So what can we say about this week. It has been week of challenges and a week of hard work. Turns out putting four strangers in a remote Ugandan village with no host family can lead to slight conflict, add a massive event to plan and it gets to a whole new level.
That is not to say this week hasn't been completely successful. On Sunday I went to church in the morning to give a notice. It is meant to start at 7:30 but the vicar started it at 8 with only four people, most of the congregation only turned up at around 8:30. Still the congregation is so lovely and seemed so excited about the football.
On Monday we taught s1. It was their first day at secondary school and we jumped in with teenage pregnancy. The teacher then turned up and gave us an extra hour so we did HIV/AIDS, must have been scaring for a first day at school.
On Tuesday we were met with the second storm of placement and walked to the Primary School at 7:30 in the morning in pouring rain in overalls. It was muddy and wet but we kept a smile on our faces - it reminded Ella and I of England. When we got to school it was the first lesson of Uganda wet season. There were no teachers to be seen and the classrooms were dark. So we got started teaching the kids all about sanitation and healthy living - including a new song. "Comb your hair and brush your teeth, comb your hair and brush your teeth. Scrub your body and wash your teeth. Comb your hair and brush your teeth" to the tune of head, shoulders, knees and toes. Elly and Ella's creative talent showcased again ha.
The class continued and I ran an exercise class to Shake It Off by Taylor which the kids loved, but we got to the end and no teachers had appeared. Therefore we stayed for an extra hour and a half and taught sack mounds and sustainable agricultural techniques completely off the cuff. But it worked. Finally I got on a table and got the kids dancing, probably totally against the rules, but also good fun and teaches them leadership and healthy living, right?
The day ended with an amazing performance by some of the kids to me in office hours. They were such good singers and dancers - it was so nice.
Wednesday came and with it a lot of planning. The PE teacher didn't turn up for his meeting which to me was rude, but not sure if that's ok here. These flesh eating ants came in the morning and made Ella bleed was horrific but Juliet saved the day.
So Thursday came and I headed into town to shop for the VCT and Sports Event with Tara and Peter. This took all day researching the prices for the cheapest water, balls and bargaining deals but in the end we saved a lot of money before having to carry 104 bottles up the hill from the taxi which was exhausting. The end of the day was going to the football pitch to chase up the boys for Saturday and the a walk back in the dark alone which was interesting to say the least. Ella and Juliet taught family planning, HIV and condom demonstration to the youth group, which seemed to be a massive success.
We hit Friday and with it two sessions. Firstly s2 blue, we taught them HIV and had time to do STIs which was awesome. We grossed them out with some gruesome pictures and had them singing and dancing to the Condom song at the front. The boys are so cheeky. S2 green was a lot harder work as always but they remembered what we taught them the week before which was the dream.
We then had welfare which was definitely needed but didn't fix all the team dynamics.
Saturday came and with it the football tournament and VCT testing for HIV. All the hard work paid off and all the teams I had been talking to turned up, including three from the pitch in the evenings which was so good, even if the majority turned up an hour late. Ella's trips to the health centre meant the VCT all went smoothly. Over 100 people watched, 76 got tested and over 50 condom demonstrations. It was an incredible day and so successful! I was so happy that all the hours networking at the pitch, church and hangouts, putting up posters and flyering round the town centre paid off, it was exactly what we needed and why we are here.
So this week may have showed the myth of Africa Time is totally fact and that planning a massive event requires all the work you put in for weeks before, it really paid off and we've run out of condoms so that's a massive success. It also showcased all of the teams strengths and how being a white girl at football requires you to earn the respect first - which I was informed I totally had - thank goodness for that. As this week has taught me how important gratitude and thanks are - here is a massive thank you for all your support. I know getting massive thank you from the footballers and nurses yesterday certainly made my day so thank you again xx
Sunday, 22 February 2015
Saturday, 14 February 2015
A week of love...
Valentines day - a day of love, happiness and friendship, with a dash of longing. This week has basically been V-day everyday. I have had an incredible week of love, friendship and giggles, which thankfully distracted me from home - and made me love here even more.
Monday might have been really tough but it turns out it was just the sunrise to an awesome week.
