I am not sure the best way to add pictures, the only way I could figue out was to place them along the side.
As an added comment John's mother asked him some questions I'm sure all of you are asking too.
John’s mother asked these questions.
Are you eating ok? What are you eating? What do you drink? Can you wash your clothes? Is the weather hot? Is there any rain?
John answered!
we have a great cook at the house, where I get breakfast and dinner. we have had chili, spaghetti, egg rolls, and noodles, kind of western food with an african flair.for african food I have had dodo and eggs (spinach and eggs), mugasi (deep fried dough), corn, mangos, bananas, pineapples, rice, potio, beans, and I will have to think tilapia, beef, I drink mostly water I have fallen in love with getting to the CalTex station for 1.5 Liter of water (it costs 1000 shs< 1 dollar)....I have also had their sweet tea at school, i have had several cokes 300 ml old style glass bottle....There is a women named Agnes at the house who does all the wash by hand and hangs them on a line.....all rooms have one day to put out their wash, so mine was yesterday...it is sometimes hot, but not really...it is amazing how much of a breeze you get in some of these buildings, including the mud brick hut with the thatch roof I was in.....it rained once, so the roads are very dusty, I have red dirt on everything......but if it rains again, we will be inundated by the white ants.....this is the end of their second rainy season it is hottest in december
Walk to Atanga SS
Friday, June 29, 2007
Ojara Geoffrey Ojiri
THERE ARE 3 NEW POSTS TODAY. I would suggest to you that when you read this blog. You page down to where you left off, and then start reading. I think some of the stories will be much better in chronological order.
So this morning, I woke up again and jumped into a nice cold shower. It really is a delight to wake up and take a cold shower. I am thinking of this tonight because we currently do not have water, and I have played basketball and volleyball today. I am really hoping some time in the next 10 hours we get water. If not it will be shower by baby wipes tomorrow morning. So what did I do today. Good things, so keep reading. Started this morning again, with assembly at Awere. Nyeko Alfred and I started working on some problems students have brought us. So we did not make anymore progress on grading their midterms. Grades are different here because they get progress reports, but the entire year is based on the end of year exams. So it was just kind of a regular morning. I was about to leave but then I showed Alfred my Sudoku in an old USA Today, and we worked together to solve it. The afternoon was to be spent shadowing one of the mentors that work with the Gulu students who are on scholarship with IC funds. Being a mentor is a highly competitive, and it is a job where Ugandans want the position. So the quality of mentors is quite strong. I had some extra time, so I walked to the IC office which is about a 22 minute walk. Along the way, the Crested Crane school was letting out for lunch, and so was another school with thousands of young kids. It was amazing, there were so many kids walking and laughing. I had a crew of about 20 kids following me. They were laughing and talking in Lwo the entire time. We all had a blast just walking down the street. Then I met up with Ojara Geoffrey Ojiri (Geoffrey), we hopped on his motorbike, and traveled for a while on the major streets out of town, until we started riding down paths that I thought were too small for a motorbike. This was a village of traditional huts, just like Awere, circular walls made out of mud bricks, and a thatched roof. We found the one where Denis, his student was staying. Denis has been suspended for two weeks for several offenses the most serious one having a small amount of alcohol with him. Denis invited us into his house. I had to duck quite severely to get inside. Once inside, there were handmade chairs he invited us to sit on. They were low to the ground, and I was thinking they might break, considering I was a “man of large mass”. I not only fit, but it was surprised about how solid the chair was. It was made out of what looked like twigs and several small branches, but it looked nice and it was solid. Geoffrey allowed me to listen to him mentor Denis, and I told him about kids that I knew in St. Louis, and East St. Louis who had also overcome obstacles to achieve. As the conversation, progressed it was obvious that Denis was embarrassed about his behavior and was slightly embarrassed that I was there, but I had the feeling that he was a pretty good kid. They both laughed when I told him that because although they use the word kid, it usually refers to the small ones. Btw, while we were inside there were 5 or 6 kids giggling outside of the door. This family had done a pretty good job of making the small circular space home. It looks like they had divided the circular floor plan into three rooms. There is a space underneath the thatch roof and it actually had pretty good air flow. I was able to tell Denis that we both believed in him, and that I would check back with Geoffrey about his progress. He will have to study for his mid-terms(not quite the same) over the next week or so at home. I believe in him and hope he will succeed. It has been a bad week for Denis as his brother went to the hospital and died. I do not think he has other siblings. He has an aged mom and an even more aged grandmother. Geoffrey described Denis as a very bright student when he first went to school, he was a clever learner. He was abducted and spent time as a child soldier, until he was able to find his way back. Then he did not go to school for two years. So this is the struggle for Denis, does he have enough strength and personal resolve to overcome the enormity of these obstacles. You all know that I believe he can do this, but maybe tonight you can include him in your prayers, and also a man named Ojara Geoffrey Ojiri, he is certainly fighting the good fight, and the other 21 students he is mentoring. I know that is what I will be doing, seems like a more worthwhile prayer than praying for the water to come back so I can take a cold shower.
