We arrived in Uganda! Of course, that was a while ago. Silly me didn't blog once! So now I have to recall as best as I can the days in Bududa.
There were other volunteers who had arrived before us. Sabia (25 years old) had been there for a year and a half, and still had six months to go! Anna had been volunteering for five months during her 'gap year', in between high school and college. Tom is nineteen. Barbara, of course, is the head coordinator of the Bududa Vocational Acadamy.
We stay in a little guest house up on a small hill. The main house has . . .
There were other volunteers who had arrived before us. Sabia (25 years old) had been there for a year and a half, and still had six months to go! Anna had been volunteering for five months during her 'gap year', in between high school and college. Tom is nineteen. Barbara, of course, is the head coordinator of the Bududa Vocational Acadamy.
We stay in a little guest house up on a small hill. The main house has . . .
four bedrooms, three rooms with double beds and one with three singles. Justine is our cook, and makes miracles in a little kitchen and pantry at the back of the house. Where's the toilet? There are four rooms in a row behind the house - Sabia's, Tom's, the store room and the latrine.
Birch and Dad help out around the school by digging the latrines, preparing a trench so the rain won't flood the school, and building the popular oven at the guest house. Mom and I wandered around for the first two weeks - at least, I did. Mom taught a couple classes to the nursery teachers in training and I mostly watched her.
Whoa, whoa, slowing down. Some people expected us to be helping at an orphanage. Nope, this time was a vocational school for people about fifteen years old to twenty one. The youngest kid was thirteen.
Birch and Dad help out around the school by digging the latrines, preparing a trench so the rain won't flood the school, and building the popular oven at the guest house. Mom and I wandered around for the first two weeks - at least, I did. Mom taught a couple classes to the nursery teachers in training and I mostly watched her.
Whoa, whoa, slowing down. Some people expected us to be helping at an orphanage. Nope, this time was a vocational school for people about fifteen years old to twenty one. The youngest kid was thirteen.
Teacher Anna (in red) is showing her students how to lay out the pattern for my dress
Teenagers and young adults who never finished high school go there so that when they grow up, marry, and have kids they'll be successful and able to support a family. There are five classes at BVA. Computers, nursery teacher training, tailoring, bricklaying and wood-working. I'm not so sure how the people benefit from the computers, because none have a computer. I think that's aimed more for kids who have big plans, like being next to the head in some kind of business or something like that. The nursery teaching is actually a very good job in Bududa because there are so many children, and if the parents can afford it, they want their kids to be successful. Unfortunately, the payment for this option is poor.
Mom taught the nursery teacher trainers, like I said before, but was a little more than surprised by their shyness. They would hardly speak, whereas the tailoring girls were total chatterboxes - talking non stop all day. The teachers should be the enthusiastic ones, right?
Mom taught the nursery teacher trainers, like I said before, but was a little more than surprised by their shyness. They would hardly speak, whereas the tailoring girls were total chatterboxes - talking non stop all day. The teachers should be the enthusiastic ones, right?
This is the Nursery Teacher training class and their teacher Somali
Anyways, after the first two weeks of helping with bits and bobs, Barbara finally got Mom and I going on a big painting - the map of Africa on the wall! I'll describe more later, but I'm proud to say now that I know every single country in Africa off by heart now! Silly enough, I didn't even know Egypt was a country - no worries, on this trip one thing that's improved the most is my horrible geography!
On Saturdays I do things with the Children Of Peace. Sunday is a day off, sometimes a useful day to make a home-visit. Home-visits are check-ups on some children in the program, just to make sure they're okay and everything's in shape.
On Saturdays I do things with the Children Of Peace. Sunday is a day off, sometimes a useful day to make a home-visit. Home-visits are check-ups on some children in the program, just to make sure they're okay and everything's in shape.
We were there in the dry season, but just a few weeks to early to experience the rain - the 'rainy season' always pours buckets, and because every house or school has a tin roof, they have to stop teaching or talking for about an hour and just wait until it's calmed down. We got only a few drizzles.
Sabia runs a girls group every Wednesday. I went to some of them and helped out, but part of me thinks that a lot of the reason why they come is to get doughnuts and hot tea - the good thing is, they may actually get something out of it, and it's a break from the labour at home. The girls I can remember are Sylvia, Giftee, Sareena, Caroline and Harriet... There were more, but I forget them. I remember Giftee is probably five or six and wrote in black marker 'COW' across the front of her dress!
Now, what else? Well, at the end of our volunteering leap we'll be traveling a week on day trips, counting as our Safari. We were introduced to some people in Mbale (correct spelling, mind you) while Mom and I were visiting a baby home for the day (details later), Katie and Sawyer, who are adopting a baby from the home (Grace!), had a couple weeks off... So we decided to go together.
Yep, that's all... More soon, I promise! Sorry for my lazy wave...
Bye,
Allie
Sabia runs a girls group every Wednesday. I went to some of them and helped out, but part of me thinks that a lot of the reason why they come is to get doughnuts and hot tea - the good thing is, they may actually get something out of it, and it's a break from the labour at home. The girls I can remember are Sylvia, Giftee, Sareena, Caroline and Harriet... There were more, but I forget them. I remember Giftee is probably five or six and wrote in black marker 'COW' across the front of her dress!
Now, what else? Well, at the end of our volunteering leap we'll be traveling a week on day trips, counting as our Safari. We were introduced to some people in Mbale (correct spelling, mind you) while Mom and I were visiting a baby home for the day (details later), Katie and Sawyer, who are adopting a baby from the home (Grace!), had a couple weeks off... So we decided to go together.
Yep, that's all... More soon, I promise! Sorry for my lazy wave...
Bye,
Allie
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