Ten Hours on A Dirt Road!

Inspecting the 19 Rotary borehole wells.

On Wednesday of this week I accompanied Rotarian President Grace Amono to inspect the 19 borehole wells rehabilitated by Frederick Bese and his company, Frontline Engineering & Inv, Ltd. These borehole wells were rehabilitated as part of a Rotary project sponsored by Rotarians in the Washington state area. The work is complete, and PHF Grace just needed to visually confirm each well and Rotary sign post. Little did I know what I was in for this day, or more specifically, what my body would be going through on this journey into the bushes! We spent over ten hours of grueling and extremely bumpy roads to get to all the 19 well sites. We traveled to Amuru and near Pade in one day, which is quite unbelievable to those who know the places! I saw some incredibly beautiful country, and we were so far in the bush at times that we were no longer on a road, but more like on an animal path deep in the bush.

Inspecting another well with Frederick's team.

This is the Custom Corner borehole. Me, Frederick, & Joseph.

Frederick was driving, and he was in a hurry as he wanted to get to all of the wells in one day. At times it was raining and the roads were very slippery. He was going so fast! There were large potholes in the road and he would hit a puddle of water so hard that it would make a rainstorm of muddy water come down upon the misfortunate people that were walking on the road. It didn’t matter if they were small children, women, grandpas, or grandmas. They would all get soaked! Grace and I would scold him for splashing the walkers, but he insisted that it was better to be splashed with muddy water than to be hit by the truck because if he tried to put on his brakes or if he tried to miss the puddle, he might hit the person because the truck could slide. We passed a man and woman sharing a bike who were unfortunately near a large pothole and as we drove by them, they were covered by an entire sheet of muddy water! Not just splashes, but an entire shower of dirty water soaked them thoroughly! Frederick felt some mercy on them and stopped and gave them some money for soap to wash their clothes. Not everything was safe from his driving. It was sad when he hit the pig, and I am sure there are a few less chicks and chickens alive after we passed through a village. It’s illegal for animals to be on the road, so if they get in your way, you aren’t held liable if you hit them. Somebody will miss their pig tonight when it doesn’t come home……and somebody else is probably eating a good emergency pork or chicken dinner.

We're all in front of the Land Cruiser that takes us ANYWHERE we need to go!

Grace, Frederick, a Student trainee, me, and another guy named Frederick!

My body was extremely sore, bruised and unsettled by the time we returned late at night. We had been jostled and thrown all over the Land Cruiser and against each other. I can’t even begin to imagine the discomfort of Frederick’s crew that rode in the back of his truck for that far and that long! But all in all, it was a wonderful day. I saw some really beautiful country. Amuru District near the mountains of Guruguru Hills is said to be the original place of President Obama’s ancestors before they moved to Kenya. All of Africa loves Obama way so much. They might not know where Hawaii is on a map, but all I have to say is that I am from Hawaii, the birthplace of Obama, and they are all smiles. There is even a song written about Obama celebrating his heroism! It’s a nice song with a good beat.

Here is a very large anaconda snake and bobcats (below) we came across in our travels in the bush.

By the end of the day we had successfully witnessed the completion of all 19 Rotary wells that were rehabilitated. It was a very tiring, but fun day. By the way, the animal pictures were actually taken at the stadium and they were in cages; we didn’t actually see them in the bush!

Another wild animal we crossed paths with in the bush....

On other business, I have been working on a project for the orphanage in the accounting office. It’s not challenging, but at least it is different than just holding babies all day. I also went out dancing with a group of friends, including Kayla, this weekend and we had a wonderful time. It was super crowded, but it was still fun. Kayla and I have a good time when we go out together. I wish we had more good times together like that; it seems we argue more than we laugh these days. Teenage years are so difficult and teenagers think they know so much more than their parents. It is a very frustrating job sometimes.

Her bride price was 7 cows, 8 goats, 5 mill UGX, etc...

Kayla and I went to another wedding/engagement ceremony last night. It’s hard to explain the cultural differences here. To you, it would look like a wedding celebration; wedding cake, exchange of rings, exchange of words, etc; but it was actually an engagement party. Here in Acholi land, a couple lives together and has a child or two before actually getting engaged. After being engaged for a couple of years, they will get married in the church and have another large wedding celebration. The bride price was 7 cows, 8 goats, 5 million UGX ($2500), a Gomez for the mother, a suit for the father, and other things. The wedding was beautiful, the food was delicious, and we all had fun. Today is Palm Sunday, March 28th. Our group is going to a beach this afternoon near a pond for some relaxing. I’ll write more about this next week. I had a busy week; a good week. I want to thank those of you who are following my blog and sending funds for school fees. My goal is to get each of the girls on my list sponsored before I leave in May, and I am well on my way. Thank you everyone for your support!

