This weekend we were assigned to a home stay on a compound that houses a young woman's discipleship program (January through July), and a boarding school/orphanage for children through primary 7. Our host was the house mom that lives in the simple dormitories with the young women alongside one of the past students who has now joined the program as a teacher and fundraiser (they are working to become self sustainable by selling crafts). Despite our insistence to be treated as locals, rather than visitors, and to do life alongside our hosts, we were given specialties at meal time that are less common to this compound. We did however take part in preparing and cooking all the meals as well as walking to the local market to pick up fresh produce.The majority of meals here are composed of a combination of beans, rice, matoke (a green, starchy banana), and/or g-nut sauce (the local nut here) and then porridge is served for breakfast (with bananas if affordable). That is how they do it here; very simple and a staple to the average family. Food is a means of survival and here we eat to sustain ourselves. More time is spent cooking the meals than eating them. We enjoyed matoke and cabbage and the ground nut sauce in addition to rice and beans in different combinations throughout the week and as we aided in preparing the meals we found it could take up to three hours for the entire prep and cooking process. Breakfast is when you wake up, lunch around 1 and then we don't take dinner until about 8 at the earliest due to the long prep time. Of course these times are always flexible as that is how we work here; always ready to adjust our schedules. Beans and rice can be pretty tasty if you prepare it as the locals do with a sort of camp fire aroma added to the flavor, however, day after day it can become more bland. The kitchen is very commonly separate form the house because if all the smoke that fills the shed. We prep inside by the sink and always cook in the shack-like kitchen area over wood or charcoal. It is amazing that locals can stand the smoke and heat that fills the room as they stand over the fire for hours and that they can grab and transport the hot pans with bare hands as if they we carrying an empty mixing bowl. I am continually Impressed.
The sweet orphans and borders with which we shared a compound over the weekend just stole my heart. Most of them matched in their maroon little outfits (the littlest ones sporting a more tattered uniform as they tend to be more messy and rowdy during play). I joined them for several games of duck-duck-goose as well as the local version of Down-by-the-banks. Squatting for such a long duration during these games finally took its toll on my knees but lucky for me the kiddos like to choose their new white friend as the "goose" more often than not. Throughout the weekend no matter where we were on the compound, the littlest ones always managed to find Emily and I with our host friends. And even if there were no games to be played at that time the children just liked a little extra attention and love which we were so happy to give.
Boarding school is extremely common here for children especially once they reach their secondary education but this school began boarding at primary 1 grade which is for children around 5 or 6 years of age. This system helps families in the village or even in town who do not have time or resources to get their children to and from school everyday (including Saturdays here). And then the orphaned children are able to be educated through primary school as well. These thirty or forty orphans all come from very poor families and most likely lost one or both of their parents from AIDS. It may be possible that they do have a living parent but this parent is most likely too poor to afford any food or shelter for their child or children. While I would just have loved to scoop all of these orphaned children up and bring them home, I was happy to see that this institution did take good care of their little ones and even gave them an opportunity at some education. It was exciting to hear that local village churches were the main supporters for these orphans, taking initiative to care for their orphans as we are called to do.
See were I spent my weekend:
Here are our lovely host sisters who taught us to cook, clean and live life the Ugandan way.
Here is the "bell" that they have created below the rows of classrooms. An older child will hit this bell with whatever utensil he has available at break and meal times.
Some children returning with staff to the main building that holds all the bunks that sleeps the kids and staff.
Here are two of the sweet little ones who would sneak into the common room and distract me from our sewing projects.
This is a view of the green grass plot where the boys like to play soccer on the compound.
Above is my view from inside the kitchen area as I was watching the water boil over the wood fire. The kitchen helpers are scooping out rice and beans into the orange buckets for the orphans and boarders.
Here the staff is serving out the lunch and beans just outside the school buildings.
I have now been here for more than five weeks but continue to learn something new every single day. Please continue to pray for this learners and servants heart as I begin spending more time at the OURs rehab clinic assisting in physical therapy. I will also be visiting the hospital to see where I can be supporting their therapy staff with pediatrics once a week as well as I will be spending 2-4 days a month at the eye center that treats children with cancer of the eye in efforts to reach out to the hundred of children going through chemotherapy every month. Thank you all for your continued support and contact me via imessage or facebook or email if you have any questions or want to catch up!
I can receive letters and small packages here at our PO BOX, though they may take 3-6 weeks to get here! Here is our mail box address:
PO Box 547
Mbarara, Uganda
East Africa
