Traveling with Rhona

Paying School Fees

2012-02-14T07:47:00.002-08:00

Ocen Patrick

Acen Susan Louis

I am here in Uganda paying school fees for about 45+ kids. I have $10,000 to work with. The Well of Hope Foundation raised $5,000 and the African Promise Foundation raised another $5,000+ for school fees for me to pay. The first year of recruiting kids is the easiest; it’s a matter of picking kids who are vulnerable, who have at least average grades, and kids who have a desire to excel and complete. I rely on Jackie and Ronald, social workers from St Jude Orphanage, to assist me in this. We actually go and see their homes. Everyone is financially challenged here, so it is important to identify the really vulnerable ones. The subsequent years can be challenging because problems always arise.

Akera Stella

I have had to set some definitive parameters. If they don’t pass the school year, for any reason, they are not selected again. It’s important to do this or I would be making very hard choices year after year that are difficult and hurt my heart. There are many kids waiting for sponsorship.

Akwero Nancy

Last year, one of my girls was not promoted. She insisted the head teacher had feelings for her and had tried to make advances toward her. When she didn’t respond to him, he failed her. Something didn’t ring true though. She couldn’t answer how the head teacher got all of her other teachers on board to give her bad grades in every class. After a lot of tears and frustration for both of us, she was let go. I found out later that she had forged her good grades on her initial report card to me in her first year.

Layet Gloria

A boy last year received all F9’s on his report card, so he was let go. He didn’t fuss about it though. He was interested in school anymore. I didn’t go through Jackie and Ronald for him. Sometimes I do pick up a neighborhood boy or girl or a friend of a friend. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.

Ocen Patrick

This year we have several stories. We lost one girl to Gonorrhea. Yes, it is true. She was dismissed from the school when they found out about her condition. She actually came to me for medication. I learned that the medication is given out free at the clinic, so I counseled her to go to the clinic for treatment. She was not promoted, so was not picked up for 2012.

Piloya Simple

The next story is the hardest story; the story that I counseled with 4 other people about to help make a decision. This girl was living with her aunt during the school break. There was only three days left until she could return to her very fine boarding school. Unfortunately, the aunt beat her (leaving marks still visible on her back). The girl ran away to the bus stop and caught a bus with a stranger to Jinja (very far away). She missed the entire third term and was not promoted. She has returned to Gulu and is now living with her uncle and wants to repeat the year. We all decided that she could have made better choices. She could have come to St Jude for those final 3 nights for shelter. She could have gone to the uncle’s house where she is currently living. We felt she had better options to choose from instead of fleeing to Jinja with a stranger. Something wasn’t right about her story. The four of us, as hard as it was, voted not to let her repeat the grade; especially since she was attending a high end school. Her desire to complete her education did not take priority in her decision making.

Lawino Janet

One of our boys had so many family responsibilities that he wasn’t able to attend classes and didn’t pass. Another young man begged us to continue paying into his higher education years because 2012 was his last year of his current vocational school. These are some of the VERY tough choices we have to make.

Acen Susan

Almost all of the kids are successful. Out of 45 kids, we only lost about 4; I’m not done contacting all of the kids, so my figures are not final. My very first St Jude girl, Gladys, was promoted from a day school to a nice boarding school. Her grades have been excellent and she is a hard worker. I have Janet, a partially blind girl, who will be moved from a lower end primary boarding school to a high end boarding school for the blind. Her grades are excellent (aggregate of 16; Division II). She is a very fast runner. Several other day school kids were moved to boarding if they had been performing well. It is especially important and in some cases mandatory for the upper grades of S4-S6 to board so that they have more study time and can be serious. School is very hard here; especially A level S5 and S6 (equivalent to 12^th and 13^th grade or the first year of college in the US).

Gladys Alimogum

Never, ever, ask the student “how much are your fees?”!! You must require the official parent letter which will have the real school fees on it. Last year, I had one of my students bring me a hand-written note requesting a larger than expected amount for her school fees. I felt I was being had. That’s when I learned about parent letters. I requested and received the real figures. The staff at her school had inflated her amount because I was a sponsor and they wanted extra money from me. This year, I sat down at the desk of one of the head teachers and asked how much I owed for all three terms. He said 83K, 83K, and 83K for a total of 249K. I pulled out my parent letter and said, “Your parent letter says that the term fees are 72K, 72K and 72K for a total of 216K.” He was embarrassed.

A toy car made of a water bottle

If you don’t investigate the living situation of the child, you might find that he/she was on a government scholarship already and that your funds will be used by the school for other purposes; a school NEVER turns away money, even if it is not owed. And they don’t give it back if the child doesn’t show up. I pay the school fees directly to the bank. The child never sees the money. I give the child and the school a copy of the bank slips. I keep a copy for our records and the donor, if they are interested. Also, I only pay school fees. The child is expected to pay for the school requirements. At this age, they can dig or work for a little money between breaks.

Jackie and Ronald are the social workers with St Jude who help me find vulnerable kids. I couldn't do this without all of their hard work.

This is my 3^rd year, and my program is getting bigger and bigger every year. It is sustainable, and I will see to it that every child I have in my program will have funding every year until they graduate. Education is the foundation of progress and the only way to get Northern Uganda out of this horrible level of poverty and corruption.

I'm Back in Gulu

2012-02-05T02:41:00.000-08:00

I went from very cold England (borrowed the coat) to HOT HOT Uganda!!

After spending a month in England visiting old friends and making new ones, I have returned to Gulu, Northern Uganda. It is the beginning of a new year. I will be busy for the first month paying school fees for my Well of Hope Foundation kids (about 20 kids). I will pay the school fees for the African Promise kids as well (about 20 or more). That’s a lot of report cards to review, a lot of trips to the bank, a lot of bank forms to fill out, copy and organize. It also brings me a lot of pleasure and joy. Lucky me J

England was a very lovely place (They like the word “lovely”). I wasn’t prepared at all for the cold weather. I just don’t like being cold. I stayed with Mark and Shelley Scribbins, who were my friends from Hawaii before they moved across the Atlantic to Margate, Kent, England. It was very kind of them to host me in their cozy home. Shelley is a great cook, and I came away from her home with a few added pounds. It was worth it though; I will get them off in Africa. With two teenage kids at her house, it reminded me of my own busy days raising kids; all the shopping, cooking, cleaning and never ending washing.

This isn't as good as Shelley's gourmet cooking, but it's my favorite dish here!

This is Gladys' third year in my program. She was the first child sponsored from St Jude's Orphanage.

As always on my travels, I learned so much from my stay there. I came away wiser. I hope I left some gifts of wisdom as well. It’s a give and take experience when I stay with a family for awhile. I lend a hand where I can, a shoulder and an ear, tell a story, and share my life and my love. In return, I get friendship, meet new people, and eat great food, laugh, and have “new” experiences. It’s a win win situation.

A New Pool In Gulu to enjoy :)

This is where i am living. Solar power, flushing toilet...just like home :)

This year in Gulu I will be spending time with Aid Africa helping them out with their accounting and working in the field; planting trees, assembling and mudding stoves, and fixing borehole wells. I have always been attracted to the good work that Aid Africa is doing. It is supported by many Rotary Clubs in the US. The staff is kind and fun to be with. The work they are doing is important.

Greeting new friends at St Jude Orphanage.

Jackie and Ronald are the Social Workers that help select the children we sponsor.

I know the question that is on many of your minds. Don’t I miss my family? Of course I miss them greatly; so so much! My three boys are in Texas now; one in the Coast Guard, one in University, and the other working. They are all living near each other for the first time in many years. They are taking care of each other now, and that makes me so relieved and happy. I lived and worked far away on an Island, so whether I am in Africa, or I am on the Island of Oahu, I was/am far away. My daughter is in good hands. I pray for her every day, and send her my love. She is working on completing her education.

These stoves are smokeless and very economical; perfect for cooking inside the hut. They use just a tiny bit of wood or coal. This is Jenna, the Peace Corp Volunteer at Aid Africa.

The Village Bobi

For now, I will throw myself into my work in Gulu. I know with all of my heart that I am where I am supposed to be and doing what I am supposed to be doing. I get this confirmation many times every day. I will write about my experiences and post pictures of this beautiful place. Happy New Year everybody!

This woman needs extra help tying her stove because she is crippled.

George is explaining the days program to the women.

Time to take her stove home. The next step is the mudding of it inside her hut.

How Did I Do It?

2011-11-27T18:42:00.000-08:00

I knew I had to write another blog when someone came up to me today and asked me how I got Rotary International to pay for my one year trip! On a different day, someone asked me if The Well of Hope Foundation paid for my travel! Some thought I went on a mission, perhaps paid for by my church. No, Rotary did not pay for my trip. The Well of Hope did not pay for my travels. The church did not pay for me to go on a mission. I will tell you how I did it. All the actual details will be in my book that will someday be for sale :)

In India, I lived here for about a month before moving into...

this lovely home with this amazing family :0

I miss you guys. I will return....

I paid for my trip out of my own pocket. My budget was $1,000 per month. I am an accountant. I am good with money. I also raised a large family on a tight budget, so I know how to stretch a dollar. I budgeted $500 for monthly living expenses like rent, food, utilities, internet and phone. The other $500 went for travel expenses.

Uh, this is in China. This food is too local for me!!

