deux jours avant Rwanda!

So I have just two days left in Jinja, before Vicki and I leave for Rwanda. Tomorrow I’m going to Welcome Home orphanage to say my last goodbyes to all the kids and the moms. :( We’re staying in Kampala for a night and just getting organized (going to the bank, booking the bus, etc.) and then will be off on Friday morning. We’re planning on visiting the genocide memorials, trekking the mountain gorillas, and visiting Vicki’s sponsor child. Soooo excited. Also it will be fun to practice my French a bit, which I haven’t used in probably 4 years. I’m not sure if we’ll have internet access (or have time to use it!), so I might not post again until I am back in Jinja (around July 15th). I’ll be spending my last couple days at TASO – and then I leave to go back home to Canada on the night of July 18th. Wow, can’t believe how quick it has all gone - thought i would post a couple pics because the internet is working really well today (except email for some reason).

Little message written in red dirt.
Vicki and I jumping for joy!

A cute little boy at one of the villages I was at with TASO!

A man walknig down the street on my way to TASO.

Sarah, from the drama group, and two ladies from one of the villages. Most of the older women in Jinja, and most women in villages wear these pouffy sleeve dresses with huge sash belt things. Pouffy sleeves are all the rage in Uganda. I am yet to buy a dress.

Saying bye with some school kids!

This is a pretty standard butcher in Uganda. If you look close, there is a carcass hanging...mmm. There's usually flies all over it, and they just grab a huge machete and cut you off a peice. This is also the reason why I am hesitant to eat any meat here - hahaha.

I'll try to post during slash following Rwanda if I can, if not I'll post some stuff when I get home (plus videos that I have taken here and more pics!). Lots of love, xoxoxox

leslie (namulondo)

Village outreaches, more dance lessons, and life stories.

My latest project at TASO has been to make a book with all of the personal testimonies of the group members. I’m going to send a copy of the book back here (to TASO Jinja), and then a copy will stay in Canada. My mom wanted me to buy a bunch of necklaces from the TASO group (they make them as an income generating activity) – and she will be selling them (and making earrings with them?) from Canada. So a copy of the book will go with the necklaces (at least at first), so that people can read the stories of the people who have made the necklaces. I am ecstatic about making it, and will keep me busy when I get home. It’s incredible, as the members are super excited about having their testimonies (life stories kind of about them, their past, their families, and how they came to be infected with the virus, their current situation, etc.) written down – and excited for people to read about them in Canada. I think it will be really eye-opening for people at home to read as well – as it really puts a face to the pandemic, rather than just hearing the number of people that are infected, people can hear their stories, and see their faces. The members are leaders in their community and have no same whatsoever in sharing their story with whoever will listen, such to encourage others to live positively as well as to prevent others from becoming infected.

Last week I bought a package of paper and some pens, and those who are able to write in English have written their testimonies down for me. Others have told me while I am at the TASO center and I have written them down verbatim. A couple of the members have helped translate for those that speak only little bits of English. So the past week has been really busy in trying to organize everyones testimonies and taking photographs (which they love!). So far I have 22 stories, and have a couple more to do. I feel so privileged to have hear their stories. Most of them are so deeply personal – stories of being orphaned, raped, married at a young age because they had no money for school fees, being cheated on, and being widowed. It was hard and kind of strange to write out some of their stories, as I have grown so accustomed to seeing their smiling faces over the past month – and I find their courage and strength in carrying on after such hardships, amazing. Also, I feel so connected to them now – more than ever. I am already dreading saying goodbye in the next coming weeks. I’m trying to plan what I’m going to do for my last days – I’m thinking going to the market and buying a bunch of fruit for everyone in the group. It doesn’t really seem like enough though…

In the book, I’m also going to include some pictures from practices at the TASO center as well as pics that I have taken when we go out in the villages to sensitize. Last Thursday we went to a Muslim primary school about an hour or so away. Lots of fun, and I stood up in front of all the kids and introduced myself and what I have been doing since I arrived in Jinja – which they found hilarious! Friday, went out again with the drama group to a villag and Vicki came. As a thank you from the village, they provided lunch – rice, matooke (warm, mashed, green bananas), and a pot full of fish stew (lots of fish heads….mmmm). Yesterday (Monday), had my second African dance lesson. I’m still horrible, but its lots of fun. Also, sang "Oh Canada" for them the other day - which they enjoyed.