Pictures of the wedding last night!

This was taken last night at the wedding.  Goodnight everybody!

Daily Life in Gulu

 

The Acholi Inn Swim Pool

Every day starts about the same way these days. I wake up around 7:30 or 8:30 each morning and slowly wake up; even enjoying an hour or so of reading before I get going. I boil the water for chai and eventually eat a banana or an apple for breakfast. Sometimes when I am taking my shower, I step to the side and wait for the water to get warm, but the water never warms up! I don’t even scream anymore when I submerge myself into its coldness! I find it refreshing now. In fact, when your legs have goose bumps from the cold water, it makes a very smooth shave for the legs! Eventually, Kayla rolls out of bed in the late morning and gets ready for the day. We take our mornings slow because our nights are often late. There are morning chores that need to be done. Sometimes there are clothes to wash, a cement floor to sweep, dishes to clean, and things to put away. I have to remember to recharge both solar flashlights and radio each morning and to charge all electronics when needed. We have been without power again for the last 24 hours. I really hate being home without electricity-there is nothing to do but read with a flashlight! On nights like this we like to go to the pool because they have a generator and always have power. We usually head to the orphanage before noon and stay three to four hours.

This is the lifeguard at the pool and a good friend- Morris

At the orphanage I am doing one of two things. I am either helping in the accounting office, or I am holding one of the babies so that the mothers can go eat lunch or do their chores. Kayla has some friends she will go sit with, sometimes holding one of the babies, in the P-7 class (7th grade). She likes to listen to the lesson and talk with the girls. She will also play soccer with the kids. She is mostly on the other side of the orphanage than I am; she is with the older kids and the handicapped kids. Although rewarding, the volunteering time goes slow. I must be truthful here and say that I am bored. I have not been engaged in the accounting office in any challenging manner. I have mostly done data entry work or writing of receipts. My brain is idle and it drives me crazy. I’m not used to doing so little.

 

Innocent working as the DJ for the pool.

We head back home in the late afternoon. Sometimes we need to stop at the Gulu “Supermarket”, a place we can get the few staples we need like toilet paper, honey, soup, etc. We buy our bread at the bakery, and our fruits and vegetables at the market. It seems I am having to go to the bank for one thing or another almost every other day; often to just get smaller bills from larger ones so that we can have boda money. All these little errands take lots of time because we are on foot and everything in the town is spread out. It is hot and very dusty in the streets. One time I had to walk a ways on this dirt road for lack of a boda, and by the time I got home, I was a different race! I had a thick layer of dust all over my face, arms, clothes and in my nose and ears and eyes. I am still getting red dirt out of my ears on a Q-tip days after that event! I usually eat some beans at the orphanage. Kayla is now refusing to eat beans and poshe, and then she complains about being hungry and she wants to buy special food for her instead of eating beans like everyone else. It makes me angry that she can’t eat what everyone else is eating.

 

Kayla and her friend Innocent

If Kayla and I are not at the orphanage, we are at the Acholi Inn swim pool. It is the coolest spot to be in this kind of heat. We have friends we talk with and the music is great. My favorite thing to do now is the sauna. I love to sit in there as long as possible without passing out, with sweat pouring from every pore. I take a cold shower and repeat. It makes my skin so soft and is so good for the body. Sad to say though, that I won’t be jumping into the pool any more….it made my hair turn slightly green on the ends. I did some research on the internet and learned that aspirins, or lemons, or baking soda will take the green out, but the only thing I can find is lemons, so I will repair my hair tomorrow. It’s not super noticeable; just to me.

I go home about 8:00 or so, and read a book and am soon asleep unless we have plans to go somewhere or we go out to a club or a late dinner or something like that. Life has slowed down, and we have a routine now. We have made friends and we are enjoying ourselves……all these pictures were taken today.

Launching of World Vision/Rotary Project

 

Rotarian Tim Murphy from MN is the Rotarian that lead the joint World Vision/Rotary Project.

Today, March 18th, I attended the launching of the World Vision/Rotary Project in Paicho. The overall objective of the project is to improve sanitation and hygiene practices and access to safe water for Northern Uganda. They will construct 28 boreholes, repair 16 boreholes, construct 16 rain water harvesting tanks, 16 latrines in schools, and several other hygiene projects. It is almost a $1 million dollar project.

 

Assistant Governor Dist 9200 Andrew and I.

