Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Living Day to Day
Today, I experienced the greatest rainstorm of my life. Suddenly the sky became dark and the rain came so heavy and the wind so powerful I thought it might blow the windows in. Luckily, it passed over in about 20 minutes or so. It was my first real tropical storm. Whenever it rains here the people say today it is “winter.” It always makes me giggle inside as we know winter as something much, much, much colder.
I am also getting used to eating rice, beans, matooke (a cross between bananas and mashed potatoes) every day. We usually eat the same meal every day. There is very little variety mostly because the food is inexpensive to cook and because they really love it. It is amazing after two months how I am actually starting to crave it too. However, there are restaurants here too. Sometimes I treat myself to a “western” meal. They have a good hamburger place and great Indian food.
This weekend I went somewhere special. A Ugandan friend of mine is getting married this October and there are some traditional ceremonies that the couple goes through before the marriage ceremony. One of the ceremonies is called the Introduction Ceremony—this is the English word for it. It has a name in Lugandan but I don’t remember what it is. During this ceremony, the couple go back to the village that the girl’s family is from. The whole family gets dressed in traditional clothing and is formally introduced to the boyfriend. The man must bring gifts for each member of the family to show respect for the family. Then the father and the whole clan must approve of the marriage. Then there is music, dancing and lots of food. It is rare for a westerner to be invited to an Introduction Ceremony, so I feel very honored. I traveled about 4 hours to the village and then stayed there overnight. It was an amazing experience. I have uploaded the pictures on my web site http://picasaweb.google.com/kari.lisa101271/
I am still teaching English to the street orphans and really enjoying getting to know them. I have also been involved with a group of 100 widows who are refugees from the war zone in the north. I am helping them get some land to live on. It feels really good to be helping them.
I hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend! School is almost out!! I hope you enjoy your last couple of weeks!
Much love,
Ms. Miller
Monday, May 14, 2007
My Life This Week
What a beautiful week in Uganda! It is so green here! It usually rains each night and then is bright and sunny all day. It is hot and humid, but I am getting used to it. The other thing I am getting used to is the transportation system. They drive on the opposite side of the road then we do in the US. Also, there are no traffic lights or stop signs, so cars, trucks and mini-busses drive wherever they can. It can be quite dangerous, so I have to be very careful to always be on the lookout. One interesting type of transportation they have here is the boda boda. Boda bodas are motorcycles/motorbikes that you can ride on the back of to any destination in the city. There are no helmets and the drivers drive anywhere they can find a space, so they may drive on the sidewalk, on the median or in between other vehicles. About 20 people are hurt on boda bodas each day. I have only ridden one 3 times and try to avoid it. It is the cheapest form of transportation at about $0.25 a ride, which is why they are so popular.
I am very busy every day doing a lot of different things. For example, on Monday I spent the morning at World Vision, a non-governmental organization that helps widows, orphans and the poorest of the poor. I met with the sponsorship coordinator and set up my visit to see Maria and Peter, my sponsored kids. Then I went over to the Corner stone office for the weekly organizational meeting. At this meeting we confirm what we will be doing during the week. At the end of each day I usually take a taxi back to my friend Veronica’s house where I am staying. On Tuesday, I went to the boys Youth Core Home for street orphans and spent half the day teaching English. They do not know very many words, so it is a big challenge for me. Later that afternoon, I went to the Corner Stone office to work on a project with the manager for the Gulu area. Gulu is where the fighting is the worst. They are trying to save the children there and to raise awareness of what is happening so I am helping Laker (La kay) organize his photographs into an ibook scrapbook. On Wednesday, I went out to the International School to spend some time with the teachers and students there. Then back to Corner Stone office to work on the Gulu project. For dinner that evening I went out with some interns who had grown up in the youth core homes and are now successful adults. It was exciting to see how these orphans had been helped to create a better life for themselves. On Thursday I went to the girls Youth Core Home just to spend time with the girls there. I did not have a set plan or objective, I just wanted to create relationships with them. I had a great time! Thursday afternoon I went to the other side of the city to meet with a group of 100 widows. (See Picture) They are all refugees from the northern part of Uganda. About 30 of them are HIV positive and they all have their own children plus other orphans they are caring for. They are extremely poor and have trouble getting enough food to eat. I spent some time with them trying to encourage them. In seeing their great need, I will try to find people in the US who can support these widows. After the meeting I went to the huts of some of the widows. It was hard to see how much they struggle. Finally, on Friday I went back to the boys Youth Core Home to teach some more English. At the end of our time together, I taught them froggy murder, which I renamed Frog Catcher and they loved it!! Then I went back to the Corner Stone office to continue working on the iphoto book project with the Gulu coordinator, Laker. After we worked long and hard, Laker and I walked around the city and went to the only “American” restaurant here. It was great to eat some American food! I had fajitas, yum, yum!