Dance practice.... the pictures with me in them (from the first practice) are on my other memory card... so I'll post when i get home.
Part of the audience at one of the village outreaches.

The kids who laughed at me - hahaaha at the Muslim primary school we visited.

Part of the drama group relaxing before one of the performances.

Hips don't lie

Just thought I would post some pics up of the drama group from TASO. I've been spending a lot of my time talking with them. So much to tell and so much to learn, really inspirational.

Yesterday - i sang with them a bit (yes, it wasn't pretty...). Really, really cool experience. They are all amazing at singing - they came second last year at a national competition.

Also thought I would post the lyrics to one of the songs:

Time has come
Time has come for the people of Uganda,
To say no, no, no
To this deadly AIDS.
People of Uganda - wake up, wake up,
and bravely march,
Let us fight this AIDS,
The source of all suffering,
Source of misery and stress

United we stand,
But divided we fall.
Let us arise all people of Uganda.
Join us now, as we are in the struggle,
to reverse the spread of this deadly scourge.

He took my father and took away my mother,
took away my brother and all my relatives.
Sobbing and crying, mourning filled with all sadness,
Pray you help me, save me or I die.
My life is hard.

I think it's probably that much more powerful when you here them sing it. I wish I had a video camera (my camera takes short clips but has no sound).

Also yesterday had my first African dance lessons with the group. Was absolutely hilarious! everyone was dying - and yelling "Namulondo, Namulondo". Not very good so far - my hips don't "break" like African hips but I think I'm going to get a couple more lessons before I go. I have a couple little videos that I'll try to post when I'm back in Canada.

Behind the falls

Vicki and I behind the falls! So beautiful! One of the many chameleons that Tom spotted...

Tom and I walking over the super sketchy bridge.

Coffeee! Oh, tim horton's how i miss you. They grow tons of coffee here but export most of it - and everyone drinks instant coffee :(.

Vicki and I went on a huge day trip yesterday to Sippi Falls (which is close to Mt. Elgon, around the Kenyan border). Looking back probably would have been wiser to do the trip in two days rather than one, but ah well, we're trying to watch the bank a bit and didn't want to pay for a nights accommodation if we didn't have to.

We were at the taxi park by about 7 am or so and found a mtatu - that left right away which is a rarity! Normally, they wait until they are completely full before they leave - which can take hours... So we were off - with a 3 or so hour journey ahead of us to Mbale. Many stops to pick and drop off people on the way and REALLY squishy - i think i counted 20 people (in a car that should fit 14). I enjoy mtatu rides though as you get to see a lot in terms of scenery, houses, etc. and also get to talk with people a bit along the way. Mid-journey we had to stop as we ran out of petrol - they pumped the gas tank with their hands a bit to get it started and then we proceeded to drive on both sides of the road in an S shape (I think to get gas into the engine - or whatever car part it needs to get into as I know absolutely nothing about mechanics). Anyways got to Mbale safe and sound - with very full bladders. Took a bit of a walk, and found where we needed to get our next mtatu (about another hour) up to Sippi Falls.

When we got to Sippi - we found a guide Tom who was hysterical. Really, really nice guy who kept telling us that he would do whatever we wanted so that we would leave happy. And kept talking about how much he liked touring, and how we are all the same. And how he wishes to start a business to sell black skin to tourists so that Ugandans don't automatically assume that mzungus are rich when they see you (or something like that?!!??). Anyways he was a good time - and was expert at finding little chameleons in the trees, and also showed us coffee trees and the plants they use at the "local toilet paper". Unfortunately we were in a bit of a time crunch and had only about 2 and half hours to see the falls. We saw what Tom said was the "most beautiful" falls - which were absolutely breathtaking. Got to walk behind the falls and kind of through them (on the side) - was absolutely incredible! Paradise! After that, it started raining a bit and so we had to go back as we wouldn't be able to get transport back and it would be to hard to climb if it was muddy so our already short climb - was cut to only about an hour.

From Sippi - Tom hooked us up with a ride back to Mbale riding "African Style" in the back of a car (squished in the trunk with one other Ugandan guy). Not that fun. Got back to Mbale and made our way to the taxi park for another long mtatu ride. Nothing to eventful on the ride back - except a chicken was under our seat. Also the conductor (the guy who takes the money) got in a fight kind of with some guy that didn't have enough money to pay for the trip. Made it back safely, long long day (8 hours of driving for about an hour and a bit to see the falls themselves).

