Day 8: Rafting the Nile

Today we white water rafted the Nile River. Add that to the reverse bucket list.
We woke up at 5am and headed to Jinja. Here we ate breakfast and watched some of the men bungee jump. Then we got in another van and drove an hour. Upon arrival we were fitted with helmets and life jackets. At this point I was mildly panicking. The idea of being stuck under a boat or in the washing machine status of the rapid that terrified me.
We got onto the quiet part of the Nile and began to practice. Then came the part where we had to flip the raft. Well, the raft whacked me in the face. That hurt. Like a lot.
A lot, a lot.
Now came the time for the first rapid.
It was frightening.
It was also over so quickly.
I guess I was expecting it to be rapids for a long time but it was rapids for about 5 seconds.
By the third set of rapids I was really excited to do them. Still so scared to fall out but excited. I was in the mild boat that took the chicken lines. Our one request was that we didn't flip the boat and we didn't woohoo! The whole ride and no boat flip!

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Day 7: Sipi Falls

Today we hiked Sipi Falls. We left the house at 6:30 and began the drive. Arriving at 9:30 we began the hike. I was previously told it would be a 3-4 mile walk. Ha!

I was worried in the beginning as we began to gain in altitude very quickly. Add mud and slippery rocks to that equation and I wasn't doing so well. Never fear Moses swiftly brought aka made me a walking stick so assist my pathetic attempts.

On the way up the guide had a chameleon.
Waterfall number 1:

There was a cave full of spiders. Sick.
Waterfall 2:

Atop this waterfall were some villagers and a great view.
waterfall 3:

Also the picture from the top is number 3.
waterfall 4:

Today was a day of waterfalls. It also rained. Thus leaving us wet and covered in red thick clay.
We then went to a baby orphanage:

I found kittens!

That night we had a dinner party. The vegetable curry was on point. Then a group called ABC spoke to us and did bet boxing and hip hop. It is a group that helps street children. Street children are kids, mostly boys, who are kicked out of their house around age 12 because they are so GO become men however they don't have the resources. So these boys end up on the street and usually turn to drugs to take away the hunger pains etc. So this man started ABC to help them out. He teaches hip hop and break dancing etc. He also sponsors some to go to school.

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Day 6: Eyes & Surgery

This morning we awoke and headed back to Child of Hope to screen all of the kids. We eye tested a few hundred and then helped the Dr. with his eye camp.

We then went to the hospital. We toured and ....
It was a lot to handle. Actually it was like what you would see in a horror movie or a war hospital. Old furniture, rocks used to prop up and elevate beds, rusty items and people everywhere. There are very few beds so people bring their own mats in and lay all over the floor. They are also outside the doors, on the sidewalks and pathways. When people come they also have to bring people to take care of them since all they will get is the medical care and no food, etc.
In the maternity ward people are having kids on the floor and then moving to the floor in another room.
We obviously were not walking around taking pictures but I did sneak one:

This is the pediatrics center.
We then got to suit up and watch cataracts surgeries! Say what?! Watch a surgery in Africa. Okay, and no, I did not faint.

Although, I did have to step away a few times. When the lens popped out of the eye. That was it. No more.

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Day 5: Thanksgiving Orphanage

After child of hope we got back into the vans and headed to the orphanage. This orphanage has been a project of one of the guys on our team, Matt. On our way to the orphanage we had to go through a police check which we did not pass. Awhile later with some money and talking we were on our way again. When we got to the top of the hill we were greeted by hundreds of orphans running towards us singing and welcoming us with open arms and songs:

Just a side note: it is incredibly difficult to type all of this while in the van. We literally swerve left and right every other second to avoid the huge holes and canals in the road. The roads aren't the best here and they are all dirt. So excuse the spelling errors and typos as I am shaken like rattle in this car.
So we arrive and they have prepared songs and dancing.

Matt dancing with his Ugandan dog was probably my favorite part of that, surprise surprise.

This here, behind the building, is where thanksgiving was prepared. Look closely as this picture. First, that view! Second, my Thanksgiving was prepared atop a mountain, behind an orphanage, where they slaughtered the turkeys and cooked everything else on actual fire pits.

After serving the adults we had our feast: avocado, potatoes, rice, beans, and plantains.

We served all of these adults first who some of which are guardians to some of the orphans.

