Derrick

This is Derrick. On Monday we practiced reading using The Cat in the Hat while we had some free time in between jigger education classes. Although he's 12 years old, Derrick struggled to read this simple book because his schooling is not as effective as it should be. I wasn't sure if he was enjoying reading or resenting me for making him practice. I found out the next day though when he tugged on my shirt after class and asked if we could read again smile emoticon 

I had to say goodbye to this nugget and his friends today as they were resettled from the outreach house into their homes. I'm thankful to Derrick for showing me that kids all over the world are hungry for knowledge and deserve to be fed. 

Challenge Week- Day 7

Well there are some days in life when you just don’t feel inspired and today is one of those for me. I had a great day helping to organize the closet of clothing donations at the outreach house and working on jigger education curriculum development, but I’m just not feeling like I have much to offer y’all today. My amazing childhood dance teacher Hayes used to always tell us: “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.” So I’ll spare you all from having to read some nonsense I threw together because I felt like I had to finish out my “challenge week” and just thank you for reading my stories and being open to the challenges. Your feedback has meant so much to me :) I’ll continue to add more similar posts to the blog as I continue to learn from living in this beautiful country :)

Challenge Week- Day 6

One thing that I love about Uganda is that it’s not weird to greet a stranger on the street as if you’ve been best friends since your diaper days. In fact, I’ve heard from some Ugandan friends that in certain situations it’s actually rude if you don’t do so. This afternoon on my walk from the Sole Hope guesthouse to the babies’ home that I visit sometimes, I passed a group of three young Ugandan women walking in the same direction and as I passed one of them said “hello.” I was a little taken aback because I had been kind of in my own world, but I responded and asked them their names- Kathy, Kathy and Tina. I asked which grade they’re in, how old they are and what kinds of careers they want to have (Senior class level 5, 19 years old and development studies and business). They asked me which country I’m from (they guessed correctly!) and about what I’m doing here in Jinja. I explained that I’m working for Sole Hope and though they hadn’t heard of it, they thanked me for being here and for the work that I’m helping to do. As we parted ways, I couldn’t help but beam because it felt so good to make a connection with people that I have no immediately apparent reason to connect with. I love that people here don’t really need a reason to reach out other than that we’re all human and we’re all worth being known.

Today’s challenge: Take a few minutes to think about how our communities might be different if people were to greet strangers on the street, at Starbucks, the park, the movie theater, the grocery store, a concert as if they were old friends. And if you feel so inspired, reach out. What’s the worst that could happen?

Challenge Week- Day 5

Growing up in the church I’ve always heard the sermons, verses and parables about forgiveness. But it’s one thing to hear and another to absorb. I struggle with forgiveness sometimes because I allow myself to get stuck on the question: "how do I know this person won’t hurt me again?” The pastor at the church I went to today came at the idea of forgiveness from a slightly different angle than the one I’m used to. Instead of saying “IF someone causes you pain or harm,” he said “WHEN someone causes you pain or harm.” I think I tend to believe that everyone has everyone else’s best interests at heart so that when someone does something hurtful to me or others, I treat it as a huge deal- I want them to apologize; I want to understand why they did what they did; I want them to realize why they should never do it again. I'm starting to see why thinking this way isn’t necessarily the best way to handle an offense. The pastor today said: “Being together means we will inevitably step on each other’s toes.” He wanted us to see that in the process of building real relationships we have to go through some hurtful experiences. If we don’t, there is no depth to the relationship. We never get to witness the other person’s full character. Our hearts were made to be broken. And they were also made to love and to rejoice. If our hearts are never broken, how can they ever rejoice? When your heart is harboring bitterness, there is not enough room left for you to live fully. You are captive to the person whom you feel bitter towards. To forgive doesn’t mean you are excusing the person who hurt you or, in more extreme cases, that justice should not be served. Justice can be an important part of reaching a place where you feel you can forgive. Forgiveness has to be intentional, but it does NOT have to be simple and it does NOT have to be quick. It may take an hour or a week, but it is okay if it takes a year or a decade. The important thing is that it happens.