So that is how I spend a majority of my weeks. The rest of May will be somewhat the same. Then in June I will go up to Gulu with Laker to see the children and women in the refugee camps.
How are you spending your days? I would love to hear from you so feel free to email me at kari.miller@usfamily.net
Keep up the good work!
Ms. Miller
Monday, May 7, 2007
A Busy Week In Uganda
It was so wonderful to hear from all of you at Susan Lindgren! It certainly sounds like you are studying hard and having a good time. I really appreciated your questions about my life here. Here are answers to some of your questions:
*What are the newscasters like? They have two different newscasts each night. One of the newscasts is in English and the other is in L’Ugandan, their local language. They report on the issues happening here in Uganda. Recently a beloved leader died suddenly and many people have been very sad about his death. They also report on good things that are happening here. One story was about a woman who was taking care of several orphans. They also discuss world news and sports. Soccer is the most popular sport here. They call is football. They do not have American football, but they do play rugby. One other interesting fact is that there is only one newscast on one channel.
*What kinds of rocks and minerals do they have here? I have no idea. To be truthful, I have spent all my time with orphans and have not had time to look for this kind of information. However, I can tell you that the soil is a deep rusty red and is extremely fertile. Many things grow easily here, as it is a tropical climate. The bananas and pineapples are AMAZING!! Yummy!!
*Update on the turkey: If you read my last blog, you found out that a 15-kilogram turkey was given to my friend. Can you figure out how heavy a 15-kilogram turkey is in pounds? Anyway, this turkey was tied up outside my house for five days. We fed the turkey and it was well kept. Every morning at 5:30 that turkey would gobble so loud. It was impossible to sleep once the turkey started talking. This Saturday, Patrick took the turkey out to the field and slaughtered it. The only way to get meat is to kill it yourself. I am definitely not used to seeing my dinner alive and then on my plate. It is weird to get used to, but they see it as a part of the life cycle. I will say the turkey was tasty.
I hope I answered your most pressing questions. Keep sending questions and responding to my blog. I really love hearing from you!
My life this week:
This last Wednesday I spent the morning with the staff at International Justice Mission. They are an organization of lawyers who are trying to help widows and orphans get their land and property back. There are currently 16 open cases. Most of the cases have to do with land grabbing. When parents or a spouse die, as they often do here, the land or property is sometimes taken by unscrupulous relatives or neighbors leaving the widow or orphans with no where to live. IJM is seeking to find justice for these widows and orphans. They win or mediate a favorable settlement for almost all of their cases. I will be spending some more time helping them create a way to teach villagers about wills and budgeting. Hopefully, my teaching skills will be well used.
Late Wednesday afternoon, I left with other Corner Stone staff to spend the night 3 hours away at the Leadership Academy for Young Men at what is called “the ranch.” It is called a ranch because there is a great herd of cattle there. They milk the cows and sell the milk in Kampala in order to pay for the operation of the Leadership Academy. The ranch also holds a primary and secondary school for the poorest children in the neighboring villages. My church supports 11 students at the secondary school. (Tommy isn’t that great!) I was fortunate enough to meet these beautiful girls and boys. We sat under an African shade tree and I told them how much those at our church loved them. I encouraged them to work hard and to stay focused. I told them how much God loves them and that they were created for a great purpose. They asked me lots of questions about my family, about America and about my church. Then we had lunch together. It was great to be with them.
The students also told me what they were learning on the ranch. The boys and girls talked about their excitement over finding a “family” to belong to. Many of these children are orphans and Corner Stone is now their family. It is a place where they belong and are loved. It was a beautiful moment of knowing and being known!
This Sunday Veronica, the friend I am staying with, and I met with some widows who are trying to create income for themselves by making lacquered jewelry. Ruth is the coordinator of a group of about 80 widows who are desperately trying to survive in Kampala. Thirty of them are HIV positive. Almost all of them are from the north where the fighting is the worst. We went to church with them and then spent the afternoon eating lunch with the pastor who is caring for this group of women. These widows are totally dependent on God and each other. I will meet with the whole group of widows on Thursday afternoon. I am sure there will be a story to tell.
