My second placement is at Tekera Resource Centre which is located 17km out of Masaka town. I reach Tekera via a bumpy dirt road on a boda boda “motorbike taxi”. I have found that a boda boda ride is one of my favorite things to do in Uganda, especially when you get to view lush green beautiful landscape on route. A Canadian couple who have lived in Uganda for 5 years created Tekera Resource Centre. It began as a medical clinic for people in the surrounding villages to access health care. It has no expanded into a dental clinic, primary school, community garden, and craft club with many locally made crafts available for sale and warm community. The Canadian couple is close to leaving the resource centre in Ugandan hands so it can be self sustainable and run by local people for local people. Please look at their website for more information http://www.ugandavillage.org/ I feel so welcome in this community and I really believe in this project. I see how it benefits many people who did not receive any medial treatment or schooling before they were there. I have been doing many home visits at Tekera , with the community liaison and program facilitator who is a Ugandan, he seems to know everyone in the village and takes time to say hello to everyone and ask how they are really doing. I have two home visits that really stand out for me and I feel as I could not do or say enough to help either of these families. One of these women has given birth 17 times and only 9 of her children are alive two of them are developmentally delayed. Her husband has left as he misuses alcohol and he no longer financially contributes to the family. Her mother is elderly and weak and can no longer work on the family farm. The family has food because they have a farm but they no longer have money for school fees for all of her children. She explained she is so tired from trying to sustain the little that the family has. I found it very hard to “help” this woman, all I could do was to give her encouraging words and empower her as the strong woman she is. I reminded her to put her faith in God (she is Catholic) and good times will be ahead. I have found that many people have a great faith in God no matter what religion they are. I think people find comfort and hope in God and praying when they cannot advance themselves financially.
On another home visit we met another woman, she is a 17 year old mother of two, one of her sons is 6 months old the other two and a half, born by different fathers. She is developmentally delayed but does her best to raise her children, she truly loves her babies, in a child like doll way. Her father works the family farm for food her mother is dead. Grandma also lives with them however she is very weak and has a soar leg that does not allow her rest properly. There is also another child that lives in this home, a girl that is 1 year old. This child was dropped off at their home, completely abandoned, by whom they do not know. This is a common accordance in village life; one cannot care for another child so they drop them off on the doorstep of someone else home. No such thing as foster care or child protection living in a village. None of these children were wearing clothes, they only had their Sunday best that they would wear to Tekera to the clinic. This abandoned child is severely malnourished and all children are living with malaria. This home was an image you would see in a world vision commercial. We decided to take the children and mother to the clinic to get treatment. Ugandans take great pride in their physical appearance, before we left Mother bathed herself and kids in two inches of water in a small wash basin and they all put on their only outfit they own. We carried the children back to the clinic so they could get malaria treatment, I carried one of the kids because they were too weak to walk because of malaria. I got peed on twice, apparently a blessing, kind of like when a bird poops on you!!! This family does not have much hope at advancing as the Mother has an enlarged spleen from multiple cases of untreated malaria this is not a promising future for her. After her death there will be no one accept the weak Grandmother to care for these children. It is hard to accept the circumstance of this family. However I feel like we did the best with what we had, the children received malaria treatment, we were able to get some of the children clothes and underwear. I tried my best to empower this mother and educate her about the importance of keeping herself healthy for her children; however she seems to only live in the present and has no concept of living in the future, which is understandable considering her family situation.
I have learnt in village life that people do the best with what they have got, they try and work together to share what they have. These people are so resilient and keep going despite what we perceive as a very poor lifestyle. However I can see the richness in these peoples lives, they have an amazing strength in family and in God. I have heard so many times “God is good God is great”, “he will help us if we keep praying”, “one day God will save us if we keep believing.” I admire their faith and have begun to develop and entire new understanding of faith that I have learned from people I have met in Uganda.
In Friendship,
Leah
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Girls, Grasshoppers and the "slums" in Nyendo.... (Adriana)
Girls, Grasshoppers and the “slums” in Nyendo…
For those that don’t know, I am completing my work experience at Child Restoration Outreach (CRO) in Masaka. CRO is a Christian NGO that helps support the lives of street children and their families here in Masaka. CRO also operates 3 other drop in centers in Mbale, Jinja and Lira. (if you wish to find more information regarding this organization please visit www.croug.org).
So this drop in center allows children to come there in the morning and stay for the whole day while being fed, cleaned and educated. The children will walk as long as 1 hour (sometimes longer) to come to the center. In the morning they are able to shower and wash their clothes. Through out the day they attend class, clean the center, eat lunch, study the bible and have fun. Having fun and playing together is an important part of their day here at CRO because it gives them an opportunity to release their stresses of day to day life on the streets and also gives them an opportunity for positive interactions and engagements with other children and youth. I have been told that all of the staff at CRO has some form of counseling skills so that all staff are accessible for help if the child wishes to engage at any moment.
The main goal of CRO is to make connections with the children and youth, over an extended period of time, and then try to facilitate a move back home to an appropriate and willing caretaker. The children and youth leave home for a variety of reasons. Most reasons relating back to poverty, poor health, neglect and abuse. A lot of the youth have experienced the death or abandonment of their main caretaker – death from AIDS or malaria for an example. The staff at CRO make connections with the youth and try to discover their individual reasons for being on the streets. Then they work towards finding out if there are any parents or relatives that may be able to take them in. Once a connection has been made and a lead towards a relative has been established, the social worker will visit the home and make a connection with the family member. The social worker will talk with the family and try to have them take the child back into the home – or into the home for the first time if it is a relative. Sometimes this also needs to happen over an extended period of time. I was told that often the family does not want the child for numerous reasons and it is challenging at times to assist them in changing their minds.
Another part of what CRO does involves visiting the “slums” to find the children and make connections where they are at. CRO really seems to have the concept of meeting the children where they are at and allowing the children to make connections at times that are good and most comfortable for them. So the social worker will do daily trips into a neighboring village called Nyendo – where the majority of the street children sleep – and try to find new children while connecting with the ones they already know. The social worker will then encourage the kids to come to CRO and visit. My understanding through observation so far is that the majority of the children want to go to school, so the idea of receiving an education at CRO motivates these children to come – along with the idea of eating food and showering. I was told that on most days the social worker will escort children back to the center with her.