Tuesday dawned with an awesome session at the primary school. - like they read off the board, put their hands up and gave some really great answers on the UN convention of the rights of a child. It was totally awesome. Team work then came together as we successfully planned sessions for the rest of the week with barely any disagreements, which was fab.
Wednesday was the B-DAY of V-DAY week and it was amazing. I was awoken with presents, cards and messages from home, to then be greeted with a surprise cake and candle by baby Ella. We continued the morning with music and more pressies with darling Joe too. Later on we trundled into Iganga with Tara and Peter with the expectation that no one else would have been able to get there but wow I was wrong. The total surprise of Namumgarwe already there with chocolate and necklaces, as well as a lot of hugs was totally amazing. Next came Stan and Diana, then people just kept coming, some travelling from the most rural spots of Jinja for up to 5 hours!!! It was such a surprise and I was so touched. The afternoon progressed to dancing in the rain with Radya, dancing in the bar with the dancing crew from training and a few cheeky treats, it was so nice to catch up with everybody. Divya, Emma and Christine also sent a recording of Happy Birthday which was adorable. Ella and I ended the day with Inbetweeners and chocolate - what a perfect day.
So Thursday dawned with an unfortunate wave of ill health, so I trundled off to Iganga while Ella and Juliet went to teach compost and organic pesticides to the local youth group. In the market I was greeted by videos of me dancing the day before which was another celebrity moment haha. Tara and I spent the afternoon putting up posters and spreading the word on the football event. We felt like the Pied Piper as we had to hide out in her room as 200 children followed us down the street shouting and cheering. Afterwards I headed back to watch a football match between Nakalama parish and Busei parish where I got talking to some of the youth and afterwards the team. Definitely getting a lot of fist pumps and respect now, who thought interviewing Manchester United for a dissertation would be so helpful here ha.
So with Friday came even more blessings. We awoke early to teach the lower stream at the senior school which was awesome. Despite the laddy nature of the football boys in the class, the fist pumps and request for photos was mixed with really interesting discussions on having sex with only girls you love, the dangers of illegal abortion and cheers for condoms. We even taught them "use a condom if you can't abstain.... Be faithful" song which was pretty amazing. It was such an inspiring lesson and definitely made up "for can you teach me how to impregnate you.." Ha. The session with the higher stream was much more challenging but we still got across that using a condom is a lot easier than dying from an illegal abortion, being imprisoned or being forced into early marriage. For the afternoon we took to the advice center and started publicising condoms and demonstrations, though it is illegal to give them it schoolchildren here!!! We even got approached by some of the youth asking to work with us as translators or helping run sessions which was great.
A group even came to ask the football this morning at 6:30 to play as a team which is amazing to see how little can cause a smile here. So all in all this week has been awesome - full of love, loving and friendship. So while I might be missing loved ones at home on a week of B-DAY and V-DAY, thanks to the amazing people here, both with ICS and in the community - it hasn't felt like D-DAY. So I will get back to planning, budgeting and chatting to our awesome parish chief now, but let's hope this week coming is just as awesome.
Ps thanks for all the prayers last week - keep them coming but if you want to pray for Joe's Dad to get better that would be amazing, as well as for the kids to still be so receptive and for me to feel 100% again as want to get out there and do more and more! Oh and random fact for the day - everything here is spelt American.
Lots of love and thanks again for all the support. E x
Monday might have been really tough but it turns out it was just the sunrise to an awesome week.
Tuesday dawned with an awesome session at the primary school. - like they read off the board, put their hands up and gave some really great answers on the UN convention of the rights of a child. It was totally awesome. Team work then came together as we successfully planned sessions for the rest of the week with barely any disagreements, which was fab.
Wednesday was the B-DAY of V-DAY week and it was amazing. I was awoken with presents, cards and messages from home, to then be greeted with a surprise cake and candle by baby Ella. We continued the morning with music and more pressies with darling Joe too. Later on we trundled into Iganga with Tara and Peter with the expectation that no one else would have been able to get there but wow I was wrong. The total surprise of Namumgarwe already there with chocolate and necklaces, as well as a lot of hugs was totally amazing. Next came Stan and Diana, then people just kept coming, some travelling from the most rural spots of Jinja for up to 5 hours!!! It was such a surprise and I was so touched. The afternoon progressed to dancing in the rain with Radya, dancing in the bar with the dancing crew from training and a few cheeky treats, it was so nice to catch up with everybody. Divya, Emma and Christine also sent a recording of Happy Birthday which was adorable. Ella and I ended the day with Inbetweeners and chocolate - what a perfect day.
