It was sad to say weraba (goodbye) to the people we came to love, but it is good to be back in the states. Chris and I arrived in Seattle on Saturday afternoon, greeted by the smiles of our family. They indulged us with many of the foods we had missed while in Africa, specifically raw vegetables, cheese, and ice cream. We sat around and shared stories as we looked at the nearly 1,700 pictures Chris took (!) as well as watched the video footage of our trip.
Yesterday Chris and I found ourselves being drawn to Seattle, a place our hearts constantly yearn to be. We got some Subway and headed to Sunset Hill in Ballard to enjoy the sunshine and beauty of the day. But we kept finding ourselves overwhelmed by life here. After a couple arguments and frustration at being back in America, we decided to just rent some movies and come home (currently Carnation). Once home Chris and I decided to take a nap at 5:oopm and eventually woke up at 1:ooam, forced ourselves to stay in bed until 5:ooam so that we wouldn't repeat the schedule today. This jet lag thing is new to both of us since neither of us has gone too far out of the country before.
Chris has already gone off to work today. Early this morning we found ourselves praying against the temptation to busy ourselves and be anxious about the stress that tends to come too easily with our way of life here. We hope to maintain the spirit of peace and joy in everyday work that we cultivated more than ever before in Uganda. As we begin to think about where we will live, we find ourselves anxious. As we begin to think about whether I want a full-time teaching job or to be a substitute for awhile, we find ourselves anxious. But as we cling to the what we do know and Him that sustains us, we find ourselves thankful and at peace.
To those of you that lifted us up in prayer, thank you; we could not have gone on this journey alone. Without the guidance and love of the Lord our time in Uganda would have been meaningless. Chris and I are sad to be far from those we built relationships with. Every once in awhile I find myself in tears over the children that have taken such a dear place in my heart, specifically Nantale. I miss hearing her laugh as she comes into the room, and crawls up on my lap with a book in English that she doesn't understand but wants me to read to her anyway. I miss going to the market with Esther and our conversations about life. I know Chris wishes that Travis could have come back with him so they could hang-out everyday still. Oh, we are so blessed to have family in different parts of the world.
We are still adjusting to life here. Our thoughts are still processing. As we begin to get accustomed to this culture and lifestyle again, our prayer is that we would remember what God showed us in Africa and take that with us in all we do. We look forward to hearing how each one of you are doing and sharing our stories and pictures with you in return. Thank you for your love.
Katonda akuwe omukisa (God bless you),
Tiffany (& Chris) Acker
*PS: It is a tradition for volunteers to receive an African name before they leave. Travis gave Chris an African name that means "father of twins." He is certain that we will have twins in the future. Let's hope he's not prophetic.
Wednesday, August 24
Tuesday, July 19
Blog Update!
Here is another large post for you all to read. It takes much less time for me to put several entries in one blog post rather than posted them all separate. Also, check out the original post of pictures we did because we added some pictures to the original picture post with captions this time….
I’ve just finished my second full day of creating and editing documents for MACRO. Travis has gone to the islands with 16 MACRO members to talk about HIV/AIDS, hand out supplies, and be with the islanders for 4 days. I am staying in Mukono to work on many internal and external documents that MACRO needs to move forward and grow successfully.
A small part of me wanted to go with the group. Initially I was to go with Travis to another island for 3 days and then he was to go to more islands for 5-6 days. I decided to only go the first journey because the total time of the visits would have taken me away from Tiffany for almost half our trip here. Our help is always needed in so many places here, and we love serving, but I know that when I look back on this trip, I want there to be many shared experiences and memories for Tiff and I. Long story short, the trips were changed and this one trip was picked for Travis to go to with his members. I opted out because of the reasons above and because my time spent on the documents will help MACRO more than if I were to go. After Travis gets back on Thursday I will only have 3-4 days of time left so the more time I have for these documents, the better!
Speaking of 3-4 days, time sure has seemed to speed up around here. Compared to our first week feeling like a whole month, now the time when we leave seems to be approaching quickly. We have some plans for our last weekend and last few days before we leave. Otherwise, we’ll just be spending time in Mukono each night with Esther and the girls until we leave.
Digesting
~This next bit is some reflection on African culture as we’ve experienced it so far. I want to ask that if you don’t have time to read the whole thing, just wait to read it until you do have time for it. Also, I want to stress that the reflections below are based on our limited African experience in Uganda, specifically the Mukono District. Any generalizations or assumptions about African people are based solely on our experience and we would never apply them to all African people in the world. We do not mean to offend anyone; our reflections and feeling only show what our experience has been like here and should be taken in that context.~
Over the last week we have spent more time in Kampala (the capital city) as well as a small village and a town called Jinja. Jinja is at the source of the Nile River and almost feels like a small town in the Midwest of the U.S. There are nice houses and cleaner streets than we are used to, and it is very quiet. After taking in the sights and sounds of each city, we have had mixed feelings and responses to the problems and poverty in Uganda. I think we feel confused, angry, frustrated, and somewhat helpless. Here’s some insight: Kampala has started to remind us a lot of a very familiar developed city: Seattle. What I mean by that is that Kampala is a thriving city with all the normal characteristics a city has. There are nice tall buildings that lots of people work in. There is also a nice mall with cinemas, a food court, and nice shops. There is some order to the traffic and streets and there are sewers and waste management. We’ve also noticed that there are some very rich people in Kampala that drive nice cars, shop at the nice mall and golf at the golf course in town. What we also see are homeless people on the streets that are begging for money. We see other people that are just making it by selling newspapers or other goods in markets.
If you hop on a packed taxi and go 5 minutes out of town, things are very different. Much like the standard of living may be lower in suburbs of Seattle like the Rainier Valley (a stretch for an example), the suburbs (villages) of Kampala need help to. The difference however is that the problems here are so much more serious: poverty, HIV/AIDS, kids that can’t go to school because they don’t have school fees; really bad schools; easily preventable diseases, and much more.
Our confusion, anger, frustration, and helplessness comes out of the fact that the government here doesn’t seem to work for the greater good. The money that comes from things like the G8 meetings usually doesn’t make an impact to these villages outside the city because of corruption in the government or poor planning when using the funds. Just the other day I read in the local paper that the Member’s of Parliament (MP’s) voted to give themselves a raise and better pension despite the fact that they still hadn’t voted on a raise in salary for the teachers that they have been talking about for much longer. Then to top it off, the head of education called the bank the next week and put a stop on all of the teacher’s checks because the department was having some “financial troubles.” All the teachers that tried to cash their checks were told that the checks were no good.
I think the main reason it is hard to comprehend the problems over here is because of the seriousness of them. I know that in America, we have teachers that are underpaid and schools that aren’t up to par. The same problems exist here, but just on a larger and deeper scale. I feel like if Uganda was serious about being a developing country and moving forward, the government would do a better job with funds they receive and work harder to reach out and build the smaller villages.
At the same time of us feeling this way, Tiffany and I were in a village the other day with Travis talking about HIV/AIDS and basic hygiene when an issue over men’s and women’s roles came up that we’ve heard before. In Africa the popular way (or African Tradition if you will) is that the women most of the time do pretty much everything. Getting water, taking care of the kids, feeding everyone, keeping the house running, the list goes on and on. The role of the man is to go out and earn money for the family. (In the deep villages the men also pride themselves with multiple wives and many many kids.) This setup of men’s and women’s roles may sound like it would work but based on our experience the men in these relationships are often unfaithful and lazy. If I were to look out the front windows of our apt here at any given time of the day, I will generally see a handful of men sitting around doing nothing, while the women are all at home cleaning, cooking, and watching over the kids. Also, if I walk down the main street in Mukono past many of the small shops, generally women are the ones that are running the business. Working with Travis, I have met many men of great integrity who are hard workers and care about seeing the community grow and develop. Too often though I feel like the majority of men, if working are doing an easy job like driving a taxi or motorcycle while the women are doing the majority of the hard work that keeps families healthy and the community growing. In the small villages the men do work very hard on their farms to provide, but they often have too many children to support then their crops will provide.
I feel like for Africa to make the leap from a developing country it doesn’t need money, but it needs men and women that have integrity and will use the resources that Africa has to build it up and not take it down through greed, corruption, and laziness.
Wow, that was a mouthful and has probably left you feeling a little sad and negative about Africa. Let me finish this entry with this however: The people in Uganda are beautiful, wonderful, and full of heart. We have never met a nicer community of people than those in the Mukono district. We have not lost any hope in Africa even after the above reflections; rather we now understand better what Africa needs and how we and others are called to help. Africa is beautiful and its people are too. Our prayer is that one day the spectrum of people from rich politicians all the way down to the poor village farmer will make poverty, HIV/AIDS, and other harsh ways of life a thing of the past. We pray that people like us from all over the world would continue to come to Africa to learn about it and share knowledge and experiences that will help it develop and that as nations send money and aid that they make sure they follow up on how the aid is being used. There is so much beauty in Africa despite the troubling things we see, and we hope you can see that beauty also.
Thank you for taking the time to read this long entry, I hope it gave you a better understanding of the problems in Uganda (and other countries in Africa) and reminded you that despite the problems it still is a place of beautiful and precious people. If you have any questions or comments, do please post them.
