A visit to the village of Budondo

Life has been busy these past few weeks! There are a couple new volunteers here now which means it isn't just Sam and I and our nights are busier than when it was just the two of us so I haven't had much time to update my blog. I think in my last post I had said that a new volunteer was coming and that I hoped she wasn't weird. Well, she is definitely weird but in the best way possible. She's from Nebraska and has kind of a strange accent and talks about weird things, she never stops eating, and just in general she's funny. She has a refreshing outlook on faith and is very open to discuss it which I really admire. Her name is Sarah and here's a picture of her first experience on a boda. You can kind of see what type of person she is by this picture.

Anyway, this post is going to be about Budondo, the village that Amani tries to support by having a weekly Kids Club and community outreach during the week. I've been out there four times now and each time is so different the other trips because you always meet new people and families. Basically during the week, a social worker (Aaron) and a few of his helpers and then a couple Amani volunteers go out into the village and do house visits. We meet with families and Aaron writes down the names of all the family members, their ages, the occupation of the parents, and what their greatest needs are so that he can help to try and meet those needs through donations from Amani and other sources. As a volunteer we just hang out with the kids and kind of get to know them so that when they come to Kids Club on Saturday they know who we are. Aaron and the parents speak Lugandan with eachother so I usually have no idea what's going on but everyone is very welcoming. The people of Budondo are either Christian, Muslim or have no religion so this Kids Club is a great way to teach kids about God's love and grace and to let them know that that they are never alone, God is always with them, even when they might be starving or have no clothes. I think the fact that the people are so poor would be a reason to not accept God's love, thinking that instead He was at fault for giving them this hard life but it seems like quite the opposite. So many people here cling to their faith in Jesus because of the hope they now have for better things to come. The people in Budondo seem to be so happy. They also seem tired because they work so hard to try to provide what little they can for their families. The kids go to school in the mornings and then spend the rest of the day either getting water, tending to their siblings while their parents work, or helping their parents work in the fields. Some of the kids don't have parents and so the grandparents end up raising them so they are older on top of still needing to work hard. Life in Budondo is definitely not easy and this is the type of Africa that I pictured when planning my trip to Amani with mud huts, children with not clothes, and animals running everywhere. And yet, despite all this, so many people have cellphones! It's kind of ironic.

A few of the Mama's and other staff from Amani live in Budondo and have to make the long trek into work every morning and every night. The drive takes about 20 minutes and these people walk to and from work! It takes them over an hour. That's what I mean when I say that the people here are hard working. They get paid so little here that it almost doesn't seem worth it and yet they do it anyway because it helps them put a little bit of food in their children's stomachs and gives them new clothes maybe 2-3 times a year.

Here are a few pictures from my trips to Budondo so you can kind of see what it's like there. The landscape is so pretty right now because it's their rainy season. Also, just a side note - in Africa they don't fence in their animals like we do in North America. For example, we have cows, chickens, and goats in pens and have them fenced in and even brand them so we know their ours. In Africa, they just put a rope around the legs or neck and tie them to a branch or a stick in the ground so that they can't wander off. That's so different than what I'm used to!

This is a small market. They sell everything including meat (just hanging there), clothes, and a place to charge your cellphone since most homes don't have electricity.

This boy is Steven and he is two even though he looks like he's about six months old. Amani is giving his mom formula to help him get better and grow.

This is one of the families we met who invited us inside. If you look to the right, that's their bed. It's a filthy foam pad with ripped bed sheets. But there's also a cross on the wall.

This is another family we met. The grandparents are raising the two children because the parents both passed away. The grandparents insisted on putting on their best clothes for a picture.

A day in the life of an "Auntie"

Sam and I have been at Amani for a week now and it feels like the first week has flown by but at the same time it feels like we've been here for more than a week. I'm having a great time - my days are busy and yet there's quite a bit of down time which is SO nice considering I just finished up tax season at work.

Each day I get woken up around 6 am which is when the kids wake up. They sleep right below where we're living so we hear them screaming, singing and laughing. I then try to fall back asleep for a bit longer before getting up. We have a full kitchen so we make breakfast (we get our fridge stocked with pineapple, bananas, eggs, and bread) and then head down to the kids at 8:45. It's just Sam and I in the guesthouse right now so it's been easy since we live together at home as well. There's a new volunteer coming tomorrow night so hopefully she's not weird. :) I am in the girls cottage which has 15 girls from ages 1 - 6. There are three cottages (which are just rooms) and each room has three Mama's. These women work 12 hour shifts and basically care for the kids, feed them, discipline them, and clean the room. The volunteers at Amani are called Auntie so I am known as Auntie Whitney. It's the cutest thing to go into their room each morning and have them race to the door yelling, "Auntie, Auntie"! From 8:45 to 12:30 I do one on ones with the girls which is basically when I take each girl out of the room and play with them one on one so that they get individual attention. We do things like play with playdoh, dolls, puzzles, colouring, make believe, etc. At 12:30 they get lunch and I help get the younger kids ready. After they're done eating, they get washed and I put diapers on them and put them into bed for a nap. Then the older kids eat, get washed up, and go for a nap as well. Here's some pictures of the girls eating lunch.

These are the younger kids. They're names are Sarah, Hope, Ann, Tina, and Mercy (from L - R).

This is sweet Caroline (pun intended)! She's showing me her new spoon that they were SO excited to get. Thanks Sarina Tamminga for buying those for us to bring. They've had the spoons for five days now and still tell me how happy they are to have new spoons!

