The smell of a first grade class – all chalk, freshly sharpened pencils and paper straight from the mill. The excitement of knowledge, learning, activity, language, numbers, maps, rulers. Desks to organize, pencil boxes to fill, sharpeners to hold just so, crayons to line up just in the color order you want.
Do you remember first grade? The sights and smells of Christ Aid Academy are just a bit different. While there is paper, pencils and sharpeners, the dominating scent of the room is possibly the musty, wet dirt on the floor, whatever the breeze is bringing through the room – possibly the cow passing by the window, the scent of falling rain - or the odor of unwashed bodies and clothes. Pupils huddled together four to a desk, no space to claim for your own, everything is shared except your student exercise book. Groups of 8 to 10 cluster themselves around a few textbooks, each student hoping to get the best view of the day’s lesson. Students write with pencil nubs, bent over their books with intensity as they copy from the board. One student pauses, takes out a razor blade from her bag, and begins to whittle her pencil to a sharpened point.
No one possesses a writing utensil with color to it – no crayons, no colored pencils, no markers. All work is in black and white – there are no worksheets to write on, no pages to color – there is no copier and no copier paper. The most colorful part of their work is the pale blue cover of their student exercise book. There are no textbooks where blue and red jump off the page at you to stimulate your thought and hold your attention. Chalk is white because Fort Portal bookstores have no colored chalk. There is no homework because there is nothing to take home.
But they are learning – they are spelling and counting, adding and multiplying, writing and reading. They sit with great discipline at their desks, some dressed in uniforms, others in rags and barefooted, most attentive and bright-eyed, hands shooting into the air to be picked to answer. This Sunday we have a parent meeting to discuss school issues of fees, uniforms, next year, growth, changes. The P1 students are copying a letter to their parents – in the process they are learning pronunciation, reading, spelling, and writing. Their charge? Copy the letter in your student book, take home to your family or guardian, and read the letter of invitation to them. The end product the proof that they have learned to spell, read, write and pronounce correctly…all in Rutooro…because the parents cannot read or understand English.
The teachers work diligently to pass on knowledge – all without the instruments of modern education. If the lesson or the teacher does not hold the attention of the class, there is no recourse to videos, computers, learning stations, calculators, flash cards. The classrooms at Christ Aid Academy have posters created by the teachers – large pieces of construction paper with the alphabet, words in English, multiplication tables…and a blackboard. The knowledge being shared is the same universally…the pace is a little different without resources and the ability to send work home.
Recess brings activity and snack – but snack only if they carry a plastic carton filled with a banana or chapatti. Some homes care, some do not. Some homes can send, others cannot. Some students eat, others do not. We are working on a program for next year to supply at least one nutritious snack/meal during the school day. Whether they eat or not, each student finds a place at self-proclaimed activity centers – soccer matches where students run through fields where cows have just enjoyed lunch and other activities, jump rope, drums, singing and dancing. There is no adult supervision – according to the headmaster, they know their limits. I have joked with him that the police would come take him to jail in the United States if he weren’t out on the playground area overseeing to be sure no one was hurt, stolen, or lazy.
A return to the classroom brings more lessons with teachers drilling students with numbers and words. Repetition and memorization dominate this educational process – and we acknowledge that these are important – but we have seen very little room left for creative or individual thinking. With a classroom of 50-60 pupils, we assume there is not enough time to address an original thought that deviates from the plan for the masses. We are beginning to wonder how much talent is left untapped in Africa…who will never know they could solve an international crisis, who will not become the leader of a spiritual community, who will not know they could be an Olympic athlete?
But the flip side brings hope – which child in the village of Kicuna will find out they are a talented orator who can inspire their people to great accomplishments? Will Amos discover he can manipulate numbers to solve problems of energy and technology? Which young boy will see the simple glimmer of hope to be able to provide a future for a family? Will Dauphin want to learn to heal the sick who dominate a culture ruled by disease?
