work, mostly

The Dragonfly Story

My cousin, Jenny Olson, started a company recycling onesies in honor of her lost baby, Jack. It is to remember him forever. Here is the story,

“In the bottom on an old pond lived some grubs who could not understand why none of their group ever came back after crawling up the lily stems to the top of the water. They promised each other that the next one who was called to make the upward climb would return and tell what had happened to him. Soon one of them felt an urgent impulse to seek the surface; he rested himself on the top of a lily pad and went through a glorious transformation which made him a dragonfly with beautiful wings. In vain he tried to keep his promise. Flying back and forth over the pond, he peered down at his friends below. Then he realized that even if they could see him they would not recognize such a radiant creature as one of their number.

The fact that we cannot see our friends or communicate with them after the transformation which we call death is no proof that they cease to exist.”

By Walter Dudley Cavert

I gave four of these away to families who have babies and told them the story. Many, if not most, families lose a baby or young child to malaria, HIV/AIDS, etc. This served as a reminder that they aren’t gone completely.



Work

The libraries are set up at two schools: Ssezibwa and Bishop Brown. The children absolutely love them. I’m usually in the computer room after school getting ready for computer class and whenever the bell sounds indicating the end of the day I’ll see maybe 50 children race by my door. The first time this happened I was so confused so I looked to see where they were going and it was straight to the library…there is only enough room for about 30 pupils so that’s how many we allow. The children were all racing to get in line. This happens everyday with a different class. 3rd grade is Mondays, 4th grade Tuesdays, 5th grade Wednesdays, etc.

We’ve had a few unforeseen problems – the termite hill at the Bishop Brown Library, which I think I’ve already posted pictures of. An iron door is being put in this week, hopefully. Also, the library at Ssezibwa is in bad condition. The shutters and door are broken along with the floor. We are raising money among the parents and I’ll probably add in the left over money I have from my SPA grant. Raising money is good because it gets everyone involved, but it is slow going. So I may borrow the money to the school so we can get everything accomplished before I go so I can be sure the library is settled and set up properly. Currently it is in the 2nd grade classroom, which works fine temporarily.

The computer class is also going well. Two laptops are at Kanjuki UMEA, about 5 kilometers north from the center school so teachers in that area can learn. One laptop is at Ssezibwa 3 kilometers southwest. Two computers and two laptops are still at Bishop Brown for the computer classes held here. I want to send a laptop to a school south east of Bishop Brown, but I’m waiting for a capable teacher to take over that area. Well, that’s a lie. There are plenty of capable teachers that have gone through the program from that area but very few schools have electricity that way so I’m waiting for a responsible teacher at a school with electricity.

Reproductive health is finished. I taught at 13 schools…about 2500 pupils. I only taught the girls, so personally, I can only claim teaching about half that number. The children have had some great questions and every session I leave happy. This program has been good for me because it yields immediate results.

Other than that…I’m coming home!!!! It hasn’t sunk in that I’m leaving this place. I can be really harsh on my feelings towards Kayunga, but every time I leave it for more than 3 days, I miss it. I’ve started telling people I’m leaving soon just so it doesn’t come up out of nowhere and I almost feel bad. Like I’m leaving them. Either way, I’m still excited to get home, take a shower, feel carpet, eat sandwiches, pee inside, cook a meal in less than an hour…put the leftovers in the fridge for later. But I will miss sitting on my porch in the silence only to be broken by the children who hang out with me everyday, having the luxury to do anything I want on any given day, heck, I’ll probably miss the food and the pit latrines too.

So going out in Kampala with friends from Peace Corps, I think we’ve all noticed that our social skills are lacking. We seem to be fine around each other and around Ugandans, but when it comes to other Americans…we’re just awkward. One girl who went back mentioned that our casual bathroom humor talk is not so funny in America. I’m sure I’ll be fine, but it’ll be interesting to see how I (or we all) cope with American life/culture.

I’m still waiting for those Egypt and Mozambique/Malawi stories, but I’ll post them as soon as they come from my parents and Joseph.

Sorry I don't have more time to post pictures.