Last Post

Home: loving family arms reach to hug me... and I them; a light snow is falling; the accumulated winter's snow is retreating from the front wall of the house to reveal the very first tiny plant pushing up ~ a dandelion!; cosy flannel sheets on the bed (no ceiling fan circling lazily above my humid body); slowly coming to terms with no longer being in Uganda; enjoying being with my family again; gradually taking up all my usual responsibilities....

Just a few last notes:

Bridget and I spent an interesting and impressive morning at Watoto Bulrushes in Kampala ~ their baby home. It is very well set up and equipped, and seemed to be smooth-running, but we were only there for a morning. I'd like to go back some time for a longer visit. We helped feed the 4- to 6-month olds their rice cereal, then their bottles. I managed the interesting task of feeding two babies at a time ~ there are so many babies to be fed that this becomes necessary. Bridget fed a very active little guy who was actually 10 months old. He had arrived as a tiny newborn preemie of only 850 grams, so was actually doing quite well.

A story I didn't have time to tell you at the time it happened:

While I was still at Amani, all we volunteers spent part of one Saturday visiting two other local orphanages. One, "Our Own Home" was started by a young woman named Holly who had come at age 19 to work at Amani for a year, and then stayed for another year. After that, she felt that she wanted to open her own orphanage, but for children who are all HIV positive, which she has. She is now married to a Ugandan, and they are caring for about 35 children, mostly aged about six to sixteen, though they recently received their first baby ~ a very small boy of two years old.

When we arrived, all the children were asked to introduce themselves. When it came to the turn of one 9-year-old boy, he introduced himself as "Spiderman"! Apparently he lived and breathed his hero, and he longed for some Spiderman items, such as a poster or clothing. One of the volunteers had recently arrived at Amani, and had brought a large bag of clothing with him from his church. Since they were too large for the Amani babies, we had brought the bag to this orphanage instead. When they went through it later, they found a Spiderman T-shirt... just the right size! God hears the heartfelt prayers of the young.

Several days later, as I helped Camille sort out sheets and blankets at AOSC, I found a large Spiderman blanket. Camille agreed that we could give it to the same little boy, and I'm sure he was delighted.

As before I had a riveting journey flying over northern Uganda, Sudan (not far from Darfur), and especially the Sahara. A very nice young man was sitting next to me who was equally fascinated by all we could see below us. In the Libyan Desert ~ part of the Sahara ~ we flew almost right over a huge volcano. It turned out that Kevin, my companion, was part of a contingent of soldiers from the British Army, and he remembered that he had his Global Positioning Device (?) in his bag. He was able to get a "fix" on the volcano, and when I returned home I found an e-mail telling me exactly where to find it on Google Earth! Very interesting.

So, dear friends, this blog comes to an end for now. I've enjoyed writing it, and the feedback I have received is appreciative, which is nice. I'll probably write another one the next time I go to Uganda....!

God bless you all,
Jill

Photos: (probably not in thei order... sorry)
1. Spiderman
2. William, Holly and their family
3. Camille and Jill
4. Bridget with ex-preemie
5. Jill feeding bottles for two!

Bunalwenyi free Secondary School and Dorm

Hello all,
Here are some photos of the new Secondary School and Dorm at Bunalwenyi.
1. & 3. The dorms: the left half of the building is the 'Lasalle Community Safe Haven' dorm for girls. The middle section is the Matrons' house, and the right hand side is another dorm, also for girls. So far 60 girls are living here, with 2 matrons, but more girls will be coming. It is now completely roofed, but the rest still needs to be finished.
2. The Bunalwenyi free Secondary School ~ four classrooms in one long building. They are already overcrowded with almost 400 students.
4. Sec. 3 class in their classroom.
5. Janet Konso, age 14.

