The Most Rewarding Work

Nothing feels better than returning home late in the evening, covered in red dirt, sticky and sweaty, hungry and exhausted, but happy. Happy because you know you made somebody’s day a little brighter; because you made somebody smile, or laugh; happy because you, through the small and sometimes unnoticed deeds, have truly made a difference.

The most rewarding work is service. Yes there is no finical gain, but the feeling you receive after you serve holds more value than any paycheck you could ever receive.  

That’s how I felt after returning from a very busy day at an orphanage. Spent the day in the hot sun with kids clinging to me, introducing themselves, and like always, inspecting my long hair!

Seeing a child’s face light up when you wave, or kneel down for a quick conversation is the most heart – warming thing in the universe. It’s in these tender moments that I feel the love of Christ and am able to forget about MY needs, and loose myself in the service of another.

I had a little boy walk around with us the whole day, and gracious goodness did he have personality. He was four years old but didn’t speak any English, so when I spoke some Luganda to him his reaction was priceless. I think it was the first time a white person had ever spoken his language, and his facial expression showed just how surprised he was!

What I loved so much about this orphanage is how they all looked out for one other. My Dad pulled out some magic tricks and asked a little boy to be a volunteer. He was young and didn’t know English so the other kids translated for him, and through the other kids we found out he was really shy, so they suggested we use someone else. It was like a real family, the older ones looking out for the youngster, and each of them knew everybody’s name, age and personality. I was pretty impressed, because I couldn’t remember a single persons name!

Though we had no gifts to give them, our presence was enough. They didn’t expect anything, and were content just holding our hands.

I cannot wait to return with my guitar and hit up some tunes with them! They’ve made a fantastic band equipped with trumpets, trombones, saxophones, violins, snares, guitars, flutes and many other instruments that have been donated. And they’re amazing – they would put our school bands to shame back home!

I believe these are experiences every person needs to have, it will eat away your greed and replace it with gratitude.

Cheers

Savannah 

Life In Uganda: Q&A

Q: What’s your three favourite things about Uganda?

A:

1. The people. Everybody strives to make you feel welcomed and be your friend, never have I met more hospitable people in my life.

2. The Culture. Everything from the artwork to the music entices me. If you really love music come to Africa, this country hasn’t forgotten their roots! Honestly, everybody I’ve met loves music, and everybody either sings or plays the drums. It’s beautiful.

3. Demolishment of the clock. There’s no such thing as time here, which is truly a golden thing. You can sleep in, stay up, walk slow or leave late, and nobody cares! Luckily I still have a good amount of the Canadian mindset still in my brain, so I still arrived early – or should I say on time to events.

Q: What’s the worst thing about Uganda?

A: Traffic. We’re stuck in the middle of Entebbe and Kampala – like Central Saanich back home. So we are always getting stuck in traffic jams, whether people are trying to get into Kampala, or going out we somehow get affected. It wouldn’t be so bad sitting in traffic, IF it wasn’t 26 degrees outside, and you didn’t have to inhale the other hundred cars fumes.

Q: What do you miss?

A: Aside from brief homesickness every now and then, and the yearning for some socializing, not a whole lot. Internet would probably be the biggest frustration. It’s really limited, no youtube, no uploading or downloading, and you really have to limit your time. But other than that Africa really changes your perspective, so things you were accustomed to, don’t even matter anymore.

Q: What is the standard diet?

A: Motoke – mashed up bananas. Although it looks like potato’s, and is supposed to taste like banana, it tastes like…nothing. I really don’t like it, but that’s okay because we don’t eat it, though if we did our food bill would go down a lot. And they pour a nut sauce – which we eat a lot, over top which adds some flavor and enough liquid to swallow it. And people eat piles of it because there isn’t any nutrients, so if your portion is to small your stomach still feels empty.

Q: Have you made friends?

A: Yes! Uganda is full of loving and hospital people, it’s hard not to make friends! There are those few people who treat you special just because they want to be friends with a white person, but the majority of people are sincere in their friendship.

Q: Have you ever felt unsafe?

A: Not really. Driving is suicide, but we all know the roads well enough to avoid getting crushed. The guys can sometimes be pests, but my secret weapon is this…guys aren’t used to woman standing up to them, so even just glaring or acting tough and giving them a disapproving glance makes them smarten up. In fact they’re astounded when white girls do that, because deep down under that face of confidence they’re shaking in their shoes.

Q: Is Africa the dangerous place everybody believes it is?

