No one said it would be easy

Sunday, March 16th:
Sunday appears to be drum circle day. It’s kind of cool and kind of tiring to listen to kids going nuts on their djembes all afternoon.

I started developing some kind of weird skin irritation last night. I have little white bumps on the right side of my chin and neck, and it feels like a bad sunburn. I walked over to the health center this morning, but apparently a 24-hour schedule doesn’t apply to hours people spend in church. I’ll try again later. I have no idea what’s causing it. I’m thinking of Kelly’s experience with mystery travel skin rash and hoping it goes away soon. I feel kind of tired and dizzy too, but it is really hot today.

Kagoma Primary hosted Sports Day on Friday, and we had groups from about 15 primary schools here. The kids were lined up around the field, and different swatches of the school uniform rainbow bounced and sang depending on who was leading each race. Some of the kids had running uniforms, but most of them ran in their school clothes. All were barefoot. The boys had a 12k race – 25 laps around the field – and quite a few kids collapsed or fainted over the course of the day. It was a hot, sunny day, and I don’t think the kids had access to any water unless they brought some or trekked over to the borehole. Some of the kids have been training pretty much the whole school day for the last couple of weeks. They were pushing themselves to the limit, even though the javelins were sticks and the shot-put was an irregularly shaped rock.

Lucy and I were recruited to sit with the Kagoma kids, since Muguluka PS had “brought their mzungus” (they have four volunteers from AV, a British gap-year organization). We did get a chance to walk around and cheer for some of our outreach schools, chat with the students, and greet a few teachers we know. The weather was beautiful and it was a fun, festival-like atmosphere. There were lots of vendors selling fruit and various fried foods, which was wonderful. I got some grilled corn on the cob, a chapatti, and a few feet of sugarcane.

Later in the day, Dennis and I went in to Jinja to meet with some partner NGOs we’d like to involve in an AIDS awareness event we’re planning for April. We met with people at TASO and the AIDS Information Center and gathered a lot of information and contacts. We’ll have to go in again this week with letters outlining our plans and to arrange the details.

I love going to Jinja. It was a pretty quick stop, but I got to use the internet and buy a juice box, two things that always make me happy.

I had a relaxing Saturday back in the parish. I washed a lot of things, read, and went on a fun exploratory bike ride. Lucy and I made fried Ugandan-style spaghetti, which will be a tasty addition to our meal collection.

I’m really missing Tom lately, and feel like I could use a break. I’m not exceptionally busy, but I could really use a day where showering, cooking, and getting around weren’t major undertakings. Jason, Jen, Tom, and Grace got their tickets to visit in May, and I am really looking forward to the vacation.

This weekend most of the international volunteers are going to Murchison Falls for our four-day Easter break. It could be a bit of a disaster since we’ve arranged the whole thing on our own, but I’m pretty excited to see the park.

Dennis and I saw some beautiful marabou stork while in town on Friday, and having the kids bring by the monitor lizard last week was pretty wild. They eat chickens.



Tuesday, March 18th:
Bad times on the home front. Lucy is fighting a losing battle against the fleas that Georgia imported to her bed last week. I still have a weird rash on the back of my neck, although I went to the health center and was prescribed a cream to try out. Dennis has a fever and Peter was diagnosed with malaria this morning.

Dennis and Peter saw a little girl being raped in the parish on Saturday night. This has been really upsetting for all of us, and Lucy and I especially it seems. We talked with Tedi last night, since it was likely one of the girls at Kagoma Primary. She’s going to talk to the girls who were absent Monday, and get each class together to talk about defilement. It’s not uncommon around here, which is pretty disgusting. Little kids get lured out at night by men who promise to give them gifts or money, and some of the time they know what’s in store for them but go anyway. There are laws against defilement, but they’re loosely enforced. And sadly, Tedi said that some of the parents encourage it, since their kids get money or goods in return.

I feel pretty helpless knowing that this is going on. We’re here to be agents of change, but what are we supposed to do, erect signs that say “Don’t rape children”? It’s repulsive to me that defilement and mob justice are just “the way things work here,” and that we’re supposed to take it in stride. There are countless campaigns and NGOs and new laws, but it’s still socially acceptable to beat your kids and cheat on your wife.

It’s becoming more apparent that we’re living in an area that’s not particularly safe. If we stick around the house after dark we’re fine, but there are too many sketchy characters to venture out alone after the sun goes down. It seems so quiet in the parish, but the vodka sachets, condom wrappers, and anxious neighbors tell a different story. Peter said that one of his family members bought land in Buwenge, but the rest of the family urged him to sell it instead of building a house because “Buwenge is no place to raise children.”

I don’t want to upset anyone at home; I’m being careful and trying to make changes. I expected things like homesickness, discomfort, illness, and poverty to be part of this trip, but the recent incidences of violent crime have come as a bit of a shock.



Wednesday, March 19th:
It’s been a rough week, but I’d say things are looking up. No new crimes have come to light. My neck’s getting better, and we found Lucy some flea powder. Dennis and I have been busy planning an AIDS event for April, which we’ll propose to the SPW office tomorrow morning.

My frustrations with Uganda are waning, and I’m getting really excited about the vacation in May. Jason, Jen, Tom, and Grace will be here, and there are lots of exciting things we can do. It’s going to be a blast to be a tourist for a couple weeks.

We have this Friday-Monday off for Easter, and I’ll head into Jinja tomorrow morning. Friday morning, 13 of the international volunteers leave for Murchinson Falls National Park. We’ll be camping, hiking around the falls, going on a boat tour, and doing a game drive. I haven’t thought about it too much, but I am going to be really pumped if we see some elephants or something. Maybe I’ll get a chance to put some pictures up if we roll into town at a decent hour on Monday.

I haven’t taken any pictures for the last few days. It’s raining a lot more, which I like. It’s good for the farms and the water tanks, and I feel less guilty lounging around when it isn’t beamingly gorgeous outside. I decided to accept the offer from UNC, and Tom sent in my matriculation forms this week. I am really looking forward to being a grad student next year. I know it’ll suck sometimes, but I can’t help but feel a little twinge of nostalgia when I walk into a classroom and there are half-reactions written up on the board.

Happy Easter to all. Maybe I can hard-boil some eggs and get someone to play the egg-tap game with me.