NicolesLetters.org

A few funny things happened already this morning, Danny muzungu was talking to us about writing his letter to his sponsor. He said that he felt bad that when I see him that I don’t say hello.  Which of course isn’t true because I walk around the school grounds during each break saying hello to all of the children.  Come to find out he said, “When you pass by in the car, you don’t wave and say hello.” Turns out he is lumping me as being every muzungu on the street that he sees and the other muzungus don’t greet him but he thinks that each one he sees is me.

On Sunday the service discussed being “civilized”.  It’s amazing that they actually have to have these discussions.  They started talking about how it’s uncivilized that before they had the water well that the man they would pay to bring water would bring dirty water so they had to fire him and his behavior was uncivilized.  They also discussed how if someone needs to use the bathroom that they must find somewhere outside of their camp to do so.  Again, a conversation that is so unusual in our society. Another thing that was discussed was that people shouldn’t throw litter out the window of the car, and they aren’t talking about an apple core or banana peal they are talking about empty bottles of water or plastic wrappers. You’d be surprised what I’ve seen flying out of windows. It’s no wonder why there is litter and filth everywhere.  They were also talking about how people need to educated in the ways of the world. That they need to read the newspaper a few times per week to be knowledgeable about what is happening. For example the drivers need be wise in how they drive, when and were to ensure to use the minimum amount of gas needed.

The rainy season is here.  It rains each day and often during the night. Even the power goes out a lot.  I can tell because I have to keep my fan on at night since it’s so hot.  So it wakes me up quickly when the power goes out and it gets really hot. Well with the rainy season comes time for lost classes. Unfortunately when there’s a downpour in the afternoon if it’s lunchtime, sometimes it will rain for some time and the kids have to wait until the rain stops to have lunch and then return to class so sometimes they miss a few hours of class.  That’s a bummer.  This is one reason why there is a need for a dining hall.  That way it will be connected to the kitchen and the kids can go there and get their food and be protected from the rain and sun for that matter on really hot days.  Also it would prevent them from eating in front of their dorms on the floor which attracts bugs, ants, etc to the area in which they sleep.

There are a few ladies that had good things happen this week. They’ll have their businesses expanded. I was able to meet with each of the ladies and visit their homes/business sites.  Each of them has a child in the sponsorship program and were allowed some $50 from their sponsor to grow their business.  One woman, Imerida,  has a fruit stand and already has some produce so she went into the village to buy charcoal and green bananas (used to make matooke).  Imerida was so trilled that way she can help her neighborhood have the things that they need and also grow the business for supporting her family.  She lives in a small room, made of mud with her three children and her brother.  Her daughter is in the program as she is very needy and she also took in another child.  The story behind that is that Imerida had a woman come to her produce stand and buy something. This woman that came asked to leave her daughter who was a baby at the time with Imerida while she went to use the bathroom…. And she never returned.  So Imerida reported it to the police and said that since the baby had become used to being with her children that she should keep her while they look for the mother. They agreed and when they never found the mother, she offered to keep the baby.

Another woman, Margaret, is also the mother of one of the sponsored children.  She was also allotted some $50 from the sponsor to grow her business.  During my visit, I saw the utter need for these people that are in the villages, it’s really hard to see how people really live. When they come to visit us at the school, they wear their only nice outfit and are washed, etc.  Visiting them at home is a totally different story.  I can’t even imagine going into some of these homes.  Oh wait, I have…. That’s why I can’t imagine doing it again…. It’s really sad to see.  That’s what makes me so grateful for helping be a part of the child’s education and ensuring that they get one to get out of this poverty cycle… sorry.. off the soapbox.  So this woman, Margaret, had a small stand, but was virtually empty aside from a few onions and some sambosas (fried flour triangles filled with chick peas or beans).  She went to purchase the items with her money and I will visit her business again to follow up shortly and see what she has been able to purchase, she had mentioned, cooking oils, carrots, onions, cabbages, oranges, etc.

I know I mentioned the kitchen in the last posting but I still want to say again a big huge thank you to everyone that participated in the kitchen fundraising.  You wouldn’t believe the kitchen and how nice it is, you will see in these pictures how awesome it is!  There are people that come to the school just to see the kitchen, parents of the kids come because they say that their children come home talking about it.  Other people visit the school and ask if it’s the house of the headmaster.  People that visit the school just can’t believe that this is the kitchen, it’s really incredible.

There is also the new school building.  This is an amazing project.  It is almost fully completed. However, these bottom level classrooms are completed and being used each day.  It should be no time before the upstairs rooms are being used also. The roof is all complete it’s looking great!
Pretty exciting!

I interviewed a girl for sponsorship yesterday.  I was so sad when I heard her story. She lives with her father and stepmother, however it was very confusing because at first she said that she lived with her father then she said that she didn’t know her father and that the people taking care of her were just helping her.  Turns out the stepmother and father tell her that and even the other children in the house don’t admit that they are siblings.  I have been told that the stepmothers force this behavior to their husbands and this poor girl doesn’t even believe that this man is her father and she feels totally alienated.  It was really sad.

I’ve learned now that the game UNO can be a big helper in learning about people.  I introduced the game earlier this week at the house and it was so much fun.  We play almost each night the game. It’s a lot of fun and I made Mexican food last night for dinner for everyone at Pastor Stephen’s house.  We made everything from scratch, tortillas, chips, salsa, refried beans, rice and all the fixings with avocado, tomato, lime and cabbage.  Going to the market for these things was an experience in itself.  I was permitted to walk into town from the house, it probably takes about 20 minutes or so, with Jessica, one of the high school students that lives there.  They are very cautious with my safety, I won’t complain about that. It’s a tough adjustment from doing whatever I want whenever I want but I just ride the wave and always remember that it’s for my own safety.  So we went into town and went to the supermarket first. If you can call it a supermarket. It was total chaos.  Nobody waiting in line for their turn to pay, people just push their way in front of you.  I couldn’t believe it, I tried to hold my ground a few times, you know me, but then I just didn’t even know what to do, I couldn’t believe it. How uncivilized! We went to the open-air market, now there they sell everything. All produce like every farmers market.  Then in other places they were selling cow intestines, cow tongue and cow hearts.  That is one thing I haven’t seen before.

I’m learning some of the language, everyone gets a kick out of hearing me say things.  It’s a slow progression but it will come with some time. I’ve also started some drumming lesions from the masters, Mulenzi and Carol.  That will be an even longer process, even more than learning the language.