In Nyendo, where most of the children migrate to, there are markets where the children can make some money. It often happens that adults will hire the children at a very cheap, exploitive rate (as I have been told). The children do things like sell food (walk around the streets with baskets of food on their heads), scavenge for scrap metal and do any needed labor. CRO calls this child labor as the exchange is very exploitive. Children will also be hired as house maids as well as engage in sexual acts for the exchange of food, shelter or money. I am under the understanding that the children go to and stay in Nyendo because of the work at the markets and the adults who live in the slums who wish to have cheap child laborers. The children here are incredibly resilient – and so beautiful. They are very hard workers and do what they need to do to survive. They seem to be very adaptable, which seems to be important in order to stay alive.
In the past CRO used to conduct monthly night walks into the slums, but due to lack of funding (sounds all too familiar) they had to cut the night walks down to once every three months. I will be present and attend the next one. The night walks create an expense because they involve police and probation officer escorts. CRO works closely with the police here in Masaka because of the child labor and exploitation that exists. (It’s a tough realization when I am reminded that child poverty & exploitation is a global problem with many faces – it is this thought that creates a deep hurt and brings tears to my eyes – our world has created rights for children, but the rights seem to go neglected on a large scale). So CRO uses the help of the local police to talk to the adults that hire the children and to enforce the fact that this is illegal and they can and will go to jail. Prior to any police involvement, the social worker will make a connection with the “boss” and try to talk the boss into letting the child attend CRO. If, after a couple attempts, the boss still does not cooperate than police involvement is brought in. During the night walks in particular, police escorts are needed for safety reasons. Along with the issue that most “bosses” do not like CRO staff for taking the children, it is also has been described as a very unsafe place to be at night (in the slums in Nyendo). So police escorts come with a cost, along with safe transportation. I will find out more later about the differences of the day walks to the night walks – what kinds of things are seen, how they find the children, what the children are doing.
So what have I been up to so far at CRO? Last week the staff at CRO took the kids for a week long camping trip. After discussions with my supervisors, I had decided that I would stay home from that trip and visit my peers at their placements instead. So I have just gotten back to CRO this week after one week of not being there.
The week prior to their camping trip I had facilitated a girls group. I brought in some paper, crayons and markers with an idea to try and boost their self esteem, while connecting and building a relationship with the girls. Since I have been at CRO I have noticed that the girls seem to have a lesser presence than the boys – part of this is because the boys out number the girls. I was told that this is due in part to the fact that most of the street girls are scooped up to be house maids and the like. I have been told that the street girls are less visible than the boys. The girls that do attend CRO work very hard. I notice that they help prepare and serve lunch and then clean up after lunch. Not to paint the picture that the boys do not help as they do. It is usually the younger boys that seem to be the helpers. So I felt that it would be nice to have a bit of time dedicated to the girls that are present at CRO and acknowledge their hard work and beauty. (I have also been told by a couple of locals that this is a “mans world” and that the men have the upper hand and control). So after lunch clean up I had all the girls come into one room to participate in my little group – along with the school teacher to interpret for me. I had the chairs set up in a circle and distributed the paper and coloring materials out. The girls appeared very happy to have the paper and felt pens – their faces seemed to light up. I had the girls draw something they thought was beautiful on one side of the paper along with their name. The teacher and I also participated. The girls were having great fun with the colors. After a bit of time I had the girls pass their paper on to the person beside them had them write something nice about the girl whose paper she had (something learned back in CYC class at Douglas). At first this idea was deeply lost in translation, and I felt myself worrying for a split second that it was not going to turn out. But in the end it did. There were approx 12 girls ranging from around 8 years to 17 years. The circle idea worked for a short time, but after the girls got the concept they just got up and walked around to who ever hadn’t written on their sheet yet. The older girls helped the younger girls and they all seemed to be really enjoying it. During the action I had noticed that the girls started using the felt pens to draw on their lips to look like lipstick – it was a reminder that girls will be girls everywhere, and they like to grow up fast.
By the end of our time together I was able to watch as the girls read what their peers had written about each other and again, their beautiful faces lit up – even the teacher that participated had a big smile on her face as she read what her students had written. I was amazed to see how well they wrote – everything was in English. Before the group dispersed, I had the teacher interpret a message for me. I told the girls that I have noticed how hard they work and how they amaze me. I told them how beautiful I think they all are (as I looked around the circle at all their smiling faces). I told them that I hope they see their own beauty. I mentioned that I really enjoyed this group and that I would like to have more groups with just the girls. My small appreciation speech was followed by cheers and clapping hands. They got up and hugged me and each other; it was a very rewarding experience for me.
On my first day back to CRO after their camping trip, I was able to re connect with the kids. I was told that they had over 60 children at camp. I noticed that there were not too many kids at CRO that day and it was explained to me that they are resting from the trip along with catching grasshoppers and preparing for the big weekly market that happens in Nyendo every Tuesday. As it is currently grasshopper season and the skies are filled with grasshoppers, they kids had buckets of them at CRO that day. So, what better way to bond with the kids than to be taught how to pull apart live grasshoppers to prepare them to be cooked. It was actually a bit challenging at first because I kept pulling the head off, which is a part that gets eaten. So the boys laughed with me as they taught me the correct way to hold the grasshopper along with the systematic way to pluck them apart. You first start by pulling off the legs; which are seemingly stronger than I thought. Then you pluck off the wings followed by the antenna and the small tail like thing on the back. Then you are left with just the body, including the head (and eyes) that get thrown into another bucket and then friend with oil. It actually looks a little funny; the pile of grasshopper bodies are still moving around with life in them; and the ground is covered with the left over legs and wings. I wished I had my camera! Later that afternoon I was offered some grasshoppers as a delicate snack. To really fit in with the kids, I tried one! The boys all laughed at me as I put it in my mouth with a slight look of fear and apprehension on my face. I then bite down a couple times and felt my face turn a bit sour. I could only take a couple bites before I thought about the fact that I have half a grasshopper in my mouth between my teeth. I quickly reached for and drank my water to wash it down. The boys had a good time with that – I on the other hand was rather proud of myself, and also had a good time! Later that afternoon a staff had given me a small amount of grasshoppers to eat. I could only eat one and then passed them on to someone else. Again, I needed to wash it down with water. I just couldn’t get past the idea that I was eating grasshopper. Perhaps I will give it a try again.
Yesterday I participated in a walk through Nyendo slums looking for street children. Our first encounter was an older man, with youth sitting around him preparing grasshoppers, talking very loudly, using the word muzungo and looking rather harshly at us. There were other people all around and I noticed that they were also looking at us and laughing. The social worker was talking with a couple kids who looked like they were working. Actually, all the kids I noticed during our walk looked like they were engaged in some form of work. After we walked away from that spot I had found out that that man was in fact speaking rudely about us. He was a “boss” who didn’t like the social worker interfering with his workers – the kids. So, like I thought, he was making comments about her and me as well. Good thing I didn’t understand what he was saying.
