"Meet" 4 More Kids

It was finally back to being a normal week! I was very proud of myself, as I made several new activities for the kids based off ideas I found on Pinterest!!!

Pinterest Ideas

Clothes pin letters

Clothes pin colors

Oh and if you missed the picture on Facebook - a termite made it into one of my packs of clothes pins... those ones are currently in the freezer!

Now onto meeting some more kids which is truly what you came for!
Meet Moses

Moses

So Moses.... Moses is 16 and VERY TALKATIVE (my family who is laughing right now be quiet) AND VERY FORGETFUL! Moses comes from a family where both his mom and his dad are mentally disabled. He has largely been brought up by his family, and has sponsors from America that pay for him to go to school. Completely unrelated to his mental disability, Moses has lost some nerve control to his left foot and has what we call in PT world - drop foot. Moses comes to me twice a week to work on strengthening his leg, and he just received a brace this week to help control his drop foot as he will never get that nerve control back. He also just received a brace donated by Midwest Orthotic to help control his foot.

Moses and I have had a few interesting conversations this week, some of which make me laugh hysterically and some of which make me very frustrated. His shoes that he brought back to the school are not large enough to accommodate for the size of the brace, so I told him he could work for me once a week cleaning my veranda and then when he earned enough money we would go buy him new shoes... This is apparently a VERY hard concept for Moses and he has asked me at least 3 times a day every day since we first had this conversation about when I AM buying him new shoes. He also told me this week that America is in Homa, Uganda (about a 5 hour drive). I told him America was at least a 2 day journey by airplane.... He proceeded to tell me about how his sponsors were going to take him to America, but he wasn't going to ride an airplane, he was going to ride his bike! He also told me this week how he lost a brother in 1994 and they just buried him in December...... I later found out he died in December 2012 and was buried in December 2012.

Shimri

Shimri - sorry I think this picture was on last weeks blog too

So I am cheating you already have seen numerous pictures of Shimri, but I had to share this story from this week. Last term I was washing my dishes (remember my kitchen is outside) on a rainy day when Shimri and Cyrus came to investigate what I was doing. Apparently, I had added too much soap... so I kept giving them handfuls of bubbles that they blew everywhere. Well, last night Shimri came into my kitchen while I was doing my dishes and demonstrated blowing the bubbles out of his hand - so I added a little extra soap to my water for him. When I gave him his handful of bubbles he promptly took it and walked to the dormitory (which I can see from my kitchen). Next thing I know I see him taking large bits of his bubbles!!! I had to then quickly go remind him that we blow our bubbles, not eat them. He did have a very nice bubble beard too :)

Meet Lucky

Me trying to sneak a picture with Lucky

So Lucky HATES to have her photo taken... I am not sure why. I think it is mainly because she just likes to tease me!!! Lucky is quite funny, as I said above she likes to tease me - she acts like she hates coming to therapy AND yet she is in the therapy room ALL THE TIME! The other thing, that is so sweet about Lucky is she always makes sure I get to lunch on time. I always thought it was a teacher that would send for me, and today I found out it is Lucky. (Side Note - I have a hard time judging when to go eat - when I go when the bell rings I sit without any other teachers for a long time - and if I delay Lucky sends for me) Lucky is one of the kids I work with. She needs help with her fine motor skills as she has a very weak right hand.By the way, Lucky and I are "officially friends" because she shared her prized biscuits with me! Oh and she has decided that my Luganda learning is not going so well. She will come sit by me and just start teaching me words! She really is my best Luganda teacher!

Sumaya

Sumaya working on the puzzle

Ok, so you have also "met" Sumaya, as I post pictures of her regularly. However, she is constantly amazing me with what she figures out how to do. She has been moved to a higher group and does not get to spend as much time out of her wheelchair as she would like. So the other day after therapy she decided she wanted to stay on the floor a little longer. I decided to give her a puzzle and tell her to figure out how she could complete it as I had another student to work with. Next thing I know, she is bending over, picking up the puzzle piece with her lips, and using her head to put them in correctly. Like I said, she never ceases to amaze me!

Some other random photos from the week:

I had raw sugar cane for the first time this week - it was VERY good and VERY sweet!

The kids always amaze me with what they find to play with. This is an old grain bag that Emily turned into a costume

Ronald is absolutely thrilled to be able to play with my empty yogurt containers

Every day I am amazed at how good God is. Even in the toughest moments with some of the kids, God always sends one of them to make me smile. This week Clare's session with me got interrupted. (I should not make that sound so abnormal someone comes in almost every 30 seconds!), but anyways Clare wanted my attention back. This girl - who knows very little English - calls out "Jangu (come) my dear, my dear Jangu". How sweet is that! It just makes me go home and smile at the end of the day. I am also learning what it truly means to rely on God. I have to start my day every day in prayer, and I am constantly praying throughout the day for patience, and wisdom with the children. God has been so faithful over the last 5 months! Thank you for your prayers!