I want to tell you about Janet, because she exemplifies the vulnerability of teenage girls in rural Uganda, and also the real need for the dorms. After the opening ceremony and the meal, we started the drive home, giving a lift to the principal, Sarah...... As we drove down the dirt road, she suddenly asked us to stop to pick up Janet, one of her students, to give her a lift home since she has a very long way to walk (maybe 2 miles or more). Sarah was concerned about Janet's vulnerability on that long walk, and also because another girl, who until recently had walked to and from school with Janet, was now no longer attending school. Sarah asked Janet what had happened to her friend, and was told that she had been married off to an older man, and could not continue her education.

Sarah then asked Janet about her own situation, and Janet said that her mother and father had both died, and she was living with her uncle, but that she was afraid that her uncle was planning to sell her off to an older man as his second or third wife, and that she would no longer be able to attend school, as happened to her friend. Sarah told Janet to bring all her possessions (a blanket and not much more) to school the next day in order to move into the dorm, then cell-phoned the Matron right away to tell her to receive Janet the next day.

The next problem was that Janet had absolutely no money with which to pay the 40,000 U. shillings ($24 CAD) that was needed to cover the cost of board and lodging at the Dorm for the semester. My heart leaped with joy, because a friend in Montreal, before I left, had given me a certain amount of money to use "where most needed". She said, "you'll know when to use it" ~ and I did, and gladly paid for Janet's expenses.

We dropped Janet off at her little thatched hut compound, and I pray that she made it successfully to the dorm the next day. I'll try to find out.

Blessings to all,
Jill

Bunalwenyi Secondary School and DORM

Hello all,

Well I am back in Entebbe and will fly to the UK in two days, so this odyssey, and this blog will soon be over.

There is SO much I haven't told you, due to lack of time to write and only intermittent access to the internet, and also because I have been trying to process all I have been learning and experiencing as I go. Maybe I'll write after I get home when I'll have more time to think through all this trip has meant. In general, though, it has been even more beneficial than I had ever imagined, and I have much food for thought, and discussion with Jack, for which I am most grateful to God.

In the meantime, I have one more adventure to tell you about.

Two days after the land-transfer trip to Bunafu, Camille and I were back in her truck and on our way to the official opening of the brand new TMU Secondary School 2 hours away in Bunalwenyi. I had got up early that morning to continue to paint the compound gates before the sun got too hot to work, by about 9:30 am, and was trying to scrape the worst of the dark grey paint from my fingernails as we bounced over the usual deeply rutted red earth road. We travelled past fields of new maise, a couple of towns and lots of little compounds of round thatched huts and small semi-naked children who would wave enthusiastically and shout, "Jambo. Howareyou? Howareyou?" as we lurched by.

I was expecially excited because this is the Rescue Unit where I had worked on my first M. trip to Uganda in 2005, and I was very much hoping to see the two sisters, Rose and Gladys, now 13 and 10, with whom I had fallen in love on that visit, and to give them the little gifts I had brought.

When we turned the corner on the track to the site of the new school, I was startled to see TMU's huge yellow and white 'Big Top' tent. It was an interesting contrast to the natural bush for miles all around it. Apparently they had been holding the classes there until the school could be built. Behind the tent was the school. The basic brick building has been built, and the metal sheeting roof is on, but it still in need of plastering inside and out, there are as yet no windows or doors, an earth floor, and no steps up to each doorway... which made getting in to each classroom an interesting climb. I was given a tour of the school, going in to each of the 4 classrooms and greeting the children in Sec. 1,2,3 and 4. They already have almost 400 children registered, and more are expected. Consequently they are already overcrowded, and are considering building some temporary classrooms until more brick ones can be built.

The children attending the school are all orphans serviced by TMUganda from several of their Rescue Units around eastern Uganda. Interestingly they are thus from several different tribal backgrounds and language groups. So, the rule is that only English can be spoken as a common language (it's Uganda's official language anyway, and it is essential for success that every child become fluent in it), and it also helps prevent tribal cliques and promote community harmony. Amusingly, if a child is caught speaking their tribal language, they have to give up one of their shoes, and hop for the rest of the day! We were there in the late afternoon when the confiscated shoes were being returned to their chagrined owners.