We continued our walk through the slums. I was asked to explain later that night what they look like, but to be honest it is indescribable. I wouldn’t even know where to start. I did not bring my camera for a number of reasons, but if I can, I will take pictures another time. It could be accurate to say that it probably looks like what ever you are imagining right now. Mud huts, cramped spaces, tattered clothes, people sitting on the ground working, garbage on the ground…. The social worker was speaking with a lot of different kids. She pointed out how some of the youth were avoiding her as they didn’t want to come to the center because of the work that they could do instead. But she connected with them anyways; at the least to say hi and that she notices them. While I cannot understand what she was saying, and I am new to this culture, to me she seems like a very natural worker who innately knows how to connect, from her body language, to her town of voice to her presence as a whole. It was lovely to see how she connected with these kids – and the bosses. We had reached one place where she had visited numerous times before trying to connect and recruit a new child. It was a young girl who looked no older than 12. (It is hard to tell the ages of the children / youth around here, and often they do not even know how old they are). This young girl was working for a man, who did not look much older than me (26) and his wife (?). When we arrived she was washing their dishes and doing their laundry. The social worker sat and talked with the man attempting to have him allow the child to come with us to the center. I was able to watch her talk to the man while at the same time watch the child as she vigorously cleaned what was around her. I knew she was listening to what was being discussed and at some point I was able to see a shift in her. The gift of being advocated for; she was able to listen to the social worker talk about the center and what would be offered and that she should be coming. The child did not lift her head from her duties or even show any sign that she was paying attention, but I new she was. I could feel her attention. It was not long until the social worker told me that she was allowed to come. We just needed to wait for her to finish her duties and then she would come with us; it would be the first time for her to come to CRO. So we waited. We sat for about 30 minutes as she was finishing her work. I think I knew that she was granted permission before the social worker told me because at one point I noticed the girl hurry up with her dishes – that coincided with the shift I felt, even though she did not bat an eye at the discussion around her. So she finished her dishes and washed herself, got changed and we left. I noticed before we left that she was paid 100 Ush – which would relate to fewer than 10 cents for us in Canada. She collected her money and we collected her and we were on our way.
We continued to walk through Nyendo to visit a couple more areas before we headed back to the center. It was market day in Nyendo (Tuesday) so the area was very VERY packed with lots of people, botta botta’s, cars and vendors. I was shown a couple more places where children slept – on the streets, in ditches, between mud houses; pretty much everywhere and anywhere. I was shown the different alleys that the youth may exchange sex for goods. During our walk we saw a couple children that attend the center. It was a real pleasure when I heard my name being called out by a child that I had already met. The other children in the slums all came up to me and would touch me to see if I was real. A couple of the really small ones grabbed my hands and walked with me, their faces brighter than the sun, big big smiles. When I sat down they would try to cuddle up to my lap and just be close to me.
I felt glorified almost to bring back this child to CRO with the social worker. It was a real gift for me to be a part of that process. I was even able to sit in with the first meeting that the social worker had with the child when we arrived at the center. While I was unable to understand the verbal language, I gained deeper insight into observing the body and emotional language being presented. I learned more about the lives of the street children here in Masaka. Like mentioned before I observed how hard they work, how resilient they are and how incredibly beautiful they are. It was an amazing treat for me. Again, bitter sweet – the silver lining is always present.
So the seemingly little time I have spent at CRO I am now working on seeing how I can participate in creating special ideas for CRO to try out with the children and youth. Like the girls group. I would like to see if I can create an atmosphere of importance around spending a little bit of time each week with only the girls and working towards building their self esteem and feelings of self worth. I am also open to finding an appropriate idea for something for the boys, especially the older boys. The older boys have been described as a bit harder to reach, and I will take on the challenge of creating something special to engage in with them.
Thank you for taking the time to read our Blogs – your support is really appreciated. We love reading the comments and feedback that you provide. I encourage you to ask us questions and provide any suggestions or ideas that may arise as you read about what we are doing here!
Sincerely,
Adriana
For those that don’t know, I am completing my work experience at Child Restoration Outreach (CRO) in Masaka. CRO is a Christian NGO that helps support the lives of street children and their families here in Masaka. CRO also operates 3 other drop in centers in Mbale, Jinja and Lira. (if you wish to find more information regarding this organization please visit www.croug.org).
So this drop in center allows children to come there in the morning and stay for the whole day while being fed, cleaned and educated. The children will walk as long as 1 hour (sometimes longer) to come to the center. In the morning they are able to shower and wash their clothes. Through out the day they attend class, clean the center, eat lunch, study the bible and have fun. Having fun and playing together is an important part of their day here at CRO because it gives them an opportunity to release their stresses of day to day life on the streets and also gives them an opportunity for positive interactions and engagements with other children and youth. I have been told that all of the staff at CRO has some form of counseling skills so that all staff are accessible for help if the child wishes to engage at any moment.
The main goal of CRO is to make connections with the children and youth, over an extended period of time, and then try to facilitate a move back home to an appropriate and willing caretaker. The children and youth leave home for a variety of reasons. Most reasons relating back to poverty, poor health, neglect and abuse. A lot of the youth have experienced the death or abandonment of their main caretaker – death from AIDS or malaria for an example. The staff at CRO make connections with the youth and try to discover their individual reasons for being on the streets. Then they work towards finding out if there are any parents or relatives that may be able to take them in. Once a connection has been made and a lead towards a relative has been established, the social worker will visit the home and make a connection with the family member. The social worker will talk with the family and try to have them take the child back into the home – or into the home for the first time if it is a relative. Sometimes this also needs to happen over an extended period of time. I was told that often the family does not want the child for numerous reasons and it is challenging at times to assist them in changing their minds.
Another part of what CRO does involves visiting the “slums” to find the children and make connections where they are at. CRO really seems to have the concept of meeting the children where they are at and allowing the children to make connections at times that are good and most comfortable for them. So the social worker will do daily trips into a neighboring village called Nyendo – where the majority of the street children sleep – and try to find new children while connecting with the ones they already know. The social worker will then encourage the kids to come to CRO and visit. My understanding through observation so far is that the majority of the children want to go to school, so the idea of receiving an education at CRO motivates these children to come – along with the idea of eating food and showering. I was told that on most days the social worker will escort children back to the center with her.
