wee little update

Saturday is a day of hand washing clothes from the week, dancing to the beat of traditional African drum beats, watching a movie in the beautifully and newly finished library, and now, eating matoke and rice! While this may seem quite unexciting to some of you, matoke and rice once a week for two meals straight is a real treat after a long week of posho and beans every meal. (Please do not think we are mistreating our children here. Posho and beans is the country wide standard diet) When the money is there, the kids even get to eat meat! Saturday is the day of the week.
Sunday the kids dress in their best. Shoes and all! We then walk together to church down the road. Chris and Frank have began involvement in the prison ministry with the church. Chris is preaching and sharing many skits from our years in camp. Frank has a real heart for ministry!
Our bore hole is up and running perfectly thanks to you! We are having no problems and only having to pump 100 or so times to fill a jerry can instead of over 400 pumps! It is a real back saver. Don't worry, we are having the kids do push-ups to make up for the exercise lost! Just kidding!
Juliet, Meeme, and Mohamed are studying hard to prepare for their exams. Meeme is in P.7, Juliet in S.4, and Mohamed is in S.6, all levels in school in which exams are extremely important and weighting on ones future education. They will sit for their exams at the beginning of November. Mock exams take place soon! Please keep them in your prayers. As far as the schools are concerned, we are near completion of licensing Kampala City School and keeping it open! A friend's nonprofit is looking over the possibility of taking on a project to build onto Kampala City School and build a classroom for St. Thomas Primary School as well. Kampala City School is in need of dormitories for borders and two more classrooms as St. Thomas is lacking a P.5 classroom. Let us pray this takes place and building begins in January as planned.
Health update: No recent malaria cases! Although, worms are a big problem here. A few of the boys are dealing with the stomach pain worms bring. We are treating them case by case to the best we can with the resources we have. Scrapes and cuts happen daily and due to the tropical climate during this rainy season, healing takes a bit longer. With the rainy season also comes more coughs and cold symptoms, which are are treating as well. To reduce on the amount of sickness that goes through these precious kids, it is our hope to get a water purifier at the home. This will decrease on the waterborne illnesses that are so rampant. Water purifiers are $125 designed by a professor at Makerere University here in Kampala.
A new cook has arrived! She is notoriously fabulous and loves the kids as well as gets along great with our matron. Both women, Beatrice, the cook, and Vitas, our matron, are a huge blessing to our home and the children here.

September 26th ish...I've lost track of days

I am dirty and worn out. My head is aching, my stomach is cramping, and I am chilled. I have joyfully worn myself out today; all with a smile upon my face. Today after African tea with Ellan (a sweet friend of mine who works at our shop), hours in town, and lunch with Chris, wrestling needed to take place during a jakfruit feast. A mission then went underway. We went on a search for sugarcane. Only minutes into our journey the drops of rain that soak like water balloons were falling from the sky. As we ran upon the red dirt becoming a dark mud slide, in between brick stacks, cement and plaster houses, and clothing lines beginning to droop; smiling faces turn back at me attached to little dirty black bodies. Their laughter and voices tell me that this timeless moment, this place in eternity, is freedom. Pure joy. The weightlessness of being a child. A child with no shoes, no parents, broken teeth, two changes of clothes, soaked from head to toe with mud and rain; yet a child all the same. No different from the next. And this. This is where real happiness lies. In this moment of dirt and poverty.
We return after an extended run through pouring rain and slippery mud slides with three stocks of sugarcane; our treasure! I hack and hack, preparing pieces of sugarcane for each child. Of course a bit of bickering over the largest piece takes place....but what are children without that? We tear into the stock nearly breaking my fragile teeth. The children, of course, have no problem. Amidst spitting and yelling for homework to be done, I search for small shillings to cover the cost of firewood and charcoal for dinner tonight.
As the smoke sneaks out of our makeshift chimney, my dirty fingers point to number 3 of Sebuma's math homework. I find myself becoming frustrated with myself for being frustrated he does not know 33/3! Who is his math teacher anyway? Ha ha. I failed them somewhere didn't I....?
All in all, life is flowing and lovely. God is ever faithful and I am learning and growing each day. Growing is not always an easy task and many times pain is involved, but looking back, the change is always beneficial and beautiful. I am thankful for every experience.
I do have to say I am looking forward to coming home. Leaving is going to be a heart wrenching experience, but returning home will be so refreshing.
That is all for now. Please continue to check out the more readily updated blog at http://dorcaschildrenshome.blogspot.com
Much better! ha ha

And today I am missing you all...

