Today we headed out to CCLS with a plan to go to the market at Kawate in the morning... however... we had the most awesome experience as we came down the road to the school. We made the turn onto the school road... and were greeted with a parade! All the students were coming down the street towards us with branches that they were waving, drums beating and people dancing. It gave me goosebumps! We all climbed out of the van in the middle of the road and joined our welcome parade and danced (yes, we ALL danced!) back to the school. The girls took off their costumes and put them on us as we danced. It was such an awesome and overwhelming experience to have them so excited for us to be back with them. What a great way to start our day!
I helped Dorothy hand out items to the kids who have sponsors back in the USA. The students wrote notes, we took their pictures and then gave them items from their sponsors. After that, I had the priviledge to talk to Sarah (via Violet who translated) about what her life is like as a young teenager in Kawate. We sat on wooden chairs under a tree out in a corn/casava field and she shared what she does on a typical day and what her weekends are like. It was very enlightening and also sad to hear her story. She does not eat lunch on a school day (she is gone from 7:30a.m.-5p.m.) because they can't afford school lunch and there is no food at home. She is a very sweet girl and shared much about her life with us.
After the interview, we walked down to the Kawate market. It was so fun! There were mainly clothes and food items for sale. Violet was our guide/translator. Many were there who also knew Rudy and Dorothy. We walked around and were able to take a few pictures after Violet got us permission. It was HOT out at the market as we had a bright and sunny day. It was great to see all of the items for sale and hear how they came to be for sale at the market. After we finished at the market, Violet and I went to Sarah's house to interview her mother. It was humbling to sit and talk with her in her home. She is a single mother of eight with two children living at home (Sarah is the youngest) and three grandchildren (the parents of those children did not want to keep them so they became her responsibility). She rarely has food at home and work is hard right now as she is sick with AIDS. I was blessed to present her with a quilt that had been sent along from Glendale Lutheran Church and also to give Sarah a purse and dress that was also made for her. It was humbling to see how touched they were by these simple gifts. Keep them in your prayers; their stories are so similar to many in the area.
We made a quick stop at the "source of the Nile" to see where the White Nile River began... and saw a bunch of monkeys up in a tree! I was so excited, as I've been watching for monkeys all trip! :) We left there and went and at at the "Triangle" which was a hotel/restaurant that Rudy, Dorothy, Violet and Charles knew. We started eating outside overlooking Lake Victoria... but the moths chased us back inside where we finished dinner.
We are now back at our hotel in Jinja. Tomorrow, we will pack up and load the bus and head to CCLS one more time for the dedication of the new school building. Following that, we will head to Kampala where we will spend our last few nights in Uganda before heading home. It's hard to believe we are heading into the end of our journey. It's been such a blessing to be here and get to know the people and talk to them and see firsthand what is going on.
Thanks for joining with me in the journey! :)
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