Sunday 27th - Church this morning with Mama Rachael, Pastor Benedict and the family. We did a Sunday school thing with some of the kiddies which went really well. The church is very small, as you might expect in the village. We also went to see a man who had died of AIDS; a lot of people from the village were there to pay their respects, so we wanted to go too. Again, we saw the body - that's the culture here - but it doesn't get any easier. It seems like people really appreciate it when we talk the language and do our best to fit in with their way of life and customs. It really helps to build relationship up, and encourage them to trust us and treat us no differently to the way they would treat one another. Community evangelism didn't happen this afternoon, so we pampered ourselves :D washed our feet with this awesome soap (the dust here makes your feet DISGUSTING!!) then gave each other manicures and pedicures, then watched an episode of House on Nicky's MP3 player... Oh and then the main event of the evening: A COCKROACH IN THE HOUSE. Ah you should have heard our screams!! It was soooo funny cos we had the light off and couldn't tell what it was flapping and crawling against Lucy's arm.... And it was Sammy the cockroach!!!! Ellie managed to catch him after 5 attempts, while Lucy and I ran around the courtyard squealing and generally feeling all icky that there was a cockroach in the house :) Rachael found it so funny!
The family have some hens and chicks, one of which always runs too far behind his Mummy and gets lost, it's very cute! We've decided to call it Porky. We've also seen a pig here, which we've adopted and we've called it Chick. We want to bring them home :D Please continue to pray for my head, nose and general physical condition! I am still in a lot of pain and the last 2 days my whole body has been aching from the shock of hitting the ground, particularly now that the adrenaline has all worn off.
Thank you SO much for all your support and prayers, it really does mean a lot. Feel free to email or write whenever you want to! You could also text (for about 20p I think) to my Ugandan number: +256784490303
Don't forget to put the +256, it's vital!
Loads of love and hugs to all my lovely friends and especially the family. Thank you for all the prayers, they really do make a difference. Lovelovelove! :)
Flick
xXx
Monday 28 September 2009
25th and 26th September 2009
Friday 25th - I warn you, this will be a loooong entry! Today has been a bit of a nightmare. So straight in with the action: This morning we were involved in a road accident. I was knocked down by a motorbike and bicycle while we were attempting to cross the road opposite the Oasis offices in
The girls were incredible and carried me off the road. I was concussed and in shock, panicking for a while, but the shock is beginning to wear off now (it's the 28th at the time of writing..) I've been finding it pretty scary to cross road because the traffic here is very unpredictable; people just don't stick by the rules. Please pray that I overcome this fear and that what happened doesn't limit my experiences here in any way. I just LOVE the way God has protected and looked after me and the rest of the team; he's so awesome :D
Mum - just to make you smile, I was amazed that you were so calm on the phone and didn't flip out!!! I'm so proud ;)
I went back to the Bambejja project for our theological training at 11 because I didn't want to miss out on anything. We went home early and Rachael made me lie down and rest cos my head and nose were so painful. There is still pain there now, so please pray that this goes away completely... The other issue is the cut near my eyebrow; I can't move my eyebrows cos it hurts too much!! Only now have I realised what over-active eyebrows I have; it's SOOOO annoying!!!! I need eyebrow usage back :D
Saturday 26th - Kids club day... In quite a large amount of pain, but I don't want to be overcome so got on with it anyway. There were lots fewer kids than we expected, which was kinda nice. We played some games, did some songs and stories with them. We also met a guy from World Vision - we do the kids club at their centre in Namaliri - and he said we could go out with some people from their organisation to show us the work they do in the community. Sounds like another good link to have :) I used to sponsor a boy in
Been feeling very homesick today... The fact that we're here for 5 months still hasn't sunk in. For friends who are reading this: I hope you're having a FANTASTIC start to life at uni. I'm really sad I can't be there to share it with you :( Enjoy it, be safe, and pleeeease stay in touch and tell me all about it. I don't wanna get home and not know any of you anymore!! Plus I'm gonna need advice for when I get there next year....... fingers crossed! :) I've got a load of photos and letters and cards stuck up all round my bed, and framed photos in the living room so the girls have total randomers staring at them all the time, but they don't mind!