We are an odd mix here at Christ Aid Academy…educated teachers pulling and straining like little tug boats churning in the water to pull the big vessel out of the chains of the dock to the freedom of the open sea, trying to get a community to break free from past bondage in ignorance to the wide open opportunity of education. Parents who need to go to market and will keep their students home at the drop of a hat to feed the chickens, tend the goats, or watch guard over the family garden. And Americans who are the product of decades of commitment to the passing on of knowledge and Godly principles which sustain a nation. Certainly they must look at us with puzzlement as they listen to our pleas for commitment to the school. Heaven knows we try to hide our bewilderment when we see they don’t understand…
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Email 10/08/08
Well - we think we're back...sometimes the new system we have is working well and sometimes not. I'm praying for it to work while I get this email off!
It's been a long two weeks with very little communication from and to home...and along with no internet, our phone went haywire. God had us on an island and we survived, but just barely! Our absence, one from another, pointed out how very important our ties are to those of you we love and miss. It also gave us a long, hard look at our ministry here since we couldn't be side tracked by home. Every bit of it was good for the soul and brought us to the point of cherishing every good and perfect gift from God.
We're still not having great success attaching documents and photos, so you may still be getting copy and paste for a while as we keep trying to work through this one - I can at least do group emails and have access to all our contacts - very exciting!
We're open for business, so feel free to send emails. It sounds like we should be praying for all of you as you deal with the economic issues and the upcoming election - while we are a nation far from perfect, we are a nation that cares for the world. Americans do amazing things and we pray that God will continue to work through our country, even as it appears we are in for a rough ride for a while.
YIKES! Praise God - everything attached!!!!!! I'm sending before something happens. There's one rather humorous and one somewhat poignant and one photo of the inside of the school when Bob and I pop in on the classes.
Much love to you all,
Bob and Linda
Email 9/23/08
DEAR FRIENDS, PRAYER WARRIORS AND SUPPORTERS!
As I type, Bob is up at Kicuna, getting construction to completeBuilding I off the ground – Mukama Asiimwe! It's a gray morning, butthere is no rain and the cloud cover is providing blessed shade andprotection from the blazing equatorial sun, so I'm sure all theworkers are thankful. He left in his fleece vest and long pants andtop – maybe hard to imagine since one sees jungles, tropics, and heattogether, but very much like life in Vail in September…well, at leastthe weather!
We have found another angel in Fort Portal – the young woman namedSondra who works in customer service at the MTN office. She and theirtechnician, Rocky, spent a frustrating hour at our house trying towhip our internet service into shape, but they left as ready to changesystems as we are. She is headed to Kampala to return this system andsign us up for the new, and much more costly, system connected tosatellite. But we should be able to send those pictures you have beenasking for and attach word documents to our emails. We hope we canalso open "mapquest.com" and "ESPN" websites, among a few others thatshut down the internet when we click on them.
So…the point of that little explanation is that we will be withoutregular email service for anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks. To be able toget the new system, we have to first return the non-functioningsystem…which renders us non-functioning, as well. We will be checkingemails periodically at internet cafes, but will only be sendingnecessary emails for work or urgent issues. Please forgive ourmomentary communication lapse – we are so blessed by technology andthe open door it gives us to stay in touch - we will miss you allwhile MTN has us separated. As soon as our new system is up andrunning, be looking for a much more exciting update with a photo!
I am trying to send one more update prior to saying goodbye to our dealy bob lodged in my computer, but may not be able to finish in timebefore it leaves for Kampala, or may not be able to send due tointernet problems. I hope this one goes through…
Prayer Requests:
1. Safety during construction. We have already had one truck rollover as it attempted to climb the treacherous hill to Kicuna. No one was hurt, Mukama Asiimwe, and somehow the good citizens of the areawere able to get the truck out of the ditch 30 feet below the road. The driver had his seatbelt on, other men jumped off the back of thetruck, and everyone lived to tell about watching it roll over severaltimes until it came to the bottom of the hill, ending up on its sidelike a big beached whale.
2. Mukama Asiimwe (I hope you are getting that this means Praise be toGod) that every single one of the Christ Aid Academy students who hasattended from the last two terms has returned for Term
3. The teachers say that is unusual.
4. Pray for wisdom and discernment for us as we make decisions on adaily basis which affect the lives of so many people here. We have several changes that are being implemented in CAA (all based on meetings with the staff here and changes they want to make) and are in the midst of parent meetings and home visits continue. Every contact we make, every word we speak, every impression we leave – veryimportant to the progress of the project. Please pray that we are ambassadors for Christ in all we do.
