7.29.09
Today in Kampala my friend Elisa and I were on a boda and our driver was talking about Americans. He said that he liked them more than Europeans because they try and adapt to African culture more. But was the generalization of Europeans and American culture correct? He continued by telling us that Germans were the worst because they had no desire to be with Africans. Whizzing through the streets of Kampala I had a huge realization: seemingly harmless generalizations turn into segregations which manifests into discrimination that has occasionally erupted into genocide. The Rwandan genocide originated around cows. When we as humanity find our differences to be flaws we lose the diversity and unfortunately sometimes we also lose our humanity in pursuit of cleansing.
Although I loved Rwanda, getting to Rwanda was very hard. We had to take a greyhound type bus nine hours from Kampala to Kigali. But before that we had a three hour taxi ride to Kampala. On our way to Kigali we left on a one am bus ride.
Since the roads in Africa are littered with deep pot holes and sometimes are not paved, the journey is very very bumpy. On the way back to Kampala we sat in the last row of the bus. Apparently children can ride the bus for free if they sit in your lap or on the ground. The back row had six seats. My three friends and I occupied four of the seats. Two Ugandan women sat next to us. They also had a baby and twp children. Somehow we managed to fit seven or eight people in six seats. At one point the children on the ground puked in a bag and they may have pied in it too.
As I have mentioned before I am learning patience above all else. It has been very interesting for me to watch the people around me. Some volunteers are very calm with Ugandans and the situations that arise. While some are the complete opposite. Andrea, our director has more patience than anyone. She knows how to handle the situations as well. Americans tend to raise their voices to show frustration but this really bothers Ugandans and tends to escalate the situation. I am learning how to deal with all types of people.
I’ve had a few medical issues. I get severe lower abdominal and back pain. I went to Kigali’s hospital and IHK in Kampala. In Kigali they thought it was cysts on my kidneys but after an ultra sound in Kampala they have no idea. More tests soon. Hope I am okay!
Also we just got 5 new kids:) iam so excited!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Rwandan Adventures
7.28.09
Yesterday was an interesting day. We traveled 3 hours to a memorial in the south The memorial was the site of a mass killing. Over 50,000 people were slaughtered there. They had been seeking refuge in a school. The Hutu militia used knifes machetes, clubs, guns and blunt weapons to kill men, women and children. The bodies of the victims were in 48 classrooms. They preserved the bodies with lime and left them where they were killed. While the rest of the 50,000 victims were laid to rest in a mass grave. It brought to life just how brutal the genocide of Tutsi had been. There were rooms of bodies, skulls and bones.
What is extremely interesting is just how the conflict all began. Rwanda was colonized by Belgians. The Belgians in charge divided Rwandans by how many cows they had. More than ten were Tutsi and less than ten were Hutu. The majority of Rwanda’s population was Hutu. It was very similar to what the Nazis did. Tutsi were also the ones in high positions of government. The Belgians made studies showing that Tutis was superior to Hutu. When Rwanda gained its independence the Hutu rose up. Soon discrimination against the Tutsi occurred and shortly after that, genocide. The Kigali genocide museum had stories from Hutus that hide Tutsis in their homes. The Rwandan genocide was brutal. No one was spared.
Yesterday was an interesting day. We traveled 3 hours to a memorial in the south The memorial was the site of a mass killing. Over 50,000 people were slaughtered there. They had been seeking refuge in a school. The Hutu militia used knifes machetes, clubs, guns and blunt weapons to kill men, women and children. The bodies of the victims were in 48 classrooms. They preserved the bodies with lime and left them where they were killed. While the rest of the 50,000 victims were laid to rest in a mass grave. It brought to life just how brutal the genocide of Tutsi had been. There were rooms of bodies, skulls and bones.
What is extremely interesting is just how the conflict all began. Rwanda was colonized by Belgians. The Belgians in charge divided Rwandans by how many cows they had. More than ten were Tutsi and less than ten were Hutu. The majority of Rwanda’s population was Hutu. It was very similar to what the Nazis did. Tutsi were also the ones in high positions of government. The Belgians made studies showing that Tutis was superior to Hutu. When Rwanda gained its independence the Hutu rose up. Soon discrimination against the Tutsi occurred and shortly after that, genocide. The Kigali genocide museum had stories from Hutus that hide Tutsis in their homes. The Rwandan genocide was brutal. No one was spared.