On Monday, I will meet with some World Vision staff here in town and hopefully visit the abandon babies’ home. On Tuesday & Friday I will l return to the boys home to teach English to street orphans. I first went to the home for street orphans last Friday. Many of these children have been without parents since they were in 9 or 10. After losing their parents they lived alone on the street, which was very scary for them. Take a minute and think about how challenging it would be to be alone and find food and clothes. How would you feel if that happened to you? After some time, the staff of Corner Stone found them and brought them to the home. Many of the boys are excited to have a home and a new “family.” However, many of them made it through 3rd grade and have not gone to school since they found them selves out on the street. Most boys are between 12 & 18 so they are in desperate need of an education. I am one of the teachers who will try to help them get enough English proficiency to get a good job. The picture attached to this blog is of the boys at the home.
Like every other week here, anything can happen and probably will. It is interesting this week we have had more days with electricity, but they have shut off the water. We have had two days with no water. Apparently the landlord is feuding with one of the tenants so she is shutting off the water for everyone here. For the last 24 hours the water has been on so maybe the feud is over. Anyway, I am happy. I am beginning to feel like “I am home” and I am LOVING being with my friend Veronica. Last night we walked into town and went inside a simple wood structure to get a manicure and pedicure. As we sat there the whole community lost electricity. So this man was painting my toenails in the dark. It was quite an experience. Then we walked home under the light of the moon.
Well, I love hearing from you so feel free to email me. However, I am blocked from using my slp email address, so if you have been sending messages to that account I have not received them. If you wish to email me please send it to kari.miller@usfamily.net
Also, be sure to click the pictures link to see the newly added photos. I included pictures of IJM, the ranch, the girl’s leadership school, and Cornerstone. Enjoy! If you have time drop me an email. I love hearing what is happening in your life too!
Much love,
Ms. Miller
A Busy Week In Uganda
It was so wonderful to hear from all of you at Susan Lindgren! It certainly sounds like you are studying hard and having a good time. I really appreciated your questions about my life here. Here are answers to some of your questions:
*What are the newscasters like? They have two different newscasts each night. One of the newscasts is in English and the other is in L’Ugandan, their local language. They report on the issues happening here in Uganda. Recently a beloved leader died suddenly and many people have been very sad about his death. They also report on good things that are happening here. One story was about a woman who was taking care of several orphans. They also discuss world news and sports. Soccer is the most popular sport here. They call is football. They do not have American football, but they do play rugby. One other interesting fact is that there is only one newscast on one channel.
*What kinds of rocks and minerals do they have here? I have no idea. To be truthful, I have spent all my time with orphans and have not had time to look for this kind of information. However, I can tell you that the soil is a deep rusty red and is extremely fertile. Many things grow easily here, as it is a tropical climate. The bananas and pineapples are AMAZING!! Yummy!!
*Update on the turkey: If you read my last blog, you found out that a 15-kilogram turkey was given to my friend. Can you figure out how heavy a 15-kilogram turkey is in pounds? Anyway, this turkey was tied up outside my house for five days. We fed the turkey and it was well kept. Every morning at 5:30 that turkey would gobble so loud. It was impossible to sleep once the turkey started talking. This Saturday, Patrick took the turkey out to the field and slaughtered it. The only way to get meat is to kill it yourself. I am definitely not used to seeing my dinner alive and then on my plate. It is weird to get used to, but they see it as a part of the life cycle. I will say the turkey was tasty.
I hope I answered your most pressing questions. Keep sending questions and responding to my blog. I really love hearing from you!
My life this week:
This last Wednesday I spent the morning with the staff at International Justice Mission. They are an organization of lawyers who are trying to help widows and orphans get their land and property back. There are currently 16 open cases. Most of the cases have to do with land grabbing. When parents or a spouse die, as they often do here, the land or property is sometimes taken by unscrupulous relatives or neighbors leaving the widow or orphans with no where to live. IJM is seeking to find justice for these widows and orphans. They win or mediate a favorable settlement for almost all of their cases. I will be spending some more time helping them create a way to teach villagers about wills and budgeting. Hopefully, my teaching skills will be well used.
