Hello From Uganda

Hi! I was so excited to read everyone's comments and questions. There were so many which is great and I will try to answer as many as I can.

I am thrilled to now be in Uganda with all my friends. I am now staying with my friend Veronica. We have been friends for six years. She was the manager of the project that takes care of my sponsored children, Maria & Peter. Now, she works here in the main city of Kampala for World Vision head quarters. Her house is simple. There is no tub or shower. Instead we fill a bucket with water and I cup my hands and splash water on myself to bathe. Then I bend down and stick my whole head in the bucket. It took some getting used to but I am now used to it. We buy our food fresh in the market every day. The picture I attached in the banana market near our house. The electricity in her house works sometimes, but not always. We have not had power for two days, so we are using gas lanterns at night. I also sleep under a mosquito net which keeps me safe from malaria. Malaria is a disease that many people get here. It can make you very sick and some die, so it is very serious. Don't worry though I have medicine that keeps me safe from the disease.

Each day I come into the city and go to Corner Stone. Corner Stone is a ministry for street orphans. These orphans are taken off the street and given a home to live in where other Ugandan ladies take care of them. Right now I am just building relationships with them so they feel comfortable with me. Next week I will tutor some of the students in small groups in English. I will also just be their friend and play games with them. It is very exciting to be positive adult in thier lives. I have met many, many people who are now adults working at Corner Stone who were once orphans themselves. Now because of Corner Stone, they are living good lives. Isn't that exciting! I know some of you wanted to be pen pals and I may be able to set that up, but for now I need to concentrate on just gaining thier trust and creating relationships with them myself. I will keep you posted.

As for animals, I see a lot of chickens, goats and cattle. They roam around where I live, so I see them everyday. The other kinds of animals like giraffe, lions and monkeys are only in the game parks, so I don't see them.

I wish I could send lots of pictures but I am on dial up and it is VERY SLOW to just do one picture. However, I will show you lots and lots when I get back in the fall!

I miss you all! I am glad you are working hard on your tests! I know you will do great!

Ms. MIller

A Change In Plans

Greetings everyone! It has been a crazy couple of days for me. I saw James on Wednesday night after he arrived in Nairobi and told him about all the wonderful messages of condolences SL had sent. It is still a shock to his family, but he wanted me to thank you all so much! The books that we sent for his school are still at the Mombassa port and have been held up by the government. We are hopeful that they will be released by early May. Keep your fingers crossed! This week James also received a call from the US immigration lawyer about his remaining niece and nephew he plans to bring to the US. There were some issues with their paperwork, so James had to rush back to the United States on Wednesday night. Therefore, sadly, I will not be able to go out to Kiisi to see James’ school. That also meant that I had nowhere to stay in Kenya for the last two weeks of April, so I went to the Kenyan Airways ticket counter and changed my ticket.

Last Friday, I left Kenya for Uganda. I am now at Corner Stone, an organization that helps orphaned and vulnerable children in Kampala (the main city). I am trying to get settled in my new place. I am staying at a guesthouse with some other Ugandan Corner Stone volunteers. Although last night I was the only one there. Everything is very different from the United States and takes some time to get used to. Here is one example:

When I finally got to Corner Stone, it was getting dark and I wanted to start making dinner. The kitchen is communal which is new for me. That means that everyone shares the kitchen. All night I heard the security coming in for tea. Anyway, back to my dinner experience. First I tried to turn on the lights—they didn’t work. The security guard told me that there was some electrical problem with those lights, so I turned on the lights in the neighboring room and used my flashlight. Then I got out the ingredients and began to look for cooking pots, pans and utensils. The cupboards were bare. There was nothing. I mean nothing except for a fork, two butter knives, 6 mugs and 6 plates. All the dishes had little bugs crawling on them, so I chose to hold my sandwich and eat a banana. Then I went to bed. I just lay there wondering how I was going to live here for 35 days until Simon came back. I am staying with Simon and his family when they get back from visiting their family in the US. I am hoping to stay with Veronica, a World Vision friend, if I can. I know how American this sounds to be thrown by this evening experience, but I guess we all have our breaking points.