After the kids have had lunch, I have a break from 1-4 to eat my own lunch. The cooks here make lunch for all the staff and volunteers and it's pretty good but much different than what I'd normally eat for lunch. Today we had rice with beans, spaghetti, and some kind of chopped up leaf. The mama's here have heaping platefuls as it's likely their only meal for the day. I probably eat about a third of what they have and am full afterwards. During the break, we can go to town to run errands (it's about a 15 minute walk or a five minute boda ride). For those of you who don't know, a boda is basically a motorcycle that can fit the driver and one or two passengers behind them. It's a great way to get around because it's so cheap. To get to town and back costs about 2,000 shillings which is just under $1. If we don't go to town, I usually just take a nap or read for a bit which is so nice and relaxing!

We're back to work again from 4-7:00. From 4-6 we usually just play with the kids in the yard (as long as the weather is nice) which is kind of difficult since it's just Sam and I now so we can't give each of them enough attention. The Mama's also play with them but they're usually pretty tired by this time as they're 9 hours into their 12 hour shift. Once more volunteers come, the kids should hopefully be able to play better. Some days from 4-6 we can bring kids on an outing where we take them out of the baby's home so that they can see what life is like in the "real world". Last week Sam and I, along with one of the fulltime staff took three kids into town and we went to the bank and then went to a restaurant for a brownie and a soda. We took bodas and the kids really loved it. They get dressed in their Sunday best when going on outings so that people don't take pity on them for being in a baby home (even though their clothes at Amani are actually quite nice). On this past Sunday it was finally nice so we took a few of the kids to a pool for a couple hours. They loved it!

Next comes dinner and it is a hectic but fun time. My job is to get them ready for the meal by undressing them and washing their hands. Then once the younger kids are done eating they get bathed by a Mama and I dry them off, put them in their pj's, brush their teeth, and put them to bed. I try to give each of them a little cuddle before putting them to bed. By then the older kids have already eaten and are getting bathed and I do it all over again. Once they're in bed, I read them a book and then I'm done for the night. By then it's 7 and Sam and I have to make dinner for ourselves. We're usually so tired from the day that we catch up on emails, read and go to bed.

So that's the day in the life of an Auntie. Yesterday was Mother's Day and being at Amani was a great reminder how blessed I am to live in Canada and have such a great mother. The kids here want so much to have a mom of their own and to feel loved (they want to be hugged and held ALL the time). I am so grateful that I have never wondered where my mom was or who would love me. I thank God for giving me the mom that I have. I love you Mom!

I'll leave you with some pictures from the past few days.

This is Mariam

This is Josephine. She is a twin with Caroline who is the girl in the pink on the left of this picture.

This is Lydia

This is Jenipher. I told her to smile and this was the face she gave me.

This is Sarah at the pool. She loved the water!

This is Paul wearing my sunglasses.

This is the Nile River. We hope to go on a boat ride on it while we're here.

This is Sam and Isaiah at the pool

A safe arrival!

Well after about 34 hours of travel time, we have made it to Amani Baby Cottage! Our flights were all on time and smooth and all of our luggage was waiting for us when we arrived in Uganda so we really couldn't have asked for anything better (minus the large man sitting in front of us who was snoring really loud). We had an 8 hour layover in London and since it was such a nice day out we decided to take the bus to Windsor for lunch and to check out Windsor Castle (thanks to Mark Fast for the suggestion!). We stopped at a pub for lunch and had roasted lamb, potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding. Yum! Since we wanted to be back at the airport in plenty of time, we decided not to do an actual tour of the castle and instead just walked around it. There were also lots of cool shops to look in.

After London it was another 14 hours of travel until we made it to Entebbe, Uganda and then a 3 hour drive to Jinja where we are staying. Jinja is about 120 kms away from Entebbe which would normally only take about an hour to drive in Canada but because of the heavy traffic and poor road conditions, it takes three times that amount of time.

Now we are at the orphanage and are starting to get acquainted with what life will be like for the next six weeks. There are 51 children currently living here between the ages of newborn to five years old. Right now I'm finding it difficult to remember names of the kids as well as the staff but I'm hoping I will pick them up quickly seeing as we'll be seeing them a lot. Once I become more familiar with what my daily routines are, I will do a post devoted to a day in the life of a volunteer.

As I expected, life here is quite different than what I am used to. However, I didn't know how it was going to be different. Because it is the rainy season, everything is very green and lush. There are several tea plantations in the area which are pretty and I look forward to trying some local tea. The pace of life is much different as well. Most people seem to be hard workers but time is not as important to them. It's kind of refreshing actually to see a slower paced life. I thought there would be great poverty (which there is) but I have also seen very nice houses and lots of people have cell phones.

Right now Sam and I are the only volunteers so it is just her and I living in the guesthouse. Our accommodations are quite nice and we already feel at home in it. There is a large living and dining room area and a full kitchen where we can make breakfast and dinner. Each bedroom has three beds (all donned with mosquito nets) and a bathroom in it. When we first arrived at Amani we met the volunteer coordinator and nurse, Sandra and Emma, and both have made us feel so welcome. They even had us over for dinner last night since we didn't have time to buy groceries for ourselves.

That's about all I have to tell you so far. Hopefully it wasn't too boring! I will leave you with a few more pictures of where we are living.

This is our view from outside our balcony. The children sleep right below us.