"One who burns in the Sun" (Chera)

Apparently there is a Swahili word for white person that literally translates to “One who burns in the sun”. I wish I knew this word because I would declare it as my new nickname here. Yes, I got burned…badly. Actually, we all did, but I seem to have got the worst of it. Last Saturday, our student group decided to spend the day at lake Nabugabo. It was a beautiful sunny day, but poor judgment on our part,
we stayed out too long. It turns out I have 2^nd degree burns on my legs and it has been extremely painful to stand or walk.

Despite the pain, I had a great day at Anaweza on Monday. The highlight was when we picked up on a discussion from last week about goal setting. The children were asked to use their imagination to draw an image that shows the steps it will take to achieve their goal in life. After everyone was finished, the children had an opportunity to share their work with the rest of the group. We had pilots, a nurse, football coach, policeman, a computer company employee, mechanic, president of Uganda! It was so wonderful to see what the children came up with and even though many appeared shy, the energy of the group was powerful and every child was smiling.

The next day, my sunburn was even more painful so I decided to stay in bed and work on my session plans. Later that evening when Melissa returned from Anaweza, she told me she ran into one of the boys while walking through the nearby village with our supervisor. This boy did not attend Anaweza that day because he had to do chores and tend to the children of the family he is staying with. Apparently both the child’s parents have died so he has been taken in by this family. The boy was excited to see Melissa and our supervisor because he wanted to show them a small garden he had started after learning how to do it at Anaweza. He then told our supervisor that he loves coming to Anaweza and if he’s ever not there, it is because he is needed at the home. I have a feeling that this boy misses a lot of school as well because it was pointed out to me earlier that he is behind.When I heard this story, I felt overwhelmed. On one hand I was so happy to witness the good work that is being done at Anaweza. The skills that the children are learning are important skills to have for survival here. On the other hand I was saddened as I began to face the reality of the challenges these kids face. Up until now I have been avoiding thinking about it. Of course I have been aware in a general sense, but it really hits home when you start hearing individual stories.

Anaweza was started because the founder saw a need to help children who are at risk of ending up on the street. My supervisor has many years working with street youth and saw first hand how difficult it is to get a child off the street once they are there, and so started Anaweza to help vulnerable children before it gets to that point. I believe this is the only organization of its kind in the Masaka area and there is such tremendous need.

This week my supervisor at Anaweza suggested that we come up with a program specifically for the girls, while he leads a program for the boys. The children had expressed an interest in this during a conversation he had with them last week. I suggested a program on self esteem because the young women here are said to be the most vulnerable. Having confidence and a positive self esteem will help them feel empowered to overcome obstacles and make healthy choices in life. Our supervisor was very receptive to the idea so we have been working on a session plan that includes a presentation/discussion followed by an art project inspired by what we have learned. One of the teen girls wants to lead a discussion on HIV/ AIDS so we will incorporate that in as well. I am new at this and have a lot to learn, but I am so inspired and passionate about trying to help these kids. I’m really excited about this projectJ

Wow, I know this blog entry is getting long but I must talk about my day at Kakunyu as well! Melissa and I were there yesterday (Thursday) for only a couple hours but the day that impacted me greatly. As I mentioned before, the children are on a school break so we haven’t got into a normal routine there yet. Yesterday we visited our supervisors home where her four children with disabilities live plus others who have been given up by parents who are unable to care for them or want nothing to do with them because they believe they are cursed (this is a common belief/stigma in Uganda). It was so great to spend time with the kids (a couple are young men/women as well). I learned that a physiotherapist comes to visit them everyday to do exercises. We got to observe while he did the exercises with them. It was wonderful to see the great work he was doing and how similar it is to what I have seen in Canada. Our supervisor told us about how much the children have improved since doing the exercises. After the exercises, we brought out a couple of the soccer balls which were donated by Janice Spencer (one of my instructors at Douglas College). We had a great time bouncing and rolling the balls to each other..everyone was smiling and laughing. It warmed my heart to see such joy on their faces.

While we were playing, a few workers from an orphanage in Masaka came to visit. They had a young boy with them with severe burns on the side of his face and head. The young boy was brought to Kakunyu because the orphanage was unable to take him due to his disability. Apparently this young boy’s parents died and so he was staying with a guardian. This guardian was abusive, burned him in a fire, and locked him in a room alone for two weeks. As one if the workers talked with my supervisor, she pulled out a bag with the boy’s clothing. It was all dirty, tattered, and torn. I could not believe what I was hearing..that this could happen to anyone let alone a child. Again, I was overwhelmed. I was relieved that this child was rescued and brought to Kakunyu, but I was also angry and couldn’t help but wonder if there are more children like him. And who would be able to help them? Kakunyu can only provide for a few.
Our supervisor cancelled our day today because we were meant to do home visits but are unable to due to the rain. I was disappointed at first, but now I’m kind of glad to have the day to reflect.

Love, Chera