The Vision statement for World Vision: “Our vision for every child; Life in its fullness. The Rotary Moto: “Service Above Self”.

This is the borehole well we had to clean up.

We started the day off cleaning up the borehole well at Paicho. The original Rotarian that helped start this project, Tim Murphy, from Minnesota attended this event. We swept the area of debris, cut the long grass around the well, and lined the drainage hole with rocks. Lots of fun and pictures were had by everyone. There were traditional dancers, lots of speeches (many of them WAY too long…), and a celebration. We were back in town about 2pm, and the team from MN had to left for Kampala. We had a nice visit.

Traditional dancing was the entertainment.

We watched as a home for a teacher was built by the villagers.

Rotarians Tim Murphy and AG Andrew help build a hut.

Am I on a “World Tour”?

Every young child learns to do their own laundry at a very early age.

My ex thinks I am on a world tour; I guess he thinks I am on a vacation! Here is why I am not on vacation. My bed is on the floor and sometimes I get woke up by a roach crawling on me. I don’t know how they get under my mosquito net. I try to tuck it in good around me, but there is obviously a leak somewhere. Tonight I swept up 12 dead roaches in the kitchen after they crossed over the line of poison that I have drawn on the floor by the door. Thank God for roach poison, but it’s almost gone! This is my world tour.

Bath time is cooling off time!

Roaches aren’t my only problem on this world tour of mine. Mosquitoes are our constant blood sucking problem every night. Our windows need to be opened at night for the fresh air or it gets too hot, so the only safe place after sun down is under the net. You can make a quick dash to the bathroom or to the kitchen, but you’ll get plenty of company real fast! I have a hard time remembering if I took my malaria pill. I hate to take pills.

Kayla playing with some kids under the mango tree.

Diarrhea is another benefit on our wonderful world tour. Mine lasted 2 weeks and I didn’t want to take an anti-biotic because I had already taken so many in Dec and Jan for other issues. I was given some pro-biotic by the missionaries, and that seemed to help my intestines stabilize. Now Kayla has been struggling for about two weeks. I have put her on an anti-biotic, so she should be feeling better soon. We both know exactly where all the flushing toilets are in town. I have only had to use the “hole” or the squatter a few times here. You can see by the pictures that we both have lost weight.

Baby Kayla with her rash.  She is better now.

Baby Kayla at the orphanage is sick with a rash. I took pictures of her and took them to the Rotary meeting on Thursday night and showed them to Rotarian Dr. David. He gave me a prescription for her medicine and I took it to the orphanage this morning. She has a bacterial skin infection with pus pockets on her chest and arms. She will be feeling much better by tomorrow.

Across the street from my house is the garbage pit!

My neighbor, granny, has malaria. The medicine, quinine, costs about 1,500UGX. I gave her 3,000UGX for it, but she didn’t go get it. I should have bought it for her at the pharmacy. A couple of days later the land-lord came and bought her the medicine, but she needed to go to the hospital by then because she was so sick. Many people get malaria here. With Kayla’s diarrhea, the first thing everyone asks is could she have malaria?

Sandy is growing bigger!

Warm water is the chosen drink on this world tour. No fridge means warm water. In Hawaii, I drink soda everyday; diet soda. I love it! Well guess what? Not many people need diet soda in Africa! I know of one store that carries it sometimes, so about once every two weeks I buy my soda for 2,000UGX ($1), which is a lot of money for people here; I sit down and enjoy every molecule of my can of diet coke!

Getting a drink of water.  I have safely drank this borehole water from the orphanage.

There is no maid service on this world tour of mine, so I have to wash all my clothes by hand. Underwear is easy and soft to wash in a sink; shirts are not too bad in a bucket; but pants- wow- pants are difficult to wash and especially to squeeze all of the water out of them. Because I don’t get much water out of them, they can take two days to dry outside. Try figuring out where to hang your wet clothes to dry when it is raining outside.

This is Lucky Lucy, Kayla's best friend.

I have mentioned a few of the problems we face on this world tour of mine, but I must say there are more benefits than problems. The music here is amazing! The words are meaningful; the beat is uplifting and great to dance to. The countryside is so beautiful. The people are amazing and kind and full of love. I guess after 25 years of violence, peace and kindness would become priority in your life.

Jackie is the social worker at the orphanage.

I am on this world tour because of a crisis in my life. I came to pull my head and heart and life together after someone almost destroyed me. I have done that. I am whole. I survived my war. I am so glad I had the sense and the courage to do what I needed to do to fix my life. I found peace and love again. I came to Gulu!

I am watching a soccer game with Kayla's friend Stephen.