Behind the school is the DORM - one of the three that we at St. Stephen's raised funds to build through the "Safe Haven $100 Challenge!" some 3 years ago, as some of you will remember. The other two dorms have been built in Zambia (we are still awaiting photos). This new one in Bunalwenyi is the "Lasalle Community Safe Haven" dorm for which funds were specifially raised by Steve Francom's class at the school where he teaches in Lasalle - yay Steve! I am thrilled that this dorm is being built here at Bunalwenyi - it is much needed by the orphan girls who are attending this school. The building is actually two dorms with a Matron's Unit in between. So far it is housing 60 girls, but more are coming. The matrons are Bible School graduates. They live with the girls, and they supervise them, help with their schoolwork, teach them how to grow crops for food to eat, sewing etc. They already have a little garden where seedlings are growing.

The opening ceremony was quite long, and hot under the big top. It was attended by lots of interested local parents, and local, area and government officials who all made speeches in Lusoga. Some of it was translated to us in a whisper. Camille also made a speech. It was clear that everyone was very enthusiastic about the school and what it means to the area. There is no other S. School for many miles in all directions - let alone a free one. Much support was offered by the officials, but whether that translates into action - who knows! A major common priority was for the 3-acre area to be completely fenced. This would prevent neighbours encroaching on the property, but more importantly it would protect the children, especially the girls, from possible abduction, rape and murder.

When you get to know the culture a bit more, you become aware that many of the Ugandan people are trapped in superstition, and, out of ignorance, poverty, lack of alternatives or avarice, use the services of a local witchdoctor to try to obtain what they want/need. Unbelievably, but appallingly true, there are cases of child sacrifice, usually girls, in which the child is captured, murdered, and sometimes body parts used, to try to appease “the gods” due to illness, or, a desire to get riches.

TMU currently has no idea where they could get the money or labour needed to complete this necessary fence. (I might have some ideas....!)

The important officials were then led away to be given a traditional meal, after which we lesser mortals were offered the meal too. For the first time in my experience, though it is the preferred method of eating for many, even upper-echelon, Ugandans, no cutlery was offered and we all ate with our fingers. I was somewhat messy with lack of recent experience, but it was kind of fun to mush the matoke up with the greens and rice with my fingers and slurp it around in the gravy!! I did have to avail myself of the offer of water and soap before signing the visitor's book.

We were able to have a very brief visit to Rose and Gladys. Rose came running into my arms, and Gladys hung her head as though she was about to cry. But we had warm hugs, and they enjoyed my little gifts, so it was nice. I do hope that they will learn English soon because it is frustrating not really to be able to communicate with them. Hopefully Rose will start attending the new school next year, so she'll be speaking English there.

Well, Blogees, I am actually now writing from the UK where I have enjoyed visiting my Mum, my sister and my brother, and tomorrow I will return to Montreal.

For those who have followed this blog - thank you! I hope that it has been interesting for you. I would love to receive your comments - e-mail (jjstafiej@gmail.com) is maybe better than trying to do it on the blog, which some have found problematic.

I will publish at least one more edition before I close this blog, and send more photos too.

God bless you all,

Ja Ja Jello

Photos

1. With Betty and Batwali at the House of Kindness Rescue Unit, Bunafu

2.Handwritten land transfer deal with signatures and thumb prints

3. Jill signing document.

More about Bunafu

… continuation:

The TMU facilitator, Anthony, or Batwali, who, with his wife Betty is responsible for all the orphans in the area, made what seemed a comprehensive and articulate summary of the proposed deal. He spoke in Lusoga, however, so Peter translated for Camille and me ‘sotto voce’. Once the terms were agreed upon in theory, a statement was laboriously worked out and hand-written by one of the elders, with ancient carbon sheets between each of 3 pages, and with much advice offered by interested parties. Then the statement was taken around to each of the persons involved, for the signature of those who could write their names, and for the right thumb-print of those who could not. I found it interesting that some of the elderly grandmothers and grandfathers could write their name while their granddaughters could not ~ so much for free universal primary education in Uganda.

