obanga mi gumm

My name is Akello Jen. I am in University. I have 20 years.

Our team fell ill over the past week and we still do not know what we got hit with. First, Elena gets typhoid. Next, Scott, Jill, and Alisa experience some aches and pains, which the clinic deems Malaria. About 4 days ago I slept for almost 30 hours, which resulted in a great concern for my health. Richelle and I get tested and what do we have? We have malaria. But do we really now? The answer here is this: Ugandan Health Care Clinics need some money, and when they see white people, we light up like little light bulbs in their heads. We have money! And they need it! So what do they do, diagnosis 5 of us with Malaria. We felt a bit ill; none of us obviously knew what it feels like to have such parasites, so we told our loved ones of our new friends. FALSE ALARM. Richelle went to a different clinic the same day to get tested [we felt our previous clinic was sketch] and she is Malaria free! [which resulted in an overall misdiagnosis for everyone] I do not have malaria. No one really does. Oh life!! How silly you are sometimes. We all still feel strange. IBUProfen has become our cure all.

Pleasantly, mobile school has been picked up again near the new COTN village construction site! I am in charge of the nursery children [preschool] which are anywhere from 2-6 years old. The language barrier is tough with these little ones, even with a translator. We have spent 3 days learning A, B, and C. We still do not know which letter is which, but I am perfectly okay with it! At first I became frustrated, felt like I was wasting my time, but then I began to see how intensely my little ones were trying. I will literally have them look at a big poster with the letter A on it and repeat A, A, A 30 times and then I will go back to it not minutes and they will all be dumbfounded by such a foreign script. I give them all a piece of paper with A B and C on it and have them copy the letters. The older ones do exceptionally well and are proud of their work. I smile as the little ones show me their scribbles. We often go on short jogs [to the tree and back] to release some of their ever-abundant energy. Their little legs are so quick. My love for them grew fast. We went over numbers 1-5, too complicated. We are dropping both letters and numbers and will be drawing shapes, playing balancing games, and learning about the Bible this last week.

Yesterday [Saturday] we went to the children’s home to help with chores. I sorted through rice for rocks with Adong Janet [one of the older girls]. I love watching the children cook. Everything is such a process some aspects more exciting than others. Dinner was going to consist of rice, chicken, and peas [lentils]. Chicken here does not come packaged from the grocery store. Chicken comes alive. The boys, especially Morris, enjoy the slaughter. We gathered the chickens and took them to the place of death [back of the house by their coop]. The boys start plucking the neck feathers and laughing a bit as we all cringe. The first chickens throat gets slit and blood gushes out like water from a broken pipe. I leave at this point. I think if chicken blood was a different color than human blood I would be okay. The slaughter took a while [five chickens died that day]. Oh the joy these kids get out of such daily routines!

A new team of 6 older women and 2 couples arrived yesterday. Some came from Malawi and others from the states. They will be putting on some sort of teachers training conference. It is nice to have other people in our house!

I have not blogged in a while due to our frequent and long lasting power outages. Sorry.

Have a nice day!
Jen

enjoy.

Boda Boda.
Murchinson Falls [The Nile is in the background!]
Dance party, we hung head lamps from the ceiling.

Wedding.

Lira

Safari Murchison Falls [in the background]

when it rains, it pours

The English the Ugandans use is so precious. Here are some quotes:

"Why are the bugs disturbing our sisters?"--Edward

"No one knocks my muno!"--Dennis

"She is gassing."--Morris

"My God is a God of FIRE!"--Dennis

"What is the progee today?"--Dennis

"We have to rectify the player."--Lucio

"Supplement the Mitsubishi."--Lucio

"I look more beautiful when I comb my hair"--Dennis

"The reserve needs to give me back my cattle."--Jimmy

"That bastard ate all my animals!"--Jimmy

"Baba, I need to pick some suga."--Sam

"You first study and then you cross."--Dennis

"We do what? We feed the babies."--Nurse Andrew

"I think you are going to have diarrhea symptoms. Get in bed with a towel."--Vicky

"I need to register my happiness."--Lucio

These things probably don't make much sense but they bring such happiness when they are said!

its raining!

i will love this love forever.

I eat rice and beans every day. Sometimes we have rice and meat and Sam [cook] forgets about me [usually he will make me a little side of beans] and I just eat rice with ketchup!