The wedding of Sam's daughter Rachel, and all the chaos that comes with a wedding has finally come to an end. We are reaping a few of the effects of after wedding shock but for the most part everything is going well. Today many of the boys are having stomach aches and Bosco may be coming down with the measles. It is our hope that in the near future we will get a water purifier here at the home. This investment will cut down tremendously on the sickness of the boys and girls here.

Speaking of water, our bore hole (or well) is in desperate need of repair. If we do not get the repair done soon, we are going to have a “crisis” as Sam has said. The nearest water hole is a pretty far distance away and would require a lot of time and energy to transport all the water needed for the home. Plus, some of the income needed for basis everyday things like firewood, transport, milk, and tomatoes will cease to exist if the bore hole is broken. In other, more positive news, a fence went up around St. Thomas, our Nursery and Primary School. Some fencing was left over from the wedding so the school was able to benefit from the festivities!

Joe Hedrick, a very dear friend of mine from Lipscomb, has just returned for school. His presence here with the boys and the support he provide me will be sorely missed. He was here for the last two months and helped out more than I can describe. He will be returning for his senior year of college and to pursue his music career. With all this going on in his life, he has still committed to the home and has agreed to begin a non-profit that will directly benefit Dorcas Children's Home. If you know anything about anything in regards to beginning a non-profit, please contact Joe and give him any advice you may have. Please refrain from sending any discouraging notes as we are not ready for ridicule and negativity. Joe's email address is: hedrickjd@mail.lipscomb.edu

Chris has returned in one piece and the boys were ecstatic. Thanks to the support of everyone back home, he was able to come with all of the supplies we have been needing for quite awhile now. A huge thanks to everyone who took the time out of their busy schedules to help us out. The kids have enjoyed all the letters, gifts, toys, clothes, school supplies, and medicine. You all have been such a great support to the work being done here.

This morning, our two visitors from Spain and Czech Republic taught the kids basic language lessons. Mikal and Dosha have been here a week now and will be continuing on towards South Africa soon. The kids really enjoyed the new vocabulary. This afternoon we plan on doing games focused on team work and of course gobs of fun. Laura, a friend of Chris, is here from Canada. She will be leaving on the 4th of September. She is a very talented artist and has been teaching many of the kids how to paint. Which they are loving by the way. Currently, she is redoing the library so it is more kid friendly. We are looking forward to this new addition to the home very much. Also, we have just had a meeting concerning a woman in New York who is putting on an art exhibit. She has requested that our children do art to showcase at the show. All of the money made from selling the art pieces will come back directly to the home! What a great fund raiser huh!?! Laura has begun to put together ideas that will be related to the culture here but will also be appealing to crowds in America.

Besides the non-profit, the art fund raiser, new language lessons, and the coming and going of volunteers here, we have been working on some new and exciting ideas as well. We are trying to put together enough funding to bring all the kids to America for a one to two month tour of traditional music and dance. We have a phenomenal teacher and just recently a professional drum set was donated to the home thanks to Joe. Also, we have been really praying about the need for school improvement. So we have been working with others to fund raise for school needs. And last but definitely not least, we have been brainstorming and beginning conversations with the board members and different organizations and individuals concerning Sam's retirement. He has agreed to stay on another year, but with just one year and so much work to be done, we need to be conscience about the change and working toward a positive new director. Lately we have been chatting with a great group of people with Cornerstone, a local NGO. I will keep you updated on how these conversations turn out.


Here is a recent letter that has been sent out regarding the latest project here at Dorcas:


To those with the best interest at heart for Dorcas Children's Home,


As we write this letter sounds flood our ears. The sounds consist of drum beats, dancing feet, clapping hands, and small voices raising in song. The boys have a dream of one day performing that which they have worked so hard for. What is it that they have been working on you may ask? Great question. We will be privileged to inform you.


The children at Dorcas Children's Home are training and putting together a beautiful performance of traditional dance, music, and song. These children were born to perform. More than that, they deserve to be heard and deserve to be seen. There is more than a good show to put on, but a powerful story to hear.