john
ps and today I remember that after the enormity of suffering I saw in the Awer camp, that the world will be saved by thousands of little tasks and great people helping one person one at a time. Thanks Geoffrey
So this morning, I woke up again and jumped into a nice cold shower. It really is a delight to wake up and take a cold shower. I am thinking of this tonight because we currently do not have water, and I have played basketball and volleyball today. I am really hoping some time in the next 10 hours we get water. If not it will be shower by baby wipes tomorrow morning. So what did I do today. Good things, so keep reading. Started this morning again, with assembly at Awere. Nyeko Alfred and I started working on some problems students have brought us. So we did not make anymore progress on grading their midterms. Grades are different here because they get progress reports, but the entire year is based on the end of year exams. So it was just kind of a regular morning. I was about to leave but then I showed Alfred my Sudoku in an old USA Today, and we worked together to solve it. The afternoon was to be spent shadowing one of the mentors that work with the Gulu students who are on scholarship with IC funds. Being a mentor is a highly competitive, and it is a job where Ugandans want the position. So the quality of mentors is quite strong. I had some extra time, so I walked to the IC office which is about a 22 minute walk. Along the way, the Crested Crane school was letting out for lunch, and so was another school with thousands of young kids. It was amazing, there were so many kids walking and laughing. I had a crew of about 20 kids following me. They were laughing and talking in Lwo the entire time. We all had a blast just walking down the street. Then I met up with Ojara Geoffrey Ojiri (Geoffrey), we hopped on his motorbike, and traveled for a while on the major streets out of town, until we started riding down paths that I thought were too small for a motorbike. This was a village of traditional huts, just like Awere, circular walls made out of mud bricks, and a thatched roof. We found the one where Denis, his student was staying. Denis has been suspended for two weeks for several offenses the most serious one having a small amount of alcohol with him. Denis invited us into his house. I had to duck quite severely to get inside. Once inside, there were handmade chairs he invited us to sit on. They were low to the ground, and I was thinking they might break, considering I was a “man of large mass”. I not only fit, but it was surprised about how solid the chair was. It was made out of what looked like twigs and several small branches, but it looked nice and it was solid. Geoffrey allowed me to listen to him mentor Denis, and I told him about kids that I knew in St. Louis, and East St. Louis who had also overcome obstacles to achieve. As the conversation, progressed it was obvious that Denis was embarrassed about his behavior and was slightly embarrassed that I was there, but I had the feeling that he was a pretty good kid. They both laughed when I told him that because although they use the word kid, it usually refers to the small ones. Btw, while we were inside there were 5 or 6 kids giggling outside of the door. This family had done a pretty good job of making the small circular space home. It looks like they had divided the circular floor plan into three rooms. There is a space underneath the thatch roof and it actually had pretty good air flow. I was able to tell Denis that we both believed in him, and that I would check back with Geoffrey about his progress. He will have to study for his mid-terms(not quite the same) over the next week or so at home. I believe in him and hope he will succeed. It has been a bad week for Denis as his brother went to the hospital and died. I do not think he has other siblings. He has an aged mom and an even more aged grandmother. Geoffrey described Denis as a very bright student when he first went to school, he was a clever learner. He was abducted and spent time as a child soldier, until he was able to find his way back. Then he did not go to school for two years. So this is the struggle for Denis, does he have enough strength and personal resolve to overcome the enormity of these obstacles. You all know that I believe he can do this, but maybe tonight you can include him in your prayers, and also a man named Ojara Geoffrey Ojiri, he is certainly fighting the good fight, and the other 21 students he is mentoring. I know that is what I will be doing, seems like a more worthwhile prayer than praying for the water to come back so I can take a cold shower.