After that night, I decided to stay with my friend Veronica. She takes care of my World Vision children. She has a 3 room house that is full of love but very simple. I wash over a small bucket. It is always a crazy thing to try to wash my hair. I eat Matooke, a cross between mashed potatoes and bananas. I wake to the sound of roosters and drink a lot of tea. It is different but so lovely!

I am excited to start working with the children on Monday. I know that will be a great experience!! I will keep you posted. I hope you all are enjoying school and that it is getting warmer!

Ms. Miller

Change Is A Way Of Life

Jambo! It was so great to hear from so many of you at Susan Lindgren. Thank you for reading my blog. It was especially nice to hear from my class. Tommy, I will try to get a picture of that monkey and Duncan, I can definetly find a chicken. Chickens are everywhere! Chickens are how many people get eggs. They go out in the morning and check the hens nest for eggs. Then they bring them in and cook them. Usually they fry the eggs in oil and they are very tasty. Of course, they also kill chickens and eat them for dinner.

I thought it might be fun to hear what a typical day in Africa is like. (If there is such a thing.) I usually get up around 7 am to the sound of loud cackling birds. Can you figure out what time it is in Minnesota when I am getting up here in Kenya? The birds are quite loud so it is hard to sleep once they start their cackling. Then I get myself ready for the day. They don’t have showers here, but they do have bathtubs. It makes bathing a very relaxing experience.

Then I usually eat toast and Kenyan tea for breakfast. Kenya is known for its tea. Much of the world’s tea supply is grown here. Kenyan tea is always boiled with milk and then they add a couple spoonfuls of sugar. It is fantastic. All forks, spoons, knives, plates, vegetables, and containers of anything must be washed in a mixture of water and bleach. The bleach kills the germs that our American systems cannot digest. It keeps someone like me very healthy.

I usually spend my days at the University either helping professors or helping students. Today I wrote an overview of a new masters program they are developing. They were looking for someone to take all the information and create a summary of it. I also help students by editing their papers. English is their second language, so they often need help. You guys know how much I love writing, so this is fun for me!

In the evening, I either go out with friends to some Kenyan restaurant or I make dinner here with friends. Kenyan food is very good. They eat something called Ugali. Ugali is a sticky (think of the consistency of play dough) white food made of corn meal. Many Kenyans love to eat it with goat meat, beef or chicken. There is a red gravy sauce. They also love to eat spinach cut up in small pieces with tomatoes and onions. That is a favorite dish too.

I do not watch TV here instead I spend the evening talking to people and hearing their stories. That is a very important way of life here. It honors someone to hear their story. People talk about their relatives, their childhood, their favorite experiences or their friends. This part of the day is my favorite part. Then at about 10:00 I got to bed.

Update on James:

Thank you so much for all your condolences for James nephew. It has been hard for their family, but your thoughts and prayers really helped lift his spirits. He is still planning on adopting the 2 remaining children and is working with the government here in Kenya and in the US to do that. James just received word that the immigration officer in the US needs some paper work to help the children come to the US, so James may be leaving for the United States this week. If that happens, I will change my plane ticket and leave for Uganda this week. Life is always changing and one moment is always different than the last. Flexibility is key! I also included a picture of where I am staying.

I hope you guys are enjoying warmer weather. Mr. Feige told me that he loves to play basketball so challenge him to a game!

Miss you all!
Ms. Miller

Daystar University

Jambo everyone! I spent this week at the Athi River Campus of Daystar University this week. Athi River is about 40 minutes outside of Nairobi. It was fun to see all the students our church supports there. They are studying hard. I am so proud of all they are accomplishing. (I hope you all are continuing to work hard for Mr. Feige!) The students at Daystar come from all kinds of backgrounds. Some of the students are from wealthy Kenyan families; some are working a year-studying a year-then working a year, and most are orphans who are being sponsored by someone else. Many students are orphaned in Kenya due to malaria and AIDS. It makes it difficult for them to attend school, so it is very exciting when churches, organizations and individual donors can help them.

