Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Humbled

It is a very humbling process to enter into someone elses world, hear about their unimaginable struggles, their seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and have them look at you and say, "How do we teach these students who carry the weight of this world?" And that is just the incredibly humbling moment, they are looking to us to give them strategies for helping their students and they are so willing to receive. This has been my experience teaching the teachers of the orpanages we are working with.
We have worked with three different organizations so far and a total of four schools. One of the most rewarding experiences we had was sitting down with the headmaster, Xristin, of one of these schools. We gave her the Ugandan curriculum guides and she lit up saying, "We have been singing for these!" We then went through the curriculum with her and explained that she could lead workshops for her teachers just as we had. She could choose a topic that she felt they needed help with and present the information to them in a workshop. When we started explaining this it was obvious by her eyebrow movement that this was a very new idea. I felt nervous that she might reject the idea while she briefly hesitated to respond. Then, as if a current of energy started from her toes and came up through her body she looked at us with a grin and said emphatically, "I can do this!" She asked me how often we have workshops in the States and I told her about once a month. She chuckled, a chuckle of joy and empowerment and said, "I will give them twice a month. We need lots of work."Xristin went on to explain that we had brought a new way of teaching. A way that is more fun for the students and for the teachers. She insisted that they had been so bored in the way they teach now. I was blown away by the teachers willingness to try new things. We had them clapping and singing songs, standing on chairs and discussing if equal is always fair in education.

There are many things these teachers are already doing that I can learn from. Many of them are not getting paid for any of their work because and they still go to school every day trying to reach these children. Many of them demonstate a deep concern for the students they teach, a concern not present in many of teachers I have worked with in the states, a concern that ran much deeper then I could undertand because many of these teachers came from the same conditions that their students are experiencing.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Light

I sat in shock as Geoffrey spoke about his life. I was keenly aware of my body language attempting in every way not to show patronizing pity or shed a tear because he was able to speak without tears but with a subtly hopeful expression. No, my tears must be held back now. They are not productive at this moment. At this moment he needs an ear listening and a voice that will go out and tell his story. Our tears help little our action will do much more. And his story is quite and amazing one.

He grew up as an orphan. I feel like the weight of that sentence can never be understood by those who haven't been the subject of such a sentence. All Geoffrey could say about being an Orphan is that the pain and emptiness is inexplicable. I believe we are made by a personal God. We are made to feel personally loved, adored and personally cared for by a parent. After all, our relationship with our God is that of a child with a parent. And so to have no such earthy relationship goes against the very core of our being. One thing that continues to break my heart here is that so many parents don't have the simple luxury of delighting in their children. They don't have the time or the energy. Geoffrey tried to explain this feeling of growing up without parents to delight in you. He would utter a few words to try and explain and he would stop mid sentence and say there is just no way to help us understand. This man was the kind of person that inspires you simply through his physical presence.

Geoffrey's story is one of deep pain but great hope. He has started one of the Community Based Organizations we are working with called TAOST, The Aids Orphan Support Trust. They provide vocational training, education for orphans, support for widows and income generation for those impoverished. He tells so many stories of deep suffering. This past year four of their sewing machines were stolen along with a typewriter. He watched a widow and a child die from their community as they desperately tried to get these victims medical attention. His 4 month old baby has already had malaria 5 times. You may think this sounds too hard to be true but it is just a glimpse of the difficulties they face. However, he tells about the successes of his organization as well.

There was another man sitting next to Geoffrey. He seemed very ill and was barely able to hold his eyes open. He is suffering from Malaria and could hardly stand up but he said he wanted to meet us so he got out of his bed. That is just the thing. The people we have met will do just about anything to connect with people that can share their story and bring some hope. So this man mustered up the strength to come meet us. Geoffrey kept repeating as he told these stories, "There is light at the end of the tunnel." And the man sitting next to him, his name is Bright.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The Village Outside of Iganga

It is hard to put into words the past few days in the villages. I spoke with Jeremy, my husband, last night for the first time since we had been teaching in the villages and I realized there was no way to bridge the gap in time, space, experience, and emotions that I was feeling. I feel a sense of inadequacy with each word I type because it can't even begin to explain some of the things I have seen but for the sake of those who have supported my trip and, more importantly for the dignity of the people I have met and observed I will try and tell a bit of the story.

Walking down the long dusty clay path to the first orphanage overwhelmed me. I kept thinking as we past each child, (some standing naked on piles of clay digging into the dirt with a stick, some squatting naked on piles of trash sorting through it for what to them would be a treasure or a next meal) "Where are the people that should be taking care of them?" I do not ask this in any sort of judgmental way because the severity of the circumstances here humble me to the core in a way that no judgment could possibly pass from me to them. I ask this question with a deep sadness.

We spent many hours in the past few days with the teachers of some of the orphan children. It was wonderful to see how appreciative they were of our resources and time. We were able to find the curriculum for Uganda primary school and give them the curriculum along with the teacher guide. They had never seen any of this and they said it would help them tremendously.

I want to introduce you to Rebecca. She is one of the mamas at the orphanage. She has such a sweet, nurturing spirit and a deep concern for the children. She gave me great hope when she told me her story of growing up an orphan. She attempted to explain how lonely it can be at times. I felt hopeful that someone could grow up in those circumstances and come back to love on these children so well.

Please pray for the children here.

Monday, July 9, 2007

Anticipation is such a strange thing in life. We build up these ideas in our heads and these feelings in our hearts as we try to make the unknown more tangible, less scary, before the reality of the anticipated experience assaults all of our senses. Before arriving in Uganda I had anticipated so much and now the truth of experience is blanketing peacefully(at least for now) the preconceived notions of my anticipation. My first impression of flying over Uganda and into Entebbe was how beautiful this country is. The vibrant green of the vegetation beautifully contrasts with the deep red of the earth. It is the most beautifully colored place I have ever seen.

My time here so far has been marked by a deep peace. I anticipated being very nervous and distraught about leaving Grace and coming somewhere so different. However, I really have felt very good about my decision to be here. It definately makes it easier to know that so many people are praying for us and that Grace is being cared for by her incredible father and other family members.

We have not yet been to the organizations we are helping. Tomorrow will be our first day working with the teachers in these orphanges. Those who have arrived before said the teachers were eager to learn new strategies for their classrooms. The teachers we will train tomorrow have no teacher training. I am excited to finally begin the work i flew all this way to do.
I think the best way to describe my experiences here will be to introduce you to the people i meet.
On the plane I met an incredibly sincere and beautiful Ugandan woman named Margaret. She is working in New York for UNICEF. We discussed for a little bit the initiatives she has worked with in improving girls education around the world. She explained that a huge problem with educating girls in Uganda is that they stop going to school when they hit puperty. They are too embarressed by the changes that are taking place with their bodies, specifically with menstruating and all of the stigmas attached to that here, that they stop being educated. We decided this would be a good issue to discuss in our teacher training here. Margaret had such a peaceful, genuine spirit about her. I felt blessed to travel with her. She was so excited to be returning home for a visit.

I am sure I will have many more people to introduce throughout the next two weeks. For now I am trying to process all of the very new experiences I am having. I am attempting to let go of my anticipated feelings and allow the incredible experience of just being here fully seep in.