The Best 65,000UGX I Have Ever Spent!

 

The view from our apartment

The other night I woke up at 1:30am DRENCHED in sweat from head to toe!  It is HOT, HOT, HOT!  The dry season continues until about March. I finally went on a search for some kind of fan to put by my bed so that I could sleep better.  After several unsuccessful attempts, I finally found my wonderful fan for 65,000UGX (approx $33).  Last night was the best night I have had since moving here.  I slept like a baby with the cool fan air blowing on me all night!  We wake up every morning to the sound of goats bleating, roosters crowing and babies crying.  We can even hear the neighbors talking in their homes.  I guess they can hear us too!

 

                                                           Our Neighbor cooking her dinner

The second best purchase I have made is a membership at the only pool in Gulu at the Acholi Inn.  I have gone twice now and thoroughly love it.  The first time I went I was able to actually swim some laps.  Our second time, Sunday, was just too many people playing in the pool.  The music is played loud, they dance on the deck and everyone is so happy.  We stayed at the pool talking with friends until past 10 pm.  It was a great time had by all. BTW, the local music played here is SO GOOD!  It’s mostly hip hop with a great beat; a favorite song of mine is “Gulu Boy”. Kayla went to the pool with some friends yesterday after the orphanage.  She likes to hang out with her new friends.  In fact, last weekend was her first time to go clubbing, and she had so much fun!

 

The kids playing at the orphanage

We had a BIG rain last night; in fact, it is still raining this morning.  It will be a very muddy day today. Dust is something that is everywhere.  Dust is in the air, all over the house, on our skin, all over everything.  We can’t escape the dust; we are just learning to live with it!  There are no screens on my windows, so I get all sorts of dust, blackened pieces of paper, bugs and beetles in our home; and LOTS of mosquitoes!  For those that really know me and know how kept my home in Hawaii is would be surprised to find how relaxed I have become in the cleaning department.  We don’t have a lot of belongings, so housekeeping is very simple- except the dust. I have mosquito bites all over; you can’t escape them.  Thank God for malaria medicine!

I have a new project at the orphanage.  They want a Polaroid picture of each orphan for the child’s folder.  It’s something they have been trying to get for a long time.  My son, Jeremy, bought me this great little Polaroid inkless printer that prints pictures directly from my camera.  So yesterday, Kayla took the first 20 or so pictures of the babies and I printed them up last night.  Today I will take them back to the orphanage and then take more pictures.  We are also going in early this morning to meet the Canadian Psychologist.  Kayla might be helping him with some of his work.  I am still tracking down that QB disc so that I can unlock it. Each day I go I spend it holding little Sandy the one month baby boy. He likes me and I enjoy holding him.  I finally have an accounting project at the office as well.  So I will split my time between the babies and my accounting.

 

Here is Sandy and I again!

My Favorite picture!

Another cutie at the Orphanage!

A good Rotarian friend of mine from Kapolei Rotary Club, Hawaii was moved by Kayla’s friendship with the neighbor girl who cannot afford her school fees but wants to become a nurse.  She offered to pay this girl’s tuition for her!  I had the privilege and joy of talking with this young lady, Agnes,  yesterday and I reviewed her last year school transcripts to ensure she was a serious student that would actually appreciate the help. Agnes was so touched and so happy that her school fees are to be paid; she was full of joy and happiness.  It was a very happy day. She has only missed two weeks of classes, so we are going to move fast and get her back in school as early as today or by tomorrow at the latest.  I am meeting her outside at 9:00 am to go to the bank where I will pull out the money and then take it to the school’s bank where we will deposit it.  She can take the bank note straight to the school and resume her classes.  If she does well this term, we will pay her term two and three before we leave.  This Rotarian friend and I would like to get several young ladies’ school fees paid because education is the only way out of poverty.  It means so much to me and so much to my dear friend who I hesitate to mention by name without her permission; you changed a young ladies life forever.

 

Agnes and Kayla.  Agnes will leave for school tomorrow!

As an update, I took Agnes to the bank earlier this morning and we got her school fees paid.  For merely $150, Agnes get full room and board and all her supplies and classes for 4 months; now that is a GREAT deal.  I didn’t realize she would actually be leaving and not coming back.  I thought her school was local.  There are SO many girls without the money for their tuition right now.  We all need to work together to help as many of them as we can.  There are girls at the orphanage who just need $57 per term for their fees.  I will take pictures and send infor about each of them as I learn their story.  So far, we have helped Agnes get back to school, and that is a great start.

 

Helping Frederick at his Frontline Engineering office

What a great day I have ahead as I help this young lady back into school, spend the morning at the orphanage, meet with the missionaries this afternoon, then spend a lovely evening with Rotarian President Grace Amono.  I’d like to squeeze in some swimming somewhere in this day; and a nap would be nice too!  Oh, lucky me!