In Nyendo, where most of the children migrate to, there are markets where the children can make some money. It often happens that adults will hire the children at a very cheap, exploitive rate (as I have been told). The children do things like sell food (walk around the streets with baskets of food on their heads), scavenge for scrap metal and do any needed labor. CRO calls this child labor as the exchange is very exploitive. Children will also be hired as house maids as well as engage in sexual acts for the exchange of food, shelter or money. I am under the understanding that the children go to and stay in Nyendo because of the work at the markets and the adults who live in the slums who wish to have cheap child laborers. The children here are incredibly resilient – and so beautiful. They are very hard workers and do what they need to do to survive. They seem to be very adaptable, which seems to be important in order to stay alive.
In the past CRO used to conduct monthly night walks into the slums, but due to lack of funding (sounds all too familiar) they had to cut the night walks down to once every three months. I will be present and attend the next one. The night walks create an expense because they involve police and probation officer escorts. CRO works closely with the police here in Masaka because of the child labor and exploitation that exists. (It’s a tough realization when I am reminded that child poverty & exploitation is a global problem with many faces – it is this thought that creates a deep hurt and brings tears to my eyes – our world has created rights for children, but the rights seem to go neglected on a large scale). So CRO uses the help of the local police to talk to the adults that hire the children and to enforce the fact that this is illegal and they can and will go to jail. Prior to any police involvement, the social worker will make a connection with the “boss” and try to talk the boss into letting the child attend CRO. If, after a couple attempts, the boss still does not cooperate than police involvement is brought in. During the night walks in particular, police escorts are needed for safety reasons. Along with the issue that most “bosses” do not like CRO staff for taking the children, it is also has been described as a very unsafe place to be at night (in the slums in Nyendo). So police escorts come with a cost, along with safe transportation. I will find out more later about the differences of the day walks to the night walks – what kinds of things are seen, how they find the children, what the children are doing.
So what have I been up to so far at CRO? Last week the staff at CRO took the kids for a week long camping trip. After discussions with my supervisors, I had decided that I would stay home from that trip and visit my peers at their placements instead. So I have just gotten back to CRO this week after one week of not being there.
The week prior to their camping trip I had facilitated a girls group. I brought in some paper, crayons and markers with an idea to try and boost their self esteem, while connecting and building a relationship with the girls. Since I have been at CRO I have noticed that the girls seem to have a lesser presence than the boys – part of this is because the boys out number the girls. I was told that this is due in part to the fact that most of the street girls are scooped up to be house maids and the like. I have been told that the street girls are less visible than the boys. The girls that do attend CRO work very hard. I notice that they help prepare and serve lunch and then clean up after lunch. Not to paint the picture that the boys do not help as they do. It is usually the younger boys that seem to be the helpers. So I felt that it would be nice to have a bit of time dedicated to the girls that are present at CRO and acknowledge their hard work and beauty. (I have also been told by a couple of locals that this is a “mans world” and that the men have the upper hand and control). So after lunch clean up I had all the girls come into one room to participate in my little group – along with the school teacher to interpret for me. I had the chairs set up in a circle and distributed the paper and coloring materials out. The girls appeared very happy to have the paper and felt pens – their faces seemed to light up. I had the girls draw something they thought was beautiful on one side of the paper along with their name. The teacher and I also participated. The girls were having great fun with the colors. After a bit of time I had the girls pass their paper on to the person beside them had them write something nice about the girl whose paper she had (something learned back in CYC class at Douglas). At first this idea was deeply lost in translation, and I felt myself worrying for a split second that it was not going to turn out. But in the end it did. There were approx 12 girls ranging from around 8 years to 17 years. The circle idea worked for a short time, but after the girls got the concept they just got up and walked around to who ever hadn’t written on their sheet yet. The older girls helped the younger girls and they all seemed to be really enjoying it. During the action I had noticed that the girls started using the felt pens to draw on their lips to look like lipstick – it was a reminder that girls will be girls everywhere, and they like to grow up fast.
By the end of our time together I was able to watch as the girls read what their peers had written about each other and again, their beautiful faces lit up – even the teacher that participated had a big smile on her face as she read what her students had written. I was amazed to see how well they wrote – everything was in English. Before the group dispersed, I had the teacher interpret a message for me. I told the girls that I have noticed how hard they work and how they amaze me. I told them how beautiful I think they all are (as I looked around the circle at all their smiling faces). I told them that I hope they see their own beauty. I mentioned that I really enjoyed this group and that I would like to have more groups with just the girls. My small appreciation speech was followed by cheers and clapping hands. They got up and hugged me and each other; it was a very rewarding experience for me.
On my first day back to CRO after their camping trip, I was able to re connect with the kids. I was told that they had over 60 children at camp. I noticed that there were not too many kids at CRO that day and it was explained to me that they are resting from the trip along with catching grasshoppers and preparing for the big weekly market that happens in Nyendo every Tuesday. As it is currently grasshopper season and the skies are filled with grasshoppers, they kids had buckets of them at CRO that day. So, what better way to bond with the kids than to be taught how to pull apart live grasshoppers to prepare them to be cooked. It was actually a bit challenging at first because I kept pulling the head off, which is a part that gets eaten. So the boys laughed with me as they taught me the correct way to hold the grasshopper along with the systematic way to pluck them apart. You first start by pulling off the legs; which are seemingly stronger than I thought. Then you pluck off the wings followed by the antenna and the small tail like thing on the back. Then you are left with just the body, including the head (and eyes) that get thrown into another bucket and then friend with oil. It actually looks a little funny; the pile of grasshopper bodies are still moving around with life in them; and the ground is covered with the left over legs and wings. I wished I had my camera! Later that afternoon I was offered some grasshoppers as a delicate snack. To really fit in with the kids, I tried one! The boys all laughed at me as I put it in my mouth with a slight look of fear and apprehension on my face. I then bite down a couple times and felt my face turn a bit sour. I could only take a couple bites before I thought about the fact that I have half a grasshopper in my mouth between my teeth. I quickly reached for and drank my water to wash it down. The boys had a good time with that – I on the other hand was rather proud of myself, and also had a good time! Later that afternoon a staff had given me a small amount of grasshoppers to eat. I could only eat one and then passed them on to someone else. Again, I needed to wash it down with water. I just couldn’t get past the idea that I was eating grasshopper. Perhaps I will give it a try again.