Chris
Murchison Falls expedition
Chris and I decided to take a three day trip with Red Chilli Hideaway to a serene location in west Uganda, Murchison Falls. It was one of the best valued trips we could find that included a variety of adventures. Let me start with the Sunday (July 10th) before. Chris and I headed to Kampala to check the city out a little more. We had a day of Western food, which is a nice change to the (also great!) local food. But the thing with all of the posho, matooke, potatoes, and rice is that they are all carbohydrates and just fill you up, and start to taste the same. I will miss Esther’s cooking though. Anyways, we went to Kampala and had coffee (good coffee!!!) at Café Pap, which looks like it is straight from the top of Queen Anne or something, not quite hip enough for Capitol Hill. There is even wireless internet and. . . western toilets and running water!!! After we had coffee and muffins we went to visit Kampala Pentecostal Church, a thriving place of worship in the heart of the city. There are four Sunday services along with over one thousand weekly home groups (Cell groups). We waited outside with hundreds of people to get into the large building. When we were inside we felt at home. The singing and presentation was spectacular. A large mural of a waterfall covered the main wall, which was complete with a projector screen for notes and announcements. All of the choir was in traditional African garb, but they were singing songs we were familiar with (Matt Redman would be proud). There were maybe about ten white people there in all, out of over a thousand at one service, this includes the pastor and his wife. They are from America, and at a young age the pastor’s family went to Kenya to pastor a church. The pastor of this church had been so for the whole 21 years that it has existed, and it seems to be working extremely well. At first we had to get over the fact that we came to a church in Africa just to hear an American speak, but God spoke through him. Also, most of you know that we had been attending a small church at home, and we missed the larger corporate gatherings: we were refreshed.
Okay, so after leaving KPC we found our way to the markets and then to Mama Mia’s Pizzeria. I have been craving cheese since I have been here. I love cheese, so it has been difficult without my daily intake. Chris is feeling this way with ice cream. This pizza was great! It wasn’t Pagliacci’s or Zeeks, but it was our first taste of cheese in awhile, so it was fabulous. At this point Chris and I were overwhelmed by the day of “luxury” we were having, when just earlier we were in the village living much differently. (Chris has written some reflection on this which is heartfelt and insightful.)
So, then we decided to take a mutatu (taxi) to the Red Chilli hostel where we would stay the night before we head off to the falls. We got off on the wrong exit and the boda boda drivers did not know where to go. So we had a twenty minute long boda boda ride around the outskirts of Kampala, in which I was freaking out the whole time. Chris and I took separate bodas since we had our luggage for the trip, and I was convinced that they were going to either split us up or leave us somewhere and take our stuff. On the contrary, they stopped and asked for directions, drove safely, and were very nice. When we arrived at Red Chilli we felt like we were somewhere else. It is a hostel that attracts long-term travelers, peace corps members, and basically, white folk. We actually watched the news coverage on the London bombings and had hot showers. We met several people from the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
The next morning we left on our 6 hour van ride to the other side of Uganda. It was fun. In our group of 8 was a couple from Australia, a couple originally from New Zealand that have been living in London for the past 5 years, and two girls from Israel (they have some incredible stories). All of the other people were traveling through several African countries and hitting all the National Parks and main events. Needless to say, our experience in Africa is much different than theirs. It was good to share perspectives and stories.
We arrived at the Falls and took a short hike up to the top of where the Nile streams down into Lake Albert. We were able to get up close and even misted by the mighty river. After this we went to the campsite, took showers, and ate dinner. The next morning at 6:45 am we left for our safari or game drive. There we saw antelopes, giraffes, spotted hyenas, African buffalo, gorgeous birds, and my personal favorite—elephants! We saw a herd of about thirty of them going down to the water from a distance. After the drive we went on a boat ride to the Falls. There we saw many hippos and crocodiles, and some of the elephant stragglers at the water still. There is nothing like seeing these animals in their natural habitat (not the Woodland Park Zoo). It is glorious to see the grace of the giraffes running, the harmony of the hippos moving, and the enormity of the elephants. We feel privileged to have had this experience. And that wasn’t it. The next morning we took a trek in a forest reserve to see chimpanzees! They were playing up in the trees. Chris almost got peed on, and they kept throwing the passion fruits down from the trees. They are fabulous. At once they will all make these loud noises and bang on the trees as a competition between the males. At times we feared that a chimp would just jump down on us from above. Overall, our trip to Murchison Falls was spectacular.
My days at school
Nalusse Primary School is such a joy to be part of this month. I am treated so kindly by the teachers, headmistress, and director. Josephine, the director of the school, is constantly bringing me avocados from her tree at home and mangoes from the market. She’ll bring them in to the classroom and cut them up for me at lunch. She also buys me Cokes once in awhile and different snacks for break, like chapati (a greasy flat bread}, samosa (fried dough with peas or meat inside), or something else that is fried but I don’t know how to spell. (I’m not exactly losing weight on the trip.) I take turns in paying for the snacks too, which they are so thankful for and surprised by. Josephine has invited me to her home before I go, but has warned me thoroughly that it will not be as nice of conditions as I am used to. I reassure her that I will love visiting her home. It is difficult to listen to the way America is put up on such a pedestal in the eyes of Ugandans. When I complimented Teacher Ndagire Mary on her shoes (which were very nice, but dusty, like everything else here) she insisted that my flip-flops were much nicer than her business shoes. Many of the people have the idea that everything we have is just so much better, that life is so much better. I will agree with them that some things are better, like health care and some living conditions. But I always mention the rich community here that takes care of one another.
Teacher Mary’s son Davis is getting used to me as the first white person he has ever seen. He sits on my lap now and touches my hands and face, and pees on me once in awhile. =) The students are a complete joy. They are so obedient and helpful! The children are constantly doing chores and helping the teachers. I brought in a map of the world today. No one could point out Africa, or Uganda though. By the end of class they could. I taught them that they were part of three countries that make up East Africa (Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania); what countries surround Uganda; that they have one of the biggest lakes in the world; and that the Nile River begins in Uganda and goes up through Sudan and Egypt to the Mediterranean. They also learned why we wash clothes and what we use to wash clothes, and that where Teacher Acker is from they use machines, not hands. (more on this later)
Teacher Ndagire Mary has become a good friend of mine. She is twenty eight years old and has two children, as well as a girl who is 14 that she calls her daughter and lives with her. Her husband is an engineer and works a couple hours away. He comes home at the end of the month to see them; I met him today. This is fairly normal for a husband and wife to live this way. Thankfully, Mary has her own PO Box in Kampala, so we can correspond. Most people here do not have access to mail. The girl who she calls daughter, Damalie, will be pen pals with Teghan. When I get home I will be sending pencil sharpeners (since they use dull razor blades), new pencils, rulers, and maps. Teacher Mary is also in awe of my Bible with my name engraved on the front, so I would like to get her name engraved on a Bible and send it to her.
I just met a few more students this week, because students can not come to school if they can’t pay their school fees. It is so hard to know this. It is not a lot of American money, but here it is so much. I wish I could sponsor all of these kids. For now, I am supporting some of their parents’ shops and just loving them. At least they are all in the same boat, I guess. (If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child, I know many that would be grateful for this. School fees start at about 75,000 shillings a year, which is about $45. For more info just email me: foremt@spu.edu). I am hoping to keep Nalusse Success Primary School as a contact school for my future students. I see future pen pals and educational experiences.
Washing clothes, etc.
Yesterday I was washing our underwear and Nantale and Nakalema walked into the wash room. They started laughing at my “technique” or lack thereof. I was holding my hands the wrong way. It was amazing to see such young girls just start washing without hesitation, so rigorously and rapidly. They knew what they were doing! They rinsed them and rung them out for me, and loved helping. This is such a treasure here: the children are helpful and disciplined. Every night after dinner the two girls help Esther bring everything into the kitchen and clean up the table. It is bizarre and wonderful to see such willful obedience from children of a young age.
African name/Western name
You will notice that each person we have met has an African name and a non-African name: Nantale Caroline, Nakalema Christine, Ndagire Mary, etc. The first name is chosen depending on the clan that you are part of. There are many different clans tat you can be born into, all named after animals. Esther is part of the Antelope Clan. Each clan has a set of African names that people our named, then a western name is chosen. I was trying to learn the African names of my students, and have not been very successful since Teacher Mary calls them, most of the time, by their other name. The tradition is that each volunteer leaves here with an African name given to them, so we’ll let you know soon what ours is.
Please pray for Esther. She is sick again with Malaria. She just had it before we came a month ago, and now has it again. Malaria is common here, but very serious. Most people will go to the clinic and get a series of injections, which Esther did. But they must not be too effective since it is already back in her system (Jason would probably know more about this). She instead is taking a series of pills for five days in the evening. But her work requires full strength and health.
I was just in saying goodnight to Esther and talking about the mat that she is finishing up. She has been working on it for quite some time in her spare time, and it is a full area rug, probably about 8 x 5 feet. I asked her how much she will sell it for; she said 5000 shillings is a good price. You guys, this is less than three dollars US. It is so amazing to me that something that takes so much time and effort is worth so little. In village life though, 5000 is no small amount. I told you already that Esther makes 50,000 shillings a month.
Please pray for Travis’s trip to the islands with MACRO. Pray for safety, open hearts and minds, and God’s will to be done. May God’s vision for these people be clear to those that want to help where they see needed.
Please pray for Nantale and Nakalema’s mom. She has a sore on her foot that causes her whole leg pain. Because of this it is taking her longer to cook and work. I noticed today at school that Nakalema did not have lunch, and she said her mom wasn’t feeling well. I know that the girls are very hungry at night; their mom does not make much selling mats here in Mukono. Thankfully, the girls’ schooling is being sponsored by some past volunteers. And they eat dinner here every night. I have been giving them food or money for food at school. These girls are so precious to us. I am tearing up at the thought of leaving them. And just recently Nantale has started calling me “my Tiffany” and “mama Tiffany.” It is adorable. She would have so much fun with Delaney (my niece).