This morning went to TASO, and also interviewed one of hte counsellors at the AIDS Information Center which is one of the main voluntary testing and counseling centers in town. It's crazy how quickly time passes. Just a week and half in Jinja, then Vicki and I are off to Rwanda. Wow, doesn't seem like it has been that long. And feels like i could easily stay another 2 or 3 months. Oh, the lady who runs the guest house didn't pay the water bill. So we have been low on water the past little while and weren't supposed to shower - so i smell and look really pretty as it's now Monday and I haven't showered since Thursday. mmmm.... awesome. Vicki and I had a conversation about this morning and realized that the majority of the people here don't have running water ever. kind of embarrassing to be complaining about it.

I'll add pictures later - this computer won't recognize my camera for some reason. Anyways lots of love and thanks again for all the messages of support!

Through my eyes

Things I see on a daily basis here:

- a little fresh black paper on your meal?

- Bikes carrying more things than you could have ever though possible

- funny menu items (Tuna fish “Open your own can” Sandwich; at the bottom of one menu “We are in every order” – awesome, sounds appetizing)

- chickens, cows and goats roaming the streets
- near head on collisions (all the time…absolutely horrifying)
- African time (everything ten times slower than in Canada, expect for when behind the wheel)
- Lots of shoe vendors on the side of the street (not really sure why shoes but they’re everywhere!)
- Men are all very well dressed (even when they come out of mudhuts…they have nice crisp white dress shirts and dress pants). They look “smart” – as they say here (which just means well dressed/put together)
- Women who work incredibly hard (hard physical labour all the time), and long long days
- Swollen bellies
- Beautiful smiles
- People much friendlier and happier to a certain extent than many people you meet in Canada (despite having much tougher lives in many ways)
- Massive portions of food (which I am sadly getting quite accustomed to)
- Off-roading when there are traffic jams
- Knee-deep potholes
- Driving skills that would put even the best Mario cart player to shame
- Boda drivers harassing me (read Vicki’s blog for more on the daily conversations we have with boda drivers)
- Most clothes stores sell second hand clothes from America and Canada (still has tags from Value Village – makes you wonder where clothes that you have donated within Canada end up)
- Little kids – yelling “Mzungu, how are you?” – if you answer “I’m fine, how are you” or anything else they just repeat “mzungu, how are you?” for the most part.

- People asking for money or asking how they can come and live in Canada
- Boda drivers that shut off their engines going over even the slightest bit of a hill to save petrol
- When it rains, everything stops.
- Many friends (mukwano!)
- Green, green tress and red, red, earth

“We are all out of spring”

There’s a restaurant on Main Street that Vicki and I (and Lindsay when she was in Uganda) have been to a couple times, called Kabindi Lounge (which is debatably a brothel by night). Wednesday night we met up with a bunch of people from the guesthouse (Ben, Pete, Will – all british gap year students, and Russell – who is the newest volunteer from GIVE). Got our drinks after a good 20-30 min wait (I think there may have been one other table in the restaurant). Placed our order after probably 45 minutes (which is quite common). After another 20 or so – our waiter came back letting us know that half of the orders couldn’t be made as they didn’t have the right ingredients (or something like that). Someone had ordered spring rolls and we were informed that they were “all out of spring”…hahaha. Oh Uganda. I love it. So Vicki and I ordered chicken lomein, and all of the boys ordered spaghetti and meatballs. After another 45 or so I got my food as did 3 of the 4 boys (the other two didn’t get served at all). Oh what a night. Got back to the guesthouse, and at about quarter to 12, I woke up with the worst pain slash most nauseating feeling ever. Throw up (and wake up Vicki – who sat with me, God bless her). Went back to bed. Power goes out. Proceed to throw up 3 more times using my headlamp to find the toilet. It was a rough night, my oh my. I ended up just staying home the next day and sleeping – feeling much better today though.

TASO, TASO, TASO...

Everything is going really well at TASO. I have gotten to do a lot of different things so far. Friday I spent the morning learning about the aromatherapy and reflexology services they provide and watched one of the procedures, which was really cool. Really elaborate clinical aromatherapy services – which I have never really learned about (they make different combinations of oils depending on the ailment). Mixtures for nearly everything: skin conditions, TB, diarrhead, respiratory problems, stress, sciatica, must have 20 or 30 different things) and then mix it with vegetable oil and massage the patient.

