Early in 2008, the Mountain City Rotary Club undertook the Faith Garden Project, an effort to help 1,400 orphans in Kampala, Uganda. Donations were collected locally and matched at a rate of 2.5 with grants from the Rotary Foundation. The funds are for medicines, medical supplies and library books, among other things. The foundation is also covering the travel expenses for the Faith Garden Project team, Mary Gale and Marilyn Uhl, who left for Uganda on May 24. The following are the seventh and eighth in a series of letters from Mary Gale about their sojourn in Africa.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Oli Otya, (Hello)
Something amazing that I have found about these people in Suubi is the closeness that they have with each other. Each home has eight children who live in two bedrooms. The rooms would be considered small for one middle class American child and there are four in each bedroom with all of their things.
My ankle has healed enough to do some weeding today at several of the homes. As I was working, I heard much laughter and singing as the children played, but never heard a cross word coming from anyone. They have few toys and many chores, but they are able to create their enjoyment with what they do have. While I was eating lunch at Mother Aaron's, I remarked to Emmanuel my observations and he replied, "We are united." I have thought about that statement all afternoon and wonder how much Americans might learn from this.
The work I did today felt great! I know; how could one find so much enjoyment in weeding? The point that I was able to get out and be with the people was wonderful. I am as slow as molasses in January, and all those I have been around have given me so much moral support. They are a very thoughtful and kind people. As I was working, there were several very young children who came up to me and wanted to help. At first, I wondered if I dared, then I remembered that they are taught at a very young age to be responsible. With a little direction of pulling just the grass, they got busy and did a super job. Either they held the plant back for me to get the grass growing in the middle of the plant, or they were cleaning out around the perimeter of the flower. They even recognized plants that were not grass or the immediate flower being worked around and asked what they should do. Some of these children were probably only five to seven! I was impressed. It was not until almost lunchtime that a new little girl approached me with a handful of small flowers that I had to say to myself…whoops! When I started telling her to only pull the grass, she didn't seem to understand. I was then informed that she was deaf, and my heart just sank. I remembered a little signing and told her that I loved her, and she understood that without a problem. I realized that it was too difficult to explain the grass idea so I gave the children some cups and instructed them to go get some soil and then helped them plant a few flower seeds that I had. They then ran off to go water their new plants and some of the older boys from the homes came out to help me replant the flowers pulled up. They readily volunteered their help and thanked me several times for helping out. My, my, my! I do love these people. No matter what age, they always seem to be so grateful for any help rendered.
Mother Aaron had gone to see her ailing father and instructed a neighborhood young lady to make sure that I was taken care of. I sat down at the table and saw only a relatively small portion of beans and rice in serving dishes on the table. After we had grace, I started to serve myself and quickly asked how many were eating. I then realized that they had specially put a portion for her and me in serving dishes on the table, and the rest of the family were getting theirs from the buffet or from the kitchen. I gave her a hug and told her that I felt like a queen. After lunch, she walked me home holding my hand tightly on the steep inclines to make sure that I did not fall. When we arrived at the doctor's house, she thanked me again for all the work that I had done that morning, and said she very much would like to remain in touch with me when I got back to America. I was deeply touched by her sincerity. I have not had anyone here ever ask me for anything except for my friendship (no strings attached).
That reminds me of the time shortly after I hurt my ankle that Mother Hannifer brought me lunch wearing this gorgeous skirt. When I commented on how much I liked it, she immediately said she would go home and wash it and give it to me…. and she did! It took me a while to be able to return the favor with an American blouse, which was received very graciously.
I will close for now. I plan to go to the early service that is from 8-10 a.m. and need to make sure I am ready for the bodaboda man! Everyone is encouraging me to get a photo of myself on the motorcycle. I will take my camera, try not to be late and sit down in a chair that is not broken. I could do without any more embarrassing moments!
In His Name,
Welaba
Love, Mary
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
I plan to get theses letters out in the morning, so I decided to write a bit more. I started this note waiting for the bodaboda man to arrive to take me up the mountain for church. I didn't get very far before he arrived. It looked like rain and the people here are praying for it. The wind has picked up over the last week or two, and I have been told that it the sign of the dry season moving in. As I sat down in the large open room that is used for a church, I was reminded that I was in Africa as I watched a guard walking outside with a rifle. I guess I will never fully get accustomed to the site of so many weapons openly carried. The doorways are open with only doorways in the church and for the first hour, people continued to come in. There was much singing about being free which also seems a bit different than what we hear at home except for the early Christians. The minister started telling a story about a little church in a valley that was praying for rain. He continued to tell of a child who carried an umbrella to church showing her faith in prayer. When the statement was made, a roll of thunder filled the air and we lost power. It was only temporary, but they use power point for the songs because there are no hymnals. They also use it to present scripture during the second hour. The first hour, as I have mentioned before is filled with song, dance, and messages. There will be choir practice this week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday. I thought you choir members would appreciate that. The choir dances as well as sings…they certainly do know how to feel the Holy Spirit. The translating into Ugandan is with each sentence of the preaching, which I find totally amazing. Almost everyone is bilingual, and as scripture was being read, I glanced over at my neighbor's Bible to read it only to find it was written in Ugandan.
When the second hour of worship arrived, the younger children were instructed to go to Sunday School, and everyone else was encouraged to have their Bibles as well as pen and paper to take notes. AIDS and HIV are considered one of the worst enemies of all of Africa, and the statistics are mind-boggling.
After church, the motorcycle man, who doesn't speak English, was instructed by my dear nurse, Josephine to take me to Mother Robina's in House 31. I have enjoyed being with Robina and call her "the flower child" because of the enormous amount of beautiful flowers that she raises. The day before they insisted that I get x-rays and then was grounded, I had been there and was given seeds to share with the other Mothers.
I arrived way before lunch and was able to get pictures and visit. She was busy getting "the feast" ready, and had one of her daughters was kneading dough for the fried bread. We quickly connected, since I have made bread off and on for about 30 years. The amount of work that they do for a meal is amazing…. mainly on charcoal for cooking, and I did get some photos to show off their work. I was treated like a queen and so enjoyed her teenage children. She had had at least two children in the Watoto choir who had been to the UK, New Mexico, USA, and Australia in 2003. The photo albums came out and I did enjoy them a great deal. After we had eaten, the girls broke out in three-part harmony just having fun. I was amazed! I talked of Tennessee, friends and family as we sat around the table. One of them asked if I had had my hair braided and when I said no, but was waiting for someone to offer, they jumped at the idea. Two of them got started and the little deaf child from the day before appeared and got in on the act. Mother Robina helped with the final touches. They even went out and picked flowers to go in my hair. It was wonderful!
Mother Robina then walked me home and came in to see pictures on my computer. That was followed by Emmanuel coming over for a computer lesson and Marilyn returning from her trip to the equator that is nearby (I will visit the equator soon).
Will write again soon.
Much love,
Mary