Life in Africa - Churches and Schools

So I have decided to try to do some posts more specifically about daily life in Africa. This week I am going to focus on church and school (along with some pictures of the kids because I cannot leave that out). Please let me know of any questions you have about life here and I will try to answer it in a future post. It can be anything from what household things do I use here that I never needed at home to what types of things I do in physical therapy with the kids. Just let me know what you want to hear!

Church
 Let me just start by saying that I think everyone should have the experience of worshiping in an African church. I would guess that 95% of Ugandans can sing well!!! So being in church is so great as everyone sings so loudly and passionately!

View from the balcony - I would say these benches are not any where near as full as usual.

I have been regularly attending Watoto Church. I tried at least 4 or 5 other churches before I settled here. My good Ugandan friend Phiona goes there, and going to church with her is a great way to make sure I see her every week. Watoto is very similar to Park Church in Chicago in that it is one church with many locations. Not only does Watoto have 8 locations E.V.E.R.Y service is packed, and each church has a minimum of 3 services. The central location that I attend has 6 services!!!! And you know those days in church where the Pastor asks everyone to scoot in because church is really full that day. That literally happens at every single service here except it is ushers who climb down your row and wont move until you squish into the very little room that you already have!

The sign outside my church

Watoto church was founded my a missionary couple from Canada, so the style of service is very western and all in English!!!!! I have visited many churches with my neighbors and even the English services are partly in Luganda so I get lost... or there is a translator and I still get lost! The struggle with churches here is that many of them focus on the prosperity gospel and many teach very loosely Biblical truths. Often in rural areas, someone will become a believer and then within a few weeks be pastor of his own church with very little Biblical knowledge. There is a reason AIM is very focused on discipleship, as many people claim to be Christians but there is not much depth to their faith.

One of my other favorite things about Watoto church, is as a local church they are meeting the needs of the orphans in Uganda. They have two large orphanages and they encourage their congregation to sponsor the children. They also have a huge Watoto Children's Choir that travels around the world - have you heard of them? If they are ever in your area, please go! They are SO GOOD!

All this being said I still miss church at home. Even going to the most Biblically sound church I can find, they rarely have a sermon that is strictly focused on the word. Ever sermon has been topical and very appropriate culturally, but I miss going through a book of the Bible!

School
Everyone here is strongly encouraged to go to school, but it is not like at home where you legally have to put your child in school. Most families can choose where they want to send their child as there are many schools in each neighborhood. While the schools are suppose to be government funded... the money never comes in on time - if at all - so parents have to pay school fees. Kireka Home as a boarding school charges 320 shillings per day. That is only $0.12 cents per day! However, it is very difficult for families to come up with this money, especially when they have 8 to 10 children to put in school.

All of the kids wear uniforms with black shoes. Each school varies in the color of their uniforms. As seen below:

Emily & Ronald

Doris, Jackie & Nakku in the Kireka Home school uniforms

Desire & Benita - this is not Benita's normal school shirt. It was cold this morning and so she has 2 additional shirts over her school shirt

John in his school uniform

The struggle for school teachers here is the vast number of students in their classrooms. Some teachers have almost 200 children to just themselves! Here at Kireka Home, even with our special needs kids, some of the classes have 17-25 kids to only one teacher! It is really crazy how the ratios change compared to home.

Pictures of the kids - of course I cannot leave you without pictures of some kids for this week. Next week, I will go back to highlighting specific kids.

Sunna

Shafik - I did a Valentine's craft with all of the kids I teach this week reminded them that Yesu loves them

Teddy working on her heart

Kato was very proud of his heart

While I was taking the picture of kids in uniforms this morning, Shimri was bound and determined he needed his picture taken... but at the same time refused to let go of my hand

Suzan - she always squats down when you take her picture!

Well, that is all for this week. Please let me know if there is anything particular about life in Africa that you would like to know about or see pictures of! I will leave you with part of Psalm 103 - I read it last week during my quiet time and then in church we read it outloud and then sang the song "10,000 Reasons". This is absolutely one of my favorite songs and if you don't know it, you can listen to it on Youtube here.

"Praise the Lord, O my soul,  all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sings and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle^,s"

The Kids Are Back!..... Well Half...

It always amazes me that after nearly 5 months in Uganda, I am sometimes still shocked by cultural differences. Example, when I order something that sounds American at a restaurant, I should no longer be shocked that it isn't what I thought it would be. The same should apply to all things in life... but I often forget. Scratch that... every day I forget. I learned yesterday that Ugandans think it is extremely rude to blow on your food when you think it is hot. Do you do that? I didn't think I did until I started to pay attention... I do it ALL THE TIME!