Setting up a new internet system and a new phone was always the highest priority upon arriving in any country. In Chile, there was a wireless system in the house so it cost nothing. In Ethiopia, though, it cost about $120 (yes, US dollars) to get the internet modem, minutes, and phone set up. In Uganda I was using a borrowed modem, so the cost was just the monthly refill of about $40/mnth. Every country I was in had a prepaid phone system, so you pay for the minutes before you use them. Local calls are always cheap. In Uganda, I once made a 1 hour and 15 minute phone call to my daughter for 13,000UGX (less than $6), but calling out of country in India was way too expensive.

Partaking of the local dishes is important when traveling :) Yum!! (Argentina)

For my rent, each country was different. I did not stay in fancy hotels. I lived with the local people. In Chile, the family of my Rotary Exchange Student (Emilia's family) refused to take my money. So I saved that boarding money for three months and I took Emilia and I to Machu Picchu, Peru. In Argentina, we stayed at a hostel for a mere $10 a night. In Uganda I rented a room for less than $200 a month. India was my most expensive, but I learned I was being overcharged at the Yoga Ashram. I was paying $500 for room and board and yoga, but that left no room for my phone, internet or personal expenses. The arrangement only lasted for 25 days and then I found a better, cheaper place to live. In Ethiopia I stayed at a friend's house; she was not in the country at the time. I paid for my food and the house helper, and I made a contribution to her Joy Center. Living on the economy in a foreign country and away from the tourist hotels opens your eyes to the real world.

In Chile, I stayed with Emilia's family.

In Uganda, I rented a small apartment.

My bed was my desk, my dining table, and my sitting room.

I avoid eating at the tourist hotels or the "white people" (mazungu) places. They are always the most expensive place in town; places like coffee huts, internet cafes, ice cream shops, hotels. A typical meal at a tourist hotel in Uganda is 16,000UGX ($6.40)!! A meal in a local, nice cafe is 5,000UGX ($2)! After living in a place long enough, one refuses to pay such "exorbitant" prices too often. Even though by US Standards, $6 is a cheap dinner, in Uganda, that $6 can pay for 3 nice meals in a local joint. I have even eaten a VERY good meal for 2,000UGX, which is less than $1. I only ate out once a day for the main meal. The rest of my meals were simple local foods like bananas, avocado, peanuts, peanut butter and rolls, etc. Snacking is non existant in almost every country I visited, and that is probably the main reason I lost weight. I wasn't exposed to chips, cookies, cakes, etc. Just good, solid, fresh food. Nothing in a box or a can.

Lots of good seafood and fresh produce in Chile

Now the second $500 each month went to my next air ticket. If I stayed for three months in one place, I had a $1,500 budget for my next move. One way tickets can be cheap if you meet several criteria. First, you need an excellent travel agent. I have a fellow Rotarian friend that owns a travel business in Seattle, and he is REALLY good at finding me cheap tickets. If I can fly at God awful hours, and if I am flexible with my dates, and if I am not air-line loyal, cheap one-way tickets and sometimes round trip tickets are available. I flew one way to South America, one way to Uganda, and the others were round trips. My trip to England was the only trip ever paid for by a very generous friend, and it was to participate in a very special ceremony in England with the Ethiopian Ambassador and my new friends. I wrote about it a few blogs back.

Local Uganda meal.

Typical Ethiopian Local food.

This is how I went to 10 countries in 11 months; Chile, Peru, Argentina, Uganda, Kenya, China, India, Ethiopia, England, and back to the United States. $1,000 a month. I lived with the locals, ate local food, didn't buy many souvinirs, and kept my entertainment costs simple. If I settle down and stop flying around, my living costs might be more like $6,000/year! Plus the cost of coming home for the holidays...

What will I do different next time? I already have some ideas. First, I am taking a small, portable DVD player, and alot of DVD TV series that I love. This helps at night time when there is no electricity. I am going to get an Amazon Kindle that I can have MANY books downloaded on. English books are sometimes hard to find, and you have to read what you find on a shelf. I want to have a solar phone charger on hand. I now know the clothes that I will actually use. I still have all of the essential flashlights, safety gear, etc. I want to get a can of mace spray. Wait, wait, wait!! I am getting WAY AHEAD of myself! It is still late November and I am in Hawaii. I know that I cannot plan for more than two months out because my life is changing too fast. It is time for me to put away my computer, and get out there for my daily walk along the beautiful ocean shore. The whales are supposed to be jumping. Maybe today.....

I have returned to Hawaii to catch my breath,

See my children,

And spend time with friends...

What Will Happen Next Is Still A Mystery.....stay tuned :)

Raising $4,000 for School Fees

2011-11-17T00:42:00.000-08:00

Rina is a Nursing Student at Gulu University. The Well of Hope just paid $400 for her last semester of Nursing School. She is in email contact with her sponsor, Paula Bailey.

I am currently raising $4,000 dollars to pay for the third year of School Fees for my 20 teenagers in Gulu, Uganda. But I dont want to stop at 20 kids. If I can raise $20,000, I will sponsor 100 kids! I will reach my goal some day. I know this. Education is my passion, and I have always succeeded when it comes to something I am passionate about. My donors from past years have been great and very supportive so it won't be a daunting task. This project is sustainable, and these lives depend on me and my ability to raise the funds. So I am reaching out to all of my readers to help me do this. I collect the funds through the Well of Hope Foundation, a 501(C) 3 non-profit organization. Our Federal I.D. # is 20-8086100. Every dime that you donate is spent on a child. There are not many charities that can claim that 100% of your donation goes to the cause! You may send a check payable to:

The Well of Hope Foundation
P.O. Box 30904
Honolulu, HI 96820

Let me share some of the stories with you.

CHARLETTE ADONG is16 years. Charlette’s father died from HIV. Her mother died in an ambush during the war. She now lives with an Auntie who has 6 other children to care for, and cannot afford school fees. Charlette is attending Pope Paul boarding school, which has improved her living & studying arrangements. Charlette is S-2, which is 9th grade. Her boarding school fees were $476 last year.

AGNES AKELLO is 24 years old. Agnes was abducted by the LRA Rebels when she was 14 and given to a LRA soldier as his wife. She was with him for two years before he was killed. She escaped and returned home to find her father and elder brother dead from the rebels. She supports her mother and daughter and several villagers with her small salary cleaning for others. Agnes’ grades were fantastic at Alliance High School for adults. She is now in S-3 (10th). Her school fees were $120 last year.

SARAH ADYERO is16 years old. Sarah’s mother is caring for 8 orphans whose mother died of cervical cancer. During the war, the cattle which were of great help to their family were collected and taken by rebel soldiers. Sarah’s mother has great chronic pain of the backbone which prevents her to do heavy work like digging or walking long distances which could help in earning some money to help the family. She is S-6 (13th grade) at Sacred Heart Secondary School. Her full year boarding school fees were $489.

MERCY AKELLO is 16 years old. Mercy lives at Kati Kati with her maternal grandmother. She is the third of four children. Her mother is alive and her father was killed by the LRA rebels in 1999. Both parents were peasant farmers. Mercy is interested in school, but her mother cannot support her education. She was brought to me by St. Jude’s Orphanage. This is her 2nd year at Sacred Heart SS, Level S-2 (9th) and a full year of boarding school for her is $431.

VICKY ACAYO is17 years old. Vicky was born in Pader in 1993. Her father, Richard, died in 1996 of sickness. Her mother, Rose, is still alive. Rose produced 2 children with Richard before he died and then she remarried another man who is still alive and they had four more children. The current husband of her mother, Isaac, refuses to pay the school fees for the children of her first marriage, the late Richard. The mother cannot provide the school fees for Vicky due to their poverty. Vicky has passed all her exams but is at home due to school fees problems. She was brought to me by St. Jude’s Orphanage. She is attending Gulu Alliance Level S-4 (11th). Her school fees for day school are $117.

CECILIA ACEN is 17 years. Cecilia Acen lost both parents during the war. Her father was killed by the LRA rebels and the mother died of HIV. Cecilia stays with the paternal grandmother. Her grandmother is old and weak and cannot support Cecilia’s education. Last year she attended Gulu College and her grades were excellent. This year she is attending Graceland and she is Level S-2 (9th). She was brought to me by St. Jude’s Orphanage. Her term fees for a full year of boarding school are $504.

JENET LAWINO is14 years. Jenet is blind. She has 4 siblings. She was beaten by her Aunt a few years ago and lost her sight. She is a very bright girl. Jenet lost her father in the war. Her mother could not meet her school fees, and she cannot study in regular schools because she is blind. She is now studying in Gulu Primary School Annex of the blind Level P-7. She was brought to me by St. Jude’s Orphanage. Her school fees are $184 for a year of public day school.

AGNES ADOKORACH is 17 years. Agnes was my daughter’s first friend in Gulu. She is living with her grandmother. She is the youngest of six siblings. Her mother died when she was very young and her father left all his children with the grandmother. Her grandmother cannot afford the school fees for Agnes, so she was not attending classes until we arrived. She is the first one we sponsored and she is so very grateful! She is attending Pope Paul SS Level S-4. Her school fees were $476 last year.