We are writing to you because we know that you know and care about the lives of Bosco, Meddy, Juliet, Reagan, Abudul and many others. We need you and want you to jump on board. Here is the plan we are concocting: Take the boys and girls to tour in America to share their talents and their story, get the word out about Dorcas Children's Home, and give the kids a rare opportunity to travel and learn.


Our intended tour goal is April and May. Currently we are getting help from Sessanga Juliet, a very talented and well-known musician, performer, and teacher. She has agreed to train the boys and girls to the best of her ability and prepare them for the demands of the performance lifestyle. By December, we will have passports, visas, costumes, and flight details worked out for all of the group to come to America. Kami will be returning to the states in January to organize the tour state side and arrange for transport, performance times, lodging, educational tours, etc.


Here is where you come in to the picture. We are somewhat handicapped geographically from here in Uganda. Since we are in a third-world country with no financial resources at our fingertips, we must branch out and request the assistance from those with resources. That is the beauty of differences in people. Without people from all walks of life and in different circumstances and situations, nothing could ever be accomplished effectively.


First, please think and pray about whether you would like to be involved in the process of fund raising for this exciting dream. We cannot do this without alternative funding due to the strain it would put on the home's ability to provide food and school fees. We also do not want to put any unnecessary inconvenience upon you. It is the hope that we allow this to fall into place as God allows it. We do not want to push something that is not in God's will.


Fund raising can take many shapes and forms, whether it is in the shape of a benefit dinner/concert or in the form of a percentage of proceeds from your personal business. Our support is behind you 100% and we want to work with you to see that you have all the information and documentation you need to make fund raising successful.


The amount of support you have given to Dorcas Children's Home already is phenomenal and we cannot thank you enough. Let us know if you have questions and feedback.


With love and joy,


All of us here at Dorcas Children's Home

Abudul trying to stop whomever may be trying to escape from Dorcas...
No Sebuma does not have chicken pox try as we may to give it to all of them to prevent it at an earlier age.

David, one of my favorite boys in the P4 class.
Sam's granddaughter Rebecca. She is a little fireball!
i caught the lil booger with his sack clothes running away with our rubbish.

 Catching you up: so many joys and trials take place everyday that you may fall asleep if I write all of them. What do you say we get a cup of tea one day in the future and I will try to entertain you with some of the many? As for now, this is what a normal day usually looks like.

My days now consist of waking just before 7:00 a.m. to the knock of a need or hot water being brought for the day.  It is then a sudden explosion of activity.  I run outside to the bathroom for a “short call” in the long drop before another knock wakes whomever may be rooming with me at the time before their scheduled wakeup. Pencils and pens are needed, homework kept safe in my room must be distributed, Frank needs money for transport, Vetus needs money for tomatoes for the lunch they will begin preparing, the storage room key cannot be found, and Musisi is sick.  Then it is off to school. We have now been through 3 Headmasters whom have all swindled money, leaving the school in a bit of a pinch. Luckily I know how to run a school?  I have been entrusted with the responsibility of recording, holding, and spending all of the funds for the school and the home.  So after peeling children from my now completely unfeasible arms, I hand out the money to the cook for charcoal and sugar for porridge, to the deputy teacher for breakfast for the teachers, and the afternoon teachers for their lunches.  Chalk is needed in the schoolhouse. School fees need to be recorded and receipts written and class is about to begin.  I have grown a fondness for teaching after these 6 months.  By no means would I qualify myself as a teacher, but I have adapted and enjoy it most of the time.  After lunch there are wounds to heal, clothes to wash, school shoes to brush, homework to be done, games to play, English to be taught, the garden to be tended to, mango walks to be had, beans to pick, water to fetch, and bathing to finally take place. Marvin, Choto and Eddi have fungus on their head bones so my room is an open clinic after prayers and singing. Sola Bulungi to everyone. Kisses on the heads… ope that one has fungus. eee.

 

So far diseases on my end have been minimal. A slight case of ringworm and just since Tuesday a bad case of Strep throat. Everyone in the village told me it was for sure malaria. Thank goodness it was absolutely incorrect.  Woo whoo!

 

Oh my goodness I promise I am still alive I just am possibly the worst blogger ever in history.