Please pray for us. We have just 10 days left in Africa. It has not gone by too quickly; it feels as though we have been here longer than a month. Each day is filled with so many rich experiences and people that it is overwhelming. We are both feeling ready to come home though. To be physically clean and comfortable, and be able to eat balanced meals with raw vegetables. And I’ll admit sometimes I lay in bed at night thinking about nachos and a diet coke. But we will miss the relationships that have been developing and the community here. Africa will always hold a special place in our heart and in our prayers.
I’ve just finished my second full day of creating and editing documents for MACRO. Travis has gone to the islands with 16 MACRO members to talk about HIV/AIDS, hand out supplies, and be with the islanders for 4 days. I am staying in Mukono to work on many internal and external documents that MACRO needs to move forward and grow successfully.
A small part of me wanted to go with the group. Initially I was to go with Travis to another island for 3 days and then he was to go to more islands for 5-6 days. I decided to only go the first journey because the total time of the visits would have taken me away from Tiffany for almost half our trip here. Our help is always needed in so many places here, and we love serving, but I know that when I look back on this trip, I want there to be many shared experiences and memories for Tiff and I. Long story short, the trips were changed and this one trip was picked for Travis to go to with his members. I opted out because of the reasons above and because my time spent on the documents will help MACRO more than if I were to go. After Travis gets back on Thursday I will only have 3-4 days of time left so the more time I have for these documents, the better!
Speaking of 3-4 days, time sure has seemed to speed up around here. Compared to our first week feeling like a whole month, now the time when we leave seems to be approaching quickly. We have some plans for our last weekend and last few days before we leave. Otherwise, we’ll just be spending time in Mukono each night with Esther and the girls until we leave.
Digesting
~This next bit is some reflection on African culture as we’ve experienced it so far. I want to ask that if you don’t have time to read the whole thing, just wait to read it until you do have time for it. Also, I want to stress that the reflections below are based on our limited African experience in Uganda, specifically the Mukono District. Any generalizations or assumptions about African people are based solely on our experience and we would never apply them to all African people in the world. We do not mean to offend anyone; our reflections and feeling only show what our experience has been like here and should be taken in that context.~
Over the last week we have spent more time in Kampala (the capital city) as well as a small village and a town called Jinja. Jinja is at the source of the Nile River and almost feels like a small town in the Midwest of the U.S. There are nice houses and cleaner streets than we are used to, and it is very quiet. After taking in the sights and sounds of each city, we have had mixed feelings and responses to the problems and poverty in Uganda. I think we feel confused, angry, frustrated, and somewhat helpless. Here’s some insight: Kampala has started to remind us a lot of a very familiar developed city: Seattle. What I mean by that is that Kampala is a thriving city with all the normal characteristics a city has. There are nice tall buildings that lots of people work in. There is also a nice mall with cinemas, a food court, and nice shops. There is some order to the traffic and streets and there are sewers and waste management. We’ve also noticed that there are some very rich people in Kampala that drive nice cars, shop at the nice mall and golf at the golf course in town. What we also see are homeless people on the streets that are begging for money. We see other people that are just making it by selling newspapers or other goods in markets.
If you hop on a packed taxi and go 5 minutes out of town, things are very different. Much like the standard of living may be lower in suburbs of Seattle like the Rainier Valley (a stretch for an example), the suburbs (villages) of Kampala need help to. The difference however is that the problems here are so much more serious: poverty, HIV/AIDS, kids that can’t go to school because they don’t have school fees; really bad schools; easily preventable diseases, and much more.
Our confusion, anger, frustration, and helplessness comes out of the fact that the government here doesn’t seem to work for the greater good. The money that comes from things like the G8 meetings usually doesn’t make an impact to these villages outside the city because of corruption in the government or poor planning when using the funds. Just the other day I read in the local paper that the Member’s of Parliament (MP’s) voted to give themselves a raise and better pension despite the fact that they still hadn’t voted on a raise in salary for the teachers that they have been talking about for much longer. Then to top it off, the head of education called the bank the next week and put a stop on all of the teacher’s checks because the department was having some “financial troubles.” All the teachers that tried to cash their checks were told that the checks were no good.
I think the main reason it is hard to comprehend the problems over here is because of the seriousness of them. I know that in America, we have teachers that are underpaid and schools that aren’t up to par. The same problems exist here, but just on a larger and deeper scale. I feel like if Uganda was serious about being a developing country and moving forward, the government would do a better job with funds they receive and work harder to reach out and build the smaller villages.
At the same time of us feeling this way, Tiffany and I were in a village the other day with Travis talking about HIV/AIDS and basic hygiene when an issue over men’s and women’s roles came up that we’ve heard before. In Africa the popular way (or African Tradition if you will) is that the women most of the time do pretty much everything. Getting water, taking care of the kids, feeding everyone, keeping the house running, the list goes on and on. The role of the man is to go out and earn money for the family. (In the deep villages the men also pride themselves with multiple wives and many many kids.) This setup of men’s and women’s roles may sound like it would work but based on our experience the men in these relationships are often unfaithful and lazy. If I were to look out the front windows of our apt here at any given time of the day, I will generally see a handful of men sitting around doing nothing, while the women are all at home cleaning, cooking, and watching over the kids. Also, if I walk down the main street in Mukono past many of the small shops, generally women are the ones that are running the business. Working with Travis, I have met many men of great integrity who are hard workers and care about seeing the community grow and develop. Too often though I feel like the majority of men, if working are doing an easy job like driving a taxi or motorcycle while the women are doing the majority of the hard work that keeps families healthy and the community growing. In the small villages the men do work very hard on their farms to provide, but they often have too many children to support then their crops will provide.
I feel like for Africa to make the leap from a developing country it doesn’t need money, but it needs men and women that have integrity and will use the resources that Africa has to build it up and not take it down through greed, corruption, and laziness.
Wow, that was a mouthful and has probably left you feeling a little sad and negative about Africa. Let me finish this entry with this however: The people in Uganda are beautiful, wonderful, and full of heart. We have never met a nicer community of people than those in the Mukono district. We have not lost any hope in Africa even after the above reflections; rather we now understand better what Africa needs and how we and others are called to help. Africa is beautiful and its people are too. Our prayer is that one day the spectrum of people from rich politicians all the way down to the poor village farmer will make poverty, HIV/AIDS, and other harsh ways of life a thing of the past. We pray that people like us from all over the world would continue to come to Africa to learn about it and share knowledge and experiences that will help it develop and that as nations send money and aid that they make sure they follow up on how the aid is being used. There is so much beauty in Africa despite the troubling things we see, and we hope you can see that beauty also.
Thank you for taking the time to read this long entry, I hope it gave you a better understanding of the problems in Uganda (and other countries in Africa) and reminded you that despite the problems it still is a place of beautiful and precious people. If you have any questions or comments, do please post them.
Chris
Murchison Falls expedition
Chris and I decided to take a three day trip with Red Chilli Hideaway to a serene location in west Uganda, Murchison Falls. It was one of the best valued trips we could find that included a variety of adventures. Let me start with the Sunday (July 10th) before. Chris and I headed to Kampala to check the city out a little more. We had a day of Western food, which is a nice change to the (also great!) local food. But the thing with all of the posho, matooke, potatoes, and rice is that they are all carbohydrates and just fill you up, and start to taste the same. I will miss Esther’s cooking though. Anyways, we went to Kampala and had coffee (good coffee!!!) at Café Pap, which looks like it is straight from the top of Queen Anne or something, not quite hip enough for Capitol Hill. There is even wireless internet and. . . western toilets and running water!!! After we had coffee and muffins we went to visit Kampala Pentecostal Church, a thriving place of worship in the heart of the city. There are four Sunday services along with over one thousand weekly home groups (Cell groups). We waited outside with hundreds of people to get into the large building. When we were inside we felt at home. The singing and presentation was spectacular. A large mural of a waterfall covered the main wall, which was complete with a projector screen for notes and announcements. All of the choir was in traditional African garb, but they were singing songs we were familiar with (Matt Redman would be proud). There were maybe about ten white people there in all, out of over a thousand at one service, this includes the pastor and his wife. They are from America, and at a young age the pastor’s family went to Kenya to pastor a church. The pastor of this church had been so for the whole 21 years that it has existed, and it seems to be working extremely well. At first we had to get over the fact that we came to a church in Africa just to hear an American speak, but God spoke through him. Also, most of you know that we had been attending a small church at home, and we missed the larger corporate gatherings: we were refreshed.
Okay, so after leaving KPC we found our way to the markets and then to Mama Mia’s Pizzeria. I have been craving cheese since I have been here. I love cheese, so it has been difficult without my daily intake. Chris is feeling this way with ice cream. This pizza was great! It wasn’t Pagliacci’s or Zeeks, but it was our first taste of cheese in awhile, so it was fabulous. At this point Chris and I were overwhelmed by the day of “luxury” we were having, when just earlier we were in the village living much differently. (Chris has written some reflection on this which is heartfelt and insightful.)
