ types, I was sensing that most visitors were in Jinja for humanitarian reasons. I asked the gentleman if this was the case and if so then ‘Where, could he tell me, was the Love…?’ He said yes, most visitors are there for humanitarian reasons and he explained that during his several years experience in the area he has found that 'sticking to oneself' has something to do with the fact that most whites in Jinja are with ‘faith based’ orgs from the west. They can be reluctant to mix with each other because they may not be from the same faith and can be seen as challengers to each other! Wow ~ Interesting and educational for me...I had not encountered this particular kind of ‘competition in the workplace’ before!



There is great western food in Jinja…Imagine, during my stay I enjoyed an iced latte, a chicken wrap, spanish omelet, and wow…penne with spicy ham in a cream sauce and a side salad! Yummy!

In the evening, fishermen place little lights (kerosene) on the lake to mark the spots where their nets are and to attract the lake flies who then attract the fish, mainly telapia and the infamous nile perch. The little lights are truly spectacular...hundreds (thousands?) of stars dancing on the lake all night.



Directly outside my balcony, bats put on quite a show and right on Hallowe’en too! How absolutely ‘scary’ and fun!!! (Native Medicine…Bats signify ’Death and Rebirth’…everything fits perfectly!) There was a specific type of palm tree by the water and a few more around the other side of the hotel that the bats rested in during the day and then promptly at twilight they flew off across the water….hundreds if not a couple thousand of them took to the air… remarkable! In the morning they returned and crammed themselves back into the trees for a sleep, being mindful to stay in the shade and out of sight from the hawks that circled above…!
(Hawk Medicine...'Perspective and Messenger')



There are these fantastic rapid type falls called Bujagali Falls about 9K outside of town. I met a few young guys there who are in the habit of throwing themselves into the water (with a jerry can stuffed with leaves in the hole for a stopper that they use as a floatation device) and riding the falls for a cash donation from tourists. Having been notified in advance of this dangerous dive I took the advice of my travel book and offered a donation to the diver who approached me if he DIDN'T jump in! I remained peaceful, he was greatly amused AND lived to tell of it too! All good!



The ‘High Light’ for me in Jinja was a visit to a memorial for Mahatma Gandhi…in Uganda? you say? Well, after his death in 1948 Gandhi’s ashes were apparently divided up and sent to many locations around the world to be scattered. I feel very Blessed to have visited and communed with the location at the Source of the River Nile where some of his ashes were immersed.


Gandhi ‘Apostle Of Peace And Non-Violence’ is a remarkable teacher for me.


I particularly feel specially connected with him this year! This past April on the morning of my 50th birthday, I awoke to decorations and inspirational sayings all around my home that a loving friend (Bless you...) had put up for me in the wee hours of the night. How ever moving at the time, in April I did not know that I would be here in Uganda these 6 months later, so... the experience of sitting on the shore of the River Nile pondering such things, a bronzed statue of Mahatma over my shoulder, his energy and memory all around, was surely full of deep meaning and inspiration for me...I could almost hear his wonderful voice saying...



In Peace, Joy and Love Love Love,
Catherine