Yesterday I participated in a walk through Nyendo slums looking for street children. Our first encounter was an older man, with youth sitting around him preparing grasshoppers, talking very loudly, using the word muzungo and looking rather harshly at us. There were other people all around and I noticed that they were also looking at us and laughing. The social worker was talking with a couple kids who looked like they were working. Actually, all the kids I noticed during our walk looked like they were engaged in some form of work. After we walked away from that spot I had found out that that man was in fact speaking rudely about us. He was a “boss” who didn’t like the social worker interfering with his workers – the kids. So, like I thought, he was making comments about her and me as well. Good thing I didn’t understand what he was saying.
We continued our walk through the slums. I was asked to explain later that night what they look like, but to be honest it is indescribable. I wouldn’t even know where to start. I did not bring my camera for a number of reasons, but if I can, I will take pictures another time. It could be accurate to say that it probably looks like what ever you are imagining right now. Mud huts, cramped spaces, tattered clothes, people sitting on the ground working, garbage on the ground…. The social worker was speaking with a lot of different kids. She pointed out how some of the youth were avoiding her as they didn’t want to come to the center because of the work that they could do instead. But she connected with them anyways; at the least to say hi and that she notices them. While I cannot understand what she was saying, and I am new to this culture, to me she seems like a very natural worker who innately knows how to connect, from her body language, to her town of voice to her presence as a whole. It was lovely to see how she connected with these kids – and the bosses. We had reached one place where she had visited numerous times before trying to connect and recruit a new child. It was a young girl who looked no older than 12. (It is hard to tell the ages of the children / youth around here, and often they do not even know how old they are). This young girl was working for a man, who did not look much older than me (26) and his wife (?). When we arrived she was washing their dishes and doing their laundry. The social worker sat and talked with the man attempting to have him allow the child to come with us to the center. I was able to watch her talk to the man while at the same time watch the child as she vigorously cleaned what was around her. I knew she was listening to what was being discussed and at some point I was able to see a shift in her. The gift of being advocated for; she was able to listen to the social worker talk about the center and what would be offered and that she should be coming. The child did not lift her head from her duties or even show any sign that she was paying attention, but I new she was. I could feel her attention. It was not long until the social worker told me that she was allowed to come. We just needed to wait for her to finish her duties and then she would come with us; it would be the first time for her to come to CRO. So we waited. We sat for about 30 minutes as she was finishing her work. I think I knew that she was granted permission before the social worker told me because at one point I noticed the girl hurry up with her dishes – that coincided with the shift I felt, even though she did not bat an eye at the discussion around her. So she finished her dishes and washed herself, got changed and we left. I noticed before we left that she was paid 100 Ush – which would relate to fewer than 10 cents for us in Canada. She collected her money and we collected her and we were on our way.
We continued to walk through Nyendo to visit a couple more areas before we headed back to the center. It was market day in Nyendo (Tuesday) so the area was very VERY packed with lots of people, botta botta’s, cars and vendors. I was shown a couple more places where children slept – on the streets, in ditches, between mud houses; pretty much everywhere and anywhere. I was shown the different alleys that the youth may exchange sex for goods. During our walk we saw a couple children that attend the center. It was a real pleasure when I heard my name being called out by a child that I had already met. The other children in the slums all came up to me and would touch me to see if I was real. A couple of the really small ones grabbed my hands and walked with me, their faces brighter than the sun, big big smiles. When I sat down they would try to cuddle up to my lap and just be close to me.
I felt glorified almost to bring back this child to CRO with the social worker. It was a real gift for me to be a part of that process. I was even able to sit in with the first meeting that the social worker had with the child when we arrived at the center. While I was unable to understand the verbal language, I gained deeper insight into observing the body and emotional language being presented. I learned more about the lives of the street children here in Masaka. Like mentioned before I observed how hard they work, how resilient they are and how incredibly beautiful they are. It was an amazing treat for me. Again, bitter sweet – the silver lining is always present.
So the seemingly little time I have spent at CRO I am now working on seeing how I can participate in creating special ideas for CRO to try out with the children and youth. Like the girls group. I would like to see if I can create an atmosphere of importance around spending a little bit of time each week with only the girls and working towards building their self esteem and feelings of self worth. I am also open to finding an appropriate idea for something for the boys, especially the older boys. The older boys have been described as a bit harder to reach, and I will take on the challenge of creating something special to engage in with them.
Thank you for taking the time to read our Blogs – your support is really appreciated. We love reading the comments and feedback that you provide. I encourage you to ask us questions and provide any suggestions or ideas that may arise as you read about what we are doing here!
Sincerely,
Adriana
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Sharing is Caring (Leah)
I am so happy to be here in Uganda it has been a dream come true for me, for as long as I can remember I have wanted to learn and experience life in Africa. We have settled in very nicely to our new home I look forward to coming home each day and seeing the smiling faces of my roomies and sharing my day. I could not think of a better group of gals to be here in Masaka with, we are all from different backgrounds but we have common threads that weave us together as four strong women. I feel the positive vibes from our fifth member daily and think of you often my dear Malia :)
I have been inspired and grateful for the time I have been spending at Uganda Schizophrenia Fellowship and Ward 14. I have been observing and learning from the clinical officers at USF, they are so knowledgeable about mental health and the issues and barriers people face to access proper mental health treatment. I am impressed at the length of time the clinical officers spend with each client. The staff at USF really takes time to fully understand the history and symptoms of the outpatients, they then take time to explain their diagnoses and educate these clients about how to begin to live a healthy stable life living with mental illness.
Many Ugandans historically and continue to visit traditional healers for treatment of mental illness. USF has developed a program and partnership to educate traditional healers about methods of treatment which can take place at the USF clinic and ward 14. This program has proven to be successful as upon our visit local healers had made 4 referrals to USF. I really support and believe in this program as it is educating many people and increasing access for treatment and breaking down the stigma of mental illness. While visiting the healers I was able to sit in the healing clinic where they perform various healing rituals. It reminded me much of a TeePee. As we sat on the floor I felt a great sense of peace run through my body. I can only assume this feeling came because it is a spiritual place. The traditional healer explained he gets consultation messages from the spirit world and the spirits tell him how and what to do to treat different physical and mental illnesses. I found it very intriguing and I left with a curiosity of what a healing ceremony would look like. I was pleased to learn that people living in surrounding villages will be learning more about mental illness and be accessing effective treatment in the future.