GLADYS ALIMOGUM is 15 years. Gladys was born in Koch Goma in 1996. Her mother is alive but sick with high blood pressure. Her father is deceased. He was UPDF, a Uganda Army soldier who was killed in Congo when fighting with the Kony rebels in 2009. There are five children in the family and Gladys is the second born. Gladys is living at home with her mother helping her take care of the younger siblings. Her grades are excellent and she has worked hard at her studies. She desperately wants to continue with her education. I have met with her, talked with her, and I am very impressed with Gladys and her desire to get back into school. She knows that education is the only way for her to get out of poverty and help her family. She will attend Gulu Senior School. She is Level S-2 which is equivalent to our 9th grade level. She was brought to me by St. Jude’s Orphanage. Her school fees were $120 for day school.

Vicky Arach-17 years. Vicky is the oldest of 4 children. Her father is alive but he has two wives. Vicky’s mother, Margaret, is deserted by her husband and he will not pay the school fees for the children. Margaret does not have the capacity now to support Vicky in her high school years. Vicky is attending Sacred Heart SS and is level S-3. She was brought to me by St. Jude’s Orphanage. Her term fees are $431.

My friends, this is what I was doing in Africa this past year. Educating as many youth as I can. When you educate a young woman, she will educate her children. It is a generational gift. When you educate a young woman, she is not so likely to be married off at such a young age. Instead of selling peanuts on the street or just living on the street, she will become a productive member of society. Education is the foundation of progress. It can't be sold, traded or stolen. It changes lives. It makes a huge difference in their life, their family, community and society! Educating the youth is the best thing to change corruption, poverty, and over population problems. Education is my passion and I want to get as many kids in this world, all over this world, an opportunity to get an education!

Teach Them to Fish....

2011-11-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

I was recently in Gulu, Uganda with a group of people that had $4,000 to spend. They decided to spend it on school supplies; pens, pencils, markers, paper, staplers, drums, balls, an oven and pans for a home economics class, etc. I couldn’t believe it. It was like a HUGE “food drop”. They gave them fish, but did not teach them how to fish.

Did they not know that the school year was over in just a month (end of Nov) and that when the kids return in February that the supplies will be gone and that the proceeds will be in someone’s pocket? Is the oven sustainable; Who pays for the long term electricity or fuel and maintenance costs? Can it really be maintained from collecting a Home Economics class fee from the very same kids that couldn’t pay for their important exams recently? Most of the kids in that school live in homes with no electricity and no ovens, so how is teaching them to bake improving their life? Money is so tight for them; they will choose food or to pay their school fees over paying a Home Ec. Class fee. Some of those kids will actually sell the things put directly in their hands for the money they need to survive. They do not understand the depth of poverty and hunger and the desperateness of money for school fees.

They do not understand the depth of corruption. I have had school leaders lie to me about their fees so that I would pay more than necessary. I learned to insist on the official parent letter that is sent home to all the students explaining the fee structure for the year. I never put the money in the child’s hand. I don’t even pay the school fees to the school! I pay it directly to the bank of the school to ensure it gets into the school account and not a pocket. When a teacher’s salary is way below the poverty line, they find it difficult to survive and when the citizens can’t survive on an honest living anymore, corruption sets in.

Drums and balls and staplers are all good things, but they are things the schools have done without for years and would have continued to go without. This kind of money should be invested in borehole wells, more grinding mills, peanut butter grinders, micro financing projects, more hospital equipment, desks and chairs for schools, a goat for a family to provide them milk. These are called assets. They last a long time and change lives year after year.

Educating more youth needs to become priority! There are so many kids that are not attending secondary school or University because the money is not there. Education is something that Uganda, Ethiopia and India (all developing countries) can no longer go without. Education is the foundation of progress. It cant be stolen and it cant be sold for cash....

This was a good group of people with good hearts that just did what they were told to do. Proper research was not done. Maybe next year, projects will be lined up and ready for extra money to be spent more wisely on sustainable, life changing projects that can be revisted year after year.

My first trip to the UK

2011-11-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

Tony told me we were going to the greatest place on Earth. I thought he meant Buckingham Palace or Big Ben (below), but my first stop in London was The Chelsea Football Club! Yeah, he's a big fan!

I'm never quite sure how to correctly address this country; the United Kingdom, the UK, Britain, England? It has so many names. Is one better or used more often than the other? I use "UK" only because that is how it is referred to in Uganda where I have spent a lot of time. The UK and Uganda have a thick history with each other. I hope I label these pictures correctly!

Parliament Building

Buckingham Palace through the car windshield.

The UK was an unexpected and very pleasant addition to my agenda. It became the 10th country in 11 months for me (Chile, Argentina, Peru, Uganda, China, Kenya, India, Ethiopia, UK, US). I introduced you to my UK friends Abiy Negussie, Tony Sharma and Helen Johnson in a prior blog about traveling to Asella, Ethiopia. I proudly became part of the ANHO family (Abiy Negussie Humanitarian Organization). We help raise funds to get street children of Addis Ababa into safe and secure homes and back into school.

2012 Olympic Countdown Clock

The Beautiful London Tower Bridge

Tony invited me to join them in Redbridge, UK at a ceremony with the Ethiopian Ambassador and the Mayor of Redbridge to acknowledge the new relationship between Asella, ET and Redbridge, UK. It was also a ceremony to acknowledge the naming of "Redbridge Road" in Asella. Abiy Negussie's humanitarian work was also discussed, displayed and promoted. It was a wonderful presentation and everyone was so impressed with all the good things that ANHO and Rotary are doing in Ethiopia.

Redbridge Mayor, Me and the Ethiopian Ambassador.

Helen Johnson next to the Mayor of Tower Hamlets and Chris Cummings, the Mayor of Redbridge.

Tony picked me up very early Saturday morning at LHR Airport and took me on a whirlwind tour of London. As I am not a huge history buff, I enjoyed the quick tour of all of the major sites in the city in drive-by fashion. I saw everythng I wanted to see in about an hour. Somehow, Tony, I got home without a SINGLE picture of you! So sorry!

Tony laughed at me when I first asked him if we could go to "Stonehedge" (with a D)!

I spent 4 great days with my new friends. On the last day, before taking me to the airport, Tony made a HUGE sacrifice of his day and drove me ALL the way out to STONEHENGE! I have decided this has to be one of the "Wonders of the World". It was breath taking! Wonderful! Full of mystery and history! Imagine; something is still standing after over 5,000 years! What was it built for? How did they build it?

My time was short for this first trip to the UK, but I will return soon. I have a feeling there are still a lot of things I need to do and see here. Thank you Tony, Helen and Abiy for inviting me, for your hospitality, and for bringing me into your family. It was a wonderful end to my 11 month trip of service around the world. I now return home to Hawaii, USA to figure out the next stage of my life.....stay tuned because it's sure to be another adventure.

After almost two more days of travel, my son, Jeremy picked me up from the airport. I hadn't seen him for a year and he has grown up! He served 5 1/2 years in the US Coast Guard and is headed to University in Texas to study Geology. I will sure miss having him on the Island with me.

Rotarians in Uganda

2011-11-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

We built a new hut for this woman and her 6 children.

Our leaders Ben Abe and Ralph Munroe

After a week of service in Ethiopia about 25 Rotarians traveled to Northern Uganda for another week of projects in Gulu, Uganda. After landing in Entebbe airport, it took us a very long 7 1/2 hours to get there. The group stayed at Church Hill Courts this year. When we arrived, we ate a late dinner then fell into bed. We had an early morning with a busy schedule.

We repaired the roof of this home and built another hut next to it for a woman and her 6 kids.

Rotary Club of Gulu President Gerald is taking a supervisory roll in the building.

Our first project the next morning was to build a mud hut for a large family who was living in just one small dilapidated hut. We repaired the roof of her current hut and built a new, larger hut for her big family next to the existing one. It was a hands on, get dirty kind of project for those who wanted to dig in while others took supervisory rolls or photographed the event. It was a fun and different experience for everyone involved. The lady we built the hut for was very appreciative and happy. It was a great morning.

Wally was one of the hardest working Rotarians there!

I was photographer. Sandra is enjoying the buiding experience.

Group shot!

Next, the group went to Koch Goma Health Center. Sandra and her club have a project here bringing warm water to the birthing facility and she has drastically improved the conditions of the medical center. I wasn't able to stay for the whole project ceremony because I was whisked away to St Jude Orphanage for some other business.

Several computers were brought to Gulu by the Canadian group. It was a very satisfying night for me when we gave my young friend from St Jude Orphanage, Steven Okello, his very first personal laptop. He has a small video editing business, but was using and paying for public computers to do his work. With his own laptop, he can now get serious about building his business and career. His smile shows just how happy he is. We changed his life tonight!

Steven's smile tells the whole story as he holds his "new" laptop computer.

Engineer Francis with his laptop given to him by Carol Tichelman of Canada.

Francis, an engineer and project manager with Frontline Engineering is another very good friend of mine that received his own personal laptop computer. His life is a touching story of overcoming tribulations and surviving. If there was anybody that night that deserved this the most, it was Francis. He cried with joy as he thanked me for nominating him for the gift of his own laptop. You have to understand something. Having a laptop computer is very difficult to attain for the average citizen of Gulu. Everyone in America, including young children, have access to a computer, but not in Gulu. Receiving a personal laptop is a HUGE blessing! The computers were only given to individuals who would take care of them, knew how to operate them, and would appreciate and use them. Two other great friends of mine received a computer; Chris (Engineer with Frontline Engineering) and Siong (US Peace Corps Volunteer). A big thank you goes out to the Canadian Rotarians that brought them all the way around the world!