I am in a dream that will end in May, and I will have to return to my real life, which is not so bad to me anymore. I’ve learned to look at life in a different perspective; through the eyes of a people that have been in a war situation for 25 years. My life is good. My life is great! I look forward to the challenge of building my business and rebuilding my life. I am blessed that I get to go home to the beautiful island of Hawaii that I love very much; the ocean, the white sand, the waves, the sunsets, my evenings on the beach. I am blessed with amazing friends that I look forward to seeing again. Until then though, I will appreciate everyday that I am here, because this dream will end soon.

I Love Electricity!

A traditional Acholi grinding stone and stove.

After living almost four days without electricity, it came back on tonight! Yeah! I was just about out of boiled water and all our electronics needed to be charged; our computers, camera, phones, DVD player, etc. I like my lights on at night. I have had to read by flashlight at night. Good thing we bought these awesome solar flashlights. We also brought a solar operated radio which is pretty cool. We have been doing everything at night by flashlight, and it is not fun. When the lights go off in Gulu, it is the darkest of dark! We are so remote that the night is truly black and you can hardly see your hand in front of your face, but the stars are amazing!

Three little boys in a village we visited.

Every day I meet someone with such a sad story. It’s a wonder I don’t get depressed here, but I think what is happening is that I am realizing my divorce, my broken family, my broken heart, my lost puppies, and my lost home is nothing compared to what most of these people are facing. Yesterday I met someone who just found out she was HIV positive from her husband of 20+ years. He was cheating on her and he brought the sickness to her. Now she will be on medicine for the rest of her life. I cried for and with her. Today at the orphanage they brought me a young girl, 13, who was beaten by her aunt three years ago and she is now blind from that beating. They asked if I can find a sponsor for her school fees. I have a growing list of children that need help getting into schools. People are finding out that I am getting school fees paid by donations and they are coming to me for help. They just keep coming and coming. I don’t know that I will be able to assist them all, and I tell them that, but the donations do keep coming.

My good friend Rotarian Dr. Ben Abe

This morning I went to four different banks to pay the school fees of four different students. It was a great day. Agnes, 23, the one kidnapped by the rebels at the age of 14, and married to a rebel soldier at this young age will now return to school to finish her education. We still need money for her 6 year old daughter’s school fees. Rebecca, my neighbor girl, has already left for school even though I just paid today. I guess she just told them that the money would be coming, and she just jumped into classes! She didn’t want to miss another day. Cecelia is one of the three the girls from the orphanage that we are working with and she will now attend school starting tomorrow. She is a happy young lady. We have helped four girls from the orphanage so far. There are three more from St. Jude’s Orphanage on my list, including the blind girl. If anyone is interested in helping, just send me an email at rhosling@msn.com. Overall, we have helped 9 people total get back to school.

Once a month USAID distributes food to HIV positive people.

I am a swim instructor once again. Isn’t life funny like that? The swim lesson coach from Gulu University was teaching a class when I was swimming laps, and we got to talking. I showed him how to do the back, breast, and butterfly strokes, and he asked me if I would demonstrate to his students. So today, I got in the water and worked with his swim students. We worked mostly on free style and then introduced the back stroke. I enjoy teaching people how to swim. So every Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon I will be teaching the Gulu College sports science class.

USAID distributing food at the orphanage.

After swimming, napping and reading by the pool, Kayla and I met Frederick in the garden of Acholi Inn for dinner. Acholi Inn Hotel has the best chicken and chips and salad! The music is always great, and the garden is beautiful. Although it is twice the cost ($5) to eat here rather than our normal places ($2.50), it is worth it!

Kayla is holding Baby Kayla and watching the knitting at the orphange.

I paid my electricity bill today. I know my friends in Hawaii will be jealous of my very large electricity bill of 30,000 UGX ($15) and my big water bill of 10,000 UGX ($5)! My rent for this two bedroom apartment is 365,000 UGX, or about $185. Yes, my money goes so much farther here in Gulu, Uganda than it does in Hawaii!!

The Smells of Gulu

The only pool in Gulu-Acholi Inn Pool

Every day when I leave my apartment, my nose is accosted with so many different smells both repugnant and pleasant. First, as I walk out my door, I smell the delicious scent of corn meal (poshe) and beans cooking in the pots of our neighbors. It is a delicious and warm smell and it makes me hungry. I am hungry a lot here because I don’t eat regularly. It’s not that I don’t have the money to buy the food; it’s just not convenient for me to walk to the market everyday and get what I need for my house. I try to have at least one good meal out each day, but the rest of the day I am hungry. Yes, I have lost weight, but I needed to do that anyway. I need to go hunting for some new pants that aren’t so baggy. I just can’t bring myself to buy skirts like I should, though. I have never liked wearing skirts and dresses.