I have learned so much since arriving in Masaka, I don’t know where to start. I guess it’s a good start by finally making a blog entry! I have seen and felt a great sense of community since arriving and family is so important to people. I have learned the true meaning of sharing. I have not heard the phrase “that’s mine” since I have been here I do not think it is in the vocabulary. In saying that I hope you enjoy “my” entry and can “share” it with your loved ones :)
In Friendship
Leah
I have been inspired and grateful for the time I have been spending at Uganda Schizophrenia Fellowship and Ward 14. I have been observing and learning from the clinical officers at USF, they are so knowledgeable about mental health and the issues and barriers people face to access proper mental health treatment. I am impressed at the length of time the clinical officers spend with each client. The staff at USF really takes time to fully understand the history and symptoms of the outpatients, they then take time to explain their diagnoses and educate these clients about how to begin to live a healthy stable life living with mental illness.
Many Ugandans historically and continue to visit traditional healers for treatment of mental illness. USF has developed a program and partnership to educate traditional healers about methods of treatment which can take place at the USF clinic and ward 14. This program has proven to be successful as upon our visit local healers had made 4 referrals to USF. I really support and believe in this program as it is educating many people and increasing access for treatment and breaking down the stigma of mental illness. While visiting the healers I was able to sit in the healing clinic where they perform various healing rituals. It reminded me much of a TeePee. As we sat on the floor I felt a great sense of peace run through my body. I can only assume this feeling came because it is a spiritual place. The traditional healer explained he gets consultation messages from the spirit world and the spirits tell him how and what to do to treat different physical and mental illnesses. I found it very intriguing and I left with a curiosity of what a healing ceremony would look like. I was pleased to learn that people living in surrounding villages will be learning more about mental illness and be accessing effective treatment in the future.
I have learned so much since arriving in Masaka, I don’t know where to start. I guess it’s a good start by finally making a blog entry! I have seen and felt a great sense of community since arriving and family is so important to people. I have learned the true meaning of sharing. I have not heard the phrase “that’s mine” since I have been here I do not think it is in the vocabulary. In saying that I hope you enjoy “my” entry and can “share” it with your loved ones :)
In Friendship
Leah
smiles on the ward (Mitra)
My days at the hospital are somewhat challenging due to the lack of resources. It is amazing how the staff have learned to improvise and be able to save the lives of many new born children. There was a heartbreaking event that happened last week. We had a baby who we worked hard to revise and get him stable on his breathing. The next morning when I went back to the hospital, I learned that he passed away the night before. It was a sad morning for me, but I have learned to ease the pain by thinking about those who are able to survive and get a chance of a full life. I am trying to learn how to improvise and make use of things that seem not to be useful.
I truly enjoy being in the hospital and communicating with patients. The other day one of the patients saw my camera and asked me to take a picture of her. After taking the picture, I showed it to her and she couldn’t stop laughing. She was so exited to see herself in the camera. All of a sudden everybody else wanted their pictures to be taken. I felt blessed to be doing it, they were posing and I was taking pictures and showing it to them. The whole ward’s mood changed to a happy mood and there was laughter as my camera was making its way around. They were pointing at each other and were having a blast. I made many friends that day. As I was walking out of the ward they were all waving and saying goodbyes with the biggest smiles on their faces. The fact that they were happy and had fun made me feel so good that I had to stop for a few minutes and let myself truly absorb it. All the way to my home I couldn’t stop smiling, it was a happy ending to a sad day.
I truly enjoy being in the hospital and communicating with patients. The other day one of the patients saw my camera and asked me to take a picture of her. After taking the picture, I showed it to her and she couldn’t stop laughing. She was so exited to see herself in the camera. All of a sudden everybody else wanted their pictures to be taken. I felt blessed to be doing it, they were posing and I was taking pictures and showing it to them. The whole ward’s mood changed to a happy mood and there was laughter as my camera was making its way around. They were pointing at each other and were having a blast. I made many friends that day. As I was walking out of the ward they were all waving and saying goodbyes with the biggest smiles on their faces. The fact that they were happy and had fun made me feel so good that I had to stop for a few minutes and let myself truly absorb it. All the way to my home I couldn’t stop smiling, it was a happy ending to a sad day.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
my days in Masaka (Mitra)
Here I am in my dream land and doing my dream work, after many years of dreaming to be here and experience Uganda first hand. I have two placements; I work in the school where children with disabilities come to learn and the other in the Masaka Regional Referral hospital in the maternity ward. My first day in the school for children with disabilities was an amazing experience. I was overwhelmed by the amount of love and excitement that I received from the children and some of the faculty.
It was not easy to see the circumstances that the children have due to the lack of equipment and resources. My supervisor in the school is the most amazing woman I have ever met in my life. I feel so ashamed of myself when I am around her. Her strength is inspiring; her compassion to others and her job is beyond my comprehension. We do a lot of outreach together. My first official Monday with her, we took a stroll around the village and she helped me to understand some things about their way of farming. I learned how to plant potatoes and how to pick them. I also learned a lot about taking care of banana plants and how you cut the grandmother branch after she gave all her food in order for the new baby banana branch to grow. All the time that we were walking children were following us and they were so happy to take pictures with me and whenever I showed them their pictures they were so happy laughing and pointing at each other on the picture. They were furtively touching my skin since it is different than theirs.
We visited two houses, one was an elderly man very sick who is living by himself since his wife passed away and he does not have any children. He is not taking any medication because he thinks he is be-witched and medication is not going to help him. As I was sitting there and watching her patiently feed him and make sure that his bed is dry and comfortable, I wondered if any of our neighbors back home would do the same thing to each other. The sense of community and feeling of responsibility towards each other in Masaka is amazing. It made me think about home where most of us don’t even know our neighbors.
In the other house we visited an elderly man living with his son who has mental and physical disabilities. The son was so happy to see us and his excitement brought smiles to our faces. We sat there for a while and talked. He told us about his life and what he’s done for the last few days. In the meanwhile my supervisor helped in clipping the boy’s nails as I took pictures of this selfless act of compassion. The father could not start his fire because he was old and weak, so my supervisor did it for him. We said our goodbyes and left. The whole drive home I was thinking about the community and how much Ugandan people value it. They don’t have much but whatever they have they share it with each other.
This is for my dear friend Malia who could not be here with us. we miss you and we know that you are here with us and can see everything through our eyes.