My family at St Jude's. Santa, Florence and Jackie.

My "sister" Brenda :)

These children are standing next to some donated shorts.

Our Rotary group visited St Jude Orphange and brought them clothes, school supplies and donations. Gulu Rotarian George, of Aid Africa, formed a circle of children around him and danced and sang with them. He had those children laughing, falling down and jumping everywhere! I have never seen anyone interact with those children like he did. I was so impressed. George, you are an amazing man! On this day, you made some children very happy (and super impressed me!) Wow!

George is doing his magic!

Most people dont interact with the kids like this, so it was wonderful to watch them having such fun!

Bags of school supplies and clothes were brought to St Jude's Orphanage.

I was busy doing one other project. Paula Bailey, a Hawaii friend of mine, gave The Well of Hope Foundation $500 for the school fees of a nursing student in Gulu, Uganda. It was no easy task to identify Rina, interview her, gather sufficient documents including bank slips, school fee letter, biography, etc. Sponsoring someone for school fees is a process. You can't just hand someone $500 and say "here you go". It's not safe for them to have that much money in cash, especially a woman. To be responsible to the donor, the money needs to go directly into the bank of the school to ensure payment of the fees and not food, dowry or living expenses. Rina accompanied me to the bank to pay her fees. She is also in email contact with her donor.

Rina is in her last semester of Nursing school and has had to struggle so very much to get through these last 3 years. She is forever grateful to Paula Bailey and the The Well of Hope Foundation for their assistance with her tuition.

On Thursday night we had the Rotary meetiing and a wonderful ceremony and dinner. Gifts were exchanged and a good time had by all. After the dinner, we went to BJz Quiz night for an evening of dancing, drinking, laughing and friendship. I left Friday morning for England to meet my friends Helen Johnson, Tony Sharma and Abiy Negussie for a ceremony with the Ethiopian Ambassador. The rest of the Uganda Rotary group went to Paraa Resort for Safari. I really enjoyed my short time in Gulu, although it wasn't long enough! I will be back though.

Polio National Immunization Trip 2011

2011-11-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

Asossa, Ethiopia, near the border of West Ethiopia/Southern Sudan is where I flew with about 20 fellow Rotarians for the National Polio Immunization Day. Asossa was a lush, green "Garden of Eden". We walked through fields of corn and grain to reach the babies in the huts spread far and wide across the beautiful countryside. It was warm in the morning, then the afternoon rains brought mud and cool weather.

Dr Randy from Atlanta, Georgia

Our group was wonderful. We were spread out in about 3 different hotels, but we took our meals together. It is on the actual Polio NID that everyone gets to know each other really good and life time friends are made. It is a real bonding eperience. I spent the entire morning wandering from hut to hut with my new good friend Dr Randy from Atlanta, Georgia. We walked fast and vigorous! After a lunch break, we headed out again.

This was our health team for the Polio NID.

Walked through cornifields and meadows of mango trees to reach the babies.

This baby has a thyroid problem that needs daily medication, but she is not receiving it.

This girl has a fungus infection easily cured with a cream if she can get to a clinic.

Being with a doctor was very interesting for me. Dr Randy diagnosed two kids with different illnesses that could be cured with a cream or daily mediction if they just could get to a medical clinic! It must be so frustrating to see such severe cases, know that in the US these kids would not be suffering from these types of ailments, yet being able to do nothing at this time to help them.

We gaveout raisins too :)

The doors are marked to signify the child has been vaccinated.

You know a Polio NID is successful when both groups reunite and both groups think that their trip was the best and wish that the other group had experienced all that they did on theirs! Both the Gondar group and the Asossa group had amazing stories to tell. The success and happiness is in the pictures. ENJOY!!

If a child cant touch her ear like this, she is considered under five and is given polio vac.

IT WAS SO WONDERFUL!!

Rotarians in Ethiopia

2011-11-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

65 Rotarians from the US, Canada and UK came to Addis Ababa for the annual Polio Immunization Day and other service projects. After traveling alone for almost a year, I found it difficult to become a member of a large group. Groups move slowly, there is lots of hurry, hurry then wait, wait, wait! Someone is always bossing every around too much. I practiced my deep breathing skills and tried to let it pass. I was also still at Zemi's house, so I wasn't staying with the group. So this year, I didn't get to know everyone really well like in prior years. I was still wrapping up some of my own work I had been doing with ANHO, the Street Kid project I wrote about previously. I was training their staff with Quickbooks and entering their 2011 financial data into the system so that they dont have to pay an accountant to do the daily work. I will share some of the things that I WAS involved in though.

Sonya and I at the Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa

These doctors from Seattle have really made a difference at the Black Lion Hospital.

Sonya and I visited the Black Lion Public Hospital. The conditions we saw are undescribable. A hospital in this condition in the US would not only be shut down, but condemned. The sterilization equipment was archaic and the conditions of the building and equipment or lack of equipment is mind numbing. Before these Seattle doctors arrived, there was no post op room, so after surgery, a patient would just go to the main floor. It wasn't uncommon for the surgery patient to die because he wasn't being properly monitored. These Seattle doctors have brought tons of equipment and given training to the staff at the hospital trying to make it a safer place. My hat is off to this organization.

Sonya and I in our Team shirt

We had some fun nights as well. Rotary isn't all work. In the evening, we would be hosted at times by other Rotarians at their home or in restaurant. The large group arrived on Sunday. We had meetings and they rested after their long flight. Monday I left the group to continue my accounting work with ANHO (the Street Kid program). The group went to the Polio Clinic and Fistula Clinic which I had been to numberous times already. Tuesday was the Well of Hope dedication. Wednesday we had the hospital tour and various other projects. We then had the afternoon off to prepare for the flight to Asossa or Gondar early Thursady morning for the Rotary Polio NID.

Tony (UK), Sonya and I at Umberto's house for dinner. Natalie, his wife, and his mother is also in the picture with us. It was a delicious dinner and wonderful evening!

Another dinner...FUN!!

Sonya is having a blast dancing!

Ben, Sonya, and I at the Jazz Club in Addis Ababa, ET

THE WELL OF HOPE DEDICATION

2011-11-02T06:41:00.000-07:00

This is one of the reservoirs in the network of the Well of Hope system. It is dedicated to the memory of Mike Elinski, an original board member.

Sonya and I with Ethiopian Rotarians and Project Managers Yemane Bisrat and Umberto Croce and village Elder Tekle Beyene.

The Well of Hope deep water well project in the Samasenbet area of Ethiopia in the Great Rift valley is finally complete! I am so very happy to write about the official dedication of the amazing Well of Hope that serves over 5 villages and brings clean water to over 15,000 people. It was started 5 years ago by Sonya Mendez and several other Rotarians from Hawaii and the Addis Ababa West Rotary Club when they discovered the plight of the people with no water for miles and miles. It was heart breaking to learn that children walked 3 hours every morning and 3 hours again every night to collect water. Completing the Well has been a lot of work and so much fund raising. Sonya is the only original board member remaining while one of the original members, Mike Elinski, passed away this spring. We have dedicated one of the reservoirs in his name and memory. I became involved in The Well of Hope Foundation as Treasurer a couple of years ago. You can go to the website to get more information about the Well of Hope at www.thewellofhopefoundation.org. I am so proud to be part of this organization.

Umberto Croche played a huge role in getting the Well finished.

It was lots of hard work!

Umberto Croce and I traveled to Samaenbet to make sure everything was in order for the official ceremony when all the Rotarians from the US and Canada arrived in Ethiopia. We found one of the pumps broken, but soon had it working again. It was a beautiful ride into the country. We were delayed in our return by a flat tire, but it was a great day.

The pump station behind me is in need of repair, so we are fixing it.

Sonya and I at the official dedication of the Well of Hope.

On Tuesday, October 17th, about 65 Rotarians from US and Canada came to the dedication of the Well of Hope and brought school supplies to the local school. Not everyone was encouraged to walk down the rugged path to the well as it was a rough and long hike. Those that were able to make it were treated to an awesome ceremony and official blessing of the Well. Everyone involved in the creation of this Well was deeply rewarded and very fulfilled.

Three Ethiopian Priests were on hand to bless our project and invited each of us to taste the clean, clear water that flowed from the faucets.

At the dedication, there were no tears...just endless smiles and laughter!

Mostly, I am going to let the pictures do the talking. TheWell of Hope cost totalled almost $200,000 and the costs were shared by our Well of Hope Foundation, Addis Ababa West Rotary Club, and World Vision. It is the largest well in the entire Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia and serves over 15,000 people with clean water; quite an accomplishment!

The villagers were so happy...we were happy...we had kept our promise to bring them clean water.

Hamar Tribe of Ethiopia

2011-10-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

Global Team for Local Initiatives (GTLI)

Rotarians Mike, Lori Pappas (GTLI) and Yemani

A beautiful Hamar woman and her baby in school.

I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to accompany 3 local Rotarians from the Addis Ababa West Club to evaluate some Rotary projects in South Ethiopia near the Kenya border. Rotarian Lori Pappas of “Global Team Local Initiatives” has been living and working among the Hamar Tribe for the last 4 years bringing them water, sanitation and education. Her personal sacrifices and love for these people moved me greatly. We were so impressed with her projects and the progress she is making here.

Hamar girls waiting to fill their water containers.

Global Team for Local Initiatives has built a school and many come to learn everyday.