So, then we decided to take a mutatu (taxi) to the Red Chilli hostel where we would stay the night before we head off to the falls. We got off on the wrong exit and the boda boda drivers did not know where to go. So we had a twenty minute long boda boda ride around the outskirts of Kampala, in which I was freaking out the whole time. Chris and I took separate bodas since we had our luggage for the trip, and I was convinced that they were going to either split us up or leave us somewhere and take our stuff. On the contrary, they stopped and asked for directions, drove safely, and were very nice. When we arrived at Red Chilli we felt like we were somewhere else. It is a hostel that attracts long-term travelers, peace corps members, and basically, white folk. We actually watched the news coverage on the London bombings and had hot showers. We met several people from the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
The next morning we left on our 6 hour van ride to the other side of Uganda. It was fun. In our group of 8 was a couple from Australia, a couple originally from New Zealand that have been living in London for the past 5 years, and two girls from Israel (they have some incredible stories). All of the other people were traveling through several African countries and hitting all the National Parks and main events. Needless to say, our experience in Africa is much different than theirs. It was good to share perspectives and stories.
We arrived at the Falls and took a short hike up to the top of where the Nile streams down into Lake Albert. We were able to get up close and even misted by the mighty river. After this we went to the campsite, took showers, and ate dinner. The next morning at 6:45 am we left for our safari or game drive. There we saw antelopes, giraffes, spotted hyenas, African buffalo, gorgeous birds, and my personal favorite—elephants! We saw a herd of about thirty of them going down to the water from a distance. After the drive we went on a boat ride to the Falls. There we saw many hippos and crocodiles, and some of the elephant stragglers at the water still. There is nothing like seeing these animals in their natural habitat (not the Woodland Park Zoo). It is glorious to see the grace of the giraffes running, the harmony of the hippos moving, and the enormity of the elephants. We feel privileged to have had this experience. And that wasn’t it. The next morning we took a trek in a forest reserve to see chimpanzees! They were playing up in the trees. Chris almost got peed on, and they kept throwing the passion fruits down from the trees. They are fabulous. At once they will all make these loud noises and bang on the trees as a competition between the males. At times we feared that a chimp would just jump down on us from above. Overall, our trip to Murchison Falls was spectacular.
My days at school
Nalusse Primary School is such a joy to be part of this month. I am treated so kindly by the teachers, headmistress, and director. Josephine, the director of the school, is constantly bringing me avocados from her tree at home and mangoes from the market. She’ll bring them in to the classroom and cut them up for me at lunch. She also buys me Cokes once in awhile and different snacks for break, like chapati (a greasy flat bread}, samosa (fried dough with peas or meat inside), or something else that is fried but I don’t know how to spell. (I’m not exactly losing weight on the trip.) I take turns in paying for the snacks too, which they are so thankful for and surprised by. Josephine has invited me to her home before I go, but has warned me thoroughly that it will not be as nice of conditions as I am used to. I reassure her that I will love visiting her home. It is difficult to listen to the way America is put up on such a pedestal in the eyes of Ugandans. When I complimented Teacher Ndagire Mary on her shoes (which were very nice, but dusty, like everything else here) she insisted that my flip-flops were much nicer than her business shoes. Many of the people have the idea that everything we have is just so much better, that life is so much better. I will agree with them that some things are better, like health care and some living conditions. But I always mention the rich community here that takes care of one another.
Teacher Mary’s son Davis is getting used to me as the first white person he has ever seen. He sits on my lap now and touches my hands and face, and pees on me once in awhile. =) The students are a complete joy. They are so obedient and helpful! The children are constantly doing chores and helping the teachers. I brought in a map of the world today. No one could point out Africa, or Uganda though. By the end of class they could. I taught them that they were part of three countries that make up East Africa (Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania); what countries surround Uganda; that they have one of the biggest lakes in the world; and that the Nile River begins in Uganda and goes up through Sudan and Egypt to the Mediterranean. They also learned why we wash clothes and what we use to wash clothes, and that where Teacher Acker is from they use machines, not hands. (more on this later)
Teacher Ndagire Mary has become a good friend of mine. She is twenty eight years old and has two children, as well as a girl who is 14 that she calls her daughter and lives with her. Her husband is an engineer and works a couple hours away. He comes home at the end of the month to see them; I met him today. This is fairly normal for a husband and wife to live this way. Thankfully, Mary has her own PO Box in Kampala, so we can correspond. Most people here do not have access to mail. The girl who she calls daughter, Damalie, will be pen pals with Teghan. When I get home I will be sending pencil sharpeners (since they use dull razor blades), new pencils, rulers, and maps. Teacher Mary is also in awe of my Bible with my name engraved on the front, so I would like to get her name engraved on a Bible and send it to her.
I just met a few more students this week, because students can not come to school if they can’t pay their school fees. It is so hard to know this. It is not a lot of American money, but here it is so much. I wish I could sponsor all of these kids. For now, I am supporting some of their parents’ shops and just loving them. At least they are all in the same boat, I guess. (If anyone is interested in sponsoring a child, I know many that would be grateful for this. School fees start at about 75,000 shillings a year, which is about $45. For more info just email me: foremt@spu.edu). I am hoping to keep Nalusse Success Primary School as a contact school for my future students. I see future pen pals and educational experiences.
Washing clothes, etc.
Yesterday I was washing our underwear and Nantale and Nakalema walked into the wash room. They started laughing at my “technique” or lack thereof. I was holding my hands the wrong way. It was amazing to see such young girls just start washing without hesitation, so rigorously and rapidly. They knew what they were doing! They rinsed them and rung them out for me, and loved helping. This is such a treasure here: the children are helpful and disciplined. Every night after dinner the two girls help Esther bring everything into the kitchen and clean up the table. It is bizarre and wonderful to see such willful obedience from children of a young age.
African name/Western name
You will notice that each person we have met has an African name and a non-African name: Nantale Caroline, Nakalema Christine, Ndagire Mary, etc. The first name is chosen depending on the clan that you are part of. There are many different clans tat you can be born into, all named after animals. Esther is part of the Antelope Clan. Each clan has a set of African names that people our named, then a western name is chosen. I was trying to learn the African names of my students, and have not been very successful since Teacher Mary calls them, most of the time, by their other name. The tradition is that each volunteer leaves here with an African name given to them, so we’ll let you know soon what ours is.
Please pray for Esther. She is sick again with Malaria. She just had it before we came a month ago, and now has it again. Malaria is common here, but very serious. Most people will go to the clinic and get a series of injections, which Esther did. But they must not be too effective since it is already back in her system (Jason would probably know more about this). She instead is taking a series of pills for five days in the evening. But her work requires full strength and health.
I was just in saying goodnight to Esther and talking about the mat that she is finishing up. She has been working on it for quite some time in her spare time, and it is a full area rug, probably about 8 x 5 feet. I asked her how much she will sell it for; she said 5000 shillings is a good price. You guys, this is less than three dollars US. It is so amazing to me that something that takes so much time and effort is worth so little. In village life though, 5000 is no small amount. I told you already that Esther makes 50,000 shillings a month.
Please pray for Travis’s trip to the islands with MACRO. Pray for safety, open hearts and minds, and God’s will to be done. May God’s vision for these people be clear to those that want to help where they see needed.
Please pray for Nantale and Nakalema’s mom. She has a sore on her foot that causes her whole leg pain. Because of this it is taking her longer to cook and work. I noticed today at school that Nakalema did not have lunch, and she said her mom wasn’t feeling well. I know that the girls are very hungry at night; their mom does not make much selling mats here in Mukono. Thankfully, the girls’ schooling is being sponsored by some past volunteers. And they eat dinner here every night. I have been giving them food or money for food at school. These girls are so precious to us. I am tearing up at the thought of leaving them. And just recently Nantale has started calling me “my Tiffany” and “mama Tiffany.” It is adorable. She would have so much fun with Delaney (my niece).
Please pray for us. We have just 10 days left in Africa. It has not gone by too quickly; it feels as though we have been here longer than a month. Each day is filled with so many rich experiences and people that it is overwhelming. We are both feeling ready to come home though. To be physically clean and comfortable, and be able to eat balanced meals with raw vegetables. And I’ll admit sometimes I lay in bed at night thinking about nachos and a diet coke. But we will miss the relationships that have been developing and the community here. Africa will always hold a special place in our heart and in our prayers.
Thursday, July 14
Posts coming....
I don't have time for a full post this morning but I promise that some new posts about our wonderful three day trip are coming including pictures!
Thursday, July 7
We added more pictures!
I need to put in a shout out to my awesome co-worker Thomas Wicker, as I am using his Canon Digital Rebel camera on this trip and couldn’t be more grateful for the offer to use it. The camera is so fun to use and has really been able to capture much of our trip. Thanks again T, I can’t tell you how much the camera has meant to me on the trip. Here are some new pictures as well as some captions for the old pictures.
This was Tiffany’s favorite animal to see. We got lucky that we got to get so close!
A few hippos we found on the safari part of our journey.
Early morning sighting of giraffes.
There were many types of antelope we saw on the safari.
One of the chimps we saw while on our trek.
The sunrise before we left on our safari and boat trip. Amazing
Murchison Falls
Murchison Falls
A fun shot of a game they were playing at Tiff’s school one day.
Fruit market between Kampala and Mukono.
The view from our back porch..
Esther trying to teach Tiffany how to weave..
Our organized room.
Tiff with Nantale and Nakalema
Tiffany and Esther walking to the market
The front of our apartment. We are the top story on the right.
Nakalema Christine
Kampala from the Vasili’s cafe
Yusaku and Travis in the bush!