I did not eat my turkey. I saved him for my lessons later:

We will get back to this in a moment.
So, while eating these white ants with wings started to crawl out of the dirt in mass swarms. The kids thought these were quite the treat and began to eat them.
We then went to the site where they are building classrooms for the orphanage. We made a huge assembly line of kids and volunteers and then started passing bricks from the bottom of the hill to the top. I was so impressed by the kids who did this for what seemed like hours without any complaints. It wasn't easy work but they kept an awesome attitude and continued to push forward despite the hardship. I think we can learn a lot from their example. These aren't normal bricks either, they are huge. After being sufficiently covered in red dust.
Back up. Let me tell you about then men on my trip real quick. I have been beyond impressed by the men who are with this project. The Dame brothers who started Proof Eyewear and the men volunteers who came with HELP and Proof are the kind of men all men should strive to be like. They are kind and courteous, they are uplifting, they open doors and check in on everyone, they make sure you have water and bring food, they are positive and work their tails off. They never stop. When some of us are tired beyond belief and are lagging they are our running with the kids. Today while we had a brick line they were pushing wheelbarrows full of dirt up the mountain. I'm just so impressed and love seeing them in action.
Ok, so after awhile I recruited the sick bay girls and we went back to the current school house/ orphanage and did the turkey crafts my kids prepped.

Oh, that's where the picture from above comes in. I was getting ready to talk about turkeys when suzanne tells me they have alive turkeys! We call to David and he goes and gets one! I wiggled the turkey's gobble and showed the parts and then we made the turkeys. The kids swarmed us when we tried to hand out supplies. I'm not sure they have ever done an art project before. Perhaps they had never seen glue or markers either. Look what happened when I pulled out crayons:

Check this out: #NailedIt #pinterestfail

The kids loved it.

Now that's an eventful Thanksgiving. These kids have one pair of clothes, no shoes, and they live here:

If you are looking for a good cause to donate to this Thanksgiving please check my Facebook page for a link to donate to this orphanage. I would post the link here but I don't have internet. ;)
These kids need their school to be finished so that this room can be turned into a dormitory for them.

Also, if anyone has any ideas for a sustainable project in Ca or an amazing organization let me know. My family is going to find some alternative way to do Christmas again this year but I want it to be sustainable and meaningful, not just hand outs. That's going to be harder but it needs to happen.

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Day 5: Child Of Hope

After a sleep in the Mbale house we headed to the organzination: Child of Hope. I've been holding back tears since we left the gates.
First: Child of Hope is an organization started by Bex, a European, and her Ugandan husband Moses. Once married on their honeymoon Moses had a dream to start a nursery school and so they did. The organization works in the slums and takes one child from each family and educates them. They provide food, clothes, health and education.
We toured the village. Let's talk.

Parents leave in the morning and the kids are all left alone with no food and no supervision. The older kids watch the younger.

Many had no shoes, most had clothes that were tired together to close holes, covered in dirt even though they were washed and many had no clothes at all.

They make on a good day 1,000 shillings a day: that's 0.30. Thirty cents! Rent is 25,000 a month: $7. Many can't get that so they go out begging on Fridays. During the day the women go to town and look for food in rubbish bins or pieces of old coal.

They have a tap for water but someone owns it and it costs 200 shillings to fill one bucket:

If they can't afford that, which many can't, they just go to the river to fill their buckets.
The village brought me to tears but the things is that while it's hard this is their way of life. Is there better? Yes. But hand outs do not help. Change has to come about in the right way, for the right reason, and with the right mindset. It's tough.
The organization Child of hope: Uganda is an incredible one that is doing it correctly. They have a sustainable project and they are good people doing good things.

Here is one of the classrooms.
If you are looking to donate to a great cause this is it.

You can also donate to HELP intl for the orphanage we are about to head to. I promise that both these companies are helping in the correct way, through organizations on the ground, and with sustainability.
This morning I was able to fund 7 teacher's salaries for 3 months with one click of a button.

We are so incredibly blessed in the US. Regardless of where you are in life you can always give. You can always help. As my mom always says: money is a tool.
It's not how much you have but what you do with it that counts.

This hut is made of mud bricks. It has a straw roof that leaks when it rains. It is maybe 6 feet in diameter and it holds on average 6 people. It is almost bare inside. If you have more you might have an old piece of foam for you and 5 kids to lay on.
This is life here. Change your outlook. Be grateful for what you have no matter how much or how little it is something unimaginable to most in the world. It's not our job to so called change the world but it is our job to be kind, to help one another and to love in service.

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Day 4: Books, Eyes, Jewelry

Man.
I wrote a post but I don't know where it went.
Last night we drove in at 1:30 am. It was so hot and humid in our car. However when I work up this morning there was HOT WATER! Hot water! Yes! You should have seen the red dirt coming off me.
I then took my malaria pill mad twenty minutes later I was over the toilet puking stomach acid. That was not fun.
We then headed to Lugazi. Here HELP set up a project awhile back where the women of the village make jewelry and sell it to bring in income. When we arrived the women greeted us with hugs, singing, a dance, and bracelets they made.

