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