Another Entry

I keep describing the poverty here... Saying children dive through garbage bins for food and people wear tattered, dirty clothes. This is all very true and nothing new to these people. While this is all very shocking to me... It is their way of life. They are happy and most are very religous. I mean, not everyone in Uganda is Christian but many of them only have their faith and beliefs so that is what they seem to cling onto as a means of survival. I often hear many of the Ugandans say "God has a plan for all of us and will never give out more than we can take".

I have walked too and from main street (about 20 mins each way) by myself and have had no problems. Everyone says "Hello! How are you?" and the women are ALWAYS singing songs. Overall, I would say all the people are happy and very outgoing.



I am just so used to having many things and often, when I need or want something... I go buy it. Here, families will save and save to afford a cell phone or they wait until their sandals have no bottoms until they purchase another pair.



Anyways, the past week has been an eventful one. I am creating a program for the younger toddlers to have activities every day. Every half hour, we start something new and I have been googling songs, dances and games for children under 3 like crazy. I am fairly happy with the progress I have made and I actually created a timetable so Monday-Saturday even when I have gone home, everyone will know what needs to be done and taught each day. Simple things like colors, numbers and letter recognition have been tied in with silly songs, happy dances and excerise to keep the kids busy. I am going to introduce my timetable on Monday and we will make adjustments as needed.



On a more frusterating note - I had some money taken from my room. It was put away in a spot that I figured would be safe. I am not sure who it was or if it was even one of the mamas or one of the other volunteers and I am not about to point fingers or even accuse but it was a slight disappointment while I went to grab my binder and realized about 150$ (converted currency to Canadian) was missing. It was British Pounds and Canadian Dollars too. I quietly looked through all of my stuff and seriously debated on what to do before I finally went and told Danyne what had happened. I don't want to cause a ruckus or even create tension between the mamas but I am all about justice and doing what is right... So it had to be made public so whomever did take the money... Knows it is known and unacceptable. I wasn't expecting to get the money back but Danyne immediately told me she would replace what was taken. I am so grateful and I am happy I have my money back.

I cannot believe I have been here for almost 4 weeks now. Time has flown by and I am learning so much about myself everyday. I am excited for my next month here but I am also looking forward to my Europe trip and getting to come home earlier than planned. I know I will come back to Uganda one day... Hopefully to adopt... but for right now, I am enjoying every moment possible.

Until next time...

Kwagala Nyo!