Peter and Camille had to sign on behalf of Teen Missions ~ then, to my great surprise, the statement was passed to me to write my name and then sign it, which I dutifully did. So, I am now an official witness to a land transfer in the bush village of Bunafu, Uganda! Life never ceases to amaze me with its unpredictability! I love it!!

Following the signing, and a fair bit more sitting around, a feast was provided to celebrate the occasion. It had been prepared by Betty, Batwali’s wife, who had taken no part in the official proceedings. The meal consisted of rice, potato, matoke (cooked banana, not sweet), rather bitter greens, peanut sauce and yummy cooked chicken that was not so athletic that you could neither chew nor swallow it, as happened 2 years ago in Bugoi. It was an unusually elaborate meal and the parts of it I ate were tasty. Since it was now 3pm and we hadn’t eaten since 7am it was fully appreciated. I’ve become fairly used to eating whenever meals happen, and also to eating meals such as the above, though the meat is unusual.

Before we left it became apparent that there was an expectation of financial remuneration for the officials and the family. So a lengthy discussion ensued as to who needed to be paid, how much and how to make the payment. We eventually left around 4pm ~ a fairly full day.

In the evening we went to Jinja to the internet café where I sent off the first part of this story to you, and Camille desperately tried to get in contact with TMI. Then back to Nakabango to wash off all the red dust in a shower that is either scalding hot or cold, then to dry my hair standing on one leg as I used the toes on the other foot to keep the plug of the hairdryer in the wall.
This morning Camille had a staff meeting, so I painted the outside of the two large metal security gates that form the entrance to the TMU compound. The colour was a charming battleship gray ~ now there’s a “designer colour” if ever I’ve seen one! The gates are solid metal and are deeply pitted with kazillions of tiny to sizeable holes, so it took some work to fill them all in with paint. Christian Ed would have been proud of me! I got a bit of help from Peter’s 4-year-old daughter, who painted happily for an hour or so with a feather she’d found!

In the afternoon I walked down to the Forrest Newland Rescue Unit, down the hill from the base. There some of the women that make the banana-stem pictures I sell when Jack and I make presentations etc. were working on various projects. It was so nice to finally meet them, after selling their work for some time (I then send the proceeds back to them to help them pay the school fees for their High School children). They were friendly, and most of them spoke some English. I photographed them working, so that will make a nice display.

Tonight Camille and I made some dish bags for some of the girls who are living in the dorm at Bunalwenyi which we’ll be visiting tomorrow.

Well, I’m being dive-bombed by a large black insect, so I think I’ll stop, snuggle under my mosquito net, which would not be much of a challenge for any mosquito with normal intelligence to penetrate, but which does protect me from showers of tiny insects falling on me from the light above….and turn off the light.

God bless you all,
Ja Ja Jello (the latest version of my name. Ja Ja means grandmother.)

Official witness to a land transfer deal in a bush village!!

Hello dear family and friends,

I sadly left Amani yesterday ~ I had grown close to many of the babies, toddlers, volunteers, Mamas and staff. I had hoped to slip discreetly away, but Camille arrived as everyone who was available was having their weekly Bible Study on the lawn under the tree just by the driveway, so I was waved off by practically everyone! It was nice to be told by many that I would be missed and that they regretted that I had to leave.

Today I had a most unusual day.

A significant tract of land was to be formally donated to an AOSC Rescue Unit in a small bush village called Bonafu. Camille arranged for the meeting to start at 10 am ~ so we left at 9 am for the 2 hour trip there... this is Africa, remember. En route we went by the thatched hut of the elderly man and his wife who were making the donation to "pick them" and take them with us. They knew we were coming, but were still asleep when we arrived!

We arrived at 11 am after a wonderful, bouncy jaunt through the backwoods of Uganda, with so many sights and scenes to fascinate the eye. One day I'd like to drive through such areas in a rented car so that I could stop and take all the photos I'd like to (be warned, Jack!) instead of trying to take photos through a side window and at a random angle!