Challenge: think of someone in your life who has hurt you, directly or indirectly. Ask yourself how you can get to a point where when you ask yourself "have I given up the desire to punish this person?" the answer is "yes."

Challenge Week- Day 4

She greets me every morning with a huge smile and hug, patiently teaches me about Ugandan culture and thanks me for asking her to kill a cockroach in our bathroom because I’m too big of a wuss to do it myself. Her name is Joyce and she works tirelessly to keep the Sole Hope guest house clean. Today Joyce told me that her sister and brother-in-law are traveling down to Jinja from her hometown, Paidha, in the north to visit her. “Oh that’s so exciting!” I exclaimed. “How long has it been since you’ve seen your sister?” “Five years” Joyce responded.

Joseph Kony used Joyce’s hometown as the headquarters for his Lord’s Resistance Army in the early 2000s. Fifteen years ago, Joyce and her husband made an extremely dangerous and brave decision to escape Kony’s reign by moving to Jinja. Her younger brother was captured by the LRA and she hasn’t heard from him in twelve years. Her mother and remaining six siblings were unable to escape Paidha for various reasons.

My conversation with Joyce today was one of the most humbling I’ve had in a while. Her life is so full of pain, loss and suffering that I can barely even begin to comprehend, yet she has the brightest smile and most optimistic attitude every single day. Today’s challenge is nothing novel, in fact I’m sure we’ve all heard it countless times (thanks John Mayer), but somehow we still seem to forget: say what you need to say. Tell the people you love that you love them instead of assuming they know. Make sure they know that you are grateful you get to spend time with them more frequently than once every five years.

Challenge Week- Day 3

Sunday I visited an incredible organization just outside of Jinja called Arise Talents Uganda. The founder, Dickson, and volunteers teach kids from families who are struggling financially how to dance, paint, sing and weave to show them a way to make a living. I love spending time with them because they are SO full of energy, joy and spirit. You can’t walk into the compound without being bombarded with at least fifteen hugs. It’s awesome! After the kids tried to teach me how to paint a giraffe (didn’t go so well), they pulled me inside the classroom and began asking questions about my family and life in America like: “Do people rear animals in America?” “Do you have bananas in America?” and “Does everyone go to church in America?” After each question, they would all giggle nervously as if they were embarrassed by their questions. I remember walking out of their gates being blown away by the initiative and bravery with which they asked these questions. It was clear from the giggling that they knew that I was kind of caught off guard by their questions, but they asked anyway. 

Today I took some inspiration from my Arise friends and asked a Ugandan a question that was somewhat uncomfortable for me to ask: “What are your feelings about using the term ‘developing nation’ to describe Uganda?” Having taken anthropology classes, I was wary of posing the question because I know that terms like “third-world,” developing country,” “global south” can carry a degree of political baggage and therefore can be perceived as offensive. But I was genuinely curious and realized that sometimes it’s okay to risk possibly offending someone by asking a question IF you’re doing so with good intentions and in a considerate way. We ended up having a great conversation and he explained that he doesn’t mind “developing nation” because he knows that Uganda has a lot of progress to make, but history shows that a better overall standard of living is possible over time. 

Challenge: think of a question that you're genuinely interested in the answer to for someone who comes from a different background, culture or lifestyle. Determine the most considerate way to ask and do it with an open mind.

Challenge Week- Day 2

I've struggled my whole life with saying "no." I've always found energy and joy in constantly moving, giving, doing. Thanks to some friends I made last week, I'm learning that this drive is one that stems from my perfectionist personality (the enneagram is real- Google it). I am wired to feel like I want to and am capable of doing and being and giving my best at all times, for all people, in all places. Part of me loves this about myself because it means I'm inclined to live life fully, but another part of me is beginning to see how this drive can be destructive. When I can never find the strength to say "no," then I'm probably spreading myself too thin and I end up disappointing people I've made commitments to or giving only 50% because I'm too tired to put in my best effort. 