john
ps and today I remember that after the enormity of suffering I saw in the Awer camp, that the world will be saved by thousands of little tasks and great people helping one person one at a time. Thanks Geoffrey
Awer Camp
I took a boda to the IC office, it is on the other side of town and thus costs 1000 shillings for the boda ride compared to the usual 500 we pay. Valerie who is the house mother of the IC office and also took us to St. Jude’s orphanage was there to lead us. It really helps to have an experienced person go with you, they know the nuances and the language and your experience is so much better this way. Hopefully, I talked about Katie who led us to Awere the first time. Katie speaks better Lwo than anyone I have heard in the IC house, and it is fun to watch and hear her joke with the Acholis. The other groups have had a kind of mixed experience with the Awer camp. Sometimes the people have been less than excited they were there. Today, we had none of that. We drove about a half hour away from Gulu to the camp. This is a camp where 50,000 people are still living in horrible and diseased conditions due to displacement from the war. We are within two hours of the Sudan at this camp. Another place of trouble and desparate conditions. Awer was what you expect when you think of the poor in Africa. Children everywhere some missing tops, the little ones often missing bottoms. As we walked through Awer, I was soon followed by about fifteen little children. It is a very bad place, and I wonder why these places exist. A small fraction of what we are spending on our war, could seriously make a difference here. I think I am very close to being able to send a picture home. If so, it is me with the children of Awer. IC is on the ground here and helping men and women make an income by the bracelet program. They are teaching saving and investing, and even in this place of desolation. There is a small loan program funded by the savings of the people making the bracelets. That is actual funding small businesses in this camp. We then went to a school that has been constructed in the camp by Save the Children. We met several of the teachers, there are 11 teachers for 1400 children in the primary grades. On the board, they were deciding how to allocated their funding of 16,394,000 /=. I was not sure but they may be only getting 35% of that money. If you turned away from the schools and away from the camps, you could see beautiful, rolling hills that stretched for ever. The green was green, green, green. On the way back, Valerie borrowed my camera to take a picture of a man wearing an apron saying, “since I’ve been microwaving, I have more time for misbehaving.” Kind of a surreal moment in a depressing day. This is usually where I try to end the message with a quote or a neat moment. I have neither today.
God Bless
God Bless
It's the little things
I do not know how this message will go. We are without electricity currently and different IC people are out back between the two buildings and discussing different things. Some God, some what happened today, Trisha is talking about her experience at Awer camp (similar spelling to my school, but two different entities). I guess I will also soon on this missive be talking about the same experience. But right now, I am marveling how many different things we have, small little, inconsequential things. Next week I will be demonstrating a math problem with post-it notes. Not available here. For our classrooms we were given large clumsy 2 hole binders with a very complicated system to reclose the binder. I went into town and bought a plastic folder clipboard folder for 8,000 /= (/= is the symbol for money, the dollar just fell here, but still buys close to 1600 shillings, so this purchase cost me a little more than $5). I then asked for a ream of paper, the shopkeeper asked, “One?” and I said yes and he said 100 shilling which seemed cheap until he handed me one piece of paper out of the pack. It is amazing that people will regularly buy individual sheets of paper. My friend Esau was hanging around waiting for me again today. I found out I could give him a pen, so tomorrow I will do that, but I really want him to walk to the courts tomorrow and play basketball. The assortment of kids I had last time were great, and I hope Amos (prounounced A-mos) shows he is an amazing kid. And I really look to reconnect with Kennedy and Geoffrey tomorrow. I am going to end this post here, because I think I want to separate this ordinary play from what I saw today. Read further for the Awer (away) camp story.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
no clever title
I forgot where we last were. But here are a couple of update items. I appreciate comments to my blog, and I really want to read them, so keep sending them, but I probably won’t be able to reply to your comments. The internet café is slow and I always feel guilty because people are waiting. I did read Caitlin’s and Laura Gallo’s comments so thanks.
My blog title was “Mia apa ario Acholi” I was wrong and have since learned better. 1200 is Apil acel ki mia ario” which translates to thousand one and hundred two. Okay so where am I, I will have nothing but cold showers for the rest of my time here (okay I just realized that is wrong, I might have a hot shower in Kampala), but anyway it is a big disappointment, when I wake up and there is no water. That means no shower whatsoever. I shaved with hand sanitizer the other day. It kind of worked. But in all the primitive conditions, it is amazing how used to this life style you get. The people are very friendly, all of the kids want to talk to you, and every one exchanges pleasantries. So far, I have done better with my English greetings because my Acholi is so bad, they usually can’t understand you. They also get a real big kick out of how much Americans talk with their nose. My new buddy Amos told me I am actually not quite as nasally as other Americans, he seemed to have a real adult perspective for a Primary 7 student.
