The Day is Here: Post #12: Work Hard, Play Hard

Hello from Uganda! It’s truly been an incredible week. Mo, the other volunteer, finished her time here on Monday. While it’s sad being without her now, I’m so glad we got to spend so much of our time here together.

A few days before leaving for Uganda, my friend Beth insisted that I meet her friend Kathy! She told me all about the school in Uganda she helped start and the amazing story of its founder. I’ll give you the quick version- Mpagi Edward Edmary was born and raised in Uganda. When he was in his 20’s, he was sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. He lived through the torturous conditions of death row, starting each day knowing it could very possibly be his last. While he was in prison, his family suffered. Aside from being looked down upon for having a family member in prison, life became extremely difficult without the income of a father. When Edward was released 18 ½ years later, he wanted to make sure other children of prisoners didn’t have to suffer like his own did. Dream Primary and Nursery provides an education to sons and daughters of prisoners who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford school fees. In addition, Edward has shared his story and is speaking out against the death penalty. While there is still work to be done, things have improved dramatically as a result of his commitment to the cause.

Kathy helped Edward and his good friend Ronald start Dream Primary and Nursery is helping them as they continue to grow it. I got to visit Dream on Tuesday and had a wonderful time! I was escorted by Ronald and Edward (that was fun because they recently traveled to visit Kathy so we chatted about Manlius and Upstate New York!) and given a tour of the beautiful school. Each class greeted me and sang songs for me! The teachers there really care about the students. Even after just a few hours there, it was clear to me what a great place Dream Nursery and Primary is for these kids. They’re receiving a great education and many of them were full of joy! They also all knew their birthdays!! This has been rare among the kids I’ve met in Uganda as usually someone only celebrates his/her 1^st birthday. But Kathy makes sure that each child gets a birthday celebration which was so wonderful to see. If you’d like to learn more about Dream Primary and Nursery and how you can support their growth, check out their Facebook fage(https://www.facebook.com/pg/dreamchildsponsorship/about/?ref=page_internal) or stop into Soul Soothings in Manlius and chat with Kathy!! She is so wonderful!

You may be wondering what kids in Bulenga do when they’re not in school! It’s a question I’ve been asking since my first days here. Usually when I meet students in America, I ask them what they do for fun and they usually answer by telling me about the sports, music groups, societies, and clubs their involved in. Where I’m from, many kids have a week full of after school activities and a summer vacation full of camps and programs.

The life of a kid growing up in Bulenga is very different. For starters, they handle knives and babies at a younger age. They’re allowed to walk a few kilometers by themselves to pick things up from the market before they know their ABC’s. They can lift many pounds of water and carry them great distances as they fetch water at the well. Some even cook for their families before they know the English names for the ingredients they’re using.

In addition to being much more responsible at a young age, kids in Uganda don’t experience recreation like many kids in America. When they get home from school, they wash clothes, fetch water, and help prepare supper. At Faith, the students usually have time to complete their homework before leaving school as a result of not always having a teacher in the room. I imagine some kids do homework at home in the evening, but for those without electricity, this can be extremely challenging/potentially dangerous if they have to rely on Kerosene.

Over the weekends, kids have similar responsibilities but much more time to complete these tasks. When they’re not helping around the house, they may get together with neighborhood kids to play games like tic tac toe or run down the street pushing a tire. Some of the kids I’ve talked to say they love school so much because the weekend can be very boring. And honestly, I’m not sure what these kids do during the holiday (they have 1 month off following 3 months of school). Based on what I saw my first few weeks, many kids just hang out. When I led games at Faith those first few weeks, kids from the surrounding houses and streets would flock to the school yard. Most of these kids weren’t Faith attenders but it didn’t matter. A sign of activity made that the place to be!

While boredom is not a life threatening issue by any means, it makes me sad seeing how prevalent it is in the lives of these kids. The reason it bothers me so much is because extracurricular activities have always been such a big part of my life. And I think they helped me a lot! I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for all the choirs I’ve been a part of, volleyballs teams, high school musicals, math league teams, summer camp cabins, and cheese club meetings. I’ve learned many skills and techniques in these activities and have had a variety of opprotunities to develop as a leader. Extracurricular activities have always been much more than just a “good for your resume” to me. They’ve been my outlets and passions.