It is amazing to be here and experience this!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was not easy to see the circumstances that the children have due to the lack of equipment and resources. My supervisor in the school is the most amazing woman I have ever met in my life. I feel so ashamed of myself when I am around her. Her strength is inspiring; her compassion to others and her job is beyond my comprehension. We do a lot of outreach together. My first official Monday with her, we took a stroll around the village and she helped me to understand some things about their way of farming. I learned how to plant potatoes and how to pick them. I also learned a lot about taking care of banana plants and how you cut the grandmother branch after she gave all her food in order for the new baby banana branch to grow. All the time that we were walking children were following us and they were so happy to take pictures with me and whenever I showed them their pictures they were so happy laughing and pointing at each other on the picture. They were furtively touching my skin since it is different than theirs.
We visited two houses, one was an elderly man very sick who is living by himself since his wife passed away and he does not have any children. He is not taking any medication because he thinks he is be-witched and medication is not going to help him. As I was sitting there and watching her patiently feed him and make sure that his bed is dry and comfortable, I wondered if any of our neighbors back home would do the same thing to each other. The sense of community and feeling of responsibility towards each other in Masaka is amazing. It made me think about home where most of us don’t even know our neighbors.
In the other house we visited an elderly man living with his son who has mental and physical disabilities. The son was so happy to see us and his excitement brought smiles to our faces. We sat there for a while and talked. He told us about his life and what he’s done for the last few days. In the meanwhile my supervisor helped in clipping the boy’s nails as I took pictures of this selfless act of compassion. The father could not start his fire because he was old and weak, so my supervisor did it for him. We said our goodbyes and left. The whole drive home I was thinking about the community and how much Ugandan people value it. They don’t have much but whatever they have they share it with each other.
This is for my dear friend Malia who could not be here with us. we miss you and we know that you are here with us and can see everything through our eyes.
It is amazing to be here and experience this!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
What an amazing place!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Raman)
It has officially been a week since we arrived here in Masaka. Today was my second day at work as a Social Worker in the Masaka Regional Referral Hospital. In this hospital patients are mainly taken care of by their parents and/or relatives. The food for these patients, their washing and bathing is to be provided by the relatives. The hospital does not have the resources to feed all the patients nor have enough staff to attend all the needs of the patients. If a patient does not have food or someone to take care of them the social worker is notified. This hospital has only one social worker to meet the needs of these patients, but even more importantly the social worker has minimal funds to work with to meet these needs. From my little experience, and little interaction with the doctors and nurses I gather that most of the illnesses in this hospital are caused or exacerbated by poverty and a lack of knowledge. For example, in the pediatric ward many patients suffer from severe malnutrition, or from malaria, or are unknowingly HIV positive. A parent may not have enough food to feed their child which leads to malnutrition weakening their immune system leaving vulnerable to other infections.
I know this all sounds grim and maybe overwhelming but there is magic to be found in this place. Every time I walk through the wards I am in ‘Awwww’. The sense of community among Ugandans is absolutely amazing. Though one may be living in poverty themselves, they will share the little they have with one another and not allow the other to go hungry. Absolutely amazing! If a patient is discharged but does not have money to travel home, with the patients’ permission the nurses may go around the ward and ask for the other patients and relatives to help out. They may only have enough in their pockets to feed themselves and their ill relative for a day or two but they will still dig in their pockets and give. A nurse told me that it is the Ugandan way, they do not pour food unless they have enough to share. They will decrease their own amount of intake to share with another unknown person. How does one not sit in aaaaaw? Being here I feel as if we Canadians are much poorer in some ways.
I feel extremely blessed to be here and to learn and hopefully absorb the richness of the culture here.
I know this all sounds grim and maybe overwhelming but there is magic to be found in this place. Every time I walk through the wards I am in ‘Awwww’. The sense of community among Ugandans is absolutely amazing. Though one may be living in poverty themselves, they will share the little they have with one another and not allow the other to go hungry. Absolutely amazing! If a patient is discharged but does not have money to travel home, with the patients’ permission the nurses may go around the ward and ask for the other patients and relatives to help out. They may only have enough in their pockets to feed themselves and their ill relative for a day or two but they will still dig in their pockets and give. A nurse told me that it is the Ugandan way, they do not pour food unless they have enough to share. They will decrease their own amount of intake to share with another unknown person. How does one not sit in aaaaaw? Being here I feel as if we Canadians are much poorer in some ways.
I feel extremely blessed to be here and to learn and hopefully absorb the richness of the culture here.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Our First Blog in Uganda (Adriana)
Wasuze otyano (good morning)Welcome to our first BLOG in UGANDA!
After a 9 hour flight into London, an 8 hour stop over at the airport and another 8 hour flight into Entebbe, Uganda we finally arrived. We left Monday, April 26th 8:30pm Vancouver time and arrived in Uganda on April 28th 7:30 am Uganda time. So we basically spent 2 full days of traveling. In our favor, both of our flights were at night time, so some of us were able to fall asleep on the plane, while others were not so fortunate.
The airplane into Entebbe was almost empty, so some of us were even luckier to fold up the arm rests and sprawl out onto the seats next to us and get some real R & R (I was one of those people).
Since the plane was almost empty, I was able to jump into a window seat during our landing and get a good look at the land we were landing down on; and it was beautiful. I instantly became the most thankful I have been so far for this adventure. All around was thick, beautiful, lush greenery and so many birds. Big birds, little birds, medium sized birds, and they were everywhere.
I first noticed the change in temperature when we stepped off the plane and started walking towards the very small airport. The atmosphere felt heavy and the air felt thick. At this point my mind and body were both fairly exhausted but I was enjoying every minute of it.
The ride into our small town Masaka was very VERY long and tiresome. It took us 3 hours to get from the airport to Masaka town. While I was literally sleep walking during our time from the airport to our new town, my senses where heightened and I felt alive. The drive was an experience all in itself. Driving through the capital city of Kampala was a bit over whelming and incredibly amazing at the same time. That seems to be the theme for me here: bitter sweet. There were people all over the streets of Kampala. There were sounds & smells that were all so new to me, faces, streets, everything was just mind blowing. (its hard for me to think about what to go into detail as I could literally go into detail about every last little thing).
We arrived in our small town at approx 2:30pm Uganda time. I didn’t know what to think at that time. I was tired, uncomfortable from the long ride (in a very tight van packed with all of our bags) and I felt like I was dragging my body around until I could find a place to rest it. Little did I know at that time that we had no time to rest (at all). After checking into our Annex we had to go into town to purchase food, exchange money and get some basic necessities – as if we didn’t pack enough. I was running on over drive at this point and everything felt surreal.