We are starting a school in the village surrounding the new COTN site [to be finished in a while]. The kids in this area do not go to school for various reasons so we are bringing school to them [for the next three weeks]. Today we went to assess their level of learning. We thought about 30-40 would show up but we greatly underestimated [100 at least]. We expect the number to double tomorrow. We really have no idea how this is going to work but it will. I went shopping today in the market with Richelle and Andrew for school supplies. We already have many pens, pencils, markers, crayons, paper, everything imaginable, but we were in great need of teaching guides. We got a few books [3] and are now preparing to teach the masses. Tomorrow I am going to stand in front of 100 children and sing the ABC's at the top of my lungs.

I have been doing interviews with the staff and children of COTN. I am being filled with so many life stories-I want to tell the world! These people are so strong, so trusting, so amazing. My children have come such a long way. I hope you are touched by this: I talked to a 13 year old girl with the most beautiful smile [names will go unmentioned]. She grew up in Barlonyo with her mother, father, and sister. During the rebel attack of 2004 the rebels invaded her house and killed her father. Her mother was trying to get all of their prized possessions out of the house so my lovely young girl tied her baby sister on her back and began to run into the bush. A woman running next to her was shot at 6 times and killed. The bullet that killed this woman skimmed her hand, five scars on near her nuckles serve as a visual. She lived on her own for about a year and eventually returned to Barlonyo with her sister [home is home]. She "grew thin, grew very angry, cried, and wanted to die". Eventually she was taken to the COTN home and has changed in so many amazing ways. It is an honor to know a small girl with such big strengths.

I am sorry if these blogs leave you feeling sad. Please know that I feel joy in this country every single day. There is a joy unknown to America. We cannot compare our issues , nor can we minimalize our problems. We all feel pain, we all experience sorrow, we all cry, we all suffer [oh humanity]. I just want us all to open our eyes and share love [we all desprately need it].

Good night [good morning to you].

this may be the longest blog post ever...

26 days until I return to America. I have come a long way. This has been an enjoyably difficult adventure thus far.

I am greatly emotional these days. My pseudo family leaves on Tuesday morning. I have not said much about them but I will now.

Mama Silv [Silvia]: Such a sweet sweet woman! She is the mother of three kids [two of which are here. From Oklahoma, teacher, just great. She grew up in Nigeria and moved to the states for her senior year of high school. Mom babys us like crazy.

Papa T [Andrew]: Met Mama Silv in Nigeria in secondary school [high school]. Married eight years later. Funny funny man. He leads us in devotions and has very wise words to say. I was introduced to Farkel by him [intriguing game involving dice]. Very protective.

Katie: Niece of Mom and Dad. Lives in Texas. Love this girl, very similar to me, just a funny girl. My age.

Alex: Sweetest soul I have met in a long time. She always has an encouraging word to say. Daughter to mom and dad, 21, and very intelligent. Alex has a vision impairment and often jokes about being the blind girl. I love her to death.

Marissa: Sister to Alex, daughter of mom and dad. She is the baby of our group. Senior in HS [I am trying to get her to go to Point Loma]. She wants to be a nurse and will make a great one.

Uncle Jon: Unrelated to previously mentioned individuals. He has been doing trauma counseling for COTN for a few summers now. This man has a serious gift. He can get these kids to trust him in a second. He is also an amazing guitarist and vocalist. Dry humor. 29, Bay Area, good man.

Aunt Jerusha: Cousin of Jon. Just received her Masters in Literature from Loyola. This woman has more insight into the human race than anyone I have ever met. I have learned so many things from her. It has been so great having her. Always ready to listen, always ready to love.

Lira Medical Clinic: I am the type of person who just wants to fix things [save the world, I get this from my mom]. I am always go-go-go. Sitting around in the midst of so much need drives me crazy. I see such easy solutions because medically life is so easy in America. My whole life my health has been easily maintatined. Things that one apsirin can fix kill people here. So what is this initial impulse? Drop IBprofin on Uganda like rain! Life is not this easy. Malaria is a constant plague. HIV is an epidemic. Disentary is normal. Big bellies and sunken cheeks are expected. Health care has improved to say the least. I was impressed with the hospital. Much better than the ones I experienced in Malawi. To paint a mental picture: 5 different wards [long brick buildings with tin roofs]. Metal beds with think mattresses, no curtains, 20 to a ward, crying, laughing, wailing, praying. As a patient you bring your own nurses. The doctors are there for injections and surgeries. Families sleep on the grass as their loved one improves or retreats into greater illness. The hospital grounds turn into a village. People cook, clean, do laundry, and sleep wherever there is room. Patients may wait outside for days before being seen. I saw many curled in pain, praying for strength [we joined them in prayer].