Living in Uganda is rocking my perfectionist world by showing me just how vast the need is, not just here but in every country in various ways. The difference here is that my appearance signals that I'm not Ugandan and therefore I'm perceived as being more able to help. If I were to actually believe that I could give everyone everything they asked me for or put effort into every cause, I would explode. The need is just too big. No one can take it on alone. But I'm learning the beautiful thing is that I don't have to. By being intentional about only saying "yes" to the things I feel I have the time and ability for, I'm allowing myself the opportunity to better serve and allowing others the opportunity to do the same.

Today's challenge is most applicable for people more yes-inclined like myself, but anyone can try it! The next time someone extends an invitation or asks a favor, listen to your initial response (probably "yes") and take a moment to consider why it is your initial response. If the answer to this question is anything other than "because God's given me the desire and ability to" then consider answering differently.

Challenge Week- Day 1

15 mzungus (foreigners) clamored out of a small boat and into the fishing village of Kikonda during our boat ride on Lake Victoria last weekend. We were there to learn about how the inhabitants catch, dry and sell silverfish- tiny, strongly-flavored fish very popular amongst Ugandans. As we followed our guide Joel along the road, I noticed a girl, probably 4- or 5-years old, was watching our every move with a very apprehensive expression. I stopped, smiled and waved. It took about 8 seconds, but then she returned the smile and grabbed my outstretched hand. Suddenly dozens of kids joined us, taking any free hand in the group and when all the hands were taken, they grabbed elbows and hips. As we made a full circle around the town, these kids stayed with us, smiling, starring and giggling as if we were longtime friends. Some of them even got their legs soaking wet to help push our boat off the shore. 

I'm just realizing a few days later the great courage it takes to drop what you're doing and trust someone enough to follow them to who-knows-where like these kids did. Sure, they probably knew that we were only walking around town and wouldn't harm them, but still, it was a risk. My challenge to you today is to abandon the worry and fear that is holding you back from reaching something that's been on your heart, whether that be resolving an argument with a loved one, admitting to someone that you're really struggling with something or taking the the first step towards making a dream come true. Trust wholly. In someone else, in yourself or in God and see what happens...

Challenge Week

The thing I love most about traveling is that it opens my mind to concepts, experiences, lifestyles and morals that I’ve never encountered before. So many of you have shown such humbling support of and interest in my time interning with Sole Hope in Uganda and I want to find a way to share what I’m learning with you. I wish that I could fly you all over to Entebbe and put you on public transport to Jinja for the full Ugandan travel experience, but unfortunately I don’t think my odds of winning the lottery anytime soon are that great. Recently though I’ve been realizing that many of the challenges I’m facing here translate into lessons that are just as applicable to life at home as they are to life in Uganda. So I’m going to try something: each day for the next week I will post about a lesson I’ve learned from simply living and working in a culture very different from my own and include a challenge that I feel could help you all experience a similar lesson wherever you may be in the world. I can’t make any promises that this will be super meaningful to you or that I will actually post every single day because Lord knows I’ll probably forget at least once, but what’s the harm in trying?

Are we in the Lion King?

Going on safari is one of those experiences in life that you can try to portray to others through words but more than likely you’ll be unable to do it justice. So I’ll share a little about my safari adventure and then pray that each of you will be able to have one of your own someday!

My safari crew consisted of me, Dorothy, Kayla, our friends Allie (from Boston), Brittany (from Chicago) and Camilla (from Denmark) who are also volunteering in Jinja as well as two new friends who we met at the hostel in Kampala- Lucy (from England) and Federica (from Sicily). We traveled through a tour company called Kombi Nation Tours on their “budget safari” option (I’ll explain the reasoning for the quotation marks later). Early Friday morning our driver Isaac hurried the eight excited girls into the van and we hit the road headed for Murchison Falls National Park. The eight-hour ride to the park took far too long as we discovered when the drive back was only about 6 hours because we used a different route.