Kids from the school in a village where Travis, Tiffany, Yusaku, and I went
A farmer from the same small village. He is taking care of his grandson because the child’s parents both died of AIDS. The boy has AIDS as well.
The children at Tiffany’s school playing a game of group tag.
More of Tiff and the girls
Tiff’s classroom
Tiff’s school she is teaching at.
The kids at Tiffany’s school.
Shout out to the Acker family van!
More games from Tiff’s school
Chris and Yusaku trying out what using a hoe in Uganda is like
Yusaku playing soccer with the kids
Travis playing soccer
Small child outside Mukono
Tiff in Kampala!
The rain that we were getting about once a day was very heavy at times!
This was Tiffany’s favorite animal to see. We got lucky that we got to get so close!
A few hippos we found on the safari part of our journey.
Early morning sighting of giraffes.
There were many types of antelope we saw on the safari.
One of the chimps we saw while on our trek.
The sunrise before we left on our safari and boat trip. Amazing
Murchison Falls
Murchison Falls
A fun shot of a game they were playing at Tiff’s school one day.
Fruit market between Kampala and Mukono.
The view from our back porch..
Esther trying to teach Tiffany how to weave..
Our organized room.
Tiff with Nantale and Nakalema
Tiffany and Esther walking to the market
The front of our apartment. We are the top story on the right.
Nakalema Christine
Kampala from the Vasili’s cafe
Yusaku and Travis in the bush!
Kids from the school in a village where Travis, Tiffany, Yusaku, and I went
A farmer from the same small village. He is taking care of his grandson because the child’s parents both died of AIDS. The boy has AIDS as well.
The children at Tiffany’s school playing a game of group tag.
More of Tiff and the girls
Tiff’s classroom
Tiff’s school she is teaching at.
The kids at Tiffany’s school.
Shout out to the Acker family van!
More games from Tiff’s school
Chris and Yusaku trying out what using a hoe in Uganda is like
Yusaku playing soccer with the kids
Travis playing soccer
Small child outside Mukono
Tiff in Kampala!
The rain that we were getting about once a day was very heavy at times!
More from your friends!!!!!!
We are putting several entries in this one post since the Internet here is so slow and it is way easier that way…enjoy!!
7/6/05
Continuing on
The last two days I spent in a small village outside of Mukono with Travis/MACRO and Yusaku, a Japanese gentleman my age that has been here for one month and leaves Friday. We left Monday afternoon and headed to this small village in a Ford Pickup (a good one, since the road was pretty much right out of the rally sport challenge video game with added 1-2ft potholes!) We spent the first 2hrs playing football (soccer) with school children who probably had never seen any mzungus ever. The kids had a lot of fun challenging a mzungu in a good game of football. After this, we had dinner which composed of white bread, peanut butter, trail mix, cookies, and water. (That’s what happens when an American and a Japanese guy go to the local Ugandan supermarket for “Camp Food”). After this, we had a meeting with some of the villagers. First Travis asked them what their expectations of our meeting were. Next, he asked them what problems they were having. After this, I got up and explained what MACRO is and what problems it could address. These areas were some small support to get the school kids some flip-flops since they have to walk to and from school each day. Also, we could offer them education about HIV/AIDS and try to provide condoms from time to time to help in prevention. Finally, we could work with them to get some youth in some of the MACRO programs. After this Travis and I had a dialogue about the U.S. vs. Uganda and the goods and bads of both countries. Once I was finished, Yusaku talked about some contact we have for Vanilla buyers for the farmers to get a fair price, some membership forms, and other things. We had some condoms to hand out but Travis wanted to have the women and children leave first and have the men come back in an hour or so to get instruction on how to use them, and then hand them out, because otherwise giving them out would just be throwing them away since the villagers don’t know how to use them. We set up our mosquito nets and mats and got a fire going for us to sleep outside. After a few hours, we decided that no one was coming which was frustrating, but somewhat expected being that we were in a remote African village. To finish off the night, in true Ugandan style, our kerosene lantern that we had paid a guy for 2-3hours ago showed up by bike 30 minutes after we had all gone to sleep along with the tea from a local villager. Ah, Uganda!
7/7/05
Planning and Relaxing
Today Travis, Yusaku, and I had planned to meet with a newspaper reporter to do a story about MACRO, but instead the day went a little off. First off, let me backtrack to last night….Travis took Esther, Tiffany, Yusaku, and I to a place called the Eagle’s Nest. The place has a dance floor, a stage, and a restaurant area. We were there to see some Mukono Youth perform music. Our expectation was probably something like a band or some sort of local music. Instead what we got was a sort of karaoke except the singers only did lip syncing. After we got over our initial shock of actually going to a place to watch people lip sync, we started to enjoy the acts. Some of them had dance routines and were very good. We learned later that this type of lip syncing is very popular in Uganda and probably other places in Africa. Tiffany, Esther and I left early and had a restful night. The following morning we found out that after Travis had gone to sleep, someone broke into his room and used some chemical or something to knock him out and stole his clothes, stereo, and other items. Because of this he was busy with the police, hospital, and his parents today to take care of things. He is done well as far as we know but I’m sure we’ll be able to contact him soon.
Because of this I started on some of my specific contributions I will hope to make to MACRO. The format for MACRO volunteers is to first spend time in Mukono and with Travis and get to know MACRO and the problems and needs it has. Then, depending on what your individual skills and passions are, you can pick an area to spend time on while you are here and take steps to accomplish those goals. Now that I’ve learned about MACRO and seen what it needs and such, I will want to help Travis with some pamphlets that can be handed out to villages and others that have information on HIV/AIDS, hygiene, and other basic needs. Also, I will help him with their constitution and plan to help document different rules and laws that MACRO will follow to prevent corruption and protect them as an NGO. Finally I hope to improve the internal structure of MACRO so that Travis can build up other leaders in each sub-county that can organize members and coordinate events and teach what MACRO teaches. Travis then can still do what he does but the demand on him is less. I think what I need is a good local, trustworthy lawyer to assist in legal documentation and writing to protect MACRO.
Today I started editing and creating documents and came up with a logo for MACRO. I hope to see Travis soon to see how he is doing and get back on track with MACRO.
Nalusse Success Primary School
Today (Thursday) was my fourth day of teaching at the school. It is the same school that Nantale Caroline and Nakalema Christine go to (the adorable girls that I play with every night and dream of taking home). School life is a lot different here, of course. Very laid back. I was told to arrive at 7:30am, when the kids are supposed to get there. I was there at 7:30 the next morning, along with a handful of kids, but no teachers or the headmistress. =) Most of the teachers take taxis to school, so they can not control how many stops are made. The woman I am teaching with is called Ndagire Mary. She is so sweet to me. She has been buying me chapat (cha-pot-ee) for break time, to go with hot tea. Chapat is made by boys on the streets. It is similar to an elephant ear without the sweet stuff. It is just dough and grease. Yummy. Teacher Mary is very interested in life in America, like most of the people here. They are convinced life is better there. I’m not quite convinced of this myself. Mary has two children, a little girl, Diana, who is in the nursery class at school (she is five), and George is one and a half years old. Since I am white, the children are mesmerized by me. Children spend their play time pointing at me, laughing, and inching closer to me. They push one another towards me and dare each other (it seems) to touch me. I’ll look out the “window” and see like ten kids just waiting for me to notice them. The smiles are priceless. Mary’s little boy George came to school for the first time today. He was scared at first, but soon just stared at me and laughed. He even sat on my lap and held my hand! (so cute; but he already has a good mom). Yes, women teachers just bring their children to class with them if no one is at home to care for them.
Yesterday I asked the teacher of P7 (ages 12-14) if I could come in and watch her class after lunch. When I went there the students were working on their exercises, no teacher. After they greeted me “Good afternoon, Teacher Acker (“A-ka”), I asked where their teacher was. They told me she was at home (near the school) caring for her little girl. Indeed she was. There is no tight schedule to follow at this school; it is a nice change of pace. Although, when the teacher did come back she had expected me to just start teaching her class. She told me she wants me to teach English and Science (the latter I am not so sure about, but it seems to be what all the teachers want mzungus to teach). I told her that I had not prepared anything, since I just wanted to watch her class. So she told me to do Science, which was reading out of a book and dictating to the students for their notes. This was definitely interesting. I was dictating to them about civil, religious, and customary marriage. And then on to the topic of young parenthood. Note: as I was reading from this curriculum text made by the country, I had to change the grammatical errors as I went along. Okay, so I am making these students write down the following:
-Reasons young parents have trouble: They may not raise girls that know how to control themselves and have premarital sex. (nothing said about the boys)
-Problems being a young parents:
The parents may not be able to care for the baby.
(and two lines down)
The girl may not be able to care for the baby. (again, just the girl)
-Why kids should not have children young:
Obstructive delivery
Possibility of abortion, C-section, or vaginal tears. (When I finish reading this to them, I said: or you could just write “ouch” or “pain”. I’m not sure they got it.)
So, between these topics in P7 Science and poultry keeping and birds of the world in P1 and 2 Science, it is interesting. The resources are so limited I am trying to find things to bring in. I couldn’t really prepare before coming, since I didn’t know what I was going to be doing. If anything, I am here just to entertain the kids as a white person.
Long days
From the cock-a-doodle-doo in the morning to the honk-honk of taxis in the evening, the days seem long. We get up and have breakfast which consists of pineapple, bananas, bread, hardboiled eggs, and peanut butter. Then I am off to school and Chris does his MACRO thing (which is random). I do not get out of Mukono town much, but plan on it this weekend.