Of course, no one else had arrived for the meeting yet, so we were shown around the RU, and also around the substantial acreage that was being donated. I also visited the latrine ~ a "long drop" with a square hole in the concrete floor that was abuzz with flies ~ maybe you could say that desperation is the mother of bravery?

Gradually people started to arrive in individuals and small groups. It seems that many people in the clan had come to see what was going on and to have their say. At 2 pm(!) the meeting finally started. Camille and I and all the men sat on chairs. All the women, despite the age of some of them, and a couple of babies, sat on grass mats on the earth floor.

A presentation was made to explain what this was all about, questions were asked and answered, a new person showed up, so it was all explained again, the neighbours on either side of the plot of land had to be consulted, the area land manager made some comments (this was all done in Lusoga, but Camille's co-worker, Peter Nkutu, translated quietly for Camille and me), and finally an agreement was made to everyone's satisfaction.

(... to be continued. I'm at an internet cafe, and hope to get back tomorrow since there is no internet at TMU.)

FYI: I'll be leaving for Entebbe for a few days on Sunday, then flying to the Uk on Wed. Mar. 4th, and to Mtl. on Mar. 8th.... but I'll be talking to you again before then.

I love you all,

Jill

Photos:

Jill with favourite baby-friend, Isaac, aged 14 mths.

Fun on a boda-boda!

Babies, boda-bodas and the Bujagali Falls

Thurs. Feb. 19th 09

Hello everyone at last! We have had no internet connection at Amani for the past 2 days or so, but it has finally been re-connected.
Today I walked into Jinja to The Source café to use their internet. It took me 1 ½ hours to send one short e-mail to Jack to let him know I was still alive!! I have bought lots of exceptionally lovely batiks at The Source gift shop for re-sale, so come and see me after I return!

I’m coming to enjoy tootling around town on the back of a boda-boda (usually a motorbike, but it can be a bicycle). No helmet or anything fancy like that! Before getting on you have to negotiate the price. Another dilemma: the ride into town is SO CHEAP! 500 U. shillings or ~ 30c! So I personally don’t bargain too hard, because these people have to live, and want to send their children to school…. But I don’t tell the other volunteers!!

I want to tell you about the babies I work with.
In the morning I am usually in Baby Rm. A ~ the littlest ones. Here we have Helene and Michael, both preemies and very tiny for their ages of 5 and 6 months. Then we have Josephine who is a large bouncy baby of 7 months, Gift, a very agile little girl of 8 months who is close to walking, but too young to be moved up, Bonafamu, a little fellow with a ready smile of 14 months, Maria, a beautiful girl of 15 months who is interested in talking, but less in walking, and Debra who is 18 months, but has special needs, so she has not moved up to the ‘crawlers’ in Rm. B.

This week we had a new arrival ~ Baby M. is 6 to 7 months, but weighs only 9 lbs., and is very cute and cuddly. His Mum died of AIDS and he had been looked after by his two older sisters of around 8 and 12. \he has a large patch of ringworm on his head for which he is being treated. He has no sucking reflex, so has been fed by cup ~ probably a mixture of maize porridge with maybe some lentils, beans or peanut sauce…and maybe not. He is a hungry little boy and drinks down his milk with enthusiasm. He doesn’t like to be in his crib, however, and it seems that he was probably held by his sister much of the time. He may or may not be HIV positive… only time will tell when he has a later test. His father approached the Mama who had taken two of the Amani children for their check-up at the HIV clinic with a couple of volunteers, to ask if Amani would take him to look after. This means that perhaps he will go home eventually. Question: is it better for him to live in an institution, even a pretty good one, or with his family in abject poverty?