Friday, I came back to the Nairobi campus of Daystar University where many of their Masters and PHD students are studying. I met one man named Majok. He is getting his Masters in Education and then returning to Sudan to be in charge of education for the southern province of Sudan. There is war in his country so he is hoping to go back and through education create peace. It was very inspiring to talk to him.

I will be heading out to see James on Tuesday. (Hopefully!) James had something sad happen to his family. His nephew died suddenly and they are having the funeral this week so things are quite busy for James. This nephew and his sister were orphans, as James’ brother died in a bus accident last year. James was in the process of adopting this nephew and his sister, so his death was devastating. Please keep James and his family in your thoughts and prayers. When all is settled with James, I will head out to Ogembo where he lives. It takes 8 hours by bus to get there over very rough road. There is little electricity, so I may not be able to write you as often, but I will try.

It is sunny and hot here everyday and rains most afternoons. I like the rain here. It smells like fresh flowers and cut grass. It makes me smile.

I hope you are working hard and enjoying school. I miss you!!

Ms. Miller

I Have Arrived!

It was a long, long, long flight, but finally on Monday evening I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya. ( Can you find where I am on the map?) Kenya is 8 hours ahead of Minnesota, so I am now getting used to the time change. (Can you figure out what time it is in Kenya right now?)

It has rained every day I have been here, which is okay because it is so hot and the flowers are all so beautiful. Kenya is so close to the equator that there are only two seasons—rainy and dry. We are now at the end of the rainy season. Right now I am thinking that 80 degrees and rain beats 30 degrees and snow!

This week I have been at Daystar University in Athi River. Athi River is about 30 minutes outside of the capitol city of Nairobi. The University is located out in the countryside and has about 4,000 students. My church pays the tuition for four students who have been orphaned and could not go to college otherwise.

Yesterday, I was able to spend time with one of the students we support. Her name is Dartiva. In the picture she is the one in the blue dress right next to me. Dartiva’s mother and father both died when she was young, so she lived alone with her brothers. Her life was hard and the family often struggled to get enough food and pay for their school fees. Remember that every student has to pay for their education. School is not free like it is in the United States. So, Dartiva struggled to have enough money to go to school. When she was still in primary school, World Vision began helping her. Her sponsors paid for her to go to school and she was a very good student. Being educated meant everything to her. It meant that she would be able to get a job and provide for herself and her family. She did so well in high school that she was accepted to Daystar University. It was one of the happiest days of her life. My church then decided to pay her tuition so Darvita’s dream could come true.

Darvita is studying Community Development which teaches you how to help communities in need. She will graduate next year and then she wants to go back to Uganda and work for World Vision helping other communities develop solutions to their problems. She wants to help other kids that are orphaned and poor just like she was. Isn’t that great?!

It is exciting that Dartiva has been helped by people that care about kids in need around the world, but there are still other students who do not have anyone to help them. The girl on the far right in the yellow shirt is named Debora. She is smart and gets very good grades, but now has to drop out of college because she cannot pay her tuition. She is working two jobs and trying everything she can but it is not enough. Her mother is very sick and her father has been out of work for some time. Debora told me her story and it made me very sad. It is sad that there are so many smart hardworking kids who will not be able to go to college. I plan on asking the adults I know to help come up with the money to help her. What do you think should be done for students like Debora?

(If you know of anyone who might want to help Debora Omuyaku (student # 05-0247), you can call the US Daystar office at 952-928-2550)

It has been very hard for me to get an internet connection, so it may be some time before I can post another blog entry.

I miss you! Ms. Miller