5. Pray that resources are stretched to their limits – that God willprovide every good and perfect gift for the completion of what webegin.
As always, you are daily in our thoughts and prayers. We know that all of you are preoccupied with your own demanding issues – work,family, health – and want you to know how blessed we are by your emails and the time and effort behind them.
Mukama Abahe Omugiisa (May God bless you),
Bob and Linda
As I type, Bob is up at Kicuna, getting construction to completeBuilding I off the ground – Mukama Asiimwe! It's a gray morning, butthere is no rain and the cloud cover is providing blessed shade andprotection from the blazing equatorial sun, so I'm sure all theworkers are thankful. He left in his fleece vest and long pants andtop – maybe hard to imagine since one sees jungles, tropics, and heattogether, but very much like life in Vail in September…well, at leastthe weather!
We have found another angel in Fort Portal – the young woman namedSondra who works in customer service at the MTN office. She and theirtechnician, Rocky, spent a frustrating hour at our house trying towhip our internet service into shape, but they left as ready to changesystems as we are. She is headed to Kampala to return this system andsign us up for the new, and much more costly, system connected tosatellite. But we should be able to send those pictures you have beenasking for and attach word documents to our emails. We hope we canalso open "mapquest.com" and "ESPN" websites, among a few others thatshut down the internet when we click on them.
So…the point of that little explanation is that we will be withoutregular email service for anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks. To be able toget the new system, we have to first return the non-functioningsystem…which renders us non-functioning, as well. We will be checkingemails periodically at internet cafes, but will only be sendingnecessary emails for work or urgent issues. Please forgive ourmomentary communication lapse – we are so blessed by technology andthe open door it gives us to stay in touch - we will miss you allwhile MTN has us separated. As soon as our new system is up andrunning, be looking for a much more exciting update with a photo!
I am trying to send one more update prior to saying goodbye to our dealy bob lodged in my computer, but may not be able to finish in timebefore it leaves for Kampala, or may not be able to send due tointernet problems. I hope this one goes through…
Prayer Requests:
1. Safety during construction. We have already had one truck rollover as it attempted to climb the treacherous hill to Kicuna. No one was hurt, Mukama Asiimwe, and somehow the good citizens of the areawere able to get the truck out of the ditch 30 feet below the road. The driver had his seatbelt on, other men jumped off the back of thetruck, and everyone lived to tell about watching it roll over severaltimes until it came to the bottom of the hill, ending up on its sidelike a big beached whale.
2. Mukama Asiimwe (I hope you are getting that this means Praise be toGod) that every single one of the Christ Aid Academy students who hasattended from the last two terms has returned for Term
3. The teachers say that is unusual.
4. Pray for wisdom and discernment for us as we make decisions on adaily basis which affect the lives of so many people here. We have several changes that are being implemented in CAA (all based on meetings with the staff here and changes they want to make) and are in the midst of parent meetings and home visits continue. Every contact we make, every word we speak, every impression we leave – veryimportant to the progress of the project. Please pray that we are ambassadors for Christ in all we do.
5. Pray that resources are stretched to their limits – that God willprovide every good and perfect gift for the completion of what webegin.
As always, you are daily in our thoughts and prayers. We know that all of you are preoccupied with your own demanding issues – work,family, health – and want you to know how blessed we are by your emails and the time and effort behind them.
Mukama Abahe Omugiisa (May God bless you),
Bob and Linda
Email 9/21/08
I'm sending on my most recent journaling in reference to the humorouspart of our days here in Uganda...it's good for us to remind ourselvesof the odd little things about living here.
One added note...we have spent the day driving around some pastorsfrom Memphis - it was a delightful day, filled with lots of laughterand English we could actually understand. We had to pass through themajor intersection of the Kampala Highway coming into Fort Portalseveral times - and drove over the major electrical and phone linesthat come into Fort Portal - yes, drove over all of them. They wereknocked down yesterday by an 18 wheeler which hit the lines and pulleddown the pole - yes, they were hanging VERY low - and now they are notonly stretched across the highway, being crushed by 18 wheelers, busesand cars, but they are also running through the corner gas station,perilously close to gas pumps. If we hear an explosion in the night,we will have no doubt where it is coming from. Such is life here inUganda.
God bless your week as we know he will ours. Bob and Linda...keep reading below...remember, we still can't attachword documents - only copy and paste.