If you wanna send any letters, cards or presents (HINT HINT!!) our address is:
PO Box 3518
Kampala
Uganda
Christmas post here is terrible; I have birthday cards and Christmas cards to send home but they might not get to you for ages... I'll do my best! :) Missing you all, especially the Osborn clan, tons and tons and tons, but hopefully I'll speak to some of you soon WHEN YOU EMAIL!!! :)
Read on for Sunday! :)
23rd and 24th September 2009
Wednesday 23rd - A very difficult day. We found out this morning that a baby in the village died overnight. We had seen her at the house yesterday, but I assumed that she was just small, not that she was actually dying. She was 5 months old and died of pneumonia - what a waste of a little life. The injustice of her dying when here we can access treatment so easily is just horrible to see. The comparison is not fair, not fair at all. We wanted to do something that was culturally ok to show our sympathy and just be there with her but we weren't sure what to do, so Rachael took us to visit her house. It was heartbreaking. We didn't realise that the baby's body would still be there, so out of respect we saw the body; she was teeny tiny, looked like she was sleeping. It was so difficult to be in the room with the mother sitting on the floor crying with her sick son on her lap. He was malnourished and had some other illness too; he barely had the strength to cry. She lived in one room, with next to no possessions. What can you do to change someone's situation like that? We were all very moved by it, needless to say. It has made me realise how blessed we are to have such accessible healthcare. It's a shock to the system to see a lovely child alive one day and dead the next. It shouldn't be that way. We prayed for the Mummy and her family, and did what we could to comfort her. I think God showed us a tiny fraction of his compassion and love for her. If that is the hurt we felt on seeing the situation, I feel so awful for the baby's mother. We're all still praying for her - if you're the praying type, it would be great if you could pray for her and the family too.
We then had to pick ourselves back up again and get excited and enthusiastic for teaching at the school for disabled children; that took a lot of effort. We played dodgeball, stuck in the mud and duck duck goose with them in themidday sun... we were SOOOO tired and dehydrated by the end of it! Everything here takes more effort than at home because of the heat. I think the more we get used to planning their lessons and the way the children are both at this school and the others that we teach at, the smoother the days will go. The kids themselves were great, with boundless energy! It's humbling to see them overcoming the things they find difficult without complaining. There's a range of disabilities, from deafness to mutes, to cripples to behaviourally challenging kids. Please pray that we have the wisdom to know how to teach all of them together in a way that benefits them and provides for all of their different needs. Mama Rachael came in for a cup of tea tonight; she's SUCH a wonderful woman!! We are very lucky to have her as our Ugandan Mum while we're here. Please pray for their whole family, that they'll be blessed through us being here and that we'll build strong, close relationships with them that last.
Thursday 24th - Pancakes for breakfast, WOOP! :) We taught at Gilgal school today; there is a nursery group then classes from P1 up to P7, which is the final year with big exams before the kids start senior classes. The format of the system here is that kids do exams at the end of every year and if they don't pass, they have to re-sit the year. This, combined with kids starting school late or also having jobs alongside their education, means that there's a big range of ages within each class. The classes are also very big, and resources are extremely limited - there is a blackboard in most of the classes and some desks, particularly for the older children. Textbooks are shared between as many as 6, and materials for interactive learning just don't exist. We have to find ways to keep them interested and excited in learning while we're there, without buying loads of stuff to give them that'll just disappear once we leave... It's a pretty big challenge!! The aim is to do a Bible story, game and song with each class each week. We weren't sure what to expect today, but the children were really good and seemed to enjoy the stuff we did. Dunk duck goose is always a favourite :D Especially when teachers fall over while they're running around the circle...! We had a prayer and praise meeting with the whole school at the end, which was incredible. The children sing and dance with so much passion, compared to our practices at home when people would just mumble at the back and not bother to get involved. Even the older kids love it! We have to teach them a song next week, that'll be interesting!