It’s hard to put into words what I saw and experienced, but I will try. First, getting there is two full days of driving on bumpy roads. It was an exhausting, adventurous and the scenery was breath taking. Yemani had the difficult task of driving us far into the wilderness and he took us on several detours. Sometimes we were lost; roads aren’t often marked. Mike and Askale and I made four in the car.

The cover of their workbooks have OBAMA on them!!

These young women are so happy to be learning and improving their lives.

It seemed like I stepped into a National Geographic film when we arrived at the GTLI camp. Time forgot the Hamar tribe. The area is experiencing the worst drought in history and the people are suffering. Many, especially the elder ones, are mere skin and bones. My heart ached. Only two months of sorghum grain can be grown, so the rest of the year, they go hungry. They are slowly eating their only assets, cattle and goats. Even the livestock were thin and under nourished. What will happen to them when the livestock is gone?

The elderly and children are the first victims of the worst drought in history.

The women wore goat skins and were mostly uncovered. They were adorned in their traditional beads, shells and feathers. They wear metal bracelets around their wrists and forearms and when they dance, they rub their arms together to make music. A certain necklace signifies whether they are the first wife or second wife. They almost all have many scars on their backs; some were even scarred in a decorative fashion. They use red clay and butter to form beautiful dreadlocks in their hair. Their bodies glisten with the red clay and butter mixture, and their skin is healthy and shiny from it. Their teeth are straight and white. I had entered their world for a day.

Her husband, a warrior, has scarred (decorated) her back llike this.

She took these strikes to show her love for a male member of her family during the Bull Jump Ceremony.

Some of the men wore western T shirts and shorts, but many were still dressed traditionally; a short wrap around skirt, a head wrap and beads. Every man carried his portable seat/neck rest. The children were mostly running around naked. Many of their bellies were swollen with worms. In general, people were very thin. A cow was killed for our dinner and celebration. It was quite gruesome. They drink the cow's blood, stick their head in its stomach to inhale the fumes, rub bile on their legs, and spear the meat to cook by the fire.

Hamar man butchering a cow. Every part of the cow is eaten or used. Nothing is wasted.

Tending the fire

When a young man in the family decides it is time to become a man, he must ‘jump the bulls”. Before the trip, I googled “Hamar Tribe, Ethiopia” and saw the ceremony on you tube. As part of the ceremony, the women in his family are whipped. Being whipped and scarred shows their love for him. In the future, he will return this favor by protecting and caring for the women in his family.

One whole cow cooking by the fire.

This Hamar man made by wooden seat/neck rest.

So what is Lori doing living among this tribe and sacrificing so much of her life, time, money, love, and health for? I will only be scratching the surface. She has brought life sustaining water to the area. She has taught them how to dig latrines away from the water source. She is educating them and teaching them sustainable vocations; chicken farming (eggs), gardening, goat skin tanning, and jewelry making. She is teaching them to use more caution when applying the salve on the bleeding backs of the girls from one pot because if even one girl is HIV+, the entire females of one family could be wiped out. She is teaching the girls to cut their bangs a bit higher so that the clay and butter doesn’t drip into and infect their eyes. The list just goes on and on.

Water wells and latrines are both important projects for Lori and GTLI.

I actually used this pit latrine!

Now Lori needs the funds to bring a health center to the area. They need access to antibiotics so that a small cut doesn’t become life threatening. The children need de worming pills. Women need access to care if childbirth becomes difficult. This need doesn’t exist now.

Lori with the leader of the local Hamar Tribe.

Askale, Yemani, Lori, Michael, GTLI staff, and I on our last morning.

Their needs are so great; food, more water, medical care and medicine, education, vocational training, etc. How do I help in a situation like this? I am just one person, but I can only do what I can; write and speak about their situation to educate the rest of the world. I will do what I can to help raise funds for Lori to continue to do her work through GTLI (www.gtli.us). Please view her website and make a donation. I will pray for Lori’s continued health and energy because living out there with no running water and electricity is stressful on a body.

Lake Chamo near Arba Minch

The arrival of the Hamar women to greet us.

I have been blessed this year to visit three of the Seven Wonders of the World; the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu and Taj Mahal. I would like to add Hamar Tribe, Ethiopia to that list. It is truly a forgotten “wonder of the world”. My life has once again been forever changed.

A History Lesson for Rhona

2011-10-05T03:18:00.000-07:00

Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

I spent the morning yesterday having a history lesson at Holy Trinity Cathedral. It is dedicated in memory to those who died while resisting the Italian occupation, both Ethiopian and British. It is also where the tombs of Haile Salassie and his wife are. The Cathedral is adorned with many beautiful stained glass windows and intricate paintings on the walls and ceiling.

There was 20 years of terror and senseless killing by the Derg Regime in Ethiopia inthe 1970s. I had never learned this. I learned that a whole generation was killed and it was even considered to be genocide. I was moved by the photos and paintings of the murders. There is a museum near Meskel Square about the period of the Derg Regime that is graphic and horrid in detail about the massive murders. There are even murdered human bones on display. It was a very difficult time for this country.

Haile Salassie's tomb

An artists painting on the killings and mass graves.

I was embarrassed that I was so ignorant of this horrible history. I am appalled that this man is still alive and was never tried for his crimes against humanity. A fellow ET Rotarian with us was looking at photos of the people killed, and he was saying, "I know this man's son. My dad knew this man, etc". It was very moving.

I once expressed dismay to someone on my travels about their lack of knowledge of Hitler and WWII. I thought everyone should know about this horrible war and genocide. I learned a very important lesson today; I lack so much knowledge of other country's battles and history. I am ignorant about so much murder and genocide and atrocities committed against mankind. It seems every country has their "Hitler", and that perhaps there is even someone worse than him. I still have so much to learn...

View of Addis from the oldest hotel in Ethiopia, Taitu Hotel in the Piazza.

My Priceless Scarf

2011-09-30T23:57:00.000-07:00

To you this is just a picture of a scarf, but to me it is a priceless gift. During the 4th Anniversary Celebration of ANHO (Abiy Negussie Humanitarian Organization) gifts were presented to Tony, Helen and Abiy. I was such a new comer to the crew, that the organizers were not aware that there was a fourth person. The mothers in the audience decided to take up a collection amongst them to buy a gift for the newcomer (me). A basket was passed around and they put what little money they could; one birr here, one birr there. One of the ladies had no money on her, so she took off her silver ring and placed it in the basket. What was in the basket was taken to the market and my scarf was purchased. All of this happened without my knowledge. I was not expecting a gift of any sort.

Hana and I. In 2008 she lived on the streets of Addis Ababa. Now she is living with her grandmother and is going to school, happy, and healthy.

Walking to Selam's house...

They called me back up to the stage and presented me with this most lovely scarf. It is probably the most precious gift I have ever received because of the sacrifice that was made for it. In many ways and for many years, I will treasure my beautiful Ethiopian scarf of Red, Black and Yellow.

Selam, a child of ANHO welcomes us into her home.

I am giving Selam the gifts from her UK sponsor. Selam was a former street child, but is now living with her mother and is in school. Her future is brighter because of ANHO.

On another day, I visited two of the ANHO children in their homes. My first stop was Hana. In 2008 Hana was six years old. With both parents gone, and her grandmother unable to support her, she was living alone on the streets of Addis Ababa. After ANHO heard her story, they offered her grandmother practical support that enabled her to look after Hana. Just $15 a month from Eliza in the UK has allowed Hana to return to school and has given her a stable, happy home and a brighter future. Eliza sent Hana a gift from the UK, and I had the opportunity to give it to Hana. She was very happy, and I was honored to do it. Eliza, you are changing the life of this little girl.

My next stop was Selam’s house. Her house is a very small, humble abode. It was wall papered with newspaper so neatly glued up. It was very tidy and comfortable. Due to the Meskel Holiday, fresh flowers and grass were laid on the floor. Selam also received gifts and she sends her greetings and thanks to Eliza in the UK. She tried the new clothes on and they fit perfect. Another happy little girl!

Just $15 a month is enough to sponsor a child’s educational, financial and healthcare needs. ANHO is totally reliant on voluntary funds from individuals and organizations. They need your kind and generous support to achieve their goal of giving 250 young street kids a chance at a better life. This is truly a genuine organization that I have personally become involved in and I give my seal of approval! If you want to help the street children of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia find their way home, visit www.anhoe.org to donate, support or find out more about their work.

Meskel celebration iin the street.

Meskel is the celebration of "finding the cross". A very big day of singing, dancing and celebrating all over Ethiopia.

Treated Like Royalty in Asella, Ethiopia

2011-09-30T04:12:00.000-07:00

Helen, Tony, Abiy and I playing cards at Lake Hora on the way to Asella.

Lake Hora

Abiy Negussie originates from Asella, Ethiopia, about a 3 hour drive South of Addis. Asella is home to great Ethiopian runners Haile Gebreselase and Derartu Tulu among others. Abiy wanted to introduce us to his dear family and city. Asella is very proud of their son, Abiy Negussie, whose humanitarian efforts have helped so many street children of Addis Ababa find safe homes through his NGO, Abiy Negussie Humanitarian Organization (ANHO). UK Rotarians Tony Sharma and Helen Johnson (Rotary Club of Tower Hamlets, UK), and I set out with Abiy for Asella on Sunday morning. Helen is Mayoress of Redbridge, so a gift exchange and ceremony with the Mayor of Asella was arranged for Monday morning. We had no idea what greatness lay ahead of us.