It makes me sad to think these kids won’t have these same opportunities. The path for success for a kid seems to be solely based on academic performance in the 4 main subjects. You don’t hear parents say things like “well he’s not very bright but you should see him draw! He’s quite the budding artist!” or “she isn’t a top student but you should hear her sing! She’s got a beautiful voice!” The talents they have aside from academic performance are not considered important.

As I’ve gotten to know students at Good Hope and Faith, I’ve seen some incredible talents. Sure, there are some students who are remarkably bright. But then there are some students who can look at a picture of anything and draw a perfect replica. Others are extremely fast runners. Some are amazing dancers! A group of my students are incredible soccer players (and resourceful with what they use to make a soccer ball! Past materials have included plastic bags, ropes, and water bottles). Some students are really good at fixing things. One of my students can do incredible voice impressions. Another one struggles in math class but can do some amazing mental math in her head. And another is an excellent leader at school. The list of skills, talents, and gifts I’ve seen could go on and on!

Sadly, many of these talents won’t grow and develop. Being part of a recreational sports team is expensive. There aren’t many dance classes offered. Playing an instrument is unheard of. Most schools don’t have art, music, or PE class. Kids can continue doing these for fun but they won’t have opportunities to learn from someone with experience or improve to performance level.

There’s one kid at Good Hope I’ve gotten to especially well named Brian! Brian is in Primary 6 and he’s a natural leader at school. He sticks out from the rest for his maturity and good manners. He lives near the volunteer house so he walks home with me every afternoon. He excels in math and wants to be an accountant when he grows up. We usually challenge eachother with math problems on our walks home. A few weeks ago, Brian introduced me to his soccer coach- Coach Alex.

In my time here, a number of people have shared their big ideas with me. I love hearing these ideas as many of them are ways to improve lives in Uganda on a large scale. They hope that by sharing their ideas with me, I’ll be able to get them the funds they need to start their institution. A few ideas have been an art school, a soccer stadium in Bulenga, and Disneyworld Uganda.

When I met Coach Alex, he also shared his big idea with me. What was different with his though was that it wasn’t an idea- it was stuff he was already doing! Like me, Coach Alex sees some amazing talents among the kids in Bulenga. He really loves kids and wants to help them as they grow up. He explained to me that when he was growing up, he had many experiences that were traumatizing and difficult to process. He longed to have someone to talk to aside from his parents, but was forced to deal with these struggles on his own. It is now his mission to make sure that all kids in Uganda have someone aside from their parents to talk to as they go through the developmental years of their life and try to make sense of the world around them.

Coach Alex runs a soccer and dance program for the kids of Bulenga and the surrounding villages. There are a few soccer teams, divided up by age and village. He also has some dance groups that perform at local events and celebrations. Because most of the kids he’s reaching out to come from poor homes, he tries to keep the program low cost/free. In addition to playing soccer and dancing, the kids in the program serve the community around them. Young soccer players have a particularly bad reputation around Bulenga, but the participants on Coach’s teams are trying to change that.

Coach Alex is only several years older than me but has a lifetime of wisdom. What I thought was going to be a quick “hi! Nice to meet you!” ended up being a few hours of chatting! Hearing his life story and how he started the program brought tears to my eyes. He’s one of the most forward thinking people I’ve met here and truly driven by his heart. Never once did he ask me for financial support or to connect him with people who could help him out. He simply explained what he’s doing and why he’s doing it, then asked me about myself!

These past few weeks, I’ve spent time with Coach Alex, seeing how his program works and meeting the participants. He’s the coach to hundreds of kids in the area. They all adore him and he knows each of them as an individual. Aside from coaching them in dance and soccer, Coach Alex is a mentor to these kids and encourages them in their school work and at home. He makes sure the kids know his door is always open. Even though he lives in a room slightly bigger than the closet in my college apartment, it’s usually filled with kids!