Today I again planned next weeks lessons with Nyeko Alfred, who I almost always call Alfred. Nyeko is a name given to him when he was born, and describes the time he was born into. I am pretty sure Nyeko means Innocent. We had a good time planning our lessons for next week and also asking questions about Uganda and answering questions about America. In the afternoon, I went to Gulu High School and watched Danielle teach a Senior 1 class about linear equations and y-intercept. She did a great job with her partner Patrick. It was amazing to see this 5’3” woman command this class room of 120 girls. Oh by the way, it is considered dress code in all schools that I have visited that the girls and boys both have hair that is almost shaved. Often with the little kids the only way you can tell the differences is through their skirts.
Not sure if I mentioned an amazing job that a woman named Filda is doing at a place called St. Jude’s Orphanage. They have about 83 kids and they have them all smiling and interested in all kinds of activities. The older kids help raise the youngsters, just like they were in a real family. Each group of 7 or 8 kids has a “mom” that lives and works at the orphanage.
We also had a great roundtable meeting at Awere. All 5 of our teachers are ready to go. I am working there with Adam, Wendy, Trisha, and Terry (I share a phone with Terry and she has more than a first name in common with Terri Gaffney). They are both very down to earth and always willing to help. The Awere teachers are Solena, Alfred, Nancy, Beatrice, and --------. When I cam home Kennedy was waiting for me again. He really is looking for something to do. I met Esau again, and a new friend Amos. I am planning on playing basketball with that gang plus more on Thursday afternoon. Until then, it looks like I will be pretty busy. This message might not get to you for another 4 days. Oh, keep your fingers crossed a couple of the women have had to use a dewormer and are still a little under the weather. Amy, kind of my boss, just like my boss Winnie (ha ha), spent most of the time walking back and forth to Gulu high puking. Although it was not much, it was constant. Luckily I had one of the Thiemann gifts of Charmin to go, so she was grateful. Later, she ran our roundtable meeting at Awere without missing a beat. See you soon, by the way I expect to be able to guide the Cardinals to the Series again with my sheer force of will, please do not let my job get too tough, make sure they are within shouting distance.
My blog title was “Mia apa ario Acholi” I was wrong and have since learned better. 1200 is Apil acel ki mia ario” which translates to thousand one and hundred two. Okay so where am I, I will have nothing but cold showers for the rest of my time here (okay I just realized that is wrong, I might have a hot shower in Kampala), but anyway it is a big disappointment, when I wake up and there is no water. That means no shower whatsoever. I shaved with hand sanitizer the other day. It kind of worked. But in all the primitive conditions, it is amazing how used to this life style you get. The people are very friendly, all of the kids want to talk to you, and every one exchanges pleasantries. So far, I have done better with my English greetings because my Acholi is so bad, they usually can’t understand you. They also get a real big kick out of how much Americans talk with their nose. My new buddy Amos told me I am actually not quite as nasally as other Americans, he seemed to have a real adult perspective for a Primary 7 student.
Today I again planned next weeks lessons with Nyeko Alfred, who I almost always call Alfred. Nyeko is a name given to him when he was born, and describes the time he was born into. I am pretty sure Nyeko means Innocent. We had a good time planning our lessons for next week and also asking questions about Uganda and answering questions about America. In the afternoon, I went to Gulu High School and watched Danielle teach a Senior 1 class about linear equations and y-intercept. She did a great job with her partner Patrick. It was amazing to see this 5’3” woman command this class room of 120 girls. Oh by the way, it is considered dress code in all schools that I have visited that the girls and boys both have hair that is almost shaved. Often with the little kids the only way you can tell the differences is through their skirts.
Not sure if I mentioned an amazing job that a woman named Filda is doing at a place called St. Jude’s Orphanage. They have about 83 kids and they have them all smiling and interested in all kinds of activities. The older kids help raise the youngsters, just like they were in a real family. Each group of 7 or 8 kids has a “mom” that lives and works at the orphanage.