I was the video recorder for the repair of the Custom Corner Borehole Well- Repaired by Frontline Engineering & Inv LTD and funded by Rotarians.

As I leave my yard, I am repelled by the strong scent of the raw trash pile across the street. It smells like rotten food and sewage. If it’s a very hot day, the smell is even more elevated. When I throw my garbage on the pile, the children in the neighborhood will go through it so see if there is anything they can use. I worry about this. We throw some gross things away, like everybody else! I was told it would be better to throw it out at night when the children are asleep, so I have done that.

Two kids at the orphanage are too tired for lunch!

I continue up the hill to the main road. The smoke from the fires of the mud thatch houses slowly come over to me. I love the smell of their campfires; it reminds me of all the camping my family use to do in Texas. On the corner of the main road and my road, a homeless man lives, cooks and sleeps on the garbage heap here. He suffers from the disease Elephantitis, a disease which causes his left leg to be very large and swollen like the leg and foot of an elephant. He also has a bit of mental illness. He is both very nice, yet scary at the same time. He always greets me when I pass and I say the Acholi greeting back to him.

A woman's soccer game.  It was fun to watch!

As I head into Gulu town, the charcoal sellers are on my left. The burnt smell of the trees they have burned to create all this charcoal violates my senses. Pile after pile of charcoal is stacked by the ladies whose feet and hands are as pitch black as the charcoal they are handling. Their children sit in the charcoal dust and their clothes and bodies are as black as night. Now I have reached the market. The delicious smell of peanuts and sesame seeds being ground and mixed together into a paste at the mill is a delight to my nose. I have bought some of this paste, and it is delicious. I continue past the mill into the market where the overwhelming strong smell of the fish market invades every pore of my body; Dried fish, smoked fish, big fish, little tiny fish, and fresh fish with their heads and tails still on. This is the fish market. Flies are everywhere. I move quickly here because the smell is just too much for me. I next enter the fruit and vegetable market. The wonderful smell of bananas, oranges, papaya, pineapples and tomatoes and so many other delicious fruits mix together to become a large fruit and vegetable salad to my nose. These are the foods that make up the majority of my diet. This is where I shop for my groceries. After the fruit market, there is the beans and peanuts and corn flour and millet market. When I buy raw peanuts, by neighbor will roast them for me. It is the most amazing smell ever- warm roasted peanuts. In Gulu, peanuts are mixed with ground sesame seeds to make a delicious paste similar to our peanut butter. I use it on rolls and crackers. These are the smells of Gulu.

Kayla and I dancing the night away with friends

The dust is always blowing in the air. It gets in our eyes, in our noses, and all over our bodies, especially when the wind blows just before a big storm or when the boda bodas zoom by too fast. Dust is something we live with always. It is all over our house, on top of everything. Even burnt pieces of paper come through our windows and settle over everything. It is from the open burning of garbage and weeds.

This is very busy mother!

This is the Gulu I love. It is a beautiful place to be right now at this time of my life. I have learned so much here. Here is an example. One of my dogs is very sick at home right now. In fact, even worse, they have been placed by my ex-husband with strangers as he did not take them with him when he moved. I was crying for my dogs and the possibility that I might need to give them a new home for I am unable to provide for them for quite some time. My African friend let me know that a woman does not cry for dogs or any animal. Save the tears for the death of a mother or father or child. Crying is saved for the very serious things, not a dog. I was very humbled by this and I am learning. We in America live a much softer life and we love everything too much. In Gulu they have lost many family members to death, kidnapping, torture, and rape. They have a reason to cry. I don’t. I can’t worry about what is going to happen to my little babies at this time because I am too far away to do anything about it. I get no sympathy from my friends here because they think I am silly when I cry for an animal. I will have to tackle this problem when I am back in the USA.

Rotarian Ben Abe was here in Gulu from Seattle for a week.  The man on the far left is the District Commissioner (like the Mayor of Gulu). They are in their warrior position.

I went dancing last weekend for the first time, and it was amazing! Kayla and I had so much fun together. We laughed, we danced, and talked with friends. It was an amazing evening. You can see by the pictures how much fun we were having! Our work continues at the orphanage and helping young girls get to school. Tomorrow I will be paying the school fees of FOUR MORE GIRLS!!! Yeah to everybody helping me do this! We are working together to change the lives of some wonderful young ladies.

Kayla, Frederick and I