Bible study tonight was good - Nicky led it really well :) Played with all Rachael and Benedict's kids in the evening, having fights with all our washing and playing with the skipping ropes Lucy brought in a desperate attempt for all of us to keep fit while we're here!! The team are all getting on really well so far; I'm sure we'll come under pressure eventually, but for now things are all great! We've been chilling out together, chatting and praying a lot, which is strengthening us as a team amazingly. I love the girls, they've been a real comfort and uplift to me over the last week or so when things have been difficult :)
Read on for Friday - Sunday! :)
We then had to pick ourselves back up again and get excited and enthusiastic for teaching at the school for disabled children; that took a lot of effort. We played dodgeball, stuck in the mud and duck duck goose with them in the
Thursday 24th - Pancakes for breakfast, WOOP! :) We taught at Gilgal school today; there is a nursery group then classes from P1 up to P7, which is the final year with big exams before the kids start senior classes. The format of the system here is that kids do exams at the end of every year and if they don't pass, they have to re-sit the year. This, combined with kids starting school late or also having jobs alongside their education, means that there's a big range of ages within each class. The classes are also very big, and resources are extremely limited - there is a blackboard in most of the classes and some desks, particularly for the older children. Textbooks are shared between as many as 6, and materials for interactive learning just don't exist. We have to find ways to keep them interested and excited in learning while we're there, without buying loads of stuff to give them that'll just disappear once we leave... It's a pretty big challenge!! The aim is to do a Bible story, game and song with each class each week. We weren't sure what to expect today, but the children were really good and seemed to enjoy the stuff we did. Dunk duck goose is always a favourite :D Especially when teachers fall over while they're running around the circle...! We had a prayer and praise meeting with the whole school at the end, which was incredible. The children sing and dance with so much passion, compared to our practices at home when people would just mumble at the back and not bother to get involved. Even the older kids love it! We have to teach them a song next week, that'll be interesting!
Bible study tonight was good - Nicky led it really well :) Played with all Rachael and Benedict's kids in the evening, having fights with all our washing and playing with the skipping ropes Lucy brought in a desperate attempt for all of us to keep fit while we're here!! The team are all getting on really well so far; I'm sure we'll come under pressure eventually, but for now things are all great! We've been chilling out together, chatting and praying a lot, which is strengthening us as a team amazingly. I love the girls, they've been a real comfort and uplift to me over the last week or so when things have been difficult :)
Read on for Friday - Sunday! :)
20th - 22nd September 2009
This week has been INSANE. Literally, insane. Ridiculous, crazy, add on any other synonym you can think of! :) I am thanking God for his goodness right now, and the fact that he is always faithful; this will make more sense to you as you read about the events of this week. It's hard to know where to start because so much has happened, but I'll copy bits from my diary, go day by day and do my best... I'm going to break this down into a few different posts so that there's a manageable amount to read! Happy reading people :D
Sunday 20th - Still in Kampala, weather is very hot! We went to church today with Maree, our coordinator at a place called Calvary Chapel. It was awesome :) African churches have a lot more dancing than they do at home! There was a gospel choir and everything, it was a great time of rest for the team cos the last 5 days have just been exhausting. Going to our placement in Namaliri village tomorrow... feeling nervous and unsure what to expect. It's strange to be leaving just as we've become settled in Kampala. I'm missing friends and family lots and trying to keep everyone in my prayers, but that's a lot of people!