COME BACK TOMORROW…
Today in Barclay's Bank, I heard an employee ask a client to "come back tomorrow". The words echoed in my head, over and over, remindingme of how many times Bob and I, in four short weeks, have heard thewords, "come back tomorrow" – code for "we haven't done anything totake care of your problem, so let's see if tomorrow will be anydifferent". As someone who has been in the business of working tokeep clients happy, through both education and retail, the last thingin the world I would ever willingly put on the table to a valuedcustomer is "come back tomorrow". The thought of not having takencare of a promised or expected task is horrifying, as it is to mostprofessionals in many parts of the world. It is our honor on theline, for goodness sake!
However a different set of rules is applied to daily transactions herein Uganda, and we are learning in the fire, through the fire, and withthe fire all around us! Just a few examples of setting up life inFort Portal will explain the new system in which we are functioningand probably remind all of us how life in the states has no equal.
We could begin with our banking system…and we could end with ourbanking system. In fact, I think just a discussion on our bankingsystem alone would sufficiently make the point! Before we ever left Colorado, we made the decision to do our banking with Barclays –wouldn't everyone? Why would we choose Stanbic, or Centenary, bankswhich have no reputation with the international community and could bea cover for who knows what African mafia business (does the mafiaexist in Africa?). We felt confident.
While we had some issues with our first withdrawals (including Bobgetting to the Kampala Barclays on his first boda boda ride with Sam),everything seemed to move smoothly after we worked through all thepuzzling steps to get to our money. Our second wire, however, became another issue.
"Come back tomorrow", or even "I'll call tomorrow"were the words which frequently came at us from bank employees in FortPortal who were less than concerned that our wire was not showing upanywhere in the system. Sixteen days after the wire was sent from Colorado, countless unproductive trips to the bank in Fort Portal,constant texts back and forth to the US, a tracer which followed themoney from the west to the east coast and across the ocean to Uganda,and multiple conversations of exasperation later, we were gifted withAlex the Angel (this after Jane prayed for an angel to find ourmoney…). We never heard the words "come back tomorrow", but insteadheard "finding your money will be my top priority today". And with that attitude and the prayers of many supporting his search, Alex was victorious, and not once did he say "come back tomorrow". He is our new very dear friend.
"Come back tomorrow" was the litany at MTN, our internet serviceprovider for this past month. However, tomorrow looked pretty good tous instead of "come back in two months" from UTL, the competitor, sowe took "tomorrow". As all of our friends back home know by now, ourability to communicate through email, attachments and photos islimited, but to even get to this point, we had to get through a weekof "come back tomorrows". Promised on Tuesday, but no later thanWednesday, we finally received our dealybob on Friday…only to find outthat it couldn't be activated until Monday, which turned into Tuesday,then Wednesday, and then quite honestly I can't even remember how manydays of "come back tomorrow" it took for us to get the service thattakes us 10 minutes to get online, cannot do group emails, works only on HTML, and will not do any kind of attachment.
And remember the key in the post office box…stuck in its antiquatedhome of rusty box 706? Just back up the days to two weeks before whenwe began the process. Go to the post office to get the application tohave a box. Have to go find our LC1 in the neighborhood who must signand vouch for us (I suppose to be absolutely certain we will notterrorize the post office?)…"come back tomorrow" after you get hissignature. Find LC1, get the signature, take back to the post office,but find out that we "come back tomorrow" for our key. We go backtomorrow, but the maker of the keys is not around and we are told to"come back tomorrow" when he is, in fact, around. We go backtomorrow, we get our key, and we wait a week to see if our test mailhas arrived from the states. Insert key into box 706, move key toopen box…no, key is stuck in one position and won't move eitherdirection and won't come out. We report our stuck key and are told"come back tomorrow". We go back tomorrow and visit our key which isstill stuck in box 706, unfortunately looking very comfortable. Whilewe are not told to "come back tomorrow", but instead told to "comeback in thirty minutes", we are by now so disciplined to "come backtomorrow" that we automatically put it on the calendar to return tothe post office "tomorrow" and ignore the "thirty minutes".
