Last Night in Uganda

There are so many stories of courage and perserverance that have rushed to my eyese this trip and now run around inside of my head and will always be nestled warmly in my heart. This time and for the last few times it starts with Kwoyelo Ronald. "Kwoyelo" means troubled life. It was the name his parents gave him at birth, and has aptly described the obstacles that Ronald has fought and won. He is a determined and serious student who greeted me each time I met him wearing a shirt and tie. He will be taking his Senior 6 exams in November which will be the sole determination of whether he goes to the University level and what kind of education he will be allowed to attain. Ronald sees in his current classmates the educational experiences he would have loved to have had. And he knows his first 11 years of education in a small village have not prepared him, but he just puts his head down and works harder. His mother and Uncle greeted me in my last hour in Lacekocot and wanted to join me in a feast they had prepared for me. Due to time, I regretfully had to explain why I had to turn down their generosity. As I looked into the weathered face of Ronald's mom, I saw his smile and his quiet determination in her eyes. I know Ronald well, but not nearly as well I would know my Nerinx students. I do know that there are many students both young men and young women with similar stories, and someone told me last night that it was not fair to help just one. She may be right, but it is not possible for me to sit back. I have not had a teaching job for a year, because I cannot be silent when I see injustice.------------------live simply, so others may simply live-------------------------My assets are small and the bank of Magee makes Greece look stable, but I have walked around Ugandan often carrying the equivalent of two months pay for many Ugandans. It is simply unfathomable to try to understand these differences. My young friend, Geoffrey, who has been on his own since he was 7, was about to be kicked out of the room he lets when he is not boarding at the school. He has never asked me for anything but a pen and a few sheets of paper. He told me this story. He needed one month for back rent and one month's rent. The total cost was less than what I am going to pay for King Edward's chicken in my first meal in St. Louis. I had one final meal with Geoffrey and Julius before I left. There was a photo studio (Glamour Fotos) along the way and we stopped to get our photo taken. On the way home from the Pork Joint we picked up the photos. As I said goodbye to the two boys, Geoffrey reached out and hugged me. I realized or realised as they spell here, that what Geoffrey has missed all of these years the most was not food or shelter, but hugs. There is nothing quite like the constant hugs of family. It is the fuel for the heart, and if our heart is full we are capable of anything. And if our heart is empty....... Both Geoffrey and Julius showed up for my traditional salute to the leaving teachers. In the hectic end to packing and loading the bus, and trying to organize the bus. I forgot to hug Geoffrey. ........(go to Facebook for pictures of Geoffrey and Julius)

In homage of Memento.... Sort of

I am now siting at the Acholi Inn for about the fourth time in two days. I got here through the rain and the mud. We had a brief downpour which really messes with the roads and the ability to walk. Gulu is also on one big hill so all of the water from the whole town flows towards Uchumi store and the bottom of the hill. But I managed with the help of a crafty boda boda driver. I just left Ronald at the bus station, he has completed his second term and now heads back to Lacekocot for a much deserved rest. Ronald, of course, showed up in a tie, and his green sweater vest from Sir Samuel Baker School. We talked some, ate at my favorite place, Alulululu Pork joint, and we talked a little. Ronald is such an amazing young man, and several of us have pushed him along the way with some fees paid here and there. It tears me up that I cannot help every student, but we are trying for Ronald to be the one starfish we choose to throw back in this ocean. I will have to write more of his story later, his is the big story of this trip and I have to think longer to give it justice. ............ But there has been so much WONDER in these days that I have to keep writing. ---> http://simplyliveit.wordpress.com/2012/08/01/simply-believe-in-wonder/ ..............I met Ronald after I took a boda boda on the hilliest ride back from Sacred Heart. The motorcycle was whining on several occasions as moving the large American proved difficult for this bike. I had not seen Sacred Heart in several years, the students have always been amazing, but now the landscape and buildings were also. Some were built by the Japanese government, but the large three story building was built by Invisible Children. I had just visited thanks to an invitation from Ashley, who charges through life smiling and laughing along the way. No teacher college or training tells you how to develop the spirit or the kindness of this one. Each moment she was on campus, students walked towards her with a curiosity and an inquisitiveness. I think it might be impossible for a young girl at an all girls' school not to learn or be moved by Ashley's smile or her openness. I watched as one student approached her and gave her a necklace that she had made for her wonderful teacher. Rachel and Meegan, the proud Canadian, joined Ashley and I on my tour of Sacred Heart. I once said that everyone wants to be tall, curly-haired and left handed. Rachel rocks 2 out of 3 of those and laughs out loud about every 11 minutes. In her free time, she is amazing science teacher in Ohio. Meegan charges through life like she is going to mountain bike from Vancouver to Alaska(and after reading this she might just try). They are joined at Sacred Heart by Debbie. If you want to know more about the amazing students of Sacred Heart scroll down to a post in July 2009. (Those 10 and this school remains lodged in my awesome memories) Wonderful students in uniform who smile while they walk and are amazing learners. I thought for a moment in one Sacred Heart student, I saw the smile of Claire Minnick, and I thought definitely I heard the laughter of Amy Welin in another, and then I saw one quickly move for building to building very serious about completing the next task--did she really have the walk of Hayley Kuehner? And then I realized the uniforms were red and I saw a skinny girl laugh out loud exactly like Chaley Poth. I wanted to take so many pictures, but I decided to take a picture of the three teachers at the base of a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It seemed like such a good place to start. ..................... And then I turned, "Is that the Chapel?". "Yes it is, there is almost always girls in there praying." said one of my friends. But I did not really hear, I walked towards the Chapel. I saw the most wonderful sign in the center of the Chapel (see Facebook) and moved inside. There was a lone student at the front right of the place, holding a large bass drum of some sorts and playing both sides of it as she sang. Her voice was soft and amazing. Songs to God have such a beauty to them, but this one was better. [TIME OUT-- You all should really read Sarah Allen's wonderful blog above]. My best wish for all of you is that I you are in awe when you see wonder. The school bell for the next class rang and the young girl stopped the drum and sang the last verses a Capella. I had planned to kneel in this Chapel and say a Hail Mary for my parents, but instead I just knelt and thanked God for this blessing, hearing this song was amazing................................. Down a dirt road in the middle of nowhere in the northern part of Uganda, I heard an Angel sing. You may never know, Sarah Girl, where you will see wonder, sometimes it comes from accepting an invitation from a very small animal.