I spent Friday afternoon with the drama group and got to go out to one of the villages with them (about 2 hours away). The group is all people living with HIV/AIDS and they go out and sing (absolutely beautiful) and act out skits to sensitize people in villages, as well as talk about TASO and its services, answer questions about AIDS and HIV as well as provide condoms to the community. So we all crammed into a matatu (taxi van) and were off. The way there was hilarious because they were asking me all these questions about Canada (things that they had heard): that we eat snakes, that we have divorce contracts that we sign when we get married, haha lots of funny stuff. Drama group is absolutely hilarious and is a testament to what positive living should be about. They are loud, talkative, always laughing and poking fun at one another. Also talked to them a lot about issues around HIV and AIDS here – compared to Canada (the age people begin to “play sex” – as they call it, peoples perceptions in Uganda about condoms – they say that many people say that many people believe that “Condoms are not true love”).

Once we arrived at the village there was a group of women pumping water from the well and a big line of jerry cans ready to be filled. I got to try pumping water (I could only last about five minutes!) – it’s really tough work. The audience for the performance wasn’t as large as usual (normally about 70 people) as there were 2 burials in the village that day. They decided to perform a shortened act which I only partly understood as most of it was in Luganda. Then part way through it started pouring so everyone scattered so we ended up leaving a little early.

On the way back we got stuck in a massive traffic jam and took about an extra hour to get home. Went off-roading a couple times which was a little scary. Got stuck in the mud and got out and pushed. Hahah… when in Africa.

Great time – enjoying it soo much! Wanted to say thanks for all the emails with encouragement and sorry if I haven’t replied. Lots of love,

leslie.

Day of the African Child

Saturday (June 16th) was “Day of the African Child,” a day to celebrate achievements in the state of children in Africa. There was big celebration in Jinja where local children sang and performed with their school choirs. Vicki and I had made plans to travel to a little island on the Nile for the weekend so unfortunately couldn’t make it to festivities. As we had heard a lot about it though through volunteering at the orphanage it was on my mind. As we drove Saturday morning – I noticed how many small children were working (they always are, I guess I was just more attentive). 4 or 5 years old girls carrying jerry cans full of water on their heads, young boys and girls working in the fields. Made me wonder why these children were excluded, forgotten from the celebrations.

While flipping through Saturdays newspaper – read about Kony’s atrocities in northern Uganda. Children being abducted, beaten, forced to carry out raids, burn houses, beat and kill other civilians and abduct other children.

Same paper there was a section where children had written in their messages to African Fathers for fathers day on Sunday. Couple excerpts:

“African Fathers should respect their wives and children by avoiding torturing and beating them” – Age 10

“All fathers should love their children. Instead of beating them when they do something wrong, they should show them the right thing to do. Children always learn from their fathers when they do not beat them” – Age 10

“Fathers should live longer and look after their families properly” – Age 12

Not the kind of things you read about fathers day in Canada. Again really puts things into perspective. Although I think there are a lot of things to celebrate for the “Day of the African Child” (universal primary education for one), I think there is still a long way to go.

Luganda Lessons

The Luganda I’ve learned so far. You can easily get around with just English at most places but I’ve been trying my best to learn a bit at the orphanage, TASO and from the gatekeepers at the guesthouse.

Oliotia = How are you?
Bulungee = good
Webale = thank you
Webale nyo = thank you very much
Kale = OK
Mukwana = friend (or friendship I don’t really know – I think it might be interchangeable)
Ssebo = man
Nyabo = woman
Bitano = 500 (useful for bargaining with boda drivers)
Lukime =1000
Nkwagala nyo = I love you very much
Abanna mbagala nyo = Children, I love you so much
Nedda = no
Jabele = well done
Kulikayo = welcome back
Wasizotya = good morning
Ngolaybe = sorry
Kiki (pronounced chi-chi) = what!
Tugende = lets go
Bakuyrta Anni = What’s your name?
Ogendewa =Where are you going?
Ogenda = I’m going…

Vicki's blog!

I just wanted to post a link to Vicki's blog as well (yes we are both big blog losers together hahaha). Might be nice to read how things are here from another Canadian girls perspective: http://www.vkharris.blogspot.com/