We also had a great roundtable meeting at Awere. All 5 of our teachers are ready to go. I am working there with Adam, Wendy, Trisha, and Terry (I share a phone with Terry and she has more than a first name in common with Terri Gaffney). They are both very down to earth and always willing to help. The Awere teachers are Solena, Alfred, Nancy, Beatrice, and --------. When I cam home Kennedy was waiting for me again. He really is looking for something to do. I met Esau again, and a new friend Amos. I am planning on playing basketball with that gang plus more on Thursday afternoon. Until then, it looks like I will be pretty busy. This message might not get to you for another 4 days. Oh, keep your fingers crossed a couple of the women have had to use a dewormer and are still a little under the weather. Amy, kind of my boss, just like my boss Winnie (ha ha), spent most of the time walking back and forth to Gulu high puking. Although it was not much, it was constant. Luckily I had one of the Thiemann gifts of Charmin to go, so she was grateful. Later, she ran our roundtable meeting at Awere without missing a beat. See you soon, by the way I expect to be able to guide the Cardinals to the Series again with my sheer force of will, please do not let my job get too tough, make sure they are within shouting distance.
Monday, June 25, 2007
No Water, and a malfunctioning iPod
I felt really dirty that we had no water again, as I would have to go into my first day of school without a shower. Things got worse, when my roommate Hadley woke me at 7 am, I rolled over slept for five minutes, and then woke up I checked my iPod and it said 9:55 am Kampala time. WHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT how could I oversleep on my first day of school, I did my best to get ready quickly, what that entails is a little different when you cannot shower or shave. I was not happy as I thought at least one of my colleagues should have work me up. It was a matter of minutes until I saw Scott, I asked him what time it was, and he said 7:06 crisis averted. I was introduced to the student population at 8:00 am, all 851 students both boys and girls. Good first day, I have to cut this short so I can go look for school supplies. See you soon.
Mia apa ario Acholi, One Moo Nu*
Mia apa ario Acholi Acel Moo Nu
1200 Acholi, 1 White Guy is what the title says. This morning I have a meeting at
10 a.m., so I had to get up early if I wanted to go to Mass. I was not sure if the Mass was at 7, 7:15, or 7:30. As I was getting dressed, I could hear the organ, so I quickly put on a shirt and tie, and hustle across the street at 6:45 am. It turns out the only two people in the church were me and the organist. It appeared for awhile that this Mass was probably going to be for fifteen to twenty people. Sometime around twenty minutes later, a deacon? knelt behind the first row of pews, and start leading a small congregation in the rosary. I had wanted to go to a Mass in Lwo, and did not think this was it, but it turns out that there was not one English word spoke through the rosary service, then the priest listened to confessions at the front of the church, as the congregation chanted prayers together. The Mass eventually started. They had straw mats up front for the children to sit on. Soon every pew started to fill up, except for the one with the Moo nu. I could not tell if there were being shy or respectful, but once Mass began, I noticed there were people outside and I quickly glanced around and saw that there were probably more than 1200 people at this Mass. Coming near the end to go sit on the straw mat was a little boy of about 4, who was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals t-shirt number 30. I am outside looking down at the ground and there are white ant wings all over the ground, they are the size of maple leaf helicopters, and look just as plentiful. Well hopefully my prayers this morning, will allow me to do my best tomorrow on the first day of school at Awere.
*Actually there were 3 moo nus, but more on that later
1200 Acholi, 1 White Guy is what the title says. This morning I have a meeting at
10 a.m., so I had to get up early if I wanted to go to Mass. I was not sure if the Mass was at 7, 7:15, or 7:30. As I was getting dressed, I could hear the organ, so I quickly put on a shirt and tie, and hustle across the street at 6:45 am. It turns out the only two people in the church were me and the organist. It appeared for awhile that this Mass was probably going to be for fifteen to twenty people. Sometime around twenty minutes later, a deacon? knelt behind the first row of pews, and start leading a small congregation in the rosary. I had wanted to go to a Mass in Lwo, and did not think this was it, but it turns out that there was not one English word spoke through the rosary service, then the priest listened to confessions at the front of the church, as the congregation chanted prayers together. The Mass eventually started. They had straw mats up front for the children to sit on. Soon every pew started to fill up, except for the one with the Moo nu. I could not tell if there were being shy or respectful, but once Mass began, I noticed there were people outside and I quickly glanced around and saw that there were probably more than 1200 people at this Mass. Coming near the end to go sit on the straw mat was a little boy of about 4, who was wearing a St. Louis Cardinals t-shirt number 30. I am outside looking down at the ground and there are white ant wings all over the ground, they are the size of maple leaf helicopters, and look just as plentiful. Well hopefully my prayers this morning, will allow me to do my best tomorrow on the first day of school at Awere.
*Actually there were 3 moo nus, but more on that later
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