Chris and I are going to Murchison Falls with a small group. We will go into Kampala on Sunday night and stay at Red Hot Chili Hostel (sounds fun!), and take off Monday morning for the six hour drive to northwest Uganda (we are in the southwest). There we will see the Nile River and hopefully many beautiful wild animals. We will let you know, and I can guarantee we will have gorgeous pictures from our photographer, Chris.
Before we came to Uganda we had on our agenda all of the tourist activities and sights to see. But now that we are actually here, if we go a couple places we will be content. It is the people and daily life that we are loving. Chris and I are also figuring out how to spend our money. The housemaid, Esther, is working to save for school. She needs to complete Senior 5 and 6 (two years). It costs about 1,000,050 shillings a year, which is about $600. This includes boarding. But she only gets paid 50,000 shillings a month. So if you do the math, it is clear that it would take her awhile to achieve this. She is the firstborn of her family and has ten siblings. She helps support them a bit too. So I know that we would like to give some money towards Esther’s schooling. Even a small amount in America goes far here. Chris and I exchanged $200 upon arriving here and still have a lot left. We only pay for water, transportation, mangoes =), and random expenses.
7/6/05
Continuing on
The last two days I spent in a small village outside of Mukono with Travis/MACRO and Yusaku, a Japanese gentleman my age that has been here for one month and leaves Friday. We left Monday afternoon and headed to this small village in a Ford Pickup (a good one, since the road was pretty much right out of the rally sport challenge video game with added 1-2ft potholes!) We spent the first 2hrs playing football (soccer) with school children who probably had never seen any mzungus ever. The kids had a lot of fun challenging a mzungu in a good game of football. After this, we had dinner which composed of white bread, peanut butter, trail mix, cookies, and water. (That’s what happens when an American and a Japanese guy go to the local Ugandan supermarket for “Camp Food”). After this, we had a meeting with some of the villagers. First Travis asked them what their expectations of our meeting were. Next, he asked them what problems they were having. After this, I got up and explained what MACRO is and what problems it could address. These areas were some small support to get the school kids some flip-flops since they have to walk to and from school each day. Also, we could offer them education about HIV/AIDS and try to provide condoms from time to time to help in prevention. Finally, we could work with them to get some youth in some of the MACRO programs. After this Travis and I had a dialogue about the U.S. vs. Uganda and the goods and bads of both countries. Once I was finished, Yusaku talked about some contact we have for Vanilla buyers for the farmers to get a fair price, some membership forms, and other things. We had some condoms to hand out but Travis wanted to have the women and children leave first and have the men come back in an hour or so to get instruction on how to use them, and then hand them out, because otherwise giving them out would just be throwing them away since the villagers don’t know how to use them. We set up our mosquito nets and mats and got a fire going for us to sleep outside. After a few hours, we decided that no one was coming which was frustrating, but somewhat expected being that we were in a remote African village. To finish off the night, in true Ugandan style, our kerosene lantern that we had paid a guy for 2-3hours ago showed up by bike 30 minutes after we had all gone to sleep along with the tea from a local villager. Ah, Uganda!
7/7/05
Planning and Relaxing
Today Travis, Yusaku, and I had planned to meet with a newspaper reporter to do a story about MACRO, but instead the day went a little off. First off, let me backtrack to last night….Travis took Esther, Tiffany, Yusaku, and I to a place called the Eagle’s Nest. The place has a dance floor, a stage, and a restaurant area. We were there to see some Mukono Youth perform music. Our expectation was probably something like a band or some sort of local music. Instead what we got was a sort of karaoke except the singers only did lip syncing. After we got over our initial shock of actually going to a place to watch people lip sync, we started to enjoy the acts. Some of them had dance routines and were very good. We learned later that this type of lip syncing is very popular in Uganda and probably other places in Africa. Tiffany, Esther and I left early and had a restful night. The following morning we found out that after Travis had gone to sleep, someone broke into his room and used some chemical or something to knock him out and stole his clothes, stereo, and other items. Because of this he was busy with the police, hospital, and his parents today to take care of things. He is done well as far as we know but I’m sure we’ll be able to contact him soon.
Because of this I started on some of my specific contributions I will hope to make to MACRO. The format for MACRO volunteers is to first spend time in Mukono and with Travis and get to know MACRO and the problems and needs it has. Then, depending on what your individual skills and passions are, you can pick an area to spend time on while you are here and take steps to accomplish those goals. Now that I’ve learned about MACRO and seen what it needs and such, I will want to help Travis with some pamphlets that can be handed out to villages and others that have information on HIV/AIDS, hygiene, and other basic needs. Also, I will help him with their constitution and plan to help document different rules and laws that MACRO will follow to prevent corruption and protect them as an NGO. Finally I hope to improve the internal structure of MACRO so that Travis can build up other leaders in each sub-county that can organize members and coordinate events and teach what MACRO teaches. Travis then can still do what he does but the demand on him is less. I think what I need is a good local, trustworthy lawyer to assist in legal documentation and writing to protect MACRO.
Today I started editing and creating documents and came up with a logo for MACRO. I hope to see Travis soon to see how he is doing and get back on track with MACRO.
Nalusse Success Primary School
Today (Thursday) was my fourth day of teaching at the school. It is the same school that Nantale Caroline and Nakalema Christine go to (the adorable girls that I play with every night and dream of taking home). School life is a lot different here, of course. Very laid back. I was told to arrive at 7:30am, when the kids are supposed to get there. I was there at 7:30 the next morning, along with a handful of kids, but no teachers or the headmistress. =) Most of the teachers take taxis to school, so they can not control how many stops are made. The woman I am teaching with is called Ndagire Mary. She is so sweet to me. She has been buying me chapat (cha-pot-ee) for break time, to go with hot tea. Chapat is made by boys on the streets. It is similar to an elephant ear without the sweet stuff. It is just dough and grease. Yummy. Teacher Mary is very interested in life in America, like most of the people here. They are convinced life is better there. I’m not quite convinced of this myself. Mary has two children, a little girl, Diana, who is in the nursery class at school (she is five), and George is one and a half years old. Since I am white, the children are mesmerized by me. Children spend their play time pointing at me, laughing, and inching closer to me. They push one another towards me and dare each other (it seems) to touch me. I’ll look out the “window” and see like ten kids just waiting for me to notice them. The smiles are priceless. Mary’s little boy George came to school for the first time today. He was scared at first, but soon just stared at me and laughed. He even sat on my lap and held my hand! (so cute; but he already has a good mom). Yes, women teachers just bring their children to class with them if no one is at home to care for them.
Yesterday I asked the teacher of P7 (ages 12-14) if I could come in and watch her class after lunch. When I went there the students were working on their exercises, no teacher. After they greeted me “Good afternoon, Teacher Acker (“A-ka”), I asked where their teacher was. They told me she was at home (near the school) caring for her little girl. Indeed she was. There is no tight schedule to follow at this school; it is a nice change of pace. Although, when the teacher did come back she had expected me to just start teaching her class. She told me she wants me to teach English and Science (the latter I am not so sure about, but it seems to be what all the teachers want mzungus to teach). I told her that I had not prepared anything, since I just wanted to watch her class. So she told me to do Science, which was reading out of a book and dictating to the students for their notes. This was definitely interesting. I was dictating to them about civil, religious, and customary marriage. And then on to the topic of young parenthood. Note: as I was reading from this curriculum text made by the country, I had to change the grammatical errors as I went along. Okay, so I am making these students write down the following:
-Reasons young parents have trouble: They may not raise girls that know how to control themselves and have premarital sex. (nothing said about the boys)
-Problems being a young parents:
The parents may not be able to care for the baby.
(and two lines down)
The girl may not be able to care for the baby. (again, just the girl)
-Why kids should not have children young:
Obstructive delivery
Possibility of abortion, C-section, or vaginal tears. (When I finish reading this to them, I said: or you could just write “ouch” or “pain”. I’m not sure they got it.)
So, between these topics in P7 Science and poultry keeping and birds of the world in P1 and 2 Science, it is interesting. The resources are so limited I am trying to find things to bring in. I couldn’t really prepare before coming, since I didn’t know what I was going to be doing. If anything, I am here just to entertain the kids as a white person.
Long days
From the cock-a-doodle-doo in the morning to the honk-honk of taxis in the evening, the days seem long. We get up and have breakfast which consists of pineapple, bananas, bread, hardboiled eggs, and peanut butter. Then I am off to school and Chris does his MACRO thing (which is random). I do not get out of Mukono town much, but plan on it this weekend.
Chris and I are going to Murchison Falls with a small group. We will go into Kampala on Sunday night and stay at Red Hot Chili Hostel (sounds fun!), and take off Monday morning for the six hour drive to northwest Uganda (we are in the southwest). There we will see the Nile River and hopefully many beautiful wild animals. We will let you know, and I can guarantee we will have gorgeous pictures from our photographer, Chris.
Before we came to Uganda we had on our agenda all of the tourist activities and sights to see. But now that we are actually here, if we go a couple places we will be content. It is the people and daily life that we are loving. Chris and I are also figuring out how to spend our money. The housemaid, Esther, is working to save for school. She needs to complete Senior 5 and 6 (two years). It costs about 1,000,050 shillings a year, which is about $600. This includes boarding. But she only gets paid 50,000 shillings a month. So if you do the math, it is clear that it would take her awhile to achieve this. She is the firstborn of her family and has ten siblings. She helps support them a bit too. So I know that we would like to give some money towards Esther’s schooling. Even a small amount in America goes far here. Chris and I exchanged $200 upon arriving here and still have a lot left. We only pay for water, transportation, mangoes =), and random expenses.