Redbridge, UK Mayoress Helen Johnson of Rotary Club of Tower Hamlets is exchanging gifts with the Mayor of Asella, Ethiopia

The Mayor of Asella welcomes me and gives me a gift.

Getting to Asella should have been a 3 hour drive, but when you stop at Lake Hora for a walk, coffee and to play cards, and stop for lunch in Nazreth, make a fruit stop and a second coffee stop to visit friends, it becomes a good 5 hour drive. Abiy’s mother had a wonderful dinner waiting for us in her home. Her hospitality is hard to put into words. I am just so touched by his family’s love and kindness.

These beautiful ladies dressed me in the traditional Oromo clothes and jewelry. The Mayor of Asella is on the far left.

The four of us were also given these beautiful traditional beaded gourds.

Here is Tony, Helen and I with our new friends and family. The man on the right is one of the Holy Men that blessed us at the meeting.

I know I won’t be able to express in words the emotions of our day in Asella. It’s one of those days that change your life. The day started with a greeting by traditional dancers at the Mayor’s office. The Mayor, all of his cabinet members and staff, and several holy men attended the meeting. Greetings and gifts were exchanged and blessings by the Holy Men were received. We were gifted the very beautiful traditional Oromo dress, jewelry and beaded gourds. I was amazed by their generosity.

A rock quarry where Asella has employed many unemployed citizens for a fair wage. The child stays near her mother.

One of the beautiful cobblestone roads in Asella. Cobblestone roads cost half as much as asphalt and require much less maintenance.

This visit was different than any other place I have visited. The Asella leaders wanted to show us how they are tackling their poverty and unemployment issues. I saw a progressive city doing great things for its citizens. We first went to a rock quarry where they have employed many previously unemployed citizens cutting rock for cobblestone roads. Cobblestone roads are much cheaper to build than asphalt roads and they last much longer. They also pay a fair wage. We visited a chicken farm run by university students, a biscuit factory almost ready to start production, and a bio-farm. They took us to the future cobblestone road they are naming “Rotary International Road” (4.5K) and another road, in honor of Mayoress Helen, “Redbridge Road” (3.5K). What a great honor that is.

Me with UK RotariansTony Sharma, Helen Johnson and Abiy Negussie standing on the future 4.5K Rotary International Cobblestone Road.

This is the future Redbridge Road, in honor of Redbridge, UK. It will also be cobblestone.

Abiy Negussie is to my left and his mother (in white) is on my right.

Our afternoon ended with a large lunch on the shores of a beautiful lake. More gifts were exchanged, thankfulness and love was expressed, and then we headed back to Addis. Many new friends and family were made this day. It will go down in my history as one of the most wonderful days I have experienced; a day I received so much love and kindness; a day of many new friends and family. Yes, I am part of Abiy’s family now; thank you Abiy, Tony and Helen for bringing me into ANHO and into your circle of life. It was a gentle reminder from God that He is with me; guiding me and helping me and letting me know that I am on the right path….

A large pan of cooking goat meat for lunch....

Abiy, Tony Sharma, Helen Johnson, Abiy's Mother, and I at the luncheon by the Lake.

Tony with his police escort :)

Help Ethiopia's Street Children

2011-09-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

ABIY NEGUSSIE HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATION (ANHO)

Calkinde and I. Her photo is on the ANHO flyer in my hand.

UK Rotarians Abiy Negussie, Helen Johnson, Tony Sharma and I with Abiy's mother.

Abiy Negussie, founder of ANHO that helps Ethiopia's Street Children find their way home.

I have been Swept Away! When I run into the same people several times in a foreign country, I know that we are meant to share something with each other. This is how I met my new friends from the UK. We were all attending the same circuit of Rotary Meetings. We were destined to work together.

Rotarians Tony, Abiy and I near the Rotary Banner

Posing by the Subway Banner with some of the former Street kids.

Tony and I with the ANHO Kids

Rotary is an organization of business and professional persons united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all professions, and help build goodwill and peace throughout the world. It is the largest humanitarian organization for professional men and women who want to make a better world, and who are dedicated to providing friendly help to local and international communities. I am proud to be a Rotarian. I have been swept away in someone’s amazing cause, and it has now become my cause too.

Helen, I and Aidy

As I said, I met UK Rotarians Abiy Negussie, Tony Sharma and Helen Johnson. They were here to see with their own eyes the work of an NGO that helps Ethiopia’s street children find their way home. The Abiy Negussie Humanitarian Organization (ANHO) was founded in 2007 in order to try to make a difference in the lives of Addis Ababa’s street children. They attempt to reunite the street children with their biological families, or relocate them to supportive foster families and provide them with educational, health care and financial support. Abiy, the founder, grew up in a poor Ethiopian family and knows hunger and poverty first hand. His NGO is supporting 95 children and their families and plan, over the next three years to expand the work of ANHO to assist up to 250 children!

Tony Sharma and one of the ANHO Children

ANHO firmly believes that the plight of street children in Ethiopia cannot be solved without the involvement of the family unit. Children need a stable, caring environment if they are to recover from street life and the abuses and violence that it can involve. ANHO provides the family with financial support to cover the children’s education, health and clothing needs. But even more important, the child has security, sometimes for the first time. Protected and supported, they can forge a better life and will go on to have a happier and healthier family of their own.

We had dinner at Abiy's brother's house.

Abiy is a SUBWAY franchise owner. SUBWAY UK is a major donor to his organization. ANHO is totally reliant on voluntary funds from individuals and organizations. It takes just $15/month to provide all that a child needs to live a comfortable live in Ethiopia. Visit www.anhoe.org to donate, sponsor or find out more about this organization. I look forward to getting involved with this amazing organization that changes the lives of children. Today I met many of the children in this program. I kissed their cheeks, and held their hand. I saw with my own eyes how happy they are today. Check ANHO out today and sponsor a child!

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

Traveling can be dangerous...

2011-09-24T13:09:00.000-07:00

Traveling to any foreign country has its dangers. I ran into one yesterday. I thank God for getting me back to safety and getting me out of a situation I shouldn't have gotten into. I am a different person today than yesterday. My brush with danger was too close. Here is my story:

Yesterday I got into some trouble. I should have known better. I have traveled too much for something like this to happen. It was VERY stupid of me. I was walking down a main street toward the Hilton and a man kept pace with me and starting a conversation. He asked if I had seen the free National Dancing show right behind the Hilton? He said it was beautiful, and I would see the many different dances of Ethiopia all in one show. Since it was free, I said I would like to see it. Before I knew it, I was whisked away to a part of town I don’t know (not anywhere near the Hilton), and I was ushered into a building (with no identification marks or sign like a bar or restaurant) AND a room (with bars on the door and window) with no one else but the man, and four dancers. Every cell in my body screamed RUN! GET OUT OF THERE! If the door was shut, I knew I would have been locked in. I immediately said I was no longer interested and RAN out of the building, out of the gate and into the street. I had to ask directions from strangers how to get back to the Hilton. I knew I had escaped something terrible. I was really upset. When I review the situation, I ask myself at what point did I lose control of the situation? Why did I walk to a strange place with a stranger? Why did I go through that unmarked gate at his insistence when I wasn't comfortable? I didn't want to hurt his feelings! I want to trust people. I didn't want to be paranoid. I am too nice! I thought there would be a crowd of people watching a show; I was alone, and I don’t think there was going to be a show. They kept insisting that I drink my coffee, but I kept saying I didn’t want it. What if I had drank the coffee? I might have woken up in big trouble. I learned a very hard lesson yesterday. I can no longer be nice to strangers. On the walk home from the Hilton, another man tried to walk with me asking me if I had yet experienced the nightlife of Ethiopia? I stopped him and said, "If I want to see the night life of Ethiopia, I will see it with my friends." He said he was my friend! I said, "You are not my friend. We have never met: now leave me alone right now!" There has to be a middle ground between being too nice and being too mean. I have yet to find it.....This could happen anywhere....I will be more careful

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2011-09-17T03:46:00.000-07:00

View from my window in Addis Ababa

I have arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia a month before I had planned. I will be meeting the large group of Rotarians from the US and Canada and Hawaii on October 16th where we will engage in humanitarian projects and polio immunizations, hopefully among or near the Somalia refugees in Ethiopia. Until then, I am staying with my friend Zemi Yenus and her son.

Zemi owns and operates a successful school for autistic kids called The Joy Center. I volunteered there two years ago. It is a wonderful place and the children there are so very fortunate. Zemi started this school on her own many years ago because there was no facility in Ethiopia for Autistic kids. Now the Joy Center is the best center in all of Ethiopia. After the New Year holidays are over and when Zemi returns, I will work at the school every day. I look forward to seeing some of the same kids.

Zemi has been unexpectedly held up in the US, so I am hanging out at her house for the time being. I am attending the local Rotary Club meetings, making new friends, and waiting for her return. Her sister keeps me company as well as other Rotarians. The pictures I have posted are from my last visit. I just haven't been taking new pictures yet.

Lovely Zemi!

A sample of the wonderful food here!