Monday 21st - Got to placement :D The van was loaded with a LOT of luggage (and a mattress...?!) but we managed to get there. When we got there we met the family that we're living with for the next 5 months. Our Ugandan Mummy and Daddy are called Rachael and Benedict; they were so welcoming! They have seven children: Jonathan and Timothy are away at uni in a larger town. Abigail goes to boarding school (she's about 15). Joshua and Caleb are 12 year old twins, Junior is 6 and Esther is 5. They are such a lovely family and I think we'll settle in really quickly. The 5 of us were pretty nervous to start with, had a lot of people to greet and introduce ourselves to. Because we're mzungus, people treat us differently; it's very weird. Difficult to get used to. People here are very talkative and really look after us well. We had a huuuuge lunch (I'm gonna come home massive!) Interesting differences are: the lack of toilets (we have a pit latrine). I'll have thighs of steel when I come home, that's all I'm saying!! Showers are "baths" out of a plastic bowl, with cups in the open air, which is actually surprisingly nice :) you can see loads of stars here cos there's no civilisation with street lights! There are cows, goats and chickens wandering everywhere...
Our house has 3 rooms; there's a bedroom for 2, a living room and another bedroom for 3. It's quite cramped but we're being inventive with storage solutions :D I've stuck photos up everywhere (literally) and I've brought books with me so it feels like home. That's pretty much all I can briefly sum up about the village from today!
Tuesday 22nd - My diary starts "Today has been AMAZING!" Doughnuts and tea for breakfast (Mama Rachael is such a good cook) The loo (or lack of it) is an experience and a half...! We sorted out our programme today... Day off is Monday, visiting schools in the area on Tuesday mornings then a tailoring school in the afternoon. Teaching in a school for the disabled on Wednesday mornings, then leading a church bible study in the afternoon. Teaching at another school in the village on Thursday mornings, then going round visiting houses in the afternoon. Theological training and team meetings on Fridays. Kids club on Saturdays and a youth girls' group in the evening, then sunday school/church/community evangelism on Sundays. Lots to do!
This afternoon we visited Gilgal school where we'll be teaching; met some kids from the village who all tried to grab our hands and followed us everywhere! Some of them had terrible burns on their arms and faces, others were malnourished. It's hard to see things like that; I hope my hurt when I see it never lessens and that I never get used to it, cos it shouldn't be that way. We attempted to do our own washing when we got home, and manged surprisingly well! :) It'll just take too long to do it on our own every week, so we're going to pay a lady from the village to help us. Loads of these big, disgusting flies got into the house tonight, there was lots of squealing and general panic as we tried to get rid of them - good times!
Read on for other posts.....
Sunday 20th - Still in Kampala, weather is very hot! We went to church today with Maree, our coordinator at a place called Calvary Chapel. It was awesome :) African churches have a lot more dancing than they do at home! There was a gospel choir and everything, it was a great time of rest for the team cos the last 5 days have just been exhausting. Going to our placement in Namaliri village tomorrow... feeling nervous and unsure what to expect. It's strange to be leaving just as we've become settled in Kampala. I'm missing friends and family lots and trying to keep everyone in my prayers, but that's a lot of people!
Monday 21st - Got to placement :D The van was loaded with a LOT of luggage (and a mattress...?!) but we managed to get there. When we got there we met the family that we're living with for the next 5 months. Our Ugandan Mummy and Daddy are called Rachael and Benedict; they were so welcoming! They have seven children: Jonathan and Timothy are away at uni in a larger town. Abigail goes to boarding school (she's about 15). Joshua and Caleb are 12 year old twins, Junior is 6 and Esther is 5. They are such a lovely family and I think we'll settle in really quickly. The 5 of us were pretty nervous to start with, had a lot of people to greet and introduce ourselves to. Because we're mzungus, people treat us differently; it's very weird. Difficult to get used to. People here are very talkative and really look after us well. We had a huuuuge lunch (I'm gonna come home massive!) Interesting differences are: the lack of toilets (we have a pit latrine). I'll have thighs of steel when I come home, that's all I'm saying!! Showers are "baths" out of a plastic bowl, with cups in the open air, which is actually surprisingly nice :) you can see loads of stars here cos there's no civilisation with street lights! There are cows, goats and chickens wandering everywhere...