They then made us breakfast. After that we headed to a local school to read books to the children as a library outreach. This is also where I donated the books my students donated.

We stayed and played with the kids for awhile as well.

We then headed to schools to do eye testing.

After screening dozens of kids we had a mini dance party which consisted of the white people dancing while all the locals cheered us on. Who am I kidding... us? Haha. This girl can't dance.
From here we went back and got lunch. The women made the most delicious food.
Up next: a Muslim school to teach hand washing and reusable pads.

Women here are made to feel dirty and like they cannot be apart of society while on their periods so bringing Days for Girls kits and teaching about menstration is very important.
By the way my feet are on the engine which is between the driver and passenger and it's super hot.

During our lesson a huge storm rolled in and it started to down pour. Look at the river flowing on that picture, yeah, not a river. The rain was so intense we could not hear one another talking.

When this was complete we went back to the women and bought jewelry from them.

Now we are back in the bus for another 5 hour night journey.
I'm not sure what day it is or even time but this has been an incredible journey so far.

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Day 3: Safari & Refugees

I'm sitting here in the safari van watching the sunrise over the savannah(?) with animals surrounding us. There is a herd of deer to my right and warthogs to my left.

We just found the two mother lions and their cubs!

Then it got ticket and started to hiss? Roar? Growl? All of the above.
Seeing these animals in the wild is an experience.
There is something about being in a place you have dreamed about and longed for for years. I mean for crying out loud there is a giraffe painted in my childhood bedroom and now I'm sitting here with the wind blowing through my hair, the smell of the wild ;), and real wild giraffes running next to the van.

Or an elephant in the sunrise munching away. It's taking my breath away and quite lit
erally at times making my eyes water in joy.

We went back to the hotel hotel for lunch which was SO good. Yellow sweet potatoes, avocados, rice and incredible beans. Then we waited around for awhile. A long while actually and I'm not sure why. And now that the day is gone I'm really sad we sat there and wasted those hours because...

So we finally load the vans and start on our journey to the refugee settlement. This settlement is one of the smallest in Uganda but still has 67,000 refugees. It's been open since 1990 and houses refugees from a few places but many from South Sudan. Uganda does the settlements differently in that they give the refugees a plot of land so they can build.

Let's back up for a minutes. I teach a book called: A Long Walk to Water. Stop what you are doing and download it right now or order it on Amazon. Actually order it. Let's start a movement. You order the book, then read it, then give it to someone you know and have them read it. Write your thoughts, feelings, or just name in the book and let's get those books being passed around. If you have kids over 10 have them read it to.
It's a short read and written for a young audience even though the content is heavy.
It's one of the most powerful books I've read and for sure the best book that has come to education and teaching.
The book is based on true stories. It follows two people. One, a boy who is fleeing the Southern Sudan war and goes through Hell and two, a girl who has to walk to her water for her family every day and cannot attend school.
Anyway, after reading the book and seeing the struggles that go on being here is well, a lot to handle.
Seeing the people walking with the yellow water containers, seeing the children balancing them on their heads or tying multiple to bikes...
Seeing the well and the line of people and then seeing those who did not have a well at the river bank, , filling those containers with cloudy brown water.
Today I cried. It was so much and it became so real. I know this is their life and way of living but everyone should have access to clean water. It hurts to know people are dying of diseases that could be prevented if the village had a well.
Ok fast forward. When I found out that we were going to get to go to a refugee camp for the Southern Sudan and that Suzanne had gone and talked with men from the Dinka tribe I was elated.
When we finally pulled into the

camp I was nervous because it was late and we were late. The sun was starting to go down and a huge storm was blowing it. We got in the vans and were escorted by the police to the first refugee school where we were to hand out hygiene kits, teach hand washing lessons, and give reusable menstration pads and teach about them. Well, when we first arrived I went straight for then kids carrying the water jugs.

Then we headed to the first class but it started to downpour and the winds came.

So we had to hurry.

The roads got bad to the point where we were sliding the van off into the bushes so we couldn't visit anymore. I'm majorly bummed out. But, thankful to have at least had the chance to come even if just for a moment. I can't wait to take my knowledge and pictures back to my district and begin funding for a well.

I also feel the need to come back. I wish I had more time here to go into the camp and collect stories. To go to the wells and meet and talk with the people but I don't. I am grateful for the opportunity to be here, it's only been 4 days and I already feel that increased inner desire to serve refocus my life. I've had my perspective reset and light bulb inside replaced that gives me hope, desire, and passion.

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