We could happily ruminate on more "come back tomorrow" stories, butwe're sure you get the point. Please appreciate all those commentsfrom everyone you work with…comments such as "just a minute", "I'll beright back with that", "we'll have it for you immediately", and "canyou wait just a minute and I will get that for you". They are "applesof gold" to us in this country which moves at a slower pace, laughsgood-naturedly at itself, and probably likes the "come back tomorrow"culture because they want to see you again!
And perhaps the last…but definitely the most important thing we ponderin this "come back tomorrow" life is that our heavenly Father alwayssays "I'm here right now for you".
Mukama Asiimwe!
One added note...we have spent the day driving around some pastorsfrom Memphis - it was a delightful day, filled with lots of laughterand English we could actually understand. We had to pass through themajor intersection of the Kampala Highway coming into Fort Portalseveral times - and drove over the major electrical and phone linesthat come into Fort Portal - yes, drove over all of them. They wereknocked down yesterday by an 18 wheeler which hit the lines and pulleddown the pole - yes, they were hanging VERY low - and now they are notonly stretched across the highway, being crushed by 18 wheelers, busesand cars, but they are also running through the corner gas station,perilously close to gas pumps. If we hear an explosion in the night,we will have no doubt where it is coming from. Such is life here inUganda.
God bless your week as we know he will ours. Bob and Linda...keep reading below...remember, we still can't attachword documents - only copy and paste.
COME BACK TOMORROW…
Today in Barclay's Bank, I heard an employee ask a client to "come back tomorrow". The words echoed in my head, over and over, remindingme of how many times Bob and I, in four short weeks, have heard thewords, "come back tomorrow" – code for "we haven't done anything totake care of your problem, so let's see if tomorrow will be anydifferent". As someone who has been in the business of working tokeep clients happy, through both education and retail, the last thingin the world I would ever willingly put on the table to a valuedcustomer is "come back tomorrow". The thought of not having takencare of a promised or expected task is horrifying, as it is to mostprofessionals in many parts of the world. It is our honor on theline, for goodness sake!
However a different set of rules is applied to daily transactions herein Uganda, and we are learning in the fire, through the fire, and withthe fire all around us! Just a few examples of setting up life inFort Portal will explain the new system in which we are functioningand probably remind all of us how life in the states has no equal.
We could begin with our banking system…and we could end with ourbanking system. In fact, I think just a discussion on our bankingsystem alone would sufficiently make the point! Before we ever left Colorado, we made the decision to do our banking with Barclays –wouldn't everyone? Why would we choose Stanbic, or Centenary, bankswhich have no reputation with the international community and could bea cover for who knows what African mafia business (does the mafiaexist in Africa?). We felt confident.
While we had some issues with our first withdrawals (including Bobgetting to the Kampala Barclays on his first boda boda ride with Sam),everything seemed to move smoothly after we worked through all thepuzzling steps to get to our money. Our second wire, however, became another issue.
"Come back tomorrow", or even "I'll call tomorrow"were the words which frequently came at us from bank employees in FortPortal who were less than concerned that our wire was not showing upanywhere in the system. Sixteen days after the wire was sent from Colorado, countless unproductive trips to the bank in Fort Portal,constant texts back and forth to the US, a tracer which followed themoney from the west to the east coast and across the ocean to Uganda,and multiple conversations of exasperation later, we were gifted withAlex the Angel (this after Jane prayed for an angel to find ourmoney…). We never heard the words "come back tomorrow", but insteadheard "finding your money will be my top priority today". And with that attitude and the prayers of many supporting his search, Alex was victorious, and not once did he say "come back tomorrow". He is our new very dear friend.
"Come back tomorrow" was the litany at MTN, our internet serviceprovider for this past month. However, tomorrow looked pretty good tous instead of "come back in two months" from UTL, the competitor, sowe took "tomorrow". As all of our friends back home know by now, ourability to communicate through email, attachments and photos islimited, but to even get to this point, we had to get through a weekof "come back tomorrows". Promised on Tuesday, but no later thanWednesday, we finally received our dealybob on Friday…only to find outthat it couldn't be activated until Monday, which turned into Tuesday,then Wednesday, and then quite honestly I can't even remember how manydays of "come back tomorrow" it took for us to get the service thattakes us 10 minutes to get online, cannot do group emails, works only on HTML, and will not do any kind of attachment.