When we arrived at the park, Isaac spoke with the park rangers, popped up the roof of the van and we headed out for our first game drive! We immediately spotted a few elephants grazing in a grove of trees about 50 meters to the left of the road. Though they were kind of far, I was just so thrilled to be on safari and actually in the same vicinity as these amazing animals that I didn’t mind. Throughout the next two hours, we spotted more elephants, a few giraffes, some deer-like creatures called Ugandan kob, antelope-like creatures called Jackson’s heartbeasts (not sure about the reasoning behind this strange name), buffalo, oribi and warthogs. Isaac would stop whenever we saw an animal and we would all exclaim and giggle with excitement while snapping tons of photos and trying to soak in the moment. The highlight of this game drive for me was when we came upon two families of elephants only maybe 15 meters from the road. We just starred in wonder for probably 20 minutes as they grazed and the mother sprinkled dirt on her young. At one point, we must have startled them because the mother, father and older sibling of one of the families simultaneously turned outwards and formed a circle around the youngest member in order to protect him from a threat coming from any direction. It was so intriguing to be able to observe such raw animal instincts coming into play from so close. As we made our way out of the park towards Fort Murchison where we’d be staying we passed by a beautiful tree with two crested cranes, the national symbol of Uganda, perched on top. Isaac reversed so we could get a good look at them and as he did, the sun slowly peeked through the dark storm clouds swelling around it and cast a fan of gold upon the savanna. With this gesture I felt as though God was pouring his love into the earth and enticing us all to soak it in and spread it around.

                We were definitely not roughin’ it at Fort Murchison. The property was right on the Nile and we slept in two-person permanent tents complete with small porches, tin rooves, bed nets, lamps and even electrical outlets. There was a bathhouse with toilets and showers and incredible four-course dinners for $15 USD. On Saturday morning, we woke early, ate another delicious meal and then learned that Isaac is pretty much the only Ugandan I’ve met so far who does things on time. He got upset with us for being 15 minutes late to the van (which is considered early by most Ugandans’ standards) and we were shocked. He explained that he’s so used to “mzungu time” (doing things at the previously-agreed-upon time) because he’s worked as a guide for so long and he didn’t want us to miss seeing lions because they hunt early and then hide in the shade.

                Once inside the park again, we picked up our guide Sarah. She’s Ugandan and has been working as a park ranger for about 8 years. She was so enthusiastic and knowledgeable and encouraged us to ask many questions. We learned lots of fun facts such as: 1) Ugandan kob do live in other countries in Africa, but they are known as Ugandan kob everywhere 2) Male giraffes have black spots while females have brown and 3) Lions usually eat one Ugandan kob per day. We saw all of the same animals we’d seen the day before but the highlight of this game drive was getting to see a lion! Sarah’s ranger friend called her saying he’d spotted a lion and directed her towards it. Isaac drove like a madman and we found the lion resting beneath a large bush, panting visibly. We stopped about 10 meters away from him and just starred for several minutes as he licked his paws. Sarah explained that he’d probably just finished hunting which was why he was so worn out. It was definitely a surreal feeling to be so close to such a majestic creature in the wild. I highly recommend it!

The rest of the day was spent guarding our lunches from gluttonous baboons, eating lunch and riding on a boat for three hours on the Nile. We got to see countless schools of hippos relaxing in the water, a couple of crocodiles and many birds. The next morning, we ferried to the other side of the park and drove to the top of Murchison Falls. The falls are awesome because they are created as water flows through the narrowest part of the Nile (about 7 meters wide) and crashes down 43 meters so the water is moving extremely fast and you can always spot at least one rainbow straddling the river.

I’m incredibly thankful to have been able to go on safari and to have seen so much of Uganda along the way. I’ve realized that a huge percentage of Ugandans from the south don’t ever get the opportunity to visit Murchison Falls National Park or see some of the animals that attract so many tourists to their country. I hope this will change in the future! 

Isaac!