We visit the maternity ward first. There are pregnant ladies crowding the room. There are new mothers and new babies [who look dark purple]. There are women in pain, women being held down by their families as they come out of anesthesia, women who are joyful, and women who are broken. We prayed for these women according to their needs. Many had hugely swollen bellies from c-sections. We prayed for healthy babies and healthy mothers. I came to a woman who looked very upset. She did not have her baby with her and her stomach was flat. Her baby died. I had no idea what to do, so I had papa T pray. We were both at a loss for words. I felt compelled to stay. I just watched her as she cried. Really, I have never been in any situation close to this, not a word to say so I drew pictures on her sheet with my finger and she just watched.

The NICU was full of malarial infected babies with needles sticking out of their heads, waiting for their next injection. I felt much more hope here. There was a little boy who I nearly knocked over so I knelt down to apologize and noticed he was shaking. Sickle cell anemia. I HATE seeing children suffer.

The ICU put a hole in my heart. 20 beds full of malnourished, bedridden, infected, diseased, children [dying]. I saw a five year old girl trapped in an 8 month old body. Skin and bones [more bone than skin]. UNICEF and World Hunger supply food to improve these conditions but these kids need years of perfectly controlled diets to make any lasting change. Many of them have AIDS, TB, Malaria, or diarrhea alongside malnutrition which rapidly eats at their flesh. Praying for them felt extremely strange. I am not sure if there is a point in life where you just ask God to take his children away from this pain, but if there is, the kids in this ward are ready to go. I wanted to save their world, build a home, fly my mom out, and get these kids well. Impossible. I guess in some cases holding a hand and saying a few words is a substitute for those life changing medicines, those cure-all pills, those quick surgeries done by only the best. Be thankful for American health care, we’ve got it made. I’d say this system may improve in 30 years [there is a God]. Life is sad, but it is worth living for. If everyone does something here and there to better humanity, things will come together and someone will live because of something you’ve done.

Ward five is a death sentence. 70 pound grown men [lay in agony, waiting to die]. Not even enough strength to open their eyes. HIV has conquered. Malaria has put their body into shock. Dying seems like the cure in these circumstances.

Nursing? Mom, I admire your skills, I think I will join in your profession one day.

Barlonyo: former IDP camp located about thirty minutes from our home. Most of our kids are from there and kids still live there that are on the waitlist for the new COTN village. In 2004 the LRA massacred this camp. Killed everyone in sight. Burned as many huts as possible. Put 500+ people in the ground. IDP camps are government run but there were not enough protective personnel. This was holy ground to me. One of my girls from COTN watched her mother die on that day. She saw the bullet end her life and the rebels light her hut on fire. She herself suffered a shot to the hand and burning on her left arm and face. Scars remind her every day of trauma. Burn marks made her beautiful. There is now a memorial set up in the middle of the village. We all thought this place was going to break out hearts, leave us with tears in our eyes, but there was a lot of peace. The memorial [mass grave] is U-shaped. The boys played soccer in the middle and the girls jumped rope on the sides.

Safari: Murchison Falls. Gorgeous [google it]. I went down the NILE RIVER!! Honestly, I did not know the Nile went through Uganda and guess what, it starts in Uganda! Oh the joys of American geography [needs serious revision]. We left Lira at around 6 am for our 4 hour journey to Murchison. We got on a boat and rode up the Nile to the falls. I fell asleep on the boat and woke up to the sound of pounding water. Utterly amazing. I wanted to sit on a rock and stare at it for hours [if only this world was still free to roam]. We stayed in a “hut” which only looked like one from the outside. Our room was lit at night by lightening and I woke up several times to rain drops against our tin roof. We began our land safari bright and early. I can’t wait to post photographs when I return home. We saw a lioness, monkeys, baboons[we had our door open one of these sneaky guys jumped into our car while we were still in it and stole two loaves of bread] , all kinds of deer type animals [too many Ugandan names to remember, my favorite was the cob], many giraffes, elephants, and different types of birds [all BEAUTIFUL]. It was such an amazing day.

I hope you read all of this, if not, do it, you will love it. I enjoy sharing my experiences with all of you. I am going to try very hard to blog at least every other day.