And remember the key in the post office box…stuck in its antiquatedhome of rusty box 706? Just back up the days to two weeks before whenwe began the process. Go to the post office to get the application tohave a box. Have to go find our LC1 in the neighborhood who must signand vouch for us (I suppose to be absolutely certain we will notterrorize the post office?)…"come back tomorrow" after you get hissignature. Find LC1, get the signature, take back to the post office,but find out that we "come back tomorrow" for our key. We go backtomorrow, but the maker of the keys is not around and we are told to"come back tomorrow" when he is, in fact, around. We go backtomorrow, we get our key, and we wait a week to see if our test mailhas arrived from the states. Insert key into box 706, move key toopen box…no, key is stuck in one position and won't move eitherdirection and won't come out. We report our stuck key and are told"come back tomorrow". We go back tomorrow and visit our key which isstill stuck in box 706, unfortunately looking very comfortable. Whilewe are not told to "come back tomorrow", but instead told to "comeback in thirty minutes", we are by now so disciplined to "come backtomorrow" that we automatically put it on the calendar to return tothe post office "tomorrow" and ignore the "thirty minutes".
We could happily ruminate on more "come back tomorrow" stories, butwe're sure you get the point. Please appreciate all those commentsfrom everyone you work with…comments such as "just a minute", "I'll beright back with that", "we'll have it for you immediately", and "canyou wait just a minute and I will get that for you". They are "applesof gold" to us in this country which moves at a slower pace, laughsgood-naturedly at itself, and probably likes the "come back tomorrow"culture because they want to see you again!
And perhaps the last…but definitely the most important thing we ponderin this "come back tomorrow" life is that our heavenly Father alwayssays "I'm here right now for you".
Mukama Asiimwe!
Email 9/18/08
We arrived in Uganda while school was on break - we are nowexperiencing our first full week of "school in session" - my firstreactions...remember I'm a MOM!
NOW THAT SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION…
Now that school is back in session, lunchtime traffic on the road toKicuna has taken on a totally different personality. No longer am Iworried about our car getting hit by one of the large trucks careeningdown the dirt road, a road mounded so high in the middle for drainagethat no two cars of any size can properly pass each other – no, now Iam worried that our car, or a racing boda boda, or a bike loaded withcargo of all sorts will hit one of the school children walking homefor lunch! Pupils of every age casually stroll along the side of theroad, balancing themselves so they don't tilt too much on the angle tothe ditch, P3 and older heading home for lunch and P1 and P2 headedhome for the day. They are tall, they are short, in skirts and inpants, walking quietly alone or in chatty clusters, all shiny in theirblue or green or red uniforms and prime targets for a driver thatlooks away from the road for just a moment. I am horrified each timeI make the drive at this time of day. I carry enough fear for all ofthem – they are oblivious to the threat.
Add to this concern another one for the students – many don't headhome until 6:00 or 6:30 from school and arrive home barely by dark.They thankfully move in packs of 3 or more, rarely alone at this timeof day, and I take comfort in the fact that together they present atleast an appearance of safety. But then we wonder…how do they dotheir homework if they get home after dark? Do they huddle in thechill of the night by a lantern or a candle and try to read theirbooks and write their papers? Or do they go home and do daily chores,trading precious study time for necessary work of fetching water ordigging in the garden? Without light, without a desk and chair,without a room where they can quietly sit and concentrate…how do theybecome a student?
Now let's add to that the fact that many of them must leave theirhomes by 6:00 AM to arrive at their schools, a mere 5 kilometers fromhome, for a 7:30 class. This time of day we have not experienced yet,as it is not light until around 6:45 and we do not go outside our gatewithout the safety of daylight– which points directly to the fact thatthese young students are finding their way in the dark down dirtroads, over narrow paths through banana plantations, down steep hillsand around sharp corners. There are no "yellow dogs" to transportthem and very few cars at home to car pool with the neighbors…I jest.Bob and I constantly find ourselves confronted with daily routines andactivities which defy logic – sending an 8 year old off into the darkhours of the morning – how did he even find his clothes to put them onwhen he had no light at home? And another question we have…when theywalk home in the rain, how do they get their school uniforms dry forthe next day? Do they stop on the side of the road under a tree or averanda, delayed even more by the rain, and arrive home dry, but at8:00PM? There is no washing machine and dryer in the laundry room…andno money to buy two uniforms, only one. We have lots to learn abouttheir ingenuity…or possibly the quiet acceptance of pulling on a wetsweater at 5:45 AM and hoping it is not raining again on the way toschool.