Finally made it to the park! (L-R: Kayla, Brittany, Lucy, Fedrica, Allie)

When Malaria Strikes

Well despite taking Malarone each day at 10 a.m. in order to prevent it, I managed to catch the dreaded malaria. I began showing symptoms on the Saturday night that Kayla, Dorothy and I spent on a small island in the Nile called Hairy Lemon (no idea where the name comes from haha). I'll spare y'all the gross details, but basically my stomach was upset with me in all kinds of ways and I was feeling lightheaded and exhausted until Monday morning. I then asked one of our Sole Hope nurses, Prossy, to give me the quick, finger-prick malaria test. The results were negative, but I had heard that it's not uncommon for the finger-prick test to show negative while the blood microscopy test shows positive. I think if this happens it usually means you've diagnosed it early enough that the finger-prick test is not sophisticated enough to detect it. So, I decided to head to a clinic in town with my selfless friend Amber from Seattle. The clinic was completely run by Ugandans and was very organized and quick. The microscopy test showed positive, I paid $10 and they gave me Ridmal to treat the malaria along with a painkiller. Pretty simple! Then I headed back to my bed at the SH guesthouse and essentially didn't leave it for 3 days. Malaria, much like mono, presents itself differently in different people, but from what I've heard, the most prevalent symptom is exhaustion. I spent about 60 hours during those 3 days asleep. I am extremely grateful to have had caring people like Kayla, Dorothy, SH staff, Tamara and Jeremy Boone, SH ambassador Becky Browning and her family looking out for me so far away from home :) By Thursday I felt well enough to travel to Kampala to begin our safari early the next morning!

Beautiful plant from the Boone family and card made by Gloria :)

The pigs at Hairy Lemon

Ferry ride 

Our tents on Hairy Lemon

View of the Nile

Peaceful

The ferry

Shoes for Days

We spent the majority of the next work week sorting and organizing a HUGE amount of shoe uppers. Uppers are the cloth and denim parts of the shoes that are made by shoe-cutting party participants and then sent to Holly at the SH office in NC (woot woot!) and then finally to Uganda. An enormous shipment of cardboard boxes and rubber bins was sent from the US a few months ago and some of them were used very quickly while others were stored on another property near the Sole Hope compound.The entire SH team helped empty the truck of boxes and bins into the cabana at the guesthouse and there were so many that they filled the entire cabana!

Our task as interns was to open each box, separate the ziploc bags of uppers into their respective sizes and organize them into bins to be stored in the shoemakers' workspace. Much easier said than done! After lots of heavy-lifting, several pokes by rogue safety pins, help from friends (shout out to Dorothy, Kendall, Amber and Melissa) and over 20 hours, we finally finished today! Although it was pretty laborious work, it was so amazing to see this huge pile of boxes and know that each one represents a cutting party, or even multiple, into which people halfway across the world have poured their time and hearts. As my mom- who held her first shoe-cutting party a couple of weeks ago with my youth group- will tell you, organizing and carrying out a cutting party is no simple task. It takes a lot of time, focus and preparation. I am so humbled by the way SH supporters have rallied around our organization's cause giving up their time and resources to show Christ's love to people they've never met. By participating in a cutting party, you are demonstrating that all lives matter and that you are willing to sacrifice in order to give others the opportunity to live healthier lives. The world aches for people willing to do just this so knowing that they're out there brings a smile to my face :)

Grateful

Week 4 was similar to week 3 in that I spent the majority of my working time at the Outreach House doing some organizing and getting to know the new patients. A new group arrived on Monday evening from a village called Luka. This group is unusual because it consists of more adults than children- 3 women, 7 men and 6 boys. As far as I know, the reasoning for this odd composition is that SH invites the people, regardless of age, with the worst jigger cases in a given village to come to the Outreach House and most often these are children, but not always. This group was similar to the last Outreach group in that they were very shy and apprehensive upon arrival and have begun to warm up to me and the idea of being at Outreach over time. With this group I've played a lot of soccer in the backyard and learned how to say a few colors in Lusoga (fun fact: "yellow" is the same as in English and "blue" is just pronounced "ba-lue").