I think we finally went to bed around 11pm Uganda time – wow! And the next morning we were all set to start our first day at our work experience places! (nothing like jumping right in, right Bob which to my surprise was just fine)
On a side note before I sign off I would make note of some of the things I have noticed since I have been here. I have noticed the most beautiful birds and plants. The streets are filled with “boda boda’s” which are motor bikes that carry up to four people at a time with out a helmet, many cars and people all over the place and massive pot holes. For the most part, people are most friendly to us and the children always smile and wave. There has not been a day yet where I have not heard “Hey Muzungo” shouted at me at least 5 times in a day (muzungo = white person). Everywhere I look is green, lovely, beautiful greenery and I swear the sky is a more beautiful blue here than anywhere I have seen before.
Most of what I have witnessed and paid close attention to are the children. I am in love with the children. I have seen children have the most fun with only a couple sticks and a make shift ball out of banana leaves. I see older children consistently take care of the younger children with an innate sense of nurturance towards one another. For the most part, I have only seen smiles and heard laughter come from the children here – and I am volunteering with the less fortunate children from this part of Africa.
As for our living space, I feel it safe to say that the four of us feel very secure in our little Annex that we have made our home. At night time we are locked in nice and tight and there is virtually no way for an intruder to come in when we are not paying attention to our tall metal gate (which locks tight). The four of us have been getting along very well and taking care of each other like we need. I feel our four different personalities compliment each others consistently and very appropriately.
I also wanted to mention that we have finally received the internet at our Annex and will now be able to update our BLOG more consistently. We have all been so busy that we have not had a chance as of yet to get online and write – but we will be from this point forward so please continue to check it out!
My last note – I wanted to mention a great big THANK YOU to all of the faculty and staff at Douglas College who have made this possible for the four of us. I know there have been many people at the college who have participated in helping this come to fruitation – people who some of us have not even met – THANK YOU! This has been a dream come true for all of us and we are more than grateful for this experience. And THANK YOU SO MUCH BOB! I know we give you a hard time once in a while ;) but we do really appreciate all that you have done for us here and I know we will miss you when you leave at the end of the week. Thanks again everyone! And to our dear friend Malia – we think about you often and know you are here with us!
Kindly,
Muzungo Adriana
(and for the English majors, please ignore my spelling mistakes and incorrect grammar)
After a 9 hour flight into London, an 8 hour stop over at the airport and another 8 hour flight into Entebbe, Uganda we finally arrived. We left Monday, April 26th 8:30pm Vancouver time and arrived in Uganda on April 28th 7:30 am Uganda time. So we basically spent 2 full days of traveling. In our favor, both of our flights were at night time, so some of us were able to fall asleep on the plane, while others were not so fortunate.
The airplane into Entebbe was almost empty, so some of us were even luckier to fold up the arm rests and sprawl out onto the seats next to us and get some real R & R (I was one of those people).
Since the plane was almost empty, I was able to jump into a window seat during our landing and get a good look at the land we were landing down on; and it was beautiful. I instantly became the most thankful I have been so far for this adventure. All around was thick, beautiful, lush greenery and so many birds. Big birds, little birds, medium sized birds, and they were everywhere.
I first noticed the change in temperature when we stepped off the plane and started walking towards the very small airport. The atmosphere felt heavy and the air felt thick. At this point my mind and body were both fairly exhausted but I was enjoying every minute of it.
The ride into our small town Masaka was very VERY long and tiresome. It took us 3 hours to get from the airport to Masaka town. While I was literally sleep walking during our time from the airport to our new town, my senses where heightened and I felt alive. The drive was an experience all in itself. Driving through the capital city of Kampala was a bit over whelming and incredibly amazing at the same time. That seems to be the theme for me here: bitter sweet. There were people all over the streets of Kampala. There were sounds & smells that were all so new to me, faces, streets, everything was just mind blowing. (its hard for me to think about what to go into detail as I could literally go into detail about every last little thing).
We arrived in our small town at approx 2:30pm Uganda time. I didn’t know what to think at that time. I was tired, uncomfortable from the long ride (in a very tight van packed with all of our bags) and I felt like I was dragging my body around until I could find a place to rest it. Little did I know at that time that we had no time to rest (at all). After checking into our Annex we had to go into town to purchase food, exchange money and get some basic necessities – as if we didn’t pack enough. I was running on over drive at this point and everything felt surreal.
I think we finally went to bed around 11pm Uganda time – wow! And the next morning we were all set to start our first day at our work experience places! (nothing like jumping right in, right Bob which to my surprise was just fine)
On a side note before I sign off I would make note of some of the things I have noticed since I have been here. I have noticed the most beautiful birds and plants. The streets are filled with “boda boda’s” which are motor bikes that carry up to four people at a time with out a helmet, many cars and people all over the place and massive pot holes. For the most part, people are most friendly to us and the children always smile and wave. There has not been a day yet where I have not heard “Hey Muzungo” shouted at me at least 5 times in a day (muzungo = white person). Everywhere I look is green, lovely, beautiful greenery and I swear the sky is a more beautiful blue here than anywhere I have seen before.
Most of what I have witnessed and paid close attention to are the children. I am in love with the children. I have seen children have the most fun with only a couple sticks and a make shift ball out of banana leaves. I see older children consistently take care of the younger children with an innate sense of nurturance towards one another. For the most part, I have only seen smiles and heard laughter come from the children here – and I am volunteering with the less fortunate children from this part of Africa.
As for our living space, I feel it safe to say that the four of us feel very secure in our little Annex that we have made our home. At night time we are locked in nice and tight and there is virtually no way for an intruder to come in when we are not paying attention to our tall metal gate (which locks tight). The four of us have been getting along very well and taking care of each other like we need. I feel our four different personalities compliment each others consistently and very appropriately.
I also wanted to mention that we have finally received the internet at our Annex and will now be able to update our BLOG more consistently. We have all been so busy that we have not had a chance as of yet to get online and write – but we will be from this point forward so please continue to check it out!
My last note – I wanted to mention a great big THANK YOU to all of the faculty and staff at Douglas College who have made this possible for the four of us. I know there have been many people at the college who have participated in helping this come to fruitation – people who some of us have not even met – THANK YOU! This has been a dream come true for all of us and we are more than grateful for this experience. And THANK YOU SO MUCH BOB! I know we give you a hard time once in a while ;) but we do really appreciate all that you have done for us here and I know we will miss you when you leave at the end of the week. Thanks again everyone! And to our dear friend Malia – we think about you often and know you are here with us!
Kindly,
Muzungo Adriana
(and for the English majors, please ignore my spelling mistakes and incorrect grammar)
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