We hear that students do get hit, that accidents do happen, thatsometimes the headlines describe untimely deaths. We read articlesfrequently in the newspaper which bemoan the fact that Ugandansfrequently face death on their precarious highways. If adult driverswho have been trained to look both ways before moving are taking eachother out, how much more are innocent and unprotected students goinghome for lunch at risk?
At risk or not on the busy roads of Uganda, most students of all agesfind school a haven. We are beginning to think that they truly haveit all figured out…what is a little danger on the road when the wholeworld lies ahead of you if you find your way to the university…andsurvive long enough to leave your poverty behind?
NOW THAT SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION…
Now that school is back in session, lunchtime traffic on the road toKicuna has taken on a totally different personality. No longer am Iworried about our car getting hit by one of the large trucks careeningdown the dirt road, a road mounded so high in the middle for drainagethat no two cars of any size can properly pass each other – no, now Iam worried that our car, or a racing boda boda, or a bike loaded withcargo of all sorts will hit one of the school children walking homefor lunch! Pupils of every age casually stroll along the side of theroad, balancing themselves so they don't tilt too much on the angle tothe ditch, P3 and older heading home for lunch and P1 and P2 headedhome for the day. They are tall, they are short, in skirts and inpants, walking quietly alone or in chatty clusters, all shiny in theirblue or green or red uniforms and prime targets for a driver thatlooks away from the road for just a moment. I am horrified each timeI make the drive at this time of day. I carry enough fear for all ofthem – they are oblivious to the threat.
Add to this concern another one for the students – many don't headhome until 6:00 or 6:30 from school and arrive home barely by dark.They thankfully move in packs of 3 or more, rarely alone at this timeof day, and I take comfort in the fact that together they present atleast an appearance of safety. But then we wonder…how do they dotheir homework if they get home after dark? Do they huddle in thechill of the night by a lantern or a candle and try to read theirbooks and write their papers? Or do they go home and do daily chores,trading precious study time for necessary work of fetching water ordigging in the garden? Without light, without a desk and chair,without a room where they can quietly sit and concentrate…how do theybecome a student?
Now let's add to that the fact that many of them must leave theirhomes by 6:00 AM to arrive at their schools, a mere 5 kilometers fromhome, for a 7:30 class. This time of day we have not experienced yet,as it is not light until around 6:45 and we do not go outside our gatewithout the safety of daylight– which points directly to the fact thatthese young students are finding their way in the dark down dirtroads, over narrow paths through banana plantations, down steep hillsand around sharp corners. There are no "yellow dogs" to transportthem and very few cars at home to car pool with the neighbors…I jest.Bob and I constantly find ourselves confronted with daily routines andactivities which defy logic – sending an 8 year old off into the darkhours of the morning – how did he even find his clothes to put them onwhen he had no light at home? And another question we have…when theywalk home in the rain, how do they get their school uniforms dry forthe next day? Do they stop on the side of the road under a tree or averanda, delayed even more by the rain, and arrive home dry, but at8:00PM? There is no washing machine and dryer in the laundry room…andno money to buy two uniforms, only one. We have lots to learn abouttheir ingenuity…or possibly the quiet acceptance of pulling on a wetsweater at 5:45 AM and hoping it is not raining again on the way toschool.
We hear that students do get hit, that accidents do happen, thatsometimes the headlines describe untimely deaths. We read articlesfrequently in the newspaper which bemoan the fact that Ugandansfrequently face death on their precarious highways. If adult driverswho have been trained to look both ways before moving are taking eachother out, how much more are innocent and unprotected students goinghome for lunch at risk?
At risk or not on the busy roads of Uganda, most students of all agesfind school a haven. We are beginning to think that they truly haveit all figured out…what is a little danger on the road when the wholeworld lies ahead of you if you find your way to the university…andsurvive long enough to leave your poverty behind?
Email 9/03/08
We are getting accustomed to life in Fort Portal and Kicuna - Bob is even out driving on his own and taking others around when our trust level is high!
