Yesterday, I met up with Patrick in the Kampala taxi park and we jumped onto a mutatu. After an hour and a half ride, we arrived in our destination- Mitala Maria. I think/hope that some of this got lost in translation, but Patrick told me that Ugandans believe this road to Mitala Maria is the path that brought AIDS to Uganda. Either way, all of the children I met lost their parents to AIDS and their personal status is unknown because there is no money to get them to a hospital for testing. We spent the day visiting some households that RUHU supports financially- and by support I mean 2 or 3 dollars when it can be spared. The households all have a fairly similar story; parents pass away, leaving all the children in the care of the grandparents. Most women in the area have taken in children unrelated to them as well. The primary caretakers of these households are too old to work (many are 70 and upwards, usually women) and the children are too young to help with farming. The women do what they can, but there are too many days where the children go without eating.
One woman in particular lived in a 2 room hut with walls of clay and takes care of 8 children. This past year all three of her children have died of AIDS leaving her with no money and mouths to feed. This woman should have been devastated, outraged, worried about her future, but instead she greeted me with a hug and danced with me. She laughed hysterically when I sat on the floor with her as opposed to the provided bench. When I asked how she finds the courage to take care of so many children, she stated matter-of-factly that there was no one else to do it and she knew she had to. She is known to the kids as Jaja (grandmother) and she laughed and danced with me again as I bade her goodbye, saying "Weeraba Jaja!!".
RUHU goes out to Mitala Maria weekly to meet with the grandmothers and orphaned children, holding counseling sessions and seminars about varying topics. The meetings are held on straw mats in a shady spot under a tree on the property of a jaja who takes care of eleven children. The primary focus of the talks when the kids are in attendance is living positively with HIV, talking about how to remain happy and healthy. More than anything else, these meetings are a way to keep the community united in their battle against HIV/AIDS
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
up with hope
I am proud to say that in the three days I have been looking, I have found 6 CBO's that are seeking interns and are truly making an impact in their community. All of the sites are going to be considered for the interns next year, but one made a lasting impression on me. It is also the site at which I am going to work at for the remainder of my summer.
The organization is called Raising Up Hope for Uganda (RUHU), and it was founded by a young man named Patrick. Patrick was orphaned as a child, and for years survived on the streets of Kampala with his sister and others like him. As a teen he met an American woman, who was inspired by his story and leased an apartment in Kampala for Patrick and his sister. When he was about sixteen he came across an infant tied up in a sack left to die in a pile of garbage. He felt that this child deserved a chance to live no matter the personal sacrifice on his part. He legally adopted the little girl, thus beginning RUHU. By the time he was 17 years old there were 10 street children living in his apartment. In order to get more children into a safe home Patrick made a huge sacrifice- he turned down the chance at attending university in the US. He asked his sponsor to take the money she would spend on his plane ticket and fees and write a check. He took this money and bought a house on the outskirts of Kampala to house all of his children. In Bulenga, the town in which the orphanage is located, he is affectionately known by all of the villagers as "Uncle Patrick". To even an outsider it is apparent that he is revered in his community for the diference he has made.
RUHU functions primarily as an orpanage, but there are many other ways in which the organization contrubutes to the community. Next week I am going to experience this firsthand, but from what I am told the founding members go out into the Kampala slums to bring new orpans and at risk children to stay at RUHU. They also go out to a region of Uganda that has a very high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and they assist in families who are taking care of orphans. Finally, the orphanage serves as a home schooling site for the children living there. The organization does not have the funding to send the 40 children to school, so two young men are teaching six classes a day. Did I mention that all of the people leading RUHU are all 19 and 20 years old? RUHU is desparate for help, but they are doing some awe-inspiring work. In addition to housing around 40 orphans and vulnerable children, Patrick works with relatives of the children to find them a long term home. Through counseling and persistence, eventually many of the orphans are taken into the homes of Aunts, Uncle, and Grandparents. By finding a permanent home for the children, space is opened up for others in need.