Our house has 3 rooms; there's a bedroom for 2, a living room and another bedroom for 3. It's quite cramped but we're being inventive with storage solutions :D I've stuck photos up everywhere (literally) and I've brought books with me so it feels like home. That's pretty much all I can briefly sum up about the village from today!
Tuesday 22nd - My diary starts "Today has been AMAZING!" Doughnuts and tea for breakfast (Mama Rachael is such a good cook) The loo (or lack of it) is an experience and a half...! We sorted out our programme today... Day off is Monday, visiting schools in the area on Tuesday mornings then a tailoring school in the afternoon. Teaching in a school for the disabled on Wednesday mornings, then leading a church bible study in the afternoon. Teaching at another school in the village on Thursday mornings, then going round visiting houses in the afternoon. Theological training and team meetings on Fridays. Kids club on Saturdays and a youth girls' group in the evening, then sunday school/church/community evangelism on Sundays. Lots to do!
This afternoon we visited Gilgal school where we'll be teaching; met some kids from the village who all tried to grab our hands and followed us everywhere! Some of them had terrible burns on their arms and faces, others were malnourished. It's hard to see things like that; I hope my hurt when I see it never lessens and that I never get used to it, cos it shouldn't be that way. We attempted to do our own washing when we got home, and manged surprisingly well! :) It'll just take too long to do it on our own every week, so we're going to pay a lady from the village to help us. Loads of these big, disgusting flies got into the house tonight, there was lots of squealing and general panic as we tried to get rid of them - good times!
Read on for other posts.....
Saturday 19 September 2009
19th September 2009
I can get different fonts on this computer, how exciting?! We're in a shopping mall in Kampala the moment; I think it's the only one in the city! Very weird to be sitting in an air conditioned building, surrounded by shops and technology when we've been walking through slums and markets and crazy places for the last few days. There are loads of mzungus (white people) here so it kinda feels like being temporarily transported back to the UK. I'm finding the differences between the poor and rich lifestyles here very difficult - there is such a gulf between those who have so little and the people who come here, who can afford to buy such a lot. And I'm part of that group of people... It becomes more difficult to justify spending money that you would easily spend at home. I think perspective is altered very easily here!
So today we've been doing the Kampala Challenge! Sounds difficult and it's lived up to its name :) Maree, our coordinator, wants us to be able to find our own way around the city cos that's what we'll be doing every Monday and Friday from now on. It's so difficult to cross roads cos of the mental drivers who WILL just run us over!!! Then there's people shoving things at you to buy, rubbish you have to avoid, holes you have to try not to fall down.... ARGH! Fun times :) Anyway, we went to the market and had to buy some bogoya (bananas) and pineapple and passionfruit (I forgot those Luganda words lol) It was full of people but soooo much fun!!! We managed to barter and get our stuff for awesome prices... the pineapple was pretty big and cost us 3000 shillings (that's about 1GBP) and 6 passionfruit were only 700 :) We had a couple of marriage proposals, as you do, and walked aaaages in the sun. It's been a tiring day! We sent postcards home from the post office too, so Osborn clan you can expect to get those sometime in the next month, if you're lucky!
By the way, for anyone sending letters, Christmas cards or little Christmas presents, they take AGES to get here so send them sooner rather than later. I'll put an address on here once I know it!
Back to today... We also saw something pretty scary. There's a big thing of mob justice here, which means if someone yells "thief" that person gets mobbed, badly beaten and can sometimes die. We were walking out of the market and across the road that was happening; it was horrible to have to walk past it. I felt so useless, like I was being just as irresponsible as everyone else who walked by, pretending it wasn't happening. But what can you do? It's dangerous to get involved. It just hit me, that God values every life equally, and yet you can watch something like that happening and not be able to act, either out of fear for your own safety or just not being bothered. It was the same when two tiny children came up to us begging, but we can't give out money cos they just give it back to the adults who send them out and they continue starving. It's horrible to see, but such a big problem. It's hard to know what to do - I think we're going to start carrying biscuits or bananas round with us so we can feed them sometimes. It makes me want to ask God what on earth is going on, how it can be this way. But then you really look, and you see people with faith and who find hope in what seems like the most hopeless of circumstances, and it's very humbling. We give into the smallest things at home, but here they battle through huge things, and become the most incredible people as a result. We have a lot to learn from them; they have a lot to give. I hope I can just learn to be more hopeful and strong and resilient while I'm here, learning from them myself while I'm attempting to help or teach them in some small way.