I love Addis Ababa so much. The music is upbeat and cultural. There are many goats on the road being herded to their next feeding spot. Going to a foreign country is a bit like entering an alien world. All of my senses are experiencing new sites and sounds and smells. And the food is WONDERFUL; fresh fruits and vegetables, beans and lentils, and salads are always served with the local high-protein flat bread called Injera. Living in Ethiopia is very exciting! I am looking forward to a wonderful month....

My Last Days in India

2011-09-17T03:06:00.000-07:00

The foothills of the Himalaya Mountains near the Ganga River.

Saket, Megha, Anila and Ashok Ahuja

At the Ganga River

My last days in India were packed with activity. It helped keep my mind off the fact that I was sad to be leaving. I was supposed to have been in India until Oct 16th, but I changed my flight after a rocky, solitary month in India. Once I moved in August to a different place, my experience was much better. But, alas, the change was made and I head to Ethiopia for a month.

The Ganga River

Saket, Megha and I

I visited the Ganga River with the Ahuja family. The Ganga River, although polluted, is a blessed river. No person has ever gotten sick from drinking or bathing in its waters. It is situated in the very beautiful foothills of the Himalayan Mountains. After a great, last weekend with my new family, I headed back to Delhi via train for my flight to Ethiopia.

The beautiful Singh Temple in Delhi, India

Reading of the Sacred Book in the Temple.

EVERYONE had to wear a hair covering...not just me!!!

Since I had over 12 hours in Delhi, I arranged a small tour of Delhi. I saw Old Delhi, New Delhi, and the government offices. The day after I left, those very government offices were bombed by terrorists! I toured a Singh Temple and had an amazing lunch experience! This Singh Temple feeds 1,000s of people every day in a very unique way. About 1,000 people are feed at once in about 30 minutes, then another 1,000, etc. They open the doors and we all filter into the large hall, sitting back to back in long rows. Young volunteers move up and down the rows VERY quickly handing us a tray and silverware. Then the food (Curry, rice and chapatti) come in huge buckets and it is QUICKLY slopped onto your plate as they hurry down the row. You have about 20 minutes to eat before the next set of 1,000 people comes to replace you! I have never seen such efficiency. This is done all day everyday at no cost to the people. It is totally funded by donations.

These are the huge pots the food for 10,000 people is cooked in!

1,000 people sit in rows, back to back, waiting for their food.

We have been served rice and curry, but we wait until everyone has food before we eat.

After touring the temple, they put a small ball of sweet mush in my hand. I had an opportunity to buy more, so I paid a small amount of money for a bowl of sweet mush, and then I took it over to another place that takes 10% of my mush to give to the poor. Singh's believe in giving 10% of everything they have to the poor. It was a very wonderful experience.

The Old Entrance Gate to Delhi

As usual, I made life-time friends in Dehradun, India. The Rotary Club was active and doing wonderful projects. I volunteered at Karuna Vihar School for handicapped kids, and a very small poor country school. I also learned yoga, meditation, and got in touch with my spiritual side again. India was everything I knew it would be and more....Thank you to all my new friends and family. I hope to return soon. I love you all so much.

TAJ MAHAL, Agra, India

2011-09-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

This is after a 12 hour train ride to Agra!

What an amazing love story! The Emperor marries the love of his life, Mahal, when she is 20. She has 14 kids in the next 19 years and dies at 39 giving birth to her last child. His love for her was so great that he built an amazing and beautiful monument for her. He put such love, workmanship and beauty into this marble monument of love. It took 20,000 people and 22 years to build. It is one of the seven wonders of the world!

The Emperors third son, after killing his older two brothers, became the last of the Great Mogul Emperors. He was a bad ruler. He imprisoned his father in Fort Agra for the last 7 years of his life. His prison window had a beautiful view of the Taj Mahal.

After the Taj Mahal, I visited Mother Teresa's Orphanage.

After the Taj Mahal, we visited Mother Teresa's Orphanage. It was a very good day...

More Days in Dehradun, India

2011-09-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

Peaceful protests are all over India in support of Anna's fasting against government corruption.

My days are flying by in Dehradun. We stay busy everyday! India made national news in August. Anna, a spiritual leader, started a fast against government corruption. He fasted for 12 days. Every city in India, including Dehradun had peaceful protests and marches. The people love him so much and they were glued to their TV each day to watch the progress of Anna versus Congress. It’s over now. Anna is back in his village and things are quiet. Let’s see if Congress will stop their corruption.

Anila's neighbor got a new wheelchair. A new TV is next.

Anila’s neighbor has been paralyzed and bedridden. One of the Rotarians bought her a wheel chair. Here we are giving it to her. She was so happy! Anila will buy her a TV so that she will be connected to the world and will have a source of entertainment to keep from getting depressed. She is a very nice lady.

Getting finger printed for the Peace Corp.

I got my first red dot on my forehead at this temple, then we ate lunch here.

I went to town last week to get fingerprinted for the Peace Corp. What an adventure that was! Anju, a lawyer, helped me find someone to do it. We were sent from place to place. Nobody seemed to have authority to finger print me. At last, though, after many hours, we found a man who would do it professionally. I saw the court house, the prosecutor’s office, and all of the lawyer offices. It is mighty more humble than the court houses and lawyer offices of the US! After fingerprinting, we had lunch at a temple. The whole day was a very cultural experience!

Rotary Membership Development Seminar. DG and Ashok.

We had a very big Rotary District Membership Development Seminar hosted by the Rotary Club of Dehradun Central. The club put a lot of work into it, and it was very successful. It was a full day of fellowship, food and fun. I met and had dinner with the DG the previous night. This is a VERY active Rotary Club!

Other than the above things, I just go to the school in the mornings. One morning we distributed clothes. One day we had a drawing for tennis balls and a football and packages of gum. After a couple of days teaching letters and numbers to such a wide age group, I decided to change my plan. I wanted to show the kids the world outside of India. So we watched video and pictures of hippopotamus, rhinoceros, zebra, and giraffe of Kenya. I can show them Uganda, China, Ethiopia, Chile, Argentina, Peru….

Asho and Saket Ahuja, father and son, Rotarian and Rotaractor

More Rotary Seminar pictures.

My 100th Blog!

2011-08-15T04:36:00.000-07:00

This is the school I will be teaching English. We had a Rotary Service Project here.

The children are holding up their new back packs.

Rotary Club of Dehradun Central and me

I am very excited to announce that today’s blog is my 100th blog! That is a lot of adventures, travels and service! So today I am going to write about two very exciting projects I participated in with the Rotary Club of Dehradun Central. First, I need to update you on my living situation.

We can't speak the same language, but we can definitely communicate!

I made a HUGE change! I moved from the Yoga Ashram into the home of a fellow Rotarian. Life at the Ashram was just too solitary and dreary in many ways for me, and actually quite expensive. I needed a safer place and I wanted a more social environment and interaction with others. I am very comfortable in this new home and I have great new friends to be with and share with. I am living in the country side North of Dehradun in a place called Sehestradhara. It is not uncommon to site a leopard here, so I will keep watching. It is monsoon season in Northern India, so we have rain almost all day every day!

Rotary Club President Kailesh

By moving, I also changed my place of volunteering, which is sad, but necessary. I will miss my little friends at Karuna Vihar and I need to go back to say farewell, but I live too far away now. I am going to be teaching English at this little country primary school near Ashok and Anila’s home. I went here on Friday with the Rotary Club of Dehradun Central. We brought the children paper notebooks, pencils, an eraser and a brand new back pack! It was a wonderful day; a wonderful Rotary project. These children live in such poverty, and I really look forward to working with them. Anila has collected clothes, through Rotary and Rotaract, for the children, and I will distribute them after getting to know the kids.

This young man does not attend school regularly, so we gave him his back pack on the road.

This is where I am living now...Sahastradhara, Dehradun, India

I have seen more of India in the past four days than I had in the 3 weeks at the Ashram. Wal-Mart stores are in Dehradun in the name of “Easy Day”. They sell the Great Value brand there. It was my first time in a big grocery store here; I only knew of the small little shacks along the road. Dehradun has a population of about 2,000,000 people; India calls that 20 lahks. India uses a different name for their big numbers; one lahk is 100,000 and one crore is 10 million.

Anila is thanking her brother for his love and protection on Brother-Sister Day Aug 13th.

Cousins are doing the same and celebrating their relationship in absence of a sibling.

Anila's brother has 6 sisters, so he got six bracelets. Now he gives 6 gifts to his sisters :)

Saturday was Brother-Sister Day; a day that a sister thanks her brother for his protection and love by tying a red bracelet on his wrist, and the brother gives her gifts. I celebrated the day with Anila’s family as they celebrated their siblings.

The kids of the Kusht (Leprosy) Ashram.

An Independence Day Ceremony

My new friends :)

Monday, August 15th, is Independence Day for India. The Rotary Club met at the Kusht Ashram, a leprosy ashram that they support throughout the year. We gave them fruit, samosas, and clothes. We had a small flag ceremony in honor of Independence Day. I had never seen leprosy before, but I had read a lot about it because leprosy, or Hansen’s disease, has a famed history in Hawaii. My heart was truly touched there. When I occasionally get to feeling that my life has become difficult, God gives me an experience like this to bring me joy and to remind me that He is with me.

Rotarians handing out fruit and samosas.

The hand of a Rotarian in the hand of a leper...my favorite picture!

In India, "kusht" means leprosy. It is called Hansen's Disease in the US.