Finding organizations like RUHU makes me wish I had more time in this country to get to know the wonderful people that are making a difference, and assist them in their endeavours. If you get the chance please take a look at their website: http://raisinguphope.wetpaint.com/
As the Ugandans say, "Nice Time!!"
The organization is called Raising Up Hope for Uganda (RUHU), and it was founded by a young man named Patrick. Patrick was orphaned as a child, and for years survived on the streets of Kampala with his sister and others like him. As a teen he met an American woman, who was inspired by his story and leased an apartment in Kampala for Patrick and his sister. When he was about sixteen he came across an infant tied up in a sack left to die in a pile of garbage. He felt that this child deserved a chance to live no matter the personal sacrifice on his part. He legally adopted the little girl, thus beginning RUHU. By the time he was 17 years old there were 10 street children living in his apartment. In order to get more children into a safe home Patrick made a huge sacrifice- he turned down the chance at attending university in the US. He asked his sponsor to take the money she would spend on his plane ticket and fees and write a check. He took this money and bought a house on the outskirts of Kampala to house all of his children. In Bulenga, the town in which the orphanage is located, he is affectionately known by all of the villagers as "Uncle Patrick". To even an outsider it is apparent that he is revered in his community for the diference he has made.
RUHU functions primarily as an orpanage, but there are many other ways in which the organization contrubutes to the community. Next week I am going to experience this firsthand, but from what I am told the founding members go out into the Kampala slums to bring new orpans and at risk children to stay at RUHU. They also go out to a region of Uganda that has a very high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, and they assist in families who are taking care of orphans. Finally, the orphanage serves as a home schooling site for the children living there. The organization does not have the funding to send the 40 children to school, so two young men are teaching six classes a day. Did I mention that all of the people leading RUHU are all 19 and 20 years old? RUHU is desparate for help, but they are doing some awe-inspiring work. In addition to housing around 40 orphans and vulnerable children, Patrick works with relatives of the children to find them a long term home. Through counseling and persistence, eventually many of the orphans are taken into the homes of Aunts, Uncle, and Grandparents. By finding a permanent home for the children, space is opened up for others in need.
Finding organizations like RUHU makes me wish I had more time in this country to get to know the wonderful people that are making a difference, and assist them in their endeavours. If you get the chance please take a look at their website: http://raisinguphope.wetpaint.com/
As the Ugandans say, "Nice Time!!"
Monday, July 13, 2009
New Beginnings?
So I am finally living in a place that has fast enough internet to post a picture.. This is a picture of my friend Allen and I on top of one of the hills in Kasese. However when you are climbing one of them, it feels more like a mountain.
Since the last time I have posted, I have dropped my organization and relocated to Kampala. There were a lot of issues, and they came to a tipping point at which I could not stay any longer. After visiting the other interns and seeing just how much my site was lacking, I decided to go to Kampala for the last few weeks in an attempt to salvage my summer. It is now my goal to search for great CBO's that are seeking interns. I still want to work with an organization while I am here but I feel that if nothing else it would be great to establish a new site for future interns.
This past weekend all of the interns got together and went white water rafting in Jinja. It was the most exciting trip of the summer! We traveled something like 56 km with our trusty guide Moses (which I thought was a very appropriate name for a Nile guide). On the second day we went down 5 rapids, three of which were grade 5. We were able to "surf" on the last rapid, which involves rowing directly into the rapid and maneuvering the raft in such a way that the rapid catches you and it feels as if you are on a surfboard!. Well it feels this way for about 5 seconds and then the raft flips over and everyone is swept down the river- which is the fun part. We rafted with one safety boat and three safety kayakers, and at lunch time we tied our rafts together and shared a lunch while floating downstream. That night we hung out with the guides, who were a very interesting bunch.
A few of us decided to hang around Jinja until the next day so that we could take a boat ride to the source of the Nile at sunset. It was incredibly beautiful- I will post pictures soon. The next morning we caught mutatus back to Mukono district where our friends are staying, and spent the night there. I had a meeting with Uncle John the next morning- the former director of Kyetume CBHC and a very sweet man. This brings me back to where I am now-Kampala.
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