A: Yes and no. Saying Africa is like saying North America! And a lot can vary between British Columbia and Cancun Mexico! Uganda USED to be pretty dangerous, well actually it was really dangerous. Kony was up north and a lot of stuff happened up there. But things have settled down, and I even met somebody the other day who works with a peace party up north, trying to repair the damage – the orphanage we volunteer at has a lot of kids who’ve lost their parents because they were up north when all that poop was going on. But honestly there aren’t people running around with machetes killing people, or stealing and kidnapping happening on every corner. But since we’ve been here there’s been a crazy riot downtown Kampala, but we weren’t affected at all – I’ve never even been to downtown Kampala! And some locals told us to never go in this market because it’s so unsafe the police don’t even enter. But think about home, there was that HUGE Vancouver riot after a flipping hockey game! And there’s certain parts of town that nobody goes to…it’s just common sense. You’re in a big city so obviously you have to be careful, but out where we live you’re completely fine! People just flip out when they see something crazy happen in Africa on the news, and before they read the story they’ve said “It’s just because Africa is dangerous!” But there are reasons behind the events. I mean this year in America there’s been two major shootings! And nobody says “Don’t go to America, it’s dangerous”

And I will add that somebody jumped our wall in daylight and attempted to steal, but couldn’t get anything! Because there are flipping metal bars across your windows, so even if they break the glass they still can’t get in, and the garage is a huge hunk of metal that is always locked, and only stupid people leave things out unlocked. So yeah he might’ve jumped the wall, but he quickly realized he couldn’t grab anything and get away.

Q: If you could change one thing about Africa…

A: Oh boy, one thing is pretty tough! There are sooo many things I’d love to change about Africa, so narrowing down to just one is tough beans.

Something that really disturbs me is the kids that beg on the side of the highway. Just barely able to walk and they’re walking in a flipping zoo of cars asking for money, or sometimes just water! I’d really like to figure out a way to get them off the streets. Kids who live on dirt floors have it better than these kids. I want to punch the parents of these kids, who send them out everyday, with no water and no food. Even the locals get mad at the parents and say it’s child abuse, which it is. I’ll figure out how to get them off the streets, eventually. But yes that is defiantly on the top of my list for “Things To Do.” Even on Christmas Eve the kids were out begging! So sad.

Q: How has your perspective changed?

A: In many different ways! I have a completely new way of looking at life. I felt a little uncomfortable when we were returning home Boxing Day, after staying at a nice resort with a swimming pool and buffet breakfast, and then drove through a village of mud huts and little afro babies walking ‘round with torn clothing. You almost feel sick to your stomach that there are people living in these conditions, while others bathe in luxury. If you want a new perspective on life…come to Africa.

Q: Would I like Uganda?

A: Well this is hard to answer because everybody is different. Whether you like Uganda or not, you should still come, because those who don’t like it, are the ones who really need to be here! Uganda is very likeable, if you’re adjustable. If you want Canada on the other side of the world, you’ll be disappointed. But if you want a life changing experience and a whole lot of valuable life lessons, and a real epic adventure, then yes you’d like Uganda. I’ve been here almost three months, and I still smile when I see little black toddlers hobbling over on their chubby thighs to wave to the Mzungus. Honestly the most adorable thing I’ve ever witnessed in my life.

Well that concludes the questions, have a stellar day!

Cheers

Savannah 

On A Scale Of One To Ten..

Before I came to Uganda we had a Seminary lesson about hardships and were asked to rate ourselves on a scale of one to ten how hard we thought our lives were. The older kids put themselves at about a 5-6 because most of them had school and work to worry about, plus the extra expenses that arrive when you drive a car and go out with friends. Most the people my age put themselves in the 3-4 sections because we still rely on our parents to provide all our needs, leaving school as the only thing we really have to worry about. Yes there were those who placed themselves in the 7-8 sections because they battled with things like personal confidence or being accepted by peers. And lastly our teacher placed himself in the 9-10 sections because he has to raise a family while providing the necessities of life all at once.  At the time as I evaluated the ratings they seemed fair and everything looked in place. Now my perspective has changed completely. I don’t want to use the word disgusted because it’s pretty strong, but that’s the only word that comes to mind when I look back at the things I fussed over compared to the things these KIDS have to encounter on a daily bases! I’ve realized two things since I’ve been here.

1.    Having leisure time is a luxury very few people have. There’s this twelve year old boy Isaac who leaves for school ridiculously early…like 5am and doesn’t return until after dark because he has to walk. His parents obviously want him to go to a good school but can’t afford to board him there. We only saw him on the weekends and even then he always had his little brother Jonathan – one year old with him. Here’s a kid who gets two days off and when he is home he’s babysitting his younger brother. Did I ever see him off playing with the neighborhood boys? Nope. Did I ever see him get frustrated with Jonathan when he interrupted a conversation with crying? Nope. And not only does he have his education and brother to worry about it, he lives in a half finished house with several other families. So the next time you feel like complaining about being busy or stressed and not having anytime for facebook, or sick of babysitting your siblings or sharing a room think of Isaac. Think of the trials he encounters daily and yet his attitude is as golden as the sun!

2.    The things we consider trials could be blessing to those over here. I like working because I love seeing the numbers in my bank account get higher and higher but there are some days I forget why I’m going to work and all of a sudden what used to be a blessing becomes a burden! How easily we are swayed! So yes I had to get up early, yes I had to sacrifice “play time” with work, but the things these kids are willing to do for money is crazy! And then I got thinking about my education…wow. These kids scratch their pockets to find enough for school fees and here I am with unlimited access to knowledge! They are so teachable because they are so eager to learn! I suppose we don’t recognize these things until they disappear!

