Another Update from Uganda

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The other night a bat flew into our housing unit, right past Elaine’s head. It landed right on Sara’s net and decided to hang out there. We got all dramatic and called for John who calmly walked in, put a small shopping bag on his hand, grabbed the bat and then try to scare us all with it in his hand. Evening entertainment at Engeye.

Yesterday was a great day. We headed over to Sydney Paul to say good-bye to our Scholars. Greg brought his trumpet and played for every class. To see their eyes light up when he made the first sound was incredible since they have never seen anything like it before. When he played a jazz song their eyes just grew wide and it was an incredible sight. It was pretty cool and I think the teachers were more excited about it than the kids. When Elaine told them it was “jazz” music, they clearly had never heard of it either.  After hours of negotiation with several drivers, we scored a matatu to lunch in Masaka with David, Darryl, Joe, Biz, Matthew so we were one big group of Mzungus. Lunch was awesome and then we were off to Tekerra. It was hard to find a driver who would drive on the terrible roads to Tekerra but once we did, we had to pay the premium mzungu price. The roads were as bad as I remembered but the landscape to Tekerra is breathtaking. We got to shop a little in their micro-finance shop, visit with Bridget and meet  Chris, the new headmaster at the school. He took us on a walk to their “magic tree” which looked like something out of Avatar. Then we all piled back into our matatu and headed to Kioni (sp?) to shop. Sara went off with Biz, Darryl, David and Matt to pick up avacados for my guacamole and some beer and soda. Unfortunately, we forgot our driver Moses was a Muslim and he would not let David in the car with the beer so poor David had to head back alone with our beverages. When we got back to Engeye it was almost 7:30 PM and time for dinner. Prossy and Jackie made a FEAST with Rolexes, chips (French fries), rice, beans, and bowls and bowls of food. I made a big bowl of guacamole with the most amazing tomatoes and avacados – and we all rolled it in our Rolexes – delicious! It was so fun to be with the group of “young” people as they tackle their first few days at Engeye. Today we head off for the good-bye celebration at St. Gertrude’s and I know it will be amazing. Jackie has been singing to us all morning so I had a great preview of what is to come today. The clinic line is long today and they are very busy while we work our cup showers. Today I learned a trick and borrowed a thermos of boiling water and mixed that with my cold borehole water and it was soooo much better!

Today was a great day at St. Gertrude’s. We were invited to a celebration to thank Scholars and ETC for the improvements and solar power to the school. We were asked to be a part of the parent/teacher meeting and then the children sang and danced for us. It was incredible. They put us in the front of the room in huge chairs and we felt like royalty. Then we were invited to a FEAST by the school. It was a little hard for us to handle as we know the children eat porridge each day and they offered us bowls and bowls of rice, beans, greens, chicken, mango and soda. I am learning to accept gifts without guilt but it’s still a bit of a struggle. Then they performed for us again and then we were invited out to the field where we watched them play football (soccer) and a netball game between parents and teachers. It was awesome to see Sara, Greg and Biz just surrounded by children at all times. I think leaving tomorrow is going to be painful for our teens. I am so so proud of them. I have seen them embrace this experience in a way I never expected and they are truly LOVED by this community. As we prepare to leave for Kampala tomorrow, MIT Engineers without Borders arrived so the commotion at engeye continues. What a wonderful trip, what an incredible team (Elaine, Sara and Greg) and what a beautiful community to be a part of.