We name streets by what is on them - Barclays (where the bank is), Andrew's (where the market is), MTN (where the telephone office is), speed bump road (on the way to Kasese) - but it helps us figure out where we are headed and is much easier than remembering Rhudymbagari Road..so far so good.
We are meeting people - we have Sondra at MTN, Jack at Barclays, Sarah at the office supply, James who sells us samosas and Andrew at the market. I asked him yesterday if he had different kinds of "minced meat" (our hamburger) and mimed 3 different packages (for us, 88%, 92%, 95%, etc.) and he laughed and said, "No, that's what makes the US a super power!" Well, if beef makes us a super power, we are in good shape, huh?
When my computer is reconnected to the internet and I can email from it I will send some reflections on our work in the field - making home visits. I think I said that last week, too, but this week I really mean it - we actually have our new wireless internet card and should be good to go by the end of the week.
Prayer requests for this week are similar to last week...we are busy pouring over bids for the completion of Building I and planning our home visits for tomorrow - what we have learned is the most challenging, but frequently enjoyable, part of our jobs. We hurt and ache as we move from hut to hut, encountering a way of life we have never seen and hoping to understand. I fear they think we're coming to work a small miracle right on the spot, and wonder what they think when we bring a message of hope for the future and encouragement to trust in a loving God who cares for them. When their smiles send us off and their eyes are on our backs as we leave, what do their faces reflect - is it disappointment that we have not made a more profound impession by bringing a gift or leaving shillings, or do they realize that the greatest gift we all have (rich or poor) is Jesus Christ?
Please pray:1. Wisdom as we finalize plans for construction...we are committed to a quality project with a set budget
2. Abundant provision for the needs of Christ Aid and Christ Aid Academy - the list is so long...
3. Christ Aid Academy to be a witness to the love of Christ in the Kicuna area - we are making specific plans for chapels and Bible teachings for this term, parent meetings for encouragement, employing parents for construction to help them pay fees, providing something nutritious for students during the day, cleaning the school for the return to term three... We continue to love to hear from you all, when so moved.
We pray your lives are blessed and joyful. We appreciate your prayers and truly feel uplifted on a daily basis.
Bob and Linda
We name streets by what is on them - Barclays (where the bank is), Andrew's (where the market is), MTN (where the telephone office is), speed bump road (on the way to Kasese) - but it helps us figure out where we are headed and is much easier than remembering Rhudymbagari Road..so far so good.
We are meeting people - we have Sondra at MTN, Jack at Barclays, Sarah at the office supply, James who sells us samosas and Andrew at the market. I asked him yesterday if he had different kinds of "minced meat" (our hamburger) and mimed 3 different packages (for us, 88%, 92%, 95%, etc.) and he laughed and said, "No, that's what makes the US a super power!" Well, if beef makes us a super power, we are in good shape, huh?
When my computer is reconnected to the internet and I can email from it I will send some reflections on our work in the field - making home visits. I think I said that last week, too, but this week I really mean it - we actually have our new wireless internet card and should be good to go by the end of the week.
Prayer requests for this week are similar to last week...we are busy pouring over bids for the completion of Building I and planning our home visits for tomorrow - what we have learned is the most challenging, but frequently enjoyable, part of our jobs. We hurt and ache as we move from hut to hut, encountering a way of life we have never seen and hoping to understand. I fear they think we're coming to work a small miracle right on the spot, and wonder what they think when we bring a message of hope for the future and encouragement to trust in a loving God who cares for them. When their smiles send us off and their eyes are on our backs as we leave, what do their faces reflect - is it disappointment that we have not made a more profound impession by bringing a gift or leaving shillings, or do they realize that the greatest gift we all have (rich or poor) is Jesus Christ?
Please pray:1. Wisdom as we finalize plans for construction...we are committed to a quality project with a set budget
2. Abundant provision for the needs of Christ Aid and Christ Aid Academy - the list is so long...
3. Christ Aid Academy to be a witness to the love of Christ in the Kicuna area - we are making specific plans for chapels and Bible teachings for this term, parent meetings for encouragement, employing parents for construction to help them pay fees, providing something nutritious for students during the day, cleaning the school for the return to term three... We continue to love to hear from you all, when so moved.
We pray your lives are blessed and joyful. We appreciate your prayers and truly feel uplifted on a daily basis.
Bob and Linda
Thursday, June 5, 2008
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