So Thursday dawned with an unfortunate wave of ill health, so I trundled off to Iganga while Ella and Juliet went to teach compost and organic pesticides to the local youth group. In the market I was greeted by videos of me dancing the day before which was another celebrity moment haha. Tara and I spent the afternoon putting up posters and spreading the word on the football event. We felt like the Pied Piper as we had to hide out in her room as 200 children followed us down the street shouting and cheering. Afterwards I headed back to watch a football match between Nakalama parish and Busei parish where I got talking to some of the youth and afterwards the team. Definitely getting a lot of fist pumps and respect now, who thought interviewing Manchester United for a dissertation would be so helpful here ha.
So with Friday came even more blessings. We awoke early to teach the lower stream at the senior school which was awesome. Despite the laddy nature of the football boys in the class, the fist pumps and request for photos was mixed with really interesting discussions on having sex with only girls you love, the dangers of illegal abortion and cheers for condoms. We even taught them "use a condom if you can't abstain.... Be faithful" song which was pretty amazing. It was such an inspiring lesson and definitely made up "for can you teach me how to impregnate you.." Ha. The session with the higher stream was much more challenging but we still got across that using a condom is a lot easier than dying from an illegal abortion, being imprisoned or being forced into early marriage. For the afternoon we took to the advice center and started publicising condoms and demonstrations, though it is illegal to give them it schoolchildren here!!! We even got approached by some of the youth asking to work with us as translators or helping run sessions which was great.
A group even came to ask the football this morning at 6:30 to play as a team which is amazing to see how little can cause a smile here. So all in all this week has been awesome - full of love, loving and friendship. So while I might be missing loved ones at home on a week of B-DAY and V-DAY, thanks to the amazing people here, both with ICS and in the community - it hasn't felt like D-DAY. So I will get back to planning, budgeting and chatting to our awesome parish chief now, but let's hope this week coming is just as awesome.
Ps thanks for all the prayers last week - keep them coming but if you want to pray for Joe's Dad to get better that would be amazing, as well as for the kids to still be so receptive and for me to feel 100% again as want to get out there and do more and more! Oh and random fact for the day - everything here is spelt American.
Lots of love and thanks again for all the support. E x
Sunday, 8 February 2015
Jambo,
So now been on placement for a week and a half which is pretty mental.
This week involved a lot of planning. We carried out our first session on Thursday for 30 out of school youths in life skills and sustainable agriculture. It went really well and they found Ella and my dancing hilarious. Always good to make an idiot of yourself, especially when they don't speak a word of English. It is really wierd speaking English to a sea of blank faces before joe or juliet translated. We did help them all make a career plan though, to be a hairdresser, bike mechanic, teacher, which was really cool. They also asked us lots on sustainable agricultural problems.
On Friday we carried out an in school session for 90 senior two pupils, ranging from 12 to 24 years old. There are a lot of cheeky chaps in the class so it is pretty hard work but some amazing pupils as well. We did the session on rights and responsibilities, and life skills. It was quite a shock on how gendered the responsibilities are, but was also such an inspiring and encouraging class.
We have organised to teach at a primary school at 8am on Tuesday which should be good and start teaching senior 1 on Monday.
Yesterday involved helping another placement with their community day so we cleaned the Health centre then had a lovely lunch dancing with everybody which was so nice to chill a bit, which Ella and i continued well into the night. Which might have been silly as we spoke at church at 730 this morning.
So all in all while the week has been a hard one, it is fantastic to start all the work and the community is really starting to get to know us and ask for help which is great. This week involves a lot more teaching and trying to organise the final arrangements for our football and HIV aids testing event. Oh and my birthday on Wednesday. So excited.
Lots of love and thanks for the support, Elly xx
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