Lorna and I took a trip to Kampala last weekend. It was nice to get out and explore a bit of the surrounding area..admittedly, I was very excited about spending some time in a major city…A city offering a variety of food, real coffee, and a hot shower. After a 3 hour mutatu ride we were there, dropped off in the heart of the city where I can only describe as absolute chaos. After a bit of negotiating for a fair price, Lorna and I hopped on a boda boda (motorcycle) to get to our hotel. An adventure indeed! There are no rules to the traffic, and my driver went full speed ahead swerving in between cars, vans, and other boda bodas..I could feel them brush up against my legs as we passed by. All I could think was “Thank God I’m wearing a helmet”, something most people do not do around here. Thankfully we made it in one piece. After checking into our hotel, we went for a walk..passing by many restaurants and cafes, we found one that served hamburgers, fries, and various fast foods. We had to stop and eat. And then we ordered ice cream …and then later that night we had Indian food! It was truly a luxury and by realizing that it was, I began to understand how much I take for granted. We have such a huge variety of food in Canada. We can walk down the street and have our pick of restaurants serving foods inspired from around the world. I never realized how fortunate we are to have all this. In Masaka, most people farm their own food and eat pretty much the same thing everyday. They are so thankful and proud of the food they have. I have thought about this a lot while I’ve been here actually. I feel ashamed for being challenged by the lack of food variety. And even though I enjoyed the food I ate that night in Kampala, I also felt guilty and undeserving when I thought about it later. We have so much. Way more than we need..I’m beginning to understand this now more than ever.
On Saturday, Lorna started to feel ill. Ill is an understatement actually..she got really sick with what we thought was a bad stomach flu (I had one the week prior). When we returned from Kampala, Lorna visited the clinic to find out she had malaria! She was immediately sent to the hospital where she spent two nights hooked up to IV meds. I’m happy to say she is feeling a lot better now, but what a scary experience to go through. Kayla is recovering from Malaria as well..I can’t help but wonder who’s next. Malaria is a big problem here..It disables and/or kills children and malnourished people every day. As mazungus (white people), our immune systems are generally healthy and we’re able to access good medical attention here. Malaria causes a horrible sickness but it is not life threatening to us. Again, a bi product of the privileged society we come from.
This was the last week for many children at Anaweza. Most will be going back to school on Monday. The week was action packed..I led the “Let your Light Shine” talents and skills show on Monday. We had a community outreach day on Tuesday, and I led a girls self esteem group/art project on Wednesday. We also had a group from an organization called TASO come and do a drama presentation about HIV/AIDS prevention. Yesterday (Saturday) Anaweza held a “Social Day” where the parents/caregivers were invited to the centre to see the children perform and demonstrate some of the skills and talents they learned while at Anaweza. Lorna and Jesse came out for it as wellJ It was amazing..the kids cooked up a storm and sold the food as a fundraiser, they sold their woven bags, they sang, and put on dance and drama performances. They are all so incredibly talented! I could hardly believe that it was the last day I would see most of the kids. It took Melissa and I a long time to leave that day. We had so many children to hug before we left. The amount of gratitude I felt as I was leaving was enormous. I have learned so much from them and have received so much love. From day one they opened their hearts to us & welcomed us as part of their family..I am inspired and forever grateful.
Love,
Chera
No comments:
Post a Comment