So how was I shocked this week.... well school was suppose to start on Monday, so I assumed that the kids would come back last weekend and school would start Monday. I learned that the kids wouldn't come until Monday, so I then assumed school would start Tuesday. Well, only 12 kids came Monday and it is now Thursday night that I am writing this and less than half of the kids have returned so far. I should really learn to NEVER assume anything!!!

After all of that, it has really been a blessed week. I had mentally prepared myself that some of the kids might not remember me as their friend, but instead ass the white person that was at their school. I was blown away, they all remembered me, they all remembered I was their friend, and they all remembered my name!!!!!!!! It has been such a sweet sweet week greeting each of the kids as they have come. Here are some pictures for you and some stories from this week.

My mom brought out pictures that I ordered from Walgreens, and I cannot even tell you how much joy this has given the kids! Ethero (pictured) below has come in every day to look at his picture, and he has brought each of his friends that have arrived into see the pictures. One of them squealed with delight when he saw a picture of his friend that he hasn't seen in 2 months. It is so much fun, even the parents have been super excited to see pictures of their kids. Most families have just a handful (if that) of pictures of their kids, so seeing photos is a special treat.

Thanks for the new puzzles Mom! The kids L.O.V.E them!!! This is Ethero.

Sunna - For those of you who have read "Kisses from Katie" this boy came back with jiggers in his feet - they do exist!

Sunna playing the new "Flippin Frogs" game from my Aunt Beth. The kids love it! Thank you!

So this picture of Suzan is a little blurry but I just love love love this girl! She was one I wasn't sure would remember me, and before I even saw who she was I felt these two little arms wrapped tightly around my waist. She hardly left my side all day. If she came up to me and I was standing, she would give me a big hug; if I was sitting she would just lay her head across my lap. So so sweet!!!

Here is Suzan again. Most doors have this little window in them so they can be locked. It also acts as a peek hole into the therapy room.

Ojara was dressed very "smartly" so I decided we had to take a photo. It is so fun to see the kids outside of their school uniforms.

I was super excited to get this puzzle for Kato to do. It has large knobs pieces so he can grab them. He loved it. Also told me I looked beautiful, and has been smiling at me all week. I think he might have a little 16 year old crush..... oh no!!!!

Sharot - I will have to tell you more about her in a future post. She is one that will not leave my side..... literally my side :) I am use to always having my hand held, but trying to get use to having zero personal space again! If I go home she will stand and look in my windows, and if I am working with someone in the therapy room she will stand outside and watch the whole time through the window. She is very sweet.

Clare- Clare was one that called me muzungu (white person) the longest.. and she had just learned my name before she left. I was so surprised when I heard her yelling my name as she came to find me this week!

My neighbor Christine blowing bubbles for the teachers' kids

More Bubbles

The teachers children posing. From left to right: Ronald, Jonathan, Desire, Christine, Esther, Jeremiah, and Emily

How can you not love this face!!!!! This is Shafik! He is officially the newest student at Kireka Home. He and I have quickly become friends.

Shafik was driving the walker around the therapy room pretending it was a car... super cute.

Story 1 from this week: See how large my porch is... See how wet it is to my door.... I had to stay home for an hour today to defend my house from a flood! Last time it rained this hard with the rain blowing the same direction I came home to my house completely flooded. So... I stayed home to defend!!!

Story 2: Whelp.... I caught my first mouse... except it wasn't in a mouse trap. On Monday, I had taken out my trash and left the lid off of my garbage can (that I keep in my kitchen - which is outside - for this specific reason). I had to get something out of the kitchen about an hour later and heard this thump... thump... thump. yep he had gone in and couldn't get back out. Thankfully my good friend Christine had some hot water and... well she killed him for me. It's so funny because they make you so angry when they eat your food, poop in your bed, and poop everywhere for that matter and yet they are so super cute!!!! Oh and as a side note in that rain storm today it soaked the entire PT room/nurses station and soaked the sick bed in there.. so I began to pull off wet blankets... apparently my bed is not the only one they like to sleep in. Ick!!!

Overall it was a really great week. I am so thankful that God has called me here for this time. Thank you all so much for your prayers, love, and support

"Praise the Lord, Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures forever" - Psalm 106:1

 

My license is finally here!

Hello all-

So it was sort of back to normal life for me this week. I have been back at the school all week working with my 4 kids that are here and getting prepared for the rest of the students to come back next week. The huge praise of the week, is that I finally got my physiotherapy license in Uganda! Thank you all so much for your prayers over the past 4 months for that!

Super happy to be holding my license!