French Bakeries
7.26.09
We just got to Rwanda! This country is beautiful. Kigali, the capital, is a winding maze of steep streets. The air is cool and quiet. I don’t even feel like I am in Africa right now. Unlike Ugandans, many Rwandans don’t speak a lot of their local language. In Uganda they speak Luganda or Lusoga, but in Rwanda they speak French. We were buying croissants in a bakery and for a few brief moments it seemed we were actually in France. The people are friendly and the word “Muzungu” is not screamed at us constantly. It seems almost unreal to think that not long ago this country was ravaged by genocide.
We are going to genocide museums tomorrow and another one the next day. I am really excited to be here!
We just got to Rwanda! This country is beautiful. Kigali, the capital, is a winding maze of steep streets. The air is cool and quiet. I don’t even feel like I am in Africa right now. Unlike Ugandans, many Rwandans don’t speak a lot of their local language. In Uganda they speak Luganda or Lusoga, but in Rwanda they speak French. We were buying croissants in a bakery and for a few brief moments it seemed we were actually in France. The people are friendly and the word “Muzungu” is not screamed at us constantly. It seems almost unreal to think that not long ago this country was ravaged by genocide.
We are going to genocide museums tomorrow and another one the next day. I am really excited to be here!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Flip Flop Tanlines
7.21.09
This weekend we are setting out for
Tomorrow we are taking all of our kids to an agricultural fair in Jinja. They are so excited for a field trip. Since I know absolutely nothing about farming and farm animals, at least I think that is what agriculture is, it should be interesting for me as well. I guess I will find out tomorrow. On Saturday, before we leave for
Right now, as I am typing this, I have eleven of our kids sitting around watching. Some of our other children are playing soccer. Dave Matthews’s music is playing on my laptop. A little boy named Ema is sitting on my lap. I don’t think my life could get any better than it is right now in this moment. I believe that life is simply space with moments in between that are the only things we remember. I must make the most of the moments when time seems to simply stop. When nothing else around seems to matter except what is happening right then. In the end, it is these moments that I will look back on and see that everything was with it. The pain and suffering was worth it. It will all be worth it.
After the kids noticed that Ema’s name was in my blog they all wanted their names in it. Sitting next to me is Bosco, Angel, Sedic, Peter and Solomon. That made them all very excited.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Goats, Cows and Monkeys. Oh my!
7.8.09
Imagine fifty-two beautiful Ugandan children screaming in excitement just at the sight of you. Today that became a reality for Andrea Pauline, our executive director. I have never seen a group of children so excited for one person. It was like they had won the lottery. The profound impact Andrea has had on each and every child blew me away.
In the alchemist, the book I mentioned earlier, the shepherd main character gives up everything in pursuit of his treasure. He has a dream about a treasure in
I have been working on the art room and I am really excited with what will be happening with that. I will post pictures as soon as it is finished.
Our kids have been learning volleyball from one of our staff boys. They competed in two tournaments in Iganga and won! Now they get to go play representing Iganda District Schools. Both our boys and girls teams will be traveling to
On the weekends we have been traveling a lot. We might be going to
Friday, July 3, 2009
Bermuda Blue Paint and Salamanders
7.03.09
Yesterday was a big day. We celebrated Canada day with our very own Canadian volunteer who arrived. And I painted the craft room (which has been my recent undertaking). Well actually, I didn't get to paint the art room that much. Our maintenance man, Santongo, refused to let me do very much of it and told me that I was too slow. But during the part I did a giant salamander jumped off a window ledge and landed on the paint roller. Welcome to Africa. Today I got to organize all the art supplies into shelves. Morris, our Ugandan director, is ordering tables for the room. I am extremely excited to start teaching art in the new room. Self expression is important for children to work through grief and pain. I hope and pray it is uplifting for the kids. If you have any craft ideas I would love to hear them! And I will post pictures of the room soon!
Other than that nothing else has really been going on! I am eating a lot of pineapple and mango, which I really love. I honestly couldn’t be happier.
Thanks for your support!
Yesterday was a big day. We celebrated Canada day with our very own Canadian volunteer who arrived. And I painted the craft room (which has been my recent undertaking). Well actually, I didn't get to paint the art room that much. Our maintenance man, Santongo, refused to let me do very much of it and told me that I was too slow. But during the part I did a giant salamander jumped off a window ledge and landed on the paint roller. Welcome to Africa. Today I got to organize all the art supplies into shelves. Morris, our Ugandan director, is ordering tables for the room. I am extremely excited to start teaching art in the new room. Self expression is important for children to work through grief and pain. I hope and pray it is uplifting for the kids. If you have any craft ideas I would love to hear them! And I will post pictures of the room soon!
