I LOVE Service!

2/8/08

We did the coolest service project yesterday! A few of the FIMRC volunteers brought suitcases of clothes to give away. We took them to homes of orphans. Here, a child is considered an orphan if one or both parents have dies. The terrain is extremely mountainous and the hills are steep. The first house we went to was at the very top of a mountain in a village called Mwaraha (I’m sure I didn’t spell that right, but it’s pronounced ma-ra-ha with a rolled r. It sounds Spanish). The clay hut-like home had 2 wooden chairs in it, a cow in the back, and a gravestone in the yard. The hike up was intense. I find that I LOVE hiking. I love the feeling when my heart is beating so fast that it could pop out of my chest. I love traversing the terrain and getting to the top. I can go and go, and for a mazungu (white person) I can go fast, which means I keep up. Anyway, one lady started dancing and praising when we came to her home. You should see the children here. They’re beautiful. They are like Peter Pan’s lost boys (this place would be awesome for playing Peter Pan if you were 10 again). At one home, we waited in the front for the mother to arrive. The neighbors started gathering around us. After our greetings, they stared at us and we stared at them – a typical exchange for strangers who are equally fascinated with each other, but have no way to communicate. Suddenly, a little boy came bouncing around the corner naked as a J-bird. Haha! He shook our hands and the neighbors laughed. It was hilarious, but at the same time, completely ok. He just decided not to wear clothes that day. Not a big deal!

I live in the bush. It’s amazing really. I have to sieve my water even when I wash my face (it comes from a huge tank that collects rain water – should be fairly clean, but I’ve found worms in it). I do my business in an outhouse. People cook in clay pits in the ground of their “kitchen,” which is usually a 10x10 room detached from the house. I squat to shower with a pitcher and basin. I kill roaches and spiders. A goat wandered into my living room. I could go on and on. Today, I removed animal poo from the path to the latrine without even wincing.

Ironically, all the people here have cell phones. Minutes are added to the phone by purchasing a card with a scratch on it like a lottery card. Under the scratch is a number that gives credit when entered into the phone. Without a banking infrastructure in this area, billing for monthly usage would be impossible. There aren’t many banks because most of the people do subsistence farming and would never really need one. In my opinion, telecom and communications services in Africa are the most important and influential changes being made in Africa. There is no way people could have a land line. Bringing faster communication and more information via the internet will revolutionize this continent.

Ugandans are incredibly happy. They have the attitude that tomorrow will take care of itself. I think the US could use a dose or two of that.

I wish I could tell you about every second of my days here. I am learning so much.

School starts tomorrow so I better get to bed.