it's time.
(may seem a little jumbled, but o well)
africa.
the flights (15 hours or so?) in were actually pretty enjoyable. good conversations with friends, mostly. uncomfortable sleeping, but that's to be expected.
we stayed a night in ethiopia before flying into uganda, and driving to jinja. we landed in ethiopia in the evening, it was cold and rainy, we were tired, and just wanted to be comfortable. our hotel was nice, it had the basics. we actually all got our own rooms, but most of us girls ended up sharing rooms, anyway. we were pretty much located in the slums of the city, which gave some people a creepy vibe. in the morning most of us were in better spirits.
on the flight into uganda, i sat and talked with a man in the marines, who does humanitarian work overseas (mostly food aid). i liked talking with him.
the drive from entebbe to jinja was beautiful. i took a dramamine, though, so i was kind of out for some of it.
as soon as we pulled into our village, kids along the little dirt road and mud huts started waving like crazy, and running beside the bus. what a welcome!
the house/complex we stayed in was wonderful. Sam and Nancy Tushabe's house. we had seperate little 'huts' (but very nice, clean, comfortable, with bathrooms and running water and everything) to sleep in, and a courtyard, and the family's house where we ate, all surrounded by a wall. very pretty.
speed up: we met the AOET (african orphan education trust) staff, saw the various facilities (children's village, medical clinics, schools, trade schools). so incredible. it made a big impact on me, getting to hear about what AOET is doing from nancy and sam themselves. i felt empowered, and proud to be working with them.
speed up more: we are told that we are in fact building a playground. where do we get materials? how do we do this? we still need to figure out things with the sports camp. we're still not sure about the timeline of our three weeks, or our exact budget capabilities. another problem: the field still hasn't been graded. sam asked the grader to come months ago, and he's paid them twice. we can't really do much work there til it's been graded. we pray.
field is graded! finally. after sam has paid them thrice and is told he will get a refund. the grader, sadly, did a poor job. the field is still not level, and there are rocks and chunks of clay everywhere. but we work with what we have.
we are also doing some work in the medical clinic, organizing, putting medicine packets together, doing bookkeeping, and so forth. we also get to work in mobile clinics, when some staff, medicine, and HIV testing supplies are driven to a more remote location for the people in that village to get medical attention. there are no CVS stores, so sometimes people just need eardrops. most people need multivitamins. some people need malaria medicine, or medicine to help with whatever form their AIDS has manifested itself (if they've tested positive). there is a 'front desk' station, a testing station, a counselling station, and a medicine station. the people are very patient. sometimes we have to leave before we've gotten to everyone. they'll wait, and return the next time (maybe in a week or two).
we meet with AOET's primary school's principal, earnest, as well as with some other staff, to plan the sports camp. Rehaboth school has grades nursery through primary 7. about 400 children. we will run camp for 5 days, during the students' mini-break after exams. there are about 16 of us, but some of us may be doing construction on the playground at that time. we may also have some school faculty members help us on the days their classes are with us. we decide that each class will come twice over the 5 days, and organize the classes so that we don't have too many at once. we have one group for half a day, they get lunch, and then we get a new group for the second half. through out the day, we also have 'glucose' (we called it the 'crack-snack') to give to the students. it's just powdered sugar in boxes that we pour into the kids' hands. they love it. we also have a basic theme for the week, that comes in two parts (for their two sessions in camp): God's love is strong, and God love makes me strong. we have planned various games, songs, lessons and activities fitting (hopefully) for the age groups.
....
more to come ;D
africa.
the flights (15 hours or so?) in were actually pretty enjoyable. good conversations with friends, mostly. uncomfortable sleeping, but that's to be expected.
we stayed a night in ethiopia before flying into uganda, and driving to jinja. we landed in ethiopia in the evening, it was cold and rainy, we were tired, and just wanted to be comfortable. our hotel was nice, it had the basics. we actually all got our own rooms, but most of us girls ended up sharing rooms, anyway. we were pretty much located in the slums of the city, which gave some people a creepy vibe. in the morning most of us were in better spirits.
on the flight into uganda, i sat and talked with a man in the marines, who does humanitarian work overseas (mostly food aid). i liked talking with him.
the drive from entebbe to jinja was beautiful. i took a dramamine, though, so i was kind of out for some of it.
as soon as we pulled into our village, kids along the little dirt road and mud huts started waving like crazy, and running beside the bus. what a welcome!
the house/complex we stayed in was wonderful. Sam and Nancy Tushabe's house. we had seperate little 'huts' (but very nice, clean, comfortable, with bathrooms and running water and everything) to sleep in, and a courtyard, and the family's house where we ate, all surrounded by a wall. very pretty.
speed up: we met the AOET (african orphan education trust) staff, saw the various facilities (children's village, medical clinics, schools, trade schools). so incredible. it made a big impact on me, getting to hear about what AOET is doing from nancy and sam themselves. i felt empowered, and proud to be working with them.
speed up more: we are told that we are in fact building a playground. where do we get materials? how do we do this? we still need to figure out things with the sports camp. we're still not sure about the timeline of our three weeks, or our exact budget capabilities. another problem: the field still hasn't been graded. sam asked the grader to come months ago, and he's paid them twice. we can't really do much work there til it's been graded. we pray.
field is graded! finally. after sam has paid them thrice and is told he will get a refund. the grader, sadly, did a poor job. the field is still not level, and there are rocks and chunks of clay everywhere. but we work with what we have.
we are also doing some work in the medical clinic, organizing, putting medicine packets together, doing bookkeeping, and so forth. we also get to work in mobile clinics, when some staff, medicine, and HIV testing supplies are driven to a more remote location for the people in that village to get medical attention. there are no CVS stores, so sometimes people just need eardrops. most people need multivitamins. some people need malaria medicine, or medicine to help with whatever form their AIDS has manifested itself (if they've tested positive). there is a 'front desk' station, a testing station, a counselling station, and a medicine station. the people are very patient. sometimes we have to leave before we've gotten to everyone. they'll wait, and return the next time (maybe in a week or two).
we meet with AOET's primary school's principal, earnest, as well as with some other staff, to plan the sports camp. Rehaboth school has grades nursery through primary 7. about 400 children. we will run camp for 5 days, during the students' mini-break after exams. there are about 16 of us, but some of us may be doing construction on the playground at that time. we may also have some school faculty members help us on the days their classes are with us. we decide that each class will come twice over the 5 days, and organize the classes so that we don't have too many at once. we have one group for half a day, they get lunch, and then we get a new group for the second half. through out the day, we also have 'glucose' (we called it the 'crack-snack') to give to the students. it's just powdered sugar in boxes that we pour into the kids' hands. they love it. we also have a basic theme for the week, that comes in two parts (for their two sessions in camp): God's love is strong, and God love makes me strong. we have planned various games, songs, lessons and activities fitting (hopefully) for the age groups.
....
more to come ;D