I’ve joined Coach Alex for a couple of dance performances and practices. I also got to watch a soccer game last weekend which was so fun! The dance practices occur over the weekend in a classroom. The floor is dusty and it can get very hot. But the kids never complain. The dances I’ve seen are different from the traditional styles. Usually Coach Alex choreographs something that tells a story. There may be some traditional dancing in it but it may also contain modern, jazz, and even ballet! The soccer game was incredible. It was so fast paced and filled with a lot of strategy and teamwork. I was really impressed. I joined the team for a scrimmage beforehand which was fun (and a little intimidating! But don’t worry- the ball only hit me in the face once)! When they’re practicing, the kids will play on a “field” made of anything from dirt to sand and they usually don’t wear shoes.

While the talent among the groups is incredible, the part of Alex’s programs that has amazed me the most has been the participants. The kids that I’ve gotten to know who train with Coach Alex are really remarkable kids. They are polite, responsible, hard working, motivated, and determined. Some of them are fantastic leaders. And 100% of them love what they’re doing. They are so happy to rehearse a dance move for the hundredth time on the same dusty floor or play a game of soccer in the pouring rain.

When Coach Alex explained all of this to me, I was a little skeptical. It seemed very charitable and unrealistic. But in the past few weeks, I’ve seen with my own eyes what kind of a difference 1 selfless and committed person can make. He really is changing the lives of these kids. That Brian for example has really been influenced by Coach Alex. Brian has played soccer with him for a few years and is also one of the leaders of one of the dance troupes. He’s become a true team player and an excellent leader. Coach Alex is not waiting for someone to help him with this great thing he’s doing or for enough money to do things at a high quality level. He’s doing this with his whole heart and working with what he has.

The other thing that has become clear to me after spending afternoons and weekends with Coach Alex is that he could use some help! Because the kids can’t afford to pay much of a participation fee, money is extremely tight for the program. Sometimes, Coach Alex can’t even afford to have soccer balls and cones to practice with. Aside from practice costs, the soccer teams and dance groups don’t have the opportunity to participate in many tournaments/performances because of the admission fee and cost of transportation. These costs are not high by American standards, but they can be far out of reach for an incomeless Coach trying to spread a little money across many things. I told Coach Alex if other people heard about what he’s doing, they may want to support his cause by donating money and I am hoping to do everything I can to share his story and about his program. I would love to find a soccer team or dance studio or some kind of recreational group in the US who could “adopt” Coach Alex’s program. If a group could support the program on a continual basis, then I think Coach Alex’s program will have the chance to not only be sustainable and free for more participants, but grow into something even more amazing!! If you have any ideas for ways to get Coach Alex’s story out there or for groups/individuals who may want to sponsor his program, PLEASE let me know! Since my internet access is a limited here, I’ll start working on this more when I get back to the US.

This week has been wonderful and I fall in love with Uganda more everyday. The full moon tonight is absolutely stunning and I’m sad it’s the last one I’ll see here. I can’t believe I’m about to enter into my final week here. The last few weeks have flown by and I’m not ready to think about leaving all the incredible people I’ve gotten to know. I’m so excited to be reunited with family and friends, but I’m not ready to leave so many friends that I’ve made here.

Love,

Hannah

A wonderful visit to Dream Nursery and Primary!

The kids LOVE the new swing set! A great way for them to practice sharing and helping eachother by taking turns pushing.

The Primary 3 class! They were so friendly and we had a wonderful time chatting :)

I don't think I was allowed to hold a baby until I was 14. Around here, young children carry their younger siblings all the time! Their mothers trust them. Kids with younger siblings often learn how to care for babies as they grow up.

Fetching water can be hard work- especially for kids that live far from the well! When I see a kid carrying 2 jerrycans, I usually offer to carry 1 as an attempt to walk in his/her shoes (or barefeet) for a short time. Holy moly these kids are strong because these jerrycans can get quite heavy!