One of my favorite memories with this group is of a brief conversation Kayla and I had with the men and the oldest boy using the Outreach director, Moses, as a translator. We learned all of their names and they learned ours. We asked them what they do back in their village and learned that they hold various jobs from farmer to construction worker. Finally, we asked them to describe how they felt about being here at SH Outreach- Were they scared to come? Worried about leaving their families for a couple of weeks? Nervous about what others from their community would say? I expected there to be a long pause and some encouragement from Moses before anyone would speak up simply because Ugandan men are usually fairly stoic, but to my surprise, several of them chimed in at once. They explained that they are very grateful to be here because having jiggers is very stigmatized in their community and also very painful. By getting rid of the bugs, they feel they will be more accepted within their village and be able to work and play more easily. To hear the gratitude pour out of them was definitely a neat experience!

Class time at Outreach

Kayla and I attempt to learn a math game with the kids

Eating lunch at the Outreach House 

After our conversation with the Outreach men 

 Clinic this week was held at a school in the gorgeous village of Bwende. There were so many kids who needed to be treated that we will be returning to Bwende in the near future. The kids were so cheerful in their bright yellow uniforms! I tried washing feet for the first time which was great, but also slightly uncomfortable because you're bent over and scrubbing foot after foot after foot. Thankfully, another volunteer who had been taking foot notes switched with me about halfway through,

Clinic in the gorgeous village of Bwende just outside of Jinja

Lining up to have jiggers removed

Clinic friends 

Highlights from Week 3

I spent week 3 really settling into the groove of things at Sole Hope and in Uganda in general. One highlight from this week was watching the transformation of the kids being treated at the Outreach House over their two weeks here. When they arrived on a hot and humid Monday, they seemed extremely nervous, timid and overwhelmed. As we took pictures of them for their treatment charts and gave them new clothes, not a word was spoken between them. They watched every movement made by a staff member with terrified curiosity. No matter how much I smiled, waved and tried to tell them everything was okay, no smile crossed their lips. 

The next day, the SH staff held a min-clinic at the Outreach House to remove the still-timid patients' jiggers. Throughout the next ten days, Kayla and I initiated games with the kids, I studied their charts to learn their names and let them play with my hair and slowly, slowly they began to trust us. By their last few days with SH, they would run to the gate to greet us, lead us to the yard to play football (soccer), dance with me, hold my hand and even help me learn to count to ten in Lusoga. Just seeing how much their attitude towards being taken from their homes to receive treatment for their jiggers from complete strangers changed from extremely apprehensive to grateful and joyful in such a short time was really incredible. 

Arrival Day

Arrival Day

Vincent getting his jiggers removed

Sarah, Joy, Rose and Kaouda on arrival day

Joy, Sarah, Asuman, Joy and Zaina 

Playing with precious Kaouda

Towards the end of their time at Outreach

Joy and Rose doing me up

Over the weekend, our new friend Kendall took me and Kayla to a passion fruit farm that's owned by one of her Ugandan friends. We got to pick our passion fruit right off the vine! 

Picking passion fruit straight from the vine

Robert, the owner of the farm 

And like the others before it, I spent several evenings loving on the kids at Arise and Shine. They have completely stolen my heart with their laughter, kindness, consideration and joy. They're so well-behaved and so loving :)

Katu took this one himself 

Katu, Vanessa, Tendo

Vanessa snuggles

Vanessa

Isiah 

Oh and I saw a real live chameleon!!

It was a big week at Arise and Shine babies' home! Some of the men who work and volunteer there set up a brand new swing set and merry-go-round for the kids! Considering how few toys they had beforehand, this is a big development. The kids got a kick out of helping collect the water and to pour on the cement. We also played "slumber party" with a purple sleeping bag and introduced the kids to Carmen, a Sole Hope ambassador from Washington, and they loved her! These kids are beginning to steal my heart :)