Interestingly most of the children at Amani are in the above situation, and apparently only about 12 children are actually currently available for adoption. Two American families arrived this week to collect their children for adoption. One family came with their 4 children, to adopt a 4-year-old boy who they have been trying to adopt for a couple of years. They have been hampered by an error in the paperwork in Uganda, so the only way they could finally adopt him was to move here and live here for 3 years which is what they are doing!! F., the little boy who has been waiting so long, was thrilled to finally have his own family. The other family has visited their adoptive son here at Amani a couple of times before, but this time the paperwork is done (almost) and the Dad and the Dad’s Mum have come to take him home. Little M. , 18 mths., is clearly already attaching to his new Dad, as is the Dad to him ~ it is very touching to see.

I was thinking about what I could tell you about my “ministry” here, and decided that it is best described as a continuous series of very small ministries ~ a warm hug or a ‘lap for a nap’ for a withdrawn or sad baby, wiping lotsa noses (they all get a cold at the same time) putting Maria and Bonafamu in a bouncer so they can get exercise for their legs, feeding lots bottles to babies and having a little chat, taking time to elicit a smile and conversation from them, putting Michael and Helene in a double stroller and taking them for a walk to get fresh air, down to the gate and back... and back, helping Gift practice learning to stand on her own, playing peek-a-boo and other little games… and so on.

None of it is riveting stuff, but these babies are so needy, and the Ugandan Mamas focus mostly on keeping them clean, fed and quiet, so the volunteers play an important role in giving these precious little ones the individual attention, loving physical contact and play time that they desperately need.

In the afternoon, almost all the 47 children go outside into the garden to play. A couple of woven straw mats are put out for the little ones, and the afternoon passes mostly with being crawled to and over by several babies or young children at a time, who frequently compete vociferously to take a nap on you for a while. It can actually get quite exhausting, though they are all so sweet, and so much in need of what we can offer. I am pretty pooped by 6:30 or 7pm when I finish, having started at 8am, but with a break from 1 to 4 pm.

Last weekend our friends John and Bridget, with whom I had stayed at Entebbe after my arrival, came down to Jinja for the weekend. They kindly took me out to dinner at “Gately’s” , a nice hotel/restaurant across the road from Amani. It was nice to be civilized and eat tasty food in a pleasant environment. On the Saturday we drove about ½ hour north of Jinja along a bumpy red dirt road to Bujagali Falls. We were delighted that our missionary friend Camille Hadlock was able to join us.

We had lunch at The Black Lantern that overlooks the start of the Falls from high above ~ a most attractive setting. The Falls are actually more like a series of serious cataracts than a vertical falls, and which are used by intrepid rafters and kayakers for expensive thrills as they whoosh over Category 6 rapids. We took a boat ride near the bottom of the Falls to admire different sections of the rapids from various angles ~ including standing on a small island in the middle of one section of the Falls with our toes right next to the water rushing furiously by. No Canadian-style guard rail or warnings. The Ugandans seem to reckon that if you are stupid enough to fall in, you probably deserve it!!

So, dear friends, my time at Amani is drawing to a close. Camille is coming to “pick me” next Tues. 24th, and we will either go back to the Teen Missions base at Nakabango (NB Liz and Mary: hopefully after a stop at the market to buy fabric and dresses), or we may drive to Kampala and visit Send-a-Cow to see what they might be able to offer the Rescue Units, but then returning to Nakabango that evening until the weekend some time. I am thinking of trying to spend the day at the Watoto Babies’ Home, called Bulrushes, one day before I fly to the UK and spend 4 days there with my sister and my Mum…. and then at last ~ home!!

Hope there will be a bit of Spring weather by then…. I definitely won’t be ready for winter again.
God bless you all,
Your affectionate friend,
Jill ..... wait!

I have some more news.... I have a new name!!
The Ugandan Mamas, many of whom I have become good friends with, find it very hard to pronounce "Jill", so they now call me....

*****"Auntie Jello"!!!!!******

(Sadly, this is actually rather too appropriate for certain portions of my anatomy!)

PS I'll post photos tomorrow. Gotta go and take a shower while it is free and the water is still running. The shower in my room hasn't yet worked...