Other than that nothing else has really been going on! I am eating a lot of pineapple and mango, which I really love. I honestly couldn’t be happier.
Thanks for your support!
Lemon Heads
6.30.09
Because you are my family and friends who have supported me through all my adventures, I feel like honesty is the best route. I am extremely frustrated with certain aspects of living in a very foreign land. In my previous blog I addressed some of this frustration.
I have never been the target of racism until yesterday. While walking home from Musana a little boy ran up and hit me with a stick and yelled “vieyo mzungu” (go away white person). I pray for patience and understanding. The children at Musana are incredible. Each and every one of them is respectful and kind. They regularly serve us lunch and bring tea to the volunteers. My heart sunk when I saw myself grow bitter towards the children I see on my walk everyday. And then it hit me. The actions of one person can impact someone’s view on that entire group of people. Was I going to let a few people negatively shape my view of a country that I love? Later that day I had to walk home carrying our pet monkey, Rasta. The entire walk home I had around 30 children who were pulling my hair, grabbing at me, pulling Rasta’s rope, and trying to take Rasta from me. All the noise and commotion scared Rasta. When Rasta gets scared she tends to bite on her rope, but with the kids holding the rope she resorted to biting me. My hand was bleeding and I was on the verge of tears. I had been yelling at the children saying “vieyo” and “waylaba” (go away and goodbye) but they still would not leave me alone. When I got home they were banging on our gate. I was so angry at them that I could not even say hello this morning. But with my anger towards them also come anger towards myself. My desire is not to be bitter towards a group of people that I love, but to show them love even in the hardest situations. I will not allow the actions of others to determine mine.
Last weekend I went to Kampala to visit an organization that I worked for last year. I was extremely excited to see a little boy named Kevin who I had bonded with the previous year. After I had left he gave a note for me to another volunteer. The note broke my heart. He told me that he missed and loved me. As we were driving to the orphanage my heart ached. What if he didn’t remember me? Some of the kids develop anger towards a volunteer that they had been close with after they leave them. I was worried that would be Kevin and I. Earlier that day, during my taxi ride to Kampala, my friend Susie called me. After I was done telling her how excited I was to see Kevin she said “Annie, there is something I need to tell you”. My heart skipped a beat. Was this Susie telling me that Kevin didn’t remember me? Instead she told me that Kevin had recognized her and was asking about me each time she had seen him. During what seemed like the longest car ride to the orphanage ever, I worried if he would recognize me with my new brown hair (which by the way is rapidly lighting due to the sun, I have highlights now). Our van pulled into the gates of the kids home. I could see Kevin watching us arrive and looking to see if I was there. The moment I saw him, his face light up. He had not forgotten me at all. When we had to leave both Kevin and I were crying. I told him that I love him and kissed his forehead goodbye. As our van pulled out we cried and waved goodbye. It was incredibly hard to say goodbye. But I know I will have other opportunities to see him while I am here. If only I was older and could adopt him! Kevin reminds me so much of my friend Adam from home. They are around the same age and act very similar!
Well that’s all for now!
Want to send me reeses? Or lemon heads? I would love you forever and ever!
Sending love from Africa,
Annie
Because you are my family and friends who have supported me through all my adventures, I feel like honesty is the best route. I am extremely frustrated with certain aspects of living in a very foreign land. In my previous blog I addressed some of this frustration.
I have never been the target of racism until yesterday. While walking home from Musana a little boy ran up and hit me with a stick and yelled “vieyo mzungu” (go away white person). I pray for patience and understanding. The children at Musana are incredible. Each and every one of them is respectful and kind. They regularly serve us lunch and bring tea to the volunteers. My heart sunk when I saw myself grow bitter towards the children I see on my walk everyday. And then it hit me. The actions of one person can impact someone’s view on that entire group of people. Was I going to let a few people negatively shape my view of a country that I love? Later that day I had to walk home carrying our pet monkey, Rasta. The entire walk home I had around 30 children who were pulling my hair, grabbing at me, pulling Rasta’s rope, and trying to take Rasta from me. All the noise and commotion scared Rasta. When Rasta gets scared she tends to bite on her rope, but with the kids holding the rope she resorted to biting me. My hand was bleeding and I was on the verge of tears. I had been yelling at the children saying “vieyo” and “waylaba” (go away and goodbye) but they still would not leave me alone. When I got home they were banging on our gate. I was so angry at them that I could not even say hello this morning. But with my anger towards them also come anger towards myself. My desire is not to be bitter towards a group of people that I love, but to show them love even in the hardest situations. I will not allow the actions of others to determine mine.
