Uganda. Week two.

Aside from the chickens and dogs that keep me up at night, beans and bananas three meals a day, a bed like concrete, and spiders the size of my fist…UGANDA IS MARVELOUS. I lucked out BIG TIME with the company I’m working with. There are 12 total and I love each one of them. I think we cover just about every religion on planet earth. Islamic, Methodist, Jewish, and uhhh…Mormon! There have been some intense conversations. Everyone is so respectful of everyone’s religion, which is really neat and exactly how it should be. If something is sacred and means the world to someone, there is no question that we should all respect it.  Some of the girls will go off about what they believe in and I’m like woah, that’s pretty weird. Then I think to myself...“I’m sure they think I’m the weirdest, dang it.” Don’t worry though, I clarified I don’t wear magic underwear and I only have three moms. ;)

Even in Uganda I get spoiled. My housing/food accommodations are top-notch. Well, top-notch in African standards. We are staying at a bed and breakfast with the most incredible host family. There are four girls in my room, it’s pretty cozy but I’m not complaining. The girls are just dying without air conditioning and I laugh because it’s basically an icebox here compared to Hawaii. Breakfast and Dinner are included and we have the sweetest cook in the whole world. Maybe I can’t remember her name right now…BUT. She is a sweetheart. For breakfast we usually have bananas or some kind of fruit and just about every coffee and tea you can think of. I just sit in the corner with my water bottle. MORMON REPRESENT! Lunch is usually more fruit and coffee. In other words, bananas and water. Dinner is where life gets good. Beans, potatoes, Chipati (thick tortilla), and more beans. So basically beans, potatoes, and bananas for life. It was really good the first couple days. But after week two…well, I’m ready for my Taco Bell.

Uganda has already had such an amazing impact on my life…mostly in a way to humble my spoiled American dream lifestyle I’ve had for 20 years. But hands down, the most phenomenal part about Uganda is spending our days in the Namatala Slum. Natamatala is about a two miles from where we live. On the way to Namatala we take a boda, which is like a motorcycle taxi…shhh don’t tell my dad. It isn’t too scary as long as I close my eyes and hold on for dear life. On the way home we walk. Just a little pre-exercise before we go to town on those potatoes. Oops, there I go again…letting food get my off topic. SO. Namatala. You can only imagine what a “slum” in Africa is like. The circumstances of this poverty don’t get worse, because you can’t survive on much less than the people of Namatala. In the 20,000 person slum of Namatala you will find unclothed children playing in the dirt, clay huts with no windows or doors, emaciated goats and dogs roaming the streets, women longing to sell rotten fruit and vegetables they have laid on the dirt, etc. The bombardment of the African children jumping and screaming as Americans enter their village can be a bit overwhelming. The best kind of overwhelming, that is. The children will speak Swahili to each other, and run their mouths a thousand miles an hour, but the second they would a white person they will holler, “Hello. How are you?” If you don’t respond with, “Fine, how are you?” they are completely lost. The African children gaze into the eyes of westerners grinning ear to ear as they jump on you and grab your hands. At first you can’t help but assume they are about to ask for money. Or worse, trick you into learning some African dance while their buddies snatch your bag. But in reality, they are just as fascinated with you as you are with them.

Unfortunately, the addictions of gambling and drinking are universal. It’s a sad reality to see the women slaving away to make even 1,000 Shillings ($.40) per day and find the men hidden in alleyways huddled around a table drinking booze and gambling what little money they have. These singles mothers are doing everything in their power to feed and clothe their children while these men, most of them fathers of abandoned families, drink their responsibilities away while blowing every penny they own as their children starve…it’s enough to make you sick to your stomach, it’s enough to break your heart.

Just a few facts on the Namatala Slum:

·      20% of the population has HIV

·      1 in 5 Ugandan children are orphans

·      1 in 7 Ugandan children will not live to age 5

On a less devastating note, the happiness radiating throughout the slum is remarkable. It’s the most cliché saying in the world, but it’s also the truest, money doesn’t buy happiness. The people of Namatala grin ear to ear and radiate joy because they focus on their blessings, not their trials.

THE WOMEN WE WORK WITH.

 I lucked out big. Have I said that yet? When we met the women on the first day they jumped to their feet hugging us and repeating, “We love you. Thank you. God bless you. Never leave. Stay here forever and never die.” Yes, I was bawling after about .5 seconds. We then went around in a circle giving a brief introduction. Most of the women talked about how they are behind on rent, can’t afford to feed their children, husbands abandoned them, etc. By the time it got to me I should have said, “Hi I’m Chanel. I’m from America. I’m spoiled rotten and I don’t deserve to be in your presence.” The bond I feel with these women in Namatala is unexplainable. My friend, Leeann, and I went to visit Elizabeth (my favorite woman…shhh) at her fruit stand. We spent an hour or so talking to her, eating avocado, and trying on her head wraps. When it was time to go I have her a hug and said “See you tomorrow Elizabeth! I love you.” And She responded, “Thank you. Thank you for loving me.” It caught me by surprise. It made me sit back and think about the power behind the words “I love you.” I usually tend to get in such a routine when people say I love you. Because 99% of the time the response is, “Love you too, bye”. The next time someone you care about says, “I love you” to you, respond with “Thanks. That means a lot. I love you too.” I feel like that annoying Sunday school teacher ‘challenging’ you. But I promise it will be an incredible experience.

Until then,

Chanel

Big head and silky hair. Bad combo for head wraps. 

I simply love Elizabeth.