One interesting thing that happened this week was it stayed right in the mid 60's ALL DAY on Wednesday. I think it is a new record for Uganda. For a girl from the midwest, being able to cozy up in a sweater in January was amazing!!! That did mean that it rained ALL DAY.... and my faucet water was freezing since the sun didn't heat up the water tank, but regardless I was so thankful to wear a sweater!!!! (Thanks Aunt Beth for my new white one!)

It is hard to tell, but there is about 1.5 to 2 in of water in the wheelbarrow all from Wednesday

So what did we do on a rainy day - made necklaces

We also worked on facebook and computer skills - note the sweatshirts - this is not our normal attire!

The girls and I even made puppets while riding out the rain

One perk of living in Africa is cheap produce! (If it is local only) On Monday I was able to buy a bunch of bananas, 6 passion fruits, 3 onions, 3 eggplants, and 2 avocados all for $2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Before you think living here is ridiculously cheap.... a can of quality tuna is $4, grapes are $12 for a plastic quart sized container, orange colored oranges are about $12.50 a kg, and cereal is $6-8 a box! Lets just say I try to avoid buying fruit at the grocery store

To prevent this post from getting any more random, I want to make sure you are introduced to the 6 students that have stayed with us at the school for the past 2 months.

Phoebe
Phoebe is a wonderful woman that helps with my laundry every week! So thankful for her! I tried to do all of my laundry when my mom was here.... big mistake, my arms were so sore! It was pathetic! Phoebe is an orphan and the school is her permanent home. She no longer attends classes, and instead does random jobs around the school. She loves to always be working and is constantly looking for more work to do. One more thing about Phoebe is that she is wonderful with the teacher's children at the school. She is always taking care of one of them!

A little blurry, but I love this picture of Phoebe

 Sophie
 Sophie is a student at our sister school in Kireka called GoodWill. I am not entirely sure on her story, I believe she is an orphan as well but I am not sure. One thing i do know is she is the only student that i know of that is HIV positive (Uganda has a fairly low percentage of AIDS at somewhere around 7%). She is a sweetheart and loves to give big hugs. The only difficulty is she speaks Swahili, so most of us cannot easily communicate with her.

Sophie

Daniel
Daniel is 16 years old, and is in the 6th grade at Kampala school for the physically disabled. He is just joining us for the break. He is a very sweet boy that loves to chat! I have been doing PT with him. He is generally very VERY weak. Please pray for him though, he has a lot of pain in his hips and knees. He is very sad to be leaving us next week. 

Daniel - he LOVES coloring!

Teddy
So you all met Teddy awhile ago here. I just love her to pieces, not only is she one of my students, but she has also become my friend. She is the one responsible for my laundry every week and Phoebe helps her. She looks out for me. If my skirt is wrinkly she tells me I need to go find an iron so I look smart, and always makes sure I don't forget my clothes on the line. Lately she has enjoyed coming over and watching a movie once a week at my house. Teddy is like Phoebe in that she is an orphan and calls Kireka Home her home.

Teddy

Tobias
I do not believe I have introduced you to Tobias yet, so skip reading if I already have! Tobias is a sweet boy that is VERY VERY involved mentally. He is 17 years old, and was severely abused for most of his life. A missionary found him tied to a tree about 2 years ago. When they brought him to the school, he was just skin and bones, he was tiny (and still is but has grown) and he could not even stand on his own. His house mother has taken wonderful care of him and taught him to walk! He is generally doing very well, but still moans to communicate and has difficulty with walking and balancing.I have been working with him in PT, but it is quite difficult as he does not follow simple commands and he is not interested in any toys. He does LOVE food though, so I usually get him to participate in my exercises by giving him pieces of food :)

Ok... I greatly apologize........ no picture of Tobias - I did not get it done today. I will work on it and show you his lovely face next week!

Dorothy
Dorothy is another orphan that lives at the school. She technically is not an orphan, but her family abandoned her at the school many years ago, and she has been here since. When her mom filled out the paperwork, she gave all fake information so they could not find her. Now, for students to be accepted here the teachers go visit the home first! Most of Dorothy's challenges are mental, but she has some issues with muscle weakness and poor balance so her and I work together as well. She is an absolute sweetheart and loves coming to work with me in therapy.

Dorothy

Well, that is it for this week.  I updated the prayer request on the right, and I added a slot to add your email address if you would like an email update every time I post. You all are the best! I love each of you so much!

Oh and an additional note... if you made it this far you deserve to laugh with me a little bit...... this week I found mouse poop under my blanket on top of the sheets of my bed.... that was nice. And then the next day a cockroach ran across my table while I was eating. I proceeded to kill it and go back to eating my lunch... hopefully these lessons in patience and not screaming at bugs will carry over to the States!