God is being very good to us, being SO faithful. We all have stories about the money we needed to get here being provided at the last minute, sometimes to the nearest pound of what we needed - it's amazing! To know that we're here for a reason and CAN do something to help, however small that might seem at first. I'm so thankful that I get to have this experience :)
Right, I've written a ridiculous amount and my half hour is almost up so I'm going! You might not hear anything else till next Friday, I'm not 100% sure, but I'll write again soon. Thank you for keeping up with me and bothering to read this far!
Sending lots and lots of love and huggles
Flick
xXx
So today we've been doing the Kampala Challenge! Sounds difficult and it's lived up to its name :) Maree, our coordinator, wants us to be able to find our own way around the city cos that's what we'll be doing every Monday and Friday from now on. It's so difficult to cross roads cos of the mental drivers who WILL just run us over!!! Then there's people shoving things at you to buy, rubbish you have to avoid, holes you have to try not to fall down.... ARGH! Fun times :) Anyway, we went to the market and had to buy some bogoya (bananas) and pineapple and passionfruit (I forgot those Luganda words lol) It was full of people but soooo much fun!!! We managed to barter and get our stuff for awesome prices... the pineapple was pretty big and cost us 3000 shillings (that's about 1GBP) and 6 passionfruit were only 700 :) We had a couple of marriage proposals, as you do, and walked aaaages in the sun. It's been a tiring day! We sent postcards home from the post office too, so Osborn clan you can expect to get those sometime in the next month, if you're lucky!
By the way, for anyone sending letters, Christmas cards or little Christmas presents, they take AGES to get here so send them sooner rather than later. I'll put an address on here once I know it!
Back to today... We also saw something pretty scary. There's a big thing of mob justice here, which means if someone yells "thief" that person gets mobbed, badly beaten and can sometimes die. We were walking out of the market and across the road that was happening; it was horrible to have to walk past it. I felt so useless, like I was being just as irresponsible as everyone else who walked by, pretending it wasn't happening. But what can you do? It's dangerous to get involved. It just hit me, that God values every life equally, and yet you can watch something like that happening and not be able to act, either out of fear for your own safety or just not being bothered. It was the same when two tiny children came up to us begging, but we can't give out money cos they just give it back to the adults who send them out and they continue starving. It's horrible to see, but such a big problem. It's hard to know what to do - I think we're going to start carrying biscuits or bananas round with us so we can feed them sometimes. It makes me want to ask God what on earth is going on, how it can be this way. But then you really look, and you see people with faith and who find hope in what seems like the most hopeless of circumstances, and it's very humbling. We give into the smallest things at home, but here they battle through huge things, and become the most incredible people as a result. We have a lot to learn from them; they have a lot to give. I hope I can just learn to be more hopeful and strong and resilient while I'm here, learning from them myself while I'm attempting to help or teach them in some small way.
God is being very good to us, being SO faithful. We all have stories about the money we needed to get here being provided at the last minute, sometimes to the nearest pound of what we needed - it's amazing! To know that we're here for a reason and CAN do something to help, however small that might seem at first. I'm so thankful that I get to have this experience :)
Right, I've written a ridiculous amount and my half hour is almost up so I'm going! You might not hear anything else till next Friday, I'm not 100% sure, but I'll write again soon. Thank you for keeping up with me and bothering to read this far!