Last weekend I went to Kampala to visit an organization that I worked for last year. I was extremely excited to see a little boy named Kevin who I had bonded with the previous year. After I had left he gave a note for me to another volunteer. The note broke my heart. He told me that he missed and loved me. As we were driving to the orphanage my heart ached. What if he didn’t remember me? Some of the kids develop anger towards a volunteer that they had been close with after they leave them. I was worried that would be Kevin and I. Earlier that day, during my taxi ride to Kampala, my friend Susie called me. After I was done telling her how excited I was to see Kevin she said “Annie, there is something I need to tell you”. My heart skipped a beat. Was this Susie telling me that Kevin didn’t remember me? Instead she told me that Kevin had recognized her and was asking about me each time she had seen him. During what seemed like the longest car ride to the orphanage ever, I worried if he would recognize me with my new brown hair (which by the way is rapidly lighting due to the sun, I have highlights now). Our van pulled into the gates of the kids home. I could see Kevin watching us arrive and looking to see if I was there. The moment I saw him, his face light up. He had not forgotten me at all. When we had to leave both Kevin and I were crying. I told him that I love him and kissed his forehead goodbye. As our van pulled out we cried and waved goodbye. It was incredibly hard to say goodbye. But I know I will have other opportunities to see him while I am here. If only I was older and could adopt him! Kevin reminds me so much of my friend Adam from home. They are around the same age and act very similar!
Well that’s all for now!
Want to send me reeses? Or lemon heads? I would love you forever and ever!
Sending love from Africa,
Annie
Roll. Varnish. String.
6.24.09
Everywhere I go I stand out. Mzungu is a word I have become very accustomed to hear every few seconds. It can be translated to “white person”. The vast majority of the time it is not an insult or a racial slur. They are simply showing their excitement for your presence. Although my patience wears thin. We walk a great deal everyday. And I have to greet almost every person to walk by. It has been a huge test to my patience. Sometimes I just want to blend in. but I cannot control my skin color which inhibits me from blending in at all. Although I do love the small children who walk with me home. When they see me coming their faces light up and they scream mzungu. They run up and either grab my hand or bongo (pound it). For the majority of the one and a half mile walk to and from Musana I have company.
When Andrea, our director, gets here on July 7 I get to start the craft room. But until then I have been working on the paper bead project. It was a mess when I got to it. To make paper beads first you have to cut strips of colored paper and then roll them into a bead. But most Ugandans roll them around a needle but our kids just roll them. This creates an issue when there is not a hole to string them. But before you can make necklaces you must first varnish the beads. Varnishing is the most unpleasant step in this process. The varnish leaves your hands, and anything else that comes in contact with it, extremely sticky. After the beads are dipped in varnish, they hang to dry. It takes around two days to dry. Once the beads are dry they are cut off and strung. My favorite part of the process is stringing the beads. It is a lot of fun to make patterns and pick beads out. If you are interested in getting a paper bead necklace talk to my mother!
Everywhere I go I stand out. Mzungu is a word I have become very accustomed to hear every few seconds. It can be translated to “white person”. The vast majority of the time it is not an insult or a racial slur. They are simply showing their excitement for your presence. Although my patience wears thin. We walk a great deal everyday. And I have to greet almost every person to walk by. It has been a huge test to my patience. Sometimes I just want to blend in. but I cannot control my skin color which inhibits me from blending in at all. Although I do love the small children who walk with me home. When they see me coming their faces light up and they scream mzungu. They run up and either grab my hand or bongo (pound it). For the majority of the one and a half mile walk to and from Musana I have company.
When Andrea, our director, gets here on July 7 I get to start the craft room. But until then I have been working on the paper bead project. It was a mess when I got to it. To make paper beads first you have to cut strips of colored paper and then roll them into a bead. But most Ugandans roll them around a needle but our kids just roll them. This creates an issue when there is not a hole to string them. But before you can make necklaces you must first varnish the beads. Varnishing is the most unpleasant step in this process. The varnish leaves your hands, and anything else that comes in contact with it, extremely sticky. After the beads are dipped in varnish, they hang to dry. It takes around two days to dry. Once the beads are dry they are cut off and strung. My favorite part of the process is stringing the beads. It is a lot of fun to make patterns and pick beads out. If you are interested in getting a paper bead necklace talk to my mother!
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