Late Wednesday afternoon, I left with other Corner Stone staff to spend the night 3 hours away at the Leadership Academy for Young Men at what is called “the ranch.” It is called a ranch because there is a great herd of cattle there. They milk the cows and sell the milk in Kampala in order to pay for the operation of the Leadership Academy. The ranch also holds a primary and secondary school for the poorest children in the neighboring villages. My church supports 11 students at the secondary school. (Tommy isn’t that great!) I was fortunate enough to meet these beautiful girls and boys. We sat under an African shade tree and I told them how much those at our church loved them. I encouraged them to work hard and to stay focused. I told them how much God loves them and that they were created for a great purpose. They asked me lots of questions about my family, about America and about my church. Then we had lunch together. It was great to be with them.
The students also told me what they were learning on the ranch. The boys and girls talked about their excitement over finding a “family” to belong to. Many of these children are orphans and Corner Stone is now their family. It is a place where they belong and are loved. It was a beautiful moment of knowing and being known!
This Sunday Veronica, the friend I am staying with, and I met with some widows who are trying to create income for themselves by making lacquered jewelry. Ruth is the coordinator of a group of about 80 widows who are desperately trying to survive in Kampala. Thirty of them are HIV positive. Almost all of them are from the north where the fighting is the worst. We went to church with them and then spent the afternoon eating lunch with the pastor who is caring for this group of women. These widows are totally dependent on God and each other. I will meet with the whole group of widows on Thursday afternoon. I am sure there will be a story to tell.
On Monday, I will meet with some World Vision staff here in town and hopefully visit the abandon babies’ home. On Tuesday & Friday I will l return to the boys home to teach English to street orphans. I first went to the home for street orphans last Friday. Many of these children have been without parents since they were in 9 or 10. After losing their parents they lived alone on the street, which was very scary for them. Take a minute and think about how challenging it would be to be alone and find food and clothes. How would you feel if that happened to you? After some time, the staff of Corner Stone found them and brought them to the home. Many of the boys are excited to have a home and a new “family.” However, many of them made it through 3rd grade and have not gone to school since they found them selves out on the street. Most boys are between 12 & 18 so they are in desperate need of an education. I am one of the teachers who will try to help them get enough English proficiency to get a good job. The picture attached to this blog is of the boys at the home.
Like every other week here, anything can happen and probably will. It is interesting this week we have had more days with electricity, but they have shut off the water. We have had two days with no water. Apparently the landlord is feuding with one of the tenants so she is shutting off the water for everyone here. For the last 24 hours the water has been on so maybe the feud is over. Anyway, I am happy. I am beginning to feel like “I am home” and I am LOVING being with my friend Veronica. Last night we walked into town and went inside a simple wood structure to get a manicure and pedicure. As we sat there the whole community lost electricity. So this man was painting my toenails in the dark. It was quite an experience. Then we walked home under the light of the moon.
Well, I love hearing from you so feel free to email me. However, I am blocked from using my slp email address, so if you have been sending messages to that account I have not received them. If you wish to email me please send it to kari.miller@usfamily.net
Also, be sure to click the pictures link to see the newly added photos. I included pictures of IJM, the ranch, the girl’s leadership school, and Cornerstone. Enjoy! If you have time drop me an email. I love hearing what is happening in your life too!
Much love,
Ms. Miller
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
I Live In Africa
Over the last month it has slowly sunk in that I live in Africa. I am not just visiting. I live here day to day in an apartment with friends. I use public transportation and am slowly learning L’Ugandan. “Ndi Blungi” means I am good and I am doing really well. I have slowly gotten used to the fact that I am the only muzungu, white person, in my neighborhood. Mosquitoes bite me on an hourly basis. New red welts seem to appear each day. Veronica keeps telling me that the African mosquitoes are enjoying my fresh American blood. I guess it is a nice change for them. I sleep under a treated mosquito net and have never been so grateful to do so. I am hot from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. I am always sweating. It is my new normal. I bathe in a small rubber tub and have now gotten better at getting my whole head in that small tub. I never realized how complex it is to wash my hair. Drying my hair has now become a luxury as we have electricity about 60% of the time. It now takes 2 hours to prepare a meal over the charcoal stove out side our apartment. Since, I have no idea how to make matooke or chapatti, my job is to hold the flashlight and stir the rice. I buy fresh meat that has just been slaughtered and is hanging in the window. This is my new life in Kitintale.
