What's been happening since last post. The only way I can tell is by my pictures so you get to see the gallery of what I take photos of.
This is our neighbors (the principal at the school) grandson getting his bath. Bonnaventure often wonders over to greet us or see what is going on in our house. His 5 years old brother comes too and asks for sweets.
This is Kate Roesch an education volunteer in the west. She, her sister and parents were here in August touring on the bus. (See kids other people make there children suffer on public transport too. ) I gave them a tour of the hospital and showed them the painting that was under way and casually mentioned that I was looking for another volunteer to paint some designs for the kids to look at in the 5 remaining rooms of the pediatrics ward. Kate's mother volunteered her. (Another good moms who hates to see her kids bored) So, now that school is on break Kate made the the 2 day bus ride and stayed with us for 2 weeks and painted. She doesn't like vegetables, but we managed to keep her fed with other foods and we had a nice time together. She was like having another daughter around. She is not a party girl so she didn't find our life style to be bore ing. We watched a couple episodes of TRUTH PROJECT and had some good talks. She lives over by a mountain and a water fall so we will make the 2 day ride to visit her over our break in Jan.
These are the kitchen boys that make the food everyday for the 600 staff and students. 2 meals a day and tea in the AM. Here they are mingling the local bread. It is cassava flour with some sorghum and sand in it. You add the flours to boiling water and stir until you have paste. Served with beans 2 times a day. The beans have a few tomatoes and onions in them too but only a few. Sun and Mon the students get meat, Tuesday Thursday is greens (local vitamin packed weeds) and Wed is fried cabbage. I don't know what Sat is. They still cook over the 3 stones. Yes, they have been offered the fuel efficient stoves. Because the firewood would have to be split to fit in the stoves, they refuse to do that... WHEN HELPING HURTS! They also have a kitchen with electric stuff inside for cooking for large numbers but the power is often off so this is preferred method of food prep...
I was walking past the slaughtering pen on my way back from another volunteers project so I took the pic of the last supper of the organic, free range, grass fed, tough as a shoe, beef here in Uganda.
This is a photo of the goat pen. Also organic, free range, (in my flower pots and pooping on my steps) whatever they can get in their mouth,,goat.
This was parked in the lot by the Emergency room. When I saw it, it reminded me of sooo many good times rolling to the New Jersey shore, out west, to the Boundary Waters where Kate and Conor would jump out and pretend they had come with someone else, or just up N. This is still running well. I wonder if our is? It was our insurance that the kids wouldn't drink and drive as every cop knew who owned this little van. True, ours had most of the side rusted out, but the engine just kept on going
This is Ankur, an epidemiologist from Deli who is here with MSF (Dr Without Borders). We frequently have some of the staff over for meals and Ankur brings wine for he and his friends. We have no cork screw so he and Tom found a hammer and corked the wine. Anyone know how to get a cork out of a bottle? I want to use them in my honey jars. Ankur is here for a year so you will probably see he and Tanja's pic again. She is a Dr from Austria here for a year too.
These are Billy and Joanna's girls. He trains pastors in Sudan and they have been missionary's here for 7 years from Asbury college. They are going to Scotland to study and we had them and the 4 girls for breakfast and a game of duck duck gray duck with our neighborhood friends. Joanna has had retreats for the bible study ladies here and is so inspiring living out faith without the selfishness, that I find I often practice. She will be missed and is such an inspiration as a wife, mom of 4 under 6, and woman of faith.
Saw this in the market, thought of what is next for all of you... Please know I will be baking in the oven here at the equator. Anyone need a pair of boots I can look for them for you. We do have them...
My friend and a tailor Jacob who works on the porch of a local business with a friend. He makes my skirts for 4000UGX ($1.60) each. I bring fabric he does the rest. He uses an old treadle machine. The new ones are Chinese junk and fall apart more then they sew.
Tom and I traveled to Kampala for the Peace Corps All Volunteer conference. We stayed with a host family from the embassy Ed Mikelski and his wife Qi and 2 sons. This is the Catholic church we were at. You can see the crowds leaving and the next service has a crowd again coming in. Choir is beautiful where ever we worship. The food at his home was wonderful and he has a washer which was equally at wonderful. Just a small piece of America for a nite. Then on to the conference held at a teachers college. It was out in the bush, but nice. Good food and great to meet and greet all the new volunteers. Our group is mostly gone now.
We are at the conference here and
this is Tom and I's boss Loucine Hayes from Romania but a US citizen who was working for Habitat for Humanity before coming here and her boss Dick Day from the Sub Sahara Peace Corps desk in Washington DC. He was a great guy and spoke well and realistically. What I took away from the conference was to "focus on my sphere of influence" not my "sphere of knowledge". The knowledge works well in the 1st world but where we are now is not that word, so just work with in the group before you. Let them make the difference with knowledge you impart to them...
One of the volunteers had a hair cutting scissors and actually knew how to cut hair. I encouraged Tom to sit down, as he was getting a bit overgrown, and he did. She gave him a wonderful cut and she only charged a beer...After his hair was cut. My bangs got evened out too.
You can see the even bangs here.
This is Leija DeLesi from Minneapolis, Mn. She is the current ambassador's wife to Uganda. They were up here talking with local stakeholders in USAID projects. She and I had gone to the fabric market, in the pouring rain, so she could shop a bit while her husband toured. We all met up in the hospital for a short tour,and then proceeded to Tom's work site. We stopped here for a photo op.
This is Toms' grant project. It is a house for a grinding mill that the World Food Program had given to NACOWLWA 7 years ago. The idea is that the org will buy corn at peak season, Store it and in Feb.(dry season) when schools are buying it as students are all back in school from Christmas break, grind it and sell for profit. Most schools serve the ground corn flour mixed in hot water as a porridge for students. Since most students bored at school a lot of porridge is required. Remember 32million people live here and 1/2 are under 15... So this is the ambassador and wife cutting the ribbon.
Tom with the 2 women who run the show. Teachers that started the organization branch here in the West Mile. The ambassador also planted a hybrid mango tree on the grounds. 2 ambassadors ago planted one also and I think they are standing under that one.
Why did I make this big?Cause we all look good and so you could see that we are reading THE ECHO
A home town newspaper from where I graduated. The rain had now stopped and it was steamy again. Lunch was over and we were all off to our separate functions now. He travels with a lot of people and is constantly sought after. I would grow weary of that just as I grew weary of it that day. But it was fun and I don't know that I would meet any ambassadors in the US.
The water was out again! These 4 young girls, about 10-12yrs were fetching water at the hospital borehole to carry home for use. Each Jeri can weighs 40 pounds. Try that on your head. They stood and smiled for me like 40# on your head is no big deal. They have beautiful posture and strong forearms. These girls just don't have the baby on there back....YET
WELL MOM HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN! 9-11.
The tree remains that has all the red, big as a tea cup, flowers. They have no fragrance but are beautiful. And they still need to be swept up so I am hoping that you will consider coming to help out the local grounds keeper. I know all the reasons you have for not coming and I don't blame you so I will try and be by your side next year to celebrate a year well lived.
My wish for you is sent in this last picture. Just like God scatters flowers before us to walk on. A reminder that we are HIS bride. I want to remind you that I couldn't be prouder to be your daughter, and to have inherited all those strengths and character building quality's that I use ever day here. They keep me believing in the work I do and that it is exactly what God wants for me right now. I DO LOVE YOU and wish you more years of health and sound judgement. See you next Sept. EN SHEILAH (GOD WILLING).... Your Gypsy daughter, Marc