Monday, July 4
Teaching
Today was my first day at Nullesse Primary School. I was introduced to Josephine, the head master and the entire school at 8:30am this morning, at what they call parade. Parade is the morning assembly of all of the students for singing of the national anthem, school song, and recitation of prayers, as well as general announcements. Every eye was on me as I stood on a block in front of all of the students in their blue uniforms, wondering whether I would be in their class or not. The school is on a compound, surrounded by rubbish that pigs are eating. The floors are made of hard red dirt, the roof from tin, and the walls from sticks, grass and mud. There are chalkboards in every classroom, as well as wooden benches and tables. Children must pay to go to school; this is not easy for many families to do, especially if they have many children. There are three terms a year and each term costs a minimum of 25,000 shillings, which is roughly $20. This is a lot of money in Mukono. As with the Seattle School District, there aren’t enough textbooks to go around, or school supplies; the water is not good; and the teachers must teach according to the Republic of Uganda Curriculum Guide so the students can pass an exam at the end of the year (think WASL). I am teaching P1 and P2, the equivalent of first and second grade. My lessons for tomorrow are on verbs and past tense (English) and poultry keeping/ why do we keep domestic birds? (Science). The latter will be a bit of a cultural difference, but Teacher Mary (whom I am working with) will be able to fill in the Ugandan specifics.
Our diet consists mostly of white rice, beans, matooke, bananas, pineapples, cabbage, and kassava. Yesterday I ate lunch at a place called Best Meals , where I had chicken (with the ribs showing) and chips (French fries). The ketchup was a bright pink color. Sometimes I help Esther prepare the meals, by either snapping peas or tearing the ends off of french beans (green beans). Yesterday Chris, Melina (another volunteer) and I went into Kampala, the capital city, and had African coffee and a pastry at Vassili’s Bakery. African coffee is delicious; it is brewed in milk. Being coffee addicts, we loved it!
At this moment I am sitting in the main lounge area of our building and Natalee is pinning clothes pins to my skirt. Just a moment ago they were on the tip of all of her fingers. She keeps laughing and laughing away, with her beautiful white teeth and big brown eyes. Her laugh is priceless. I just finished folding the clothes that were hung to dry outside. Yes, I did wash my own clothes (for those family members that won’t believe it!). When Chris wakes up from his nap we will go to the Internet Café and post these. The internet is 500 shillings for twenty minutes; that is about thirty cents. Our American money goes a long way here.
Our diet consists mostly of white rice, beans, matooke, bananas, pineapples, cabbage, and kassava. Yesterday I ate lunch at a place called Best Meals , where I had chicken (with the ribs showing) and chips (French fries). The ketchup was a bright pink color. Sometimes I help Esther prepare the meals, by either snapping peas or tearing the ends off of french beans (green beans). Yesterday Chris, Melina (another volunteer) and I went into Kampala, the capital city, and had African coffee and a pastry at Vassili’s Bakery. African coffee is delicious; it is brewed in milk. Being coffee addicts, we loved it!
At this moment I am sitting in the main lounge area of our building and Natalee is pinning clothes pins to my skirt. Just a moment ago they were on the tip of all of her fingers. She keeps laughing and laughing away, with her beautiful white teeth and big brown eyes. Her laugh is priceless. I just finished folding the clothes that were hung to dry outside. Yes, I did wash my own clothes (for those family members that won’t believe it!). When Chris wakes up from his nap we will go to the Internet Café and post these. The internet is 500 shillings for twenty minutes; that is about thirty cents. Our American money goes a long way here.
Travis
Today I met Travis, the leader (Chairman) of the Mukono District Youth Program, MACRO (The words this stands for escapes me at the moment). He is a very wise and hardworking man for only 25yrs of age. Many people look to and depend on him for everything from friendship to education to leadership. MACRO focuses on getting information to small villages within the district like HIV/AIDS, finances, education, etc. The Youth Program that MACRO is sort of under teaches similar things I think.
Travis had an event in Buikwe, a very small village east of Mukono Town Council. Buikwe is like the pictures you see on TV when an organization is trying to raise $$ for poverty. It was to my surprise however that my day was not filled with sadness, tears, and hungry children. Rather, it was filled with laughs, happiness, and hungry children. The sad side of things that MACRO is trying to change is the illiteracy, poverty, HIV/AIDS, and so many other negative things. What makes it different than tv is that the people are happy. Poverty and HIV/AIDS are a part of daily life. Some can recognize these problems, but to some it is just the way life has always been. Local people do have hopes and plans to see these small villages grow and be educated about HIV/AIDS, how to earn and save money, and how to live healthy lives. My heart at times was mixed with sadness, but I always had a new smile every few moments to change that.
The event today was the launching of a youth organization and school of sorts for children. Many important men spoke about the importance of staying in school, staying abstinent, and being responsible. The police chief spoke, some chairmen, Travis, and me! I got to stand up and say hi and tell them all how happy I was for them. It was a long program. Most of the speakers used a combo of Luganda and English. I got to meet so many wonderful men today. Michael, Samuel, Eric…I love shaking hands with them and having dialogue. They ask about how the American economy and weather is, not realizing how big and different each part of the US is. It is great to talk to Travis about good and bad qualities both the US and Uganda have. I told him that Uganda has a much richer community and social system. Everyone here works together to help one another out. The way of life is also much slower. I asked how God fits into MACRO and he said that He is the 1st thing. They open with prayer always and Travis goes to church each Sunday to be with God. I am humbled by the strength and determination I see in Travis.
Between the 40mph rides in a 1985 toyota van that is carrying 12+ people down a pothole ridden road with people, cars, and boda boda’s (scooter bikes) on it to sitting in front of a store with small HIV/AIDS children, I have had a big day. This is a one day this mzungu (white person) won’t forget.
Travis had an event in Buikwe, a very small village east of Mukono Town Council. Buikwe is like the pictures you see on TV when an organization is trying to raise $$ for poverty. It was to my surprise however that my day was not filled with sadness, tears, and hungry children. Rather, it was filled with laughs, happiness, and hungry children. The sad side of things that MACRO is trying to change is the illiteracy, poverty, HIV/AIDS, and so many other negative things. What makes it different than tv is that the people are happy. Poverty and HIV/AIDS are a part of daily life. Some can recognize these problems, but to some it is just the way life has always been. Local people do have hopes and plans to see these small villages grow and be educated about HIV/AIDS, how to earn and save money, and how to live healthy lives. My heart at times was mixed with sadness, but I always had a new smile every few moments to change that.
The event today was the launching of a youth organization and school of sorts for children. Many important men spoke about the importance of staying in school, staying abstinent, and being responsible. The police chief spoke, some chairmen, Travis, and me! I got to stand up and say hi and tell them all how happy I was for them. It was a long program. Most of the speakers used a combo of Luganda and English. I got to meet so many wonderful men today. Michael, Samuel, Eric…I love shaking hands with them and having dialogue. They ask about how the American economy and weather is, not realizing how big and different each part of the US is. It is great to talk to Travis about good and bad qualities both the US and Uganda have. I told him that Uganda has a much richer community and social system. Everyone here works together to help one another out. The way of life is also much slower. I asked how God fits into MACRO and he said that He is the 1st thing. They open with prayer always and Travis goes to church each Sunday to be with God. I am humbled by the strength and determination I see in Travis.
Between the 40mph rides in a 1985 toyota van that is carrying 12+ people down a pothole ridden road with people, cars, and boda boda’s (scooter bikes) on it to sitting in front of a store with small HIV/AIDS children, I have had a big day. This is a one day this mzungu (white person) won’t forget.
Blog Blast
We have a lot of new posts, please read below. Also, if you want to email us please use foremt@spu.edu .
Saturday, July 2
Life in Uganda
After the hour and a half taxi ride (with several close calls) we made our way to Butebbe, in Mukono Town. Our home is on the second floor of a concrete building. The lower level has two shops—one a general store, the other a clothing store, with a woman always hard at work sewing beautiful material. Many crafts are sold outside including mats, baskets, chairs, and wicker dressers. A few women are normally outside weaving mats all day. Esther, our housemaid and one of my new dear friends, taught me (tiff) how to weave. She is working on a large mat for her family. Esther is busy cooking, cleaning the wash room, and washing clothes. She let me go to the market with her, where we bought all of the produce that we needed for today and tomorrow. On the way back from the market we rode boda bodas (me for the first time). I feel like a celebrity; the little children love to wave at bazungu (white people) and get waved at. They are so precious. My two favorite little girls that come and play with us at the house our Natalee and Christine; they go to the school that I will be teaching at. We’ve spent many fun times with them already—and it’s only been two days!
Chris and I are getting used to the new ways of bathing and going to the bathroom. The latrine is the wooden shack-like place outside that we go to the bathroom. There are two blocks that you stand on and squat. I want to be a boy sometimes. This may be the least enjoyable part of out trip, because of the smell and . . .cockroaches. Yes, there were three cockroaches, each about two square inches, resting in front of me while I was trying to go to the bathroom. Bathing is done in a 5x5 concrete room. We each have our own plastic basin, in which we pour water from the jerry cans. Then we wash with a cloth or splash it onto our bodies. Washing my hair is the most difficult part. Living without running water isn’t too bad. Every morning all of the kids go down to the water and fill up their jerry cans. Esther gets our jerry cans for us; she is buff.