Well that concludes this post 

Cheers

Savannah 

An Eventful Week

Well this week has been quite interesting with its fair share of ups and downs so I’ll start with the positive!

My Mom and I decided to go on a walk in the beautiful back roads that link to our house, and five minutes into the walk we see a big dead bat! But then another twenty minutes down the road we see this HUGE dead snake! Thank goodness it was dead or I think I might’ve been J (I don’t know why I put this in the positive category!)

Oh and this week I also discovered that no one has hair here! Even though there are ladies with super long braided hair, but it’s all fake! They asked if we put Vaseline in our hair so it won’t snap because apparently their hair isn’t strong enough to continue growing so some ladies put Vaseline in to strengthen it but even then they can get it about shoulder length! So if the hair is longer than a pixie it’s a wig!

We got to go to a big tourist market and look around the shops…but after you’ve been in one you’ve seen all them J I have a feeling if we went there a couple days before departure it would’ve been a lot cooler, but because I have access to all that stuff everyday it’s not as exciting J

This week was the last of school so the roads and all have just been hectic because each school (and there’s a LOT of schools) are having their end of the year performance. Well we were invited to attend Simbwas Primary school performance. So I figured we’d just go there, watch the show and leave…nope. We get there and they’re getting Mom dressed up in their traditional outfits…and as we go to take our seats they announce “Here comes Miss Tanya!” and everybody starts clapping and she takes her seat in a freaking throne in the front and center! Then they had several other chairs set up beside her for us to sit on. Felt like a flipping celebrity! Then they bring us drinks and then (the best part), they ask Mom to give a speech! So Mom goes up there and gives a speech, and then hands out the certificates to the graduating kids – they’re bout 4 years old? And through all my attempts to stay hidden they called me up to hand out some presents to the kids. I’m just so thankful I wasn’t asked to say something!

So on the negative side of things…

After we went to the market we went to paint the Bomgi sign on Simbwas house – yes they’re so generous they let you paint a big blue Bomgi sign right on their house (it actually looks really good!) Well it’s about maybe 2pm and Corey grabs the car keys to open the paint cans, and as he’s popping it open the key snaps in half! Like literally in half. So we’re all like “Oh crap.” (and the can was still closed.) So we decided to call Simbwa and see if he knows anyone who can help but of course the phone lines are down! 20 minutes it starts working again, but Simbwas at a funeral so he won’t answer his phone! So we called Kyle and he came and picked Corey and Liam up on his Boda Boda, and then both boys came up to rescue Mom, Emma and myself. So I broke my vow that I wouldn’t ride a Boda Boda, and most certainly wasn’t planning on being squished between Kyle and Emma. It was a pretty nerve racking experience especially because there was TONS of traffic and I didn’t have a helmet J

This didn’t have this week, just a couple days after it ended and considering I never Internet I’ll just add it in.

Corey has been feeling under the weather quite a couple times, at least once a week. But when I say under the weather I mean unable to move, headaches and throwing up, pretty brutal if you get sick here. Well we’re all expecting it to be malaria or dangy fever because he has all the symptoms – including a rash. Anyways last night while I’m having a fantastic sleep Corey gets sent to the hospital, gets his blood tested…finds out his allergic to the malaria pills!

So you’ll never guess what season it is…Grasshopper! EVERYWHERE you look there’s grasshoppers! When you shake the branch of a tree it looks like it’s snowing…but it’s grasshoppers! It’s pretty nasty. And they’re pretty dumb to because they’ll fly right into you…and they bite, and they make a really annoying sound, like a fuzzy radio. Oh Uganda you are glorious!

Now to end this exciting week I had probably one of the worst experiences I’ve had since being here. We had a big problem with fruit flies when we got here, so we put up those really sticky/sappy things that the flies get stuck on. And holy cow are they sticky! Even if your hands just press against it you struggle to get it off. Well I was leaning against the wall beside one of the sticky things, and I was just watching the T.V when I see this brown thing dangling beside my hair and just flip out!! I start screaming and fall to the ground and yell at Emma “What the heck is in my hair!” and I’m flinging my hair trying to get it…not realizing it’s that delicious sticky sappy stuff! So she grabs the knob at the end and starts to pull it and I can just hear the hair snapping…and soon the knob snaps off to! So after a very painful two minutes of tearing my hair out I attempt to wash out the sap. I held my hair in vinegar until my face stung, then just scrubbed and scrubbed with conditioner and had the shower on jet attempting to get this off. It was just a mess. But after a very long and painful brushing session it was almost back to normal. Though I think I tore a good chunk of hair out! Very painful experience, and of course it had to happen to the person with the most hair!

Well that’s it for now, all these are kind of outdated and none are in order anymore because I just upload them whenever I have Internet. Oh boy do I miss that golden thing J

Cheers,

Savannah