It’s hard to believe that it has been over ten months since I left Uganda and headed back home to the states after an amazing six months living in Bigodi! It’s hard to believe that six months have passed since my last blog entry. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve gotten caught up in daily life here in all of its complications, financial worries, and busyness. There are many days that I miss the simpler life of my little village, though it certainly is not without its hardships.
I miss not having to schedule every hour in my blackberry
I miss walking down the main road in the village and hearing mzunga shouted at me by the children
I miss having healthy natural food cooked for me daily- I’ve gained 30 pounds since being back in the US
I miss feeling healthy and strong
I miss the beautiful Rwenzori Mountains
I miss working with the amazing dedicated teachers
I miss feeling like my work has an immediate impact on my surroundings
I miss having quiet time to read and journal daily
I miss showering outside
I miss the thousands of bright stars in the night sky
I miss the children of the village who always brought a smile to my face
I miss coming up with hands on ways to teach classes of over 100 students about the
environment
I miss sitting on my friend Julia’s porch and looking at outskirts of Kibale National Park
I miss walking in the Bigodi swamp and counting how monkeys I saw that day
I miss living amongst the most friendly and welcoming people I have ever met
I miss the music and dancing of the children
I miss my favorite guest house in Fort Portal
I miss Leon
However, there are also many things that I do not miss. I don’t miss seeing extreme poverty everywhere I turn, I don’t miss hearing of people dying from things that I know are treatable with western medicine, I don’t miss seeing girls pregnant and married off at 12, I don’t miss waiting for it to stop raining so the solar panels can charge and I can do computer work, I don’t miss the corruption that is pervasive at nearly every level of government, I don’t miss being homesick and feeling so far from everyone who I love and loves me, I don’t miss eating meals of plain potatoes and tomatoes, and I don’t miss seeing teachers struggle to teach in nearly impossible situations.
We are so very blessed to live in this amazing though sometime overwhelmingly busy country. I was in bad car accident in mid March, if that same accident had happened in rural Uganda – the outcome would not have been the same. A loved one got diagnosed with cancer in late April, that same cancer would have undetected in rural Uganda until it was too late to treat it. When I returned and needed to find a second job to help pay for needed home repairs, even in a recession I had choices of places to work and ways to earn additional income. My friends in Uganda do not have this luxury. I think of my friends every morning when I turn on my shower knowing that they are walking miles to get unclean water to bathe from. I think of my friends when I microwave a meal that is ready to eat in three minutes and they are spending three hours cooking their meal over an open fire (admittedly their meal is healthier). I am thankful for air conditioning, my refrigerator, an air conditioned car, and my washing machine!
I continue to sell baskets and jewelry made by the Bigodi Women’s group- http://www.bigodi-tourism.org/4301.html. You can view the products for sale at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125216&id=572152211&l=e88ad1c5c4. All proceeds go back to community projects in Bigodi. Currently, the community leaders have a contract to build the first well ever in the village! The original estimate came in around $4,500 and now the estimate for the project is up to $12,000. $12,000 is actually an average price to dig a well in Uganda but certainly more than the village leaders had hoped and a lot of money to raise in a place where people live on less than $2 a day.
In addition to selling Ugandan crafts, I also continue to speak to community and school groups about Uganda. Since I’ve been home we have raised over $1500 for projects in Bigodi. I have collected lots of children’s books and sanitary supplies. Last week, I spoke to over 200 elementary students about Uganda and what they could do to help. Currently, I am sponsoring one young boy to attend a private school near Fort Portal, I would like to be able to sponsor more.
Ways you can get involved
Water is Life Project- Women and children carry water great distances from unsafe water sources in heavy containers every day. A donation of any amount for the well would be very helpful. I take cash, check or credit cards and then wire the money to the Water is Life project.
Book and school supply drives- The schools are terribly under resourced. There are very few to text books so instead there are paintings of the human body, the world, etc.. on the outside of the school walls and the teachers teach from those. Families have to provide children with paper, pencils, books and many can’t afford them. The children don’t have books to discover the joy of reading. This also becomes an academic problem in the later grades as the students are tested in English but they don’t have English books to practice reading! You could collect used children and young adult books than have a fundraiser to pay for the shipping costs.
Athletic equipment drives- Children in rural Uganda make balls out of plastic bags or banana fibers, which fall apart halfway though a game of soccer. Imagine what joy a few soccer balls would bring these kids. Your group can collect gently used soccer balls and then have a small fundraiser to pay for the shipping costs.
Purchase or sell crafts from the Bigodi women’s group- The beautiful baskets and jewelry can be viewed at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=125216&id=572152211&l=e88ad1c5c4. All proceeds go back to Bigodi for community projects. You can purchase them directly from me, sell them at your place of business, or your group could set up a table and sell them at a community event.
Exam fees- Students have to pay to take monthly exams that help get them ready for their end of year exams. Those students who can’t afford the monthly exams don’t take them. Students who don’t take monthly exams do far worse on the end of year exams which determine if they continue or not. It cost only $5 for each student to take the nine monthly exams.
Sanitary supplies- I visited over 20 schools and at nearly every school was told about the need for sanitary supplies for girls. Unfortunately, many girls miss schools while they have their periods because they do not have proper sanitary supplies. You can donate an Afri-pad menstrual kit complete with washable pads for just $5. http://www.afripads.com
A tax deductible donation- The Kasiisi Project based out of Cambridge MA works in the same region of Uganda where I lived, is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. They do amazing work! http://www.kasiisiproject.org
Conserve resources here so we don’t have to harvest timber in the rain forest
Thank you for your continued support!
Love,
Jamilyn
Ps. Check out this incredible video of the students from Bigodi primary school.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEjuPa8XaLk
