Journal Entry No. 13

7/23/10

7pm Uganda time

Correction:Michael Bolton and Justin Bieber.

We ate posho and beans again for lunch. Never in my life have I valued Chalulah hot sauce more than when I eat posho and beans. I am so amazed and humbled by these children every single day.

Gideon wanted me to teach him how to make an arrowhead bracelet so I did. He worked all yesterday and today on it, adding beads and working diligently. Then he decided to give me the bracelet as a gift. These children are so lovely and selfless; it's scary to compare "civilized" children to the children raised in the streets of Iganga and see that they have better manners.

I am also continually astonished by the community here and how collaborative everyone is. But then, I suppose one would have to be, living with next to nothing. We continually have to stop and have conversations with people; Ugandan time is normal time plus a half hour of walking, talking, and interacting with children. I love how meals are shared together. I forgot how nice it is to simply eat and be with each other.

The conversations I have here are so much more meaningful than what I usually have on a daily basis. Yesterday I was sitting with a 9 year old girl named Dorothy. We were watching the older kids play volleyball, and all of a sudden she asked, "Do you have your mother? Do you have your father?" and I said "I have both". She replied, matter-of-factly, "I do not have my father." It was the first time since I've been here that I haven't had a response to something said to me. So I just put my arms around her and held her tight.

Later I asked Andrea how many children didn't have parents and she said all of them were orphans. Orphans in Uganda mean not having either one or both of your parents. If two people separate, their children are basically abandoned because that family no longer They become yesterday's news. So yes, all 79 children at Musana are either orphaned by death, disease, or divorce.

The children grew up on the streets, begging for money and pickpocketing. Musana took them in and gave them beds, clothes, and love. The sad news is we pass by dozens of children still living on the street asking us for money every day.