I spent a majority of my week getting my bearings. Most mornings I attended chapel at the head office for World Vision here in Kampala and then most afternoons with Corner Stone, a ministry to orphans and vulnerable children. Corner Stone allowed me to visit two of their 5 guardian homes. There are 5 youth core homes here in Kampala, two homes in the Gulu area, one home in Rwanda, one home in Burundi and one home in southern Sudan. Corner Stone’s programs for these vulnerable children are vast and comprehensive and I feel I have just scratched the surface. I also was able to travel an hour outside the city to visit the Leadership Academy for Girls. This Academy is a residential high school for the most needy with the most leadership potential. The girls there are taught leadership skills alongside their regular curriculum. They also attend chapel each week and are discipled by mentors. These girls are empowered, articulate, intelligent and joyful. I was incredibly impressed. This coming week I will be traveling two hours outside the city to the Ranch, the Leadership Academy for boys. I will spend the night and get a better sense of what happens on the ranch.
This last week I also visited the International School in Lubowa, 8 kilometers outside of Kampala. This school is for American, European and other diplomat children. Most Ugandans can not afford this kind of education. Just like Susan Lindgren this school follows the International Baccalaureate curriculum. It was so fascinating to see how they have implemented this curriculum. It is by far the most beautiful school I have ever seen. Their school day closely resembles our school day at home except that they go swimming as a regular part of their school day.
I will also travel up to Gulu in the next couple of weeks and possibly to Rwanda. Next week I will start volunteering for an abandoned babies home here in town. You know what a soft heart I have for babies.
Well, life here is different every day, but I will try to keep you as much in the loop as I can. In fact, I woke up Saturday morning to some kind of loud screeching. As I looked outside I noticed that a HUGE turkey was tied next to our home. A friend of Veronica, the friend I am staying with, had given her a turkey. It has now been here for 3 days. Patrick, Veronica’s brother, will slaughter it tomorrow as May 1st is a national holiday here. I have to tell you I am tired of waking up at dawn to its LOUD gobbling.
This week I traveled to a girls home for orphans here in Kampala. I thought you might enjoy reading about how it went.
Last Tuesday, I left the Corner Stone office to begin creating relationships with the orphans and vulnerable girls at the Ntinda Girls Youth Core Home. As we pulled up to the concrete house I was suddenly nervous. I am not often nervous around children as I work with them on a daily basis, but yet suddenly my heart was beating. What would they think of a 35 year old muzungu entering their home, disrupting their daily routine? As I stepped onto the red dusty road, I asked the Lord to help me form a connection with these street children. My life has been the polar opposite of theirs. I wondered if I could even really comprehend the sorrow and pain of being an African orphan. As I entered the gate, I found 3 girls washing their clothes in a tub beside the house. As they looked up from their wash they smiled, greeted me and invited me over. I quickly retrieved the picture of Mary Kabi and from my purse. Mary is a special mentor to these girls. Their smiles broadened even more and they began to ask question after question about Mary. Other girls then came out of the house and I was introduced as a friend of Mary. At that point, the girls ushered me into the house saying, “You are most welcome.” I smiled and shook each of their hands.
I toured each girl’s bunk in each room oohing and ahhing over their few possessions. We laughed about pictures of famous male actors they had on the walls and examined each other’s nail polish. Then I walked out to the main sitting room where the girls were listening and dancing to some rap music. They were startled when I came in and then broke down in hilarious laughter when they realized that I had caught them busting a move. This seemed like a moment to show that I may be 35 and every bit the awkward muzungu, but I have some moves of my own; so I started shaking to the beat. Now loud raucous laughter filled that place. After doing my best Saturday Night Fever impression, I suddenly decided that it was best to quit while I was ahead as far as the dancing goes, so I sat on the floor next to these girls and watched them play a board game. It wasn’t long before I was invited to play. They beat me soundly, but I left that house feeling every bit the winner. We had begun to know each other. Relationships had slowly begun to form. As I left the girls hugged me and begged me to come back. I was present with them and that made all the difference.
Great news!!!! I was able to upload all my pictures. You can view them at http://picasaweb.google.com/kari.lisa101271 I hope you enjoy them!
Well, I hope you all are enjoying school. Think about the IB attributes posted in your classroom. What IB attributes do you think I am experiencing?
Have a great day! Ms. Miller
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