Sending lots and lots of love and huggles
Flick
xXx
Friday 18 September 2009
17th & 18th September 2009
Wow! It's been crazy busy yesterday and today... Loads to do and see and think about. We met Benedict and Rachel, our Ugandan "Mum and Dad" yesterday; they were really lovely, and very welcoming. We'll be staying in a bungalow near their house in Namaliri where we'll be working. We've had some more training sessions, language and culture stuff and some teaching training too.
The most exciting thing was going into Kampala yesterday - it was AMAZING!!! Full of people and noise and dust. The walk was insanely hot, but it was good to get out a bit. I can't even begin to describe it to you, you have to be there to understand the craziness of the place... Picture bright red earth that throws up dust when you walk on it, and kinda tarmac roads that have millions of potholes everywhere :) Today we had to drive through one that had a lake in it cos it was soooo huge! There are people on motorbikes yelling at you "boda boda", which is a type of public transport here... you can smell burning rubbish and food being cooked on the street, literally on the kerb, everywhere you go. Women sit with their kids on the pavement trying to sell bits and pieces, everyone wearing faded and discoloured old clothes. The poverty isn't everywhere though - there are businessmen in suits, and people keep themselves looking amazing bearing in mind how much dust there is everywhere! I don't know how they do it.. I'll have to show you photos when I'm home; it's too much to take in and put into words.
We've been doing Bible studies most nights, which has been GREAT for the team as we try to bond. The girls are lovely people and we're getting to know each other better with each day that goes past. I miss people from home, really miss not needing to explain myself cos you all already know me! But I'm 100000% sure that the 5 of us will be like sisters by the end of February.
Today, the 18th, we went to visit the project run by Oasis called Bambejja. It's a Luganda word that means "princess". It basically supports 120 girls through school, providing them with life skills training, healthcare and emotional and spiritual support. Oasis as a whole are big on the whole holistic care thing :) It's a fantastic project; I met some of the girls last year while I was there helping to build a big structure called a banda, which is a grass roofed open walled shelter. It was SOOOO awesome being back there!! I cried when I saw the completed banda, it was very emotional. Typical me! :) We didn't see the girls today but met all of the Oasis staff, both from overseas and local. We'll be having a meeting with them at Bambejja every Friday when we do our theological training course there. Bambejja is in a slum area in Kampala called Kyebando, which is obviously very poor and difficult to walk through. I wasn't as shocked as last year, I guess cos I've seen it before, but it was difficult nonetheless. On the streets in Kampala the other day there were some scarily thin children begging. It was heartbreaking cos there's nothing immediate that we can do - giving out money just doesn't solve the problem. Anyway, the kids in the slum were delighted to see us today! They shout "mzungu" at you, which means white person, and run after you! Very cute :D
I have to go now and email my personal statement to school... Never do a gap year while you're trying to reapply to uni!!! Lots and lots of love and hugs! Hope you guys back home are doing OK, please email me so I know what's going on with you! I might not be able to reply straight away, but I'll do my best.
Lovelovelove! :D
Flick
xXx
The most exciting thing was going into Kampala yesterday - it was AMAZING!!! Full of people and noise and dust. The walk was insanely hot, but it was good to get out a bit. I can't even begin to describe it to you, you have to be there to understand the craziness of the place... Picture bright red earth that throws up dust when you walk on it, and kinda tarmac roads that have millions of potholes everywhere :) Today we had to drive through one that had a lake in it cos it was soooo huge! There are people on motorbikes yelling at you "boda boda", which is a type of public transport here... you can smell burning rubbish and food being cooked on the street, literally on the kerb, everywhere you go. Women sit with their kids on the pavement trying to sell bits and pieces, everyone wearing faded and discoloured old clothes. The poverty isn't everywhere though - there are businessmen in suits, and people keep themselves looking amazing bearing in mind how much dust there is everywhere! I don't know how they do it.. I'll have to show you photos when I'm home; it's too much to take in and put into words.