Chris and I are getting used to the new ways of bathing and going to the bathroom. The latrine is the wooden shack-like place outside that we go to the bathroom. There are two blocks that you stand on and squat. I want to be a boy sometimes. This may be the least enjoyable part of out trip, because of the smell and . . .cockroaches. Yes, there were three cockroaches, each about two square inches, resting in front of me while I was trying to go to the bathroom. Bathing is done in a 5x5 concrete room. We each have our own plastic basin, in which we pour water from the jerry cans. Then we wash with a cloth or splash it onto our bodies. Washing my hair is the most difficult part. Living without running water isn’t too bad. Every morning all of the kids go down to the water and fill up their jerry cans. Esther gets our jerry cans for us; she is buff.
Friday, July 1
The Loooong Trip
Flying sure is cool when you book your ticket and think about flying around the world. Then you get in line at Washington DC to get on your Ethiopian Airlines flight to Rome, Italy and you start to feel a little different. Long lines and different ways of doing things are a way of life when traveling internationally. Ethiopian Air was great however, despite long lines and such. The planes were great (Boeing of course for the family) and the meals were excellent. (Unlike United that had a meal that you could pay for between Seattle and DC!). I started the trip with a cold, so gaining and losing elevation was horrible on my ears. My left ear was semi-deaf until today, and it’s finally clearing up now. When we got to Addis (Ethiopia), we had to give our plane ticket to Ethiopian staff, and then our actual passport to Immigration. Then we were taken to the “Mariott” which was a pretty old hotel (also note the single r instead of Marriott). Despite the culture shock, we had a nice meal and a good bed to sleep in. We even had a hot shower…well after I figured out how to turn on the wall outlet so our hot water heater could charge and heat water overnight that is. Then it was off to Entebbe which is beautiful and has Lake Victoria as a backdrop. Our first trip in a taxi (minivan) was next. A taxi is a Toyota van (like the one my parents used to own) that has no middle seat in the passenger area. They are made for cargo but the taxi companies put a seat in the middle. Some seats are bolted down, some are not even seats. By law they have seat belts but usually those aren’t real. Then, depending on if it is an extended version or not, you can get between 12 – 25 people in one of these things. Africa is definitely a different world.
Monday, June 27
Thank You
After a little BBQ last night with friends and family, we wanted to take a moments and thank all of you that have supported us through prayer, finances, and all other areas that we've needed. We will be thinking of you all while we're gone and we can't tell you how much all of you mean to us. We couldn't do this trip without all of your support. Thank you so much.
Sunday, June 19
The Countdown....
Wow, it's hard to believe it, but we are just 10 days away from stepping on a plane and heading off for our trip. It's a mix of excitement and nervousness as we look ahead to where we will be very soon. It's been challenging to fit in all the last minute details and appointments amidst our normal schedules, but we've been making the best of it.
We got our last shot on Thursday and we started our Malaria pills as well. (I want to put together a kind of "how-to" guide for others that want to do something similar to what we are doing. I know everyone's situation is different and therefore their steps to go abroad are also, but there is a lot of details that would be helpful to have in hand to know what may lie ahead...just a side note). We are getting the last of our gear and medical supplies we need this week and then packing up. We'll try to post more updates as we get closer to leaving.
Please pray for rest and for details to work out easily as we wrap everything up and get ready to go. Pray that Tiff and I would find rest and would feel close and connected despite all the details and tasks.
Thank you all so much for all your support and prayers.
Chris
We got our last shot on Thursday and we started our Malaria pills as well. (I want to put together a kind of "how-to" guide for others that want to do something similar to what we are doing. I know everyone's situation is different and therefore their steps to go abroad are also, but there is a lot of details that would be helpful to have in hand to know what may lie ahead...just a side note). We are getting the last of our gear and medical supplies we need this week and then packing up. We'll try to post more updates as we get closer to leaving.
Please pray for rest and for details to work out easily as we wrap everything up and get ready to go. Pray that Tiff and I would find rest and would feel close and connected despite all the details and tasks.
Thank you all so much for all your support and prayers.
Chris
Thursday, June 2
Comments
A really easy way to share your thoughts with (and others) is to comment on any of the posts we put up. Just click the comment link and leave us a note!
Chris
Chris
Sunday, May 29
Moving
We moved home this last weekend to my parents house. After a long Saturday and a lot of help from our parents, we moved a good portion of our stuff into storage and the rest into my old bedroom. It was tiring and hard to move out of our apartment, but we made the most of it. Tiff did a great job setting up our room so our living space is cozy and familiar during this transition. It is nice to be home with our family but it can feel a lot busier than we were used to. We have a lot of people under one roof since both of my brothers and my grandma are all here. It is really nice though to see them on a daily basis; especially my grandma who we don't get to see that often.
Just a brief explanation of our plans....we moved out of our apartment so that we could save the money we would have spent for rent to use for Africa. Since we're gone in July anyways, it made a lot of sense for us. When we return in August, we'll start looking for a bigger (2 bedroom) apartment with a washer and dryer as soon as we can. Depending on the job leads Tiff may have at that time, we will try to get a place that would be close to the school she may teach at.
June will prove to be another busy month as Tiff graduates on the 11th (very exciting!!) and I work on wrapping up work items to prepare for my absence at work. It has been challenging to find time daily for the Lord but I constantly feel Him pressing into me the importance of Tiff and I taking time to prepare our hearts for our trip. If we go into this amazing trip without taking the time to prepare our hearts to be open to all that we will experience I feel like we could miss it. I know that sounds impossible but really it is just a desire in my heart to take time out of my busy work days and weekends and spend it with the Lord dreaming and talking with Him about life, Africa, our marriage, and so many other things. Spend time each day with the Lord; it's the most important part of your day yet it is very easy to put it off until it is late and time for bed I find....
If you find yourself out in Carnation, give us a call at 425-333-6272 or stop on by at 32985 NE 42nd Pl; Carnation, WA 98014
Blessings, Chris
Just a brief explanation of our plans....we moved out of our apartment so that we could save the money we would have spent for rent to use for Africa. Since we're gone in July anyways, it made a lot of sense for us. When we return in August, we'll start looking for a bigger (2 bedroom) apartment with a washer and dryer as soon as we can. Depending on the job leads Tiff may have at that time, we will try to get a place that would be close to the school she may teach at.
June will prove to be another busy month as Tiff graduates on the 11th (very exciting!!) and I work on wrapping up work items to prepare for my absence at work. It has been challenging to find time daily for the Lord but I constantly feel Him pressing into me the importance of Tiff and I taking time to prepare our hearts for our trip. If we go into this amazing trip without taking the time to prepare our hearts to be open to all that we will experience I feel like we could miss it. I know that sounds impossible but really it is just a desire in my heart to take time out of my busy work days and weekends and spend it with the Lord dreaming and talking with Him about life, Africa, our marriage, and so many other things. Spend time each day with the Lord; it's the most important part of your day yet it is very easy to put it off until it is late and time for bed I find....
If you find yourself out in Carnation, give us a call at 425-333-6272 or stop on by at 32985 NE 42nd Pl; Carnation, WA 98014
Blessings, Chris
Wednesday, May 18
Update
We got our Passports in the mail yesterday so we can start on obtaining visas for our visit. Time sure does fly by and get busy quickly. Tiffany will be done teaching and graduate on June 11th! Before that, we plan to move out of our apartment by the end of the month. We've both been emotionally stressed over the last week with all that is going on, but we know that God will provide us peace as we continually look to Him to be our comforter and guide. We are so excited about the trip yet we haven't been able to think too much about it with everything else going on right now. We will find a slow down in our activities at the end of June which will provide us with a smooth transition as we embark on this adventure!
Chris
Chris
Wednesday, April 27
Tuesday, April 26
We've booked our flights and I thought it would be fun to share with all of you where we will be flying through as we go from Seattle to Entebbe.
Our trip begins at Seattle Tacoma International Airport
We then fly to Dulles Internation Airport in Washington DC
From there we head to Rome, Italy for a very brief stop
Then we are on to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for an overnight stay.
Finally, we are off to Entebbe, Uganda
As for our return trip, it follows the same path, minus the overnight stay in Ethiopia.
Our trip begins at Seattle Tacoma International Airport
We then fly to Dulles Internation Airport in Washington DC
From there we head to Rome, Italy for a very brief stop
Then we are on to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for an overnight stay.
Finally, we are off to Entebbe, Uganda
As for our return trip, it follows the same path, minus the overnight stay in Ethiopia.
Shots!
We made it through our shots last Thursday at the King County Public Health Department downtown. They are one of the only places that carried all of the shots we needed. Our regular docs didn't. Tiff was great and made it through the shots no problem (She has a slight tendancy to feel faint when it comes to shots). Our arms have been hurting since the shots but it's wearing off slowly but surely. Now all we have left is the Malaria....
Thursday, April 14
Setting up and getting started
Profile, check
Side links, check
Passports, check
Flights, no not yet...
Well this is sort of the first "test" post to our blog here. I don't know if I want to call it a blog or not. Online Journal sounds better but I don't know. Oh well, gotta go.
Side links, check
Passports, check
Flights, no not yet...
Well this is sort of the first "test" post to our blog here. I don't know if I want to call it a blog or not. Online Journal sounds better but I don't know. Oh well, gotta go.
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