You know that feeling when you miss a friend's birthday? You have already bought them a present but by the time you remember you missed the birthday you feel it is too late to call, run into them, or give them the present...That is about how I feel now writing on here. It has been well over a month...okay safe to say a month and a half. My humble apology is all I have to offer and a few stories that may make it worth it. ooo and maybe a few pictures if they have the decency to load:

As of late we have dug a garden and it is blooming amazingly. The kids will soon be eating peas and cabbage and potatoes and greens.  A great addition to their bland diet. We have fired our headmaster at the Primary school....and yes, he did steal money and a bed oh ya and a mattress. Wonderful man really, but just couldn't keep someone around who yelled at the teachers in the middle of class. So for the time being I have been learning how to operate a school, teach, and other such activities. 

The home is doing fabulous. God is good and has been such a provider as always. Money comes from the blue and keeps us afloat. Medicines continue to arrive and school supplies are available so the boys are well equipped. 

Thanks to support, the veranda of the main house has been redone and the foundation is no longer in danger of deterioration. 

Abudul dressed in nothing but polythin bags from the rubbish pit yesterday. The top portion looked like a boxer unitard and the bottoms were bikini bottoms with a bit of flair. No pictures to accompany this, but I am sure you can imagine. 

Please forgive me for the lack of information through this blog. Please check out the home's blog for better stories and more pictures. Please. Please. please...

http://dorcaschildrenshome.blogspot.com

6 a.m. Little hands knock on our door. School is back in session. Pencils are needed, bandages wanted, homework books need to be collected, money for charcoal and tomatoes for the day. Groggally walk to the shop to fetch the milk from the only small refridgerator like machine in the village. Eat breakfast while preparing for class. No, I have left procrastination behind.
7:30 a.m. Off to school. Teaching is going much much better. I have learned to accept the relaxed style of teaching and learned to cope with the amount of stress I feel from not having students in P3 that are unable to read.
2:00 Lunch. I will forever, once back in the states eat salads and fresh vegetables. Only. After cooked till dead food everyday including and yes, limited too: potatoes, cabbage, beans, rice. But somehow it is still good and keeps us going. Food smood. ooo side note, we had visitors here from Colorado, and they were so wonderful and bought pizza for the entire home! The boys had pizza for the first time in their lives! They loved it by the way. Who would have thought?! Much better than posho...somehow.
Enough with the time table. After lunch we are now going into Kasubi to the market to buy posho, beans, rice, cooking oil (all of which the prices have sky rocketed...eee ugh). Haggling and just living life. Prices are poop right now. Gas is just a bit less than $10 US dollars a gallon. Posho has doubled since January. Not so good here as far as prices go.
As far as life goes, the boys are great and well. Senfuka has chicken pox and with the calamine lotion, he sure is a sight. But he is a trucker and is handling it with class.
The boys are loved and full of joy.

In the beginning, Chris gathered firewood with the help of Balya, Bosco, and Abudduh.
Hassan and I steal branches from trees and whittle the tops into spear like points.
Chris and the boys pretend they know how to build a fire...
Abudduh, Nakato, and Balya attempt to eat marshmellows for the first time. ( a little charred)
Molly and her little sister Judy. Judy has been coming by each day for treatment on her leg :(
Poor Judy hates me...

Iieee! It has almost been an entire month since my last post...so sorry! Things have been just going, going, going. I know, you would have expected everything to just stop...but it hasn't. School finished! Reports were made...off the cuff but nonetheless they were made. Chris and I then went and did some work in Kanungu. After which we traveled up to Fort Portal to visit the Martin's and the Cash's. What a great visit! Since we have been home we have been playing like crazy! If it is not football, or kick the can then it is bonfires and fort building. We have began giving lessons in reading and math. Digging is another past time these days. Our lil house now is completely surrounded by newly planted earth. The boys are great with digging and have been teaching us a lot. Soon we will have our own maize, beans, and vegetables for the home!
Our Matron left the other day. God has completely provided yet again though. Vitas, the sweet girl who had been helping cook and work around the home, has stepped up and is now working as Matron. She will be attending classes to become qualified soon. We are very happy and she loves the boys a whole lot! We are having visitors from Colorado come May 13th! We are very excited to have new mazugus! They will be here for just over a week. Pray for their travels.