Obanga ber [God is good]

Omari [You are loved]

Jen

rain is falling, looks like love

These days are so full and beautiful, I am afraid my writing will not do them justice.

Mini-Bus: Bumpy, hot, crowded, and full of life! Each morning we boarded a shabby piece of metal that became our vessel to many hearts full of trauma. Two hours each way. Elbow bumping, dirt flying, hotter than hell, oh what a [joy ride]. Each irritating minute in that bus was forgotten as soon as we were able to view any part of our final destination, Obile Primary School located in Omoro. The last group of Muno’s [white people] that visited these kids came in 2006. [Can you sense the excitement?] In less than five seconds our van was surrounded. We could barely open the door. Hundreds of tiny hands wanted to shake mine, I wanted to hold them all forever.

Omoro: A village deep within the bush that was ravaged by the LRA. Only one adult male remains alive. Most children were abducted. Women became sex slaves. Children killed children. Families killed families. Hearts now lay broken.

On one of our journeys to Obile I felt confident and emotionally stable; ready to help these girls through recovery. Little did I know that our drive would call for great emotional strength and understanding. As we drove through the bush our van halted to a stop at the sight of a girl lying nearly in the middle of the road. She looked lifeless. Lucio [head of the trauma counseling program] immediately concluded that she was epileptic. He had seen her before and could tell she was mentally handicapped. Many Ugandans believe that mental illnesses are demons that take over an individual’s capability to function. They believe if one tries to help an individual with any mental disorder, that individual will encounter the demon as well, leaving them mentally handicapped. There must have been 100 eyes that averted that helpless girl on the road. We helped her up, got her some water and food, asked people near us to watch after, and headed on our way. Just moments later we saw a foot sticking out of the maize field. Another epileptic. These girls must have been no older than 15. I completely broke down. Not only are these girls handicapped, they are completely alone in this poverty stricken, war torn country. I am not sure what can be done about this but I had to get myself to understand that I could not fix it, not now, but that someday it can be fixed.

Overall, our week of counseling went well. The girls were not as open as we had expected them to be with their stories but they did not have to be. We went through “Two Angels” [read previous blog for description] and asked them to tell us about their own stories. When asked if any of the girls had seen someone die, all hands were raised. When asked if anyone had been forced to kill, hands were hesitant but eventually were raised. All of these girls had been abducted and forced to do unimaginable things. Talking through experiences led to many emotions. These girls closed their eyes, experienced their traumas, and dealt with their demons all over again. We could see their lips moving, asking for forgiveness, and their tears rolling down their faces. This is a grueling task, one that I cannot even imagine. I pray with all my heart that it gave them peace, if only for a moment.

If I have learned anything about Uganda thus far it is that their weddings are culturally rich and quite long! Edward and Caitlin tied the knot on Saturday the 11. I was blessed to be in this wedding as a bridesmaid. Caitlin is one unique woman. She is from Tillamook OR, 23, and an aspiring teacher. She met Edward two years ago and has not seen him since. I could tell Edward was crazy about her but, at first, did not see the reciprocation. Eventually it came and I knew this couple was going to accomplish many good things. Pictures of our dresses will be up soon. The reception consisted of traditional food and dance, singing, the giving of gifts, and a lot of spoken words that I did not understand. I hung out with the children the whole time. It was literally an all day thing [exhaustion set in quick]. The formal after reception dinner was at Hotel Lira. It was very nice. Food consisted of Irish [potatoes], fried beef, fried chicken, millet bread [black mushy millet that tastes like cigarettes], plantain, greens [spinach type stuff with ground nut sauce], rice, and beans. Enjoyable. Sleep was sweet and the next morning Elena, Alisa, and I skipped church to sleep [we were sick].

I have been woken up the past two nights by the smell and sweet sound of rain. This does not mean it has been cooler!! The weather has been nice, reminiscent of San Diego, but so hot [African hot, Dad] this past few days.

Market Adventure: Boda Boda to the market, bought soda and chocolate, ate sambosas [fried triangles full of lentils and deliciousness], got some amazing flat bread, scolded the furniture man for making the mosquito net holders too big, and walked home to the sound of thunder. The kids came over tonight to welcome Papa Clark [founder of COTN]. They did their traditional dances which are absolutely adorable [I tear up every time].

Days have been good. Busy. Emotional. Full.

I hope to blog more soon.

Safari Saturday-Sunday.

Goodbye