We've been doing Bible studies most nights, which has been GREAT for the team as we try to bond. The girls are lovely people and we're getting to know each other better with each day that goes past. I miss people from home, really miss not needing to explain myself cos you all already know me! But I'm 100000% sure that the 5 of us will be like sisters by the end of February.
Today, the 18th, we went to visit the project run by Oasis called Bambejja. It's a Luganda word that means "princess". It basically supports 120 girls through school, providing them with life skills training, healthcare and emotional and spiritual support. Oasis as a whole are big on the whole holistic care thing :) It's a fantastic project; I met some of the girls last year while I was there helping to build a big structure called a banda, which is a grass roofed open walled shelter. It was SOOOO awesome being back there!! I cried when I saw the completed banda, it was very emotional. Typical me! :) We didn't see the girls today but met all of the Oasis staff, both from overseas and local. We'll be having a meeting with them at Bambejja every Friday when we do our theological training course there. Bambejja is in a slum area in Kampala called Kyebando, which is obviously very poor and difficult to walk through. I wasn't as shocked as last year, I guess cos I've seen it before, but it was difficult nonetheless. On the streets in Kampala the other day there were some scarily thin children begging. It was heartbreaking cos there's nothing immediate that we can do - giving out money just doesn't solve the problem. Anyway, the kids in the slum were delighted to see us today! They shout "mzungu" at you, which means white person, and run after you! Very cute :D
I have to go now and email my personal statement to school... Never do a gap year while you're trying to reapply to uni!!! Lots and lots of love and hugs! Hope you guys back home are doing OK, please email me so I know what's going on with you! I might not be able to reply straight away, but I'll do my best.
Lovelovelove! :D
Flick
xXx
Wednesday 16 September 2009
16th September 2009
So we arrived here safely! At last I'm back in Africa... It was about 30deg here today. We arrived at about 8am this morning then did some orientation stuff and went for a walk around the bit of Kampala that we're staying in till Monday, when we drive about 2 hours to our actual placement where we'll spend the majority of our time here.
It's exactly the same as last year :D The earth is just as red and the trees are all pretty and it's AWESOME!!! I can't write much now cos I'm tired and I have to let the team watch West Wing on the computer... I'll try to write a bit more when I manage to get to an internet cafe!
Lots of love and hugs to all of you back home x
It's exactly the same as last year :D The earth is just as red and the trees are all pretty and it's AWESOME!!! I can't write much now cos I'm tired and I have to let the team watch West Wing on the computer... I'll try to write a bit more when I manage to get to an internet cafe!
Lots of love and hugs to all of you back home x
Monday 14 September 2009
15th September 2009
It's 00:02 - In other words, it's officially the day that I leave the UK! How exciting...
I'm a bit curious about how this whole bloggage thing works, so I'm basically writing this just to see what happens! Although I also have HUGE thankyous to say to my lovely family and friends who have encouraged and supported me up to this point of seeing a childhood aspiration begin to be fulfilled. I can't believe I'm actually going to live and work in Africa for 6 whole months... I've been wanting to do this since I was 7 :)
Anyway, I have to go and pack (yes yes, I know, disorganisation at this point is not a good thing!) Lots of love and hugs to those of you reading this.. I hope you're all going to be checking this page every single week to see what exciting new stuff I'm going to write....! :D
Flick
xXx
I'm a bit curious about how this whole bloggage thing works, so I'm basically writing this just to see what happens! Although I also have HUGE thankyous to say to my lovely family and friends who have encouraged and supported me up to this point of seeing a childhood aspiration begin to be fulfilled. I can't believe I'm actually going to live and work in Africa for 6 whole months... I've been wanting to do this since I was 7 :)
Anyway, I have to go and pack (yes yes, I know, disorganisation at this point is not a good thing!) Lots of love and hugs to those of you reading this.. I hope you're all going to be checking this page every single week to see what exciting new stuff I'm going to write....! :D
Flick
xXx
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