The children were so happy to be touched and talked to! They held my hand, talked to me in Hindi, asked me to take their picture and laughed with joy when they saw it! I had a truly wonderful day, and you can see by the pictures how happy everyone is. I have said it before, but in a different blog, so I must say it again: Rotary is doing amazing things all over the world, and I am proud to be a Rotarian!

One of the patients with Hansen's Disease (leprosy).

We are distributing clothes to the men and women of the Kusht Ashram. We will return another day for the children. We had childrens clothes, but not enough for all of them.

My Volunteer Work in India

2011-08-11T04:14:00.000-07:00

Karuna Vihar School for Children with Special Needs

I want to share with you the reason I am here, so far from home, in Northern India. I love working with these kids. They are so precious. Every day, I go to Karuna Vihar School for Handicapped Children and assist the teachers and just play with the kids. Am I indispensable or important? No, but the children love me and the teachers are grateful that I am there. There is no such thing as too many hands in a classroom of children with varying degrees of handicaps. I am coming away the winner because at the end of the day, I feel really happy. Every day I marvel at the wonderful teachers that they have and how they manage the occasional unruly child with such love and patience. The lessons are taught in Hindi, but I can understand with clarity what they are teaching and the stories they are telling. My mornings at the school are the best part of my day.

We play music,

We dance,

We sit for stories,

And we play with toys.

I spoke at the Rotary Club of Dehradun Central and I attend the weekly meetings at the Doon Club. The members are kind to me and provide transportation to and from the meetings. Everyone here is so busy with their careers and family that there isn't time for social outings with me. Rotarian Ashok's wife, Anila and I spent an afternoon in town and ate lunch at SUBWAY (Yes!!) and then I got a much needed haircut. I have also been to dinner at their beautiful home.

Speaking at the Rotary Club of Dehradun Central.

Anila, her mother and father and I after a Rotary Meeting.

India has a lot of tensions with Pakistan right now. They just had a large bombing in Mumbai last month. Some people are upset with the US for providing Pakistan the weapons that they turn around and use on India. An American man living in Pakistan was just kidnapped. It's not the safest place in the world for a woman to be: An article in the Delhi newspaper said India is the 4th most dangerous place for a woman to live. #1 is Pakistan, #2 is the Democratic Republic of Congo, #3 is Afghanistan, #4 is India, and #5 is Somalia. India is a male dominant society.

Chottie, the Ashram's dog, has become my best friend. She follows me everywhere; to school in the morning, to the market and on my evening walks!

This is the mail truck!

Other than the few hours of volunteering every morning, the rest of my day is restful. Life in an Ashram is very solitary. I have yoga for two hours and I walk one hour a day, but the rest of my time is spent reading, working on my computer, napping and meditating. Even my meals are eaten alone. I am still strugging with my diet of Indian spicy food. India is doing for me what I knew it would do. The quiet time has helped me get back in touch with my spiritual side. I am praying, reading the scriptures and getting in tune with the Spirit again. I have lost many things in my life the past two years. But I still have my health and I still have my faith in God, and nobody can take those away from me. There is no doubt in my mind that God is guiding me and keeping me safe on this one year trip of service around the world.

I am in Dehradun, Northern India now!

2011-07-24T09:43:00.000-07:00

This is where I am staying. The Shree Seetaram Ashram, Dehrandun, India

My street.

I have been here for one full week and I haven't taken a single photo! So sorry for that! I will try to do better. I arrived on Sunday, July 17th in Delhi. I wasn't able to get on the safer and faster Shatabdi Express Train to Dehradun from Delhi. A friend of mine in Gulu booked me on a very slow, crowded, super packed train which I just couldn't imagine getting on with all of the luggage I had. India just experienced a series of train crashes and a large terrorist bombing in Mumbia, so everyone is on high alert here. I ended up coming to Dehradun by vehicle; a bit more expensive, but safer and more comfortable, and way more convenient.

This is a monkey in the field.

It took me a few days to get used to the Indian food. It's very spicy and hot; even the breakfast food. For several days, I had to switch to oatmeal for breakfast and boiled pumpkin (no spices) for dinner. The Ashram is total vegetarian food; not even eggs. Every meal is chapati, daal, and a vegetable. The other day I went into the kitchen, saw a peeled, uncooked vegetable on the counter and ate some of it. My throat and mouth immediately started to feel very sore and constricted. I thought I had poisoned myself. I was truly scared. What had I done? It turns out that "albi" is a taro root that is toxic until boiled. Lesson learned: Don't put anything unrecognizable in my mouth again!

The Forest Research Institue was originally British Government Offices.

I am at the Shree Seetaram Ashram. My schedule is like this: 5:30-6:45am walk, 7-8am yoga, tea, shower, breakfast at 10am, volunteer work in the afternoon, yoga again 5:30-6:30, dinner, read, computer, bed. It does a body good! :D

My new friends of the Rotary Club Dehradun Central. We are having a blood drive.

I have made contact with the Rotary Club Dehradun Central. I participated in a blood drive with them this morning. Yes, I gave my foreign blood to the India Blood Bank! I knew most of the Rotarians from my visit here last year, but there were some new faces and new names. They asked me to speak at the club on Friday night. Oh No! Of course, talking has never been a weakness of mine, so I said "yes". Rotary is a family every where you go in the world. When you are a Rotarian, you are never far from a group of friends who are like minded. We are all over the world.

Rotary President Kailesh and PP Sameer...he is not looking to well...

I also made contact with Latika Roy Foundation and will start volunteering where ever they need me this week. As for traveling, there are three things I would like to see while I am in India; the Taj Mahal, the Golden Temple, and Mussoori. I have a lot to look forward to in the next three months...

What are Acholi Beads?

2011-07-05T07:15:00.000-07:00

What is an Acholi Bead? They are paper beads made by the Acholi women. They are beautiful! They are so colorful and bright. But more important, they are they way out of poverty for Acholi women.

Acholi women started making these paper beads made out of recycled posters, paper, and magazines as a way to support their family. It took them away from the hard labor of quartz mines and other hard labor jobs and gave them a way to make a living where they could be at home and watch their children.

I once found a strand of the long Acholi beads in Honolulu, Hawaii selling for up to $80! These ladies hope to get $1 for their labor, and that $1 goes a very long way for their family in Uganda. Many Charities buy these beads and sell them in the US (for much more than $1!) and they use the profits for school fees, new schools, etc.

National Geographic is even buying the beads for their cruise ships. In these pictures, I am helping Morgan buy beads for National Geographic and other NGOs. On the computer, I keep track of the people she is buying from as she inspects their work. I am also the photographer and video taper for her records. I have enjoyed helping her, and have bought some beads for my own personal use and gifts from this great group of women.

These ladies are with Camboni Samaritans and they are making the beads.

If you ever see these Acholi Beads in a store, BUY them! You will be supporting a good cause. And just a heads up everyone; its Acholi beads for Christmas again!

What I have been doing in Gulu, Northern Uganda

2011-07-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

I helped St Jude Orphanage convert their accounting system to Quickbooks.

I cleaned up African Revival's Quickbooks and did some training for them.

I went into the bush numerous times with Aid Africa to build and mud rocket stoves.

I did some training on Quickbooks for Favor of God.

As my time draws to an end in Gulu, I want to review the things that I have been doing here. I arrived at the end of February 2011 and I leave July 16th, 2011. I lived here for 4 ½ wonderful months. That’s not time enough to make the kind of difference I want to make, so I will return again and continue my work.

In these two pictures, I am volunteering with Aid Africa. I am mudding a rocket stove in a hut.

I sponsored the school fees of 20 secondary school (high school) boys and girls in Gulu. Most of those 20 students are attending boarding schools because they are orphans with no support network. I did this with the help of my dear friends, family members, and Rotarians around the world who donated to The Well of Hope Foundation. I couldn’t have raised the approx $4400 to pay the school fees for these 20 students without them. I will continue to work on sustainability for them so that their next year school fees will be paid.

African Promise is a charity organization that raises funds to support and pay the school fees of children in Gulu, Uganda. They sell Acholi Beads to raise these funds. African Promise sent me money to sponsor the school fees of 15 additional students. It took me all of March to pay these school fees (WOHF 20 and AP 15). It is a process of taking money out of one bank, and taking it directly to the bank of the named school to pay. That means a lot of standing in bank lines, filling out forms, interviewing students, record keeping, etc. We changed the lives of 35 children this year and gave them the opportunity to progress. Some will succeed, some will not.

Sometimes I visited schools to see what their needs were.

The majority of my time was spent at St Jude Children Home. I was involved in various activities there. The first month I worked closely with the social workers, Ronald and Jackie, to identify students in need of school fees. Some days, I just hung out with the children and the mothers at the orphanage. Most of June and July was spent working closely with Christopher, the accountant, as we changed their accounting system to Quickbooks. It has been a lot of work inputting all of the data since Jan 1st, 2011. I helped bring a couple of groups to St Jude and guided them as to what to bring to us. They brought much needed supplies, clothes, toys and books with them. I helped them around town and getting to Gulu via the bus.

Sometimes I visited villages to see what their needs were.

I volunteered with other charity organizations helping them with their Quickbooks and giving proper trainingon it. Some of these NGOs are African Revival, Favor of God, Aid Africa, and St Jude. I have also written previous blogs about my experiences out in the bush with Aid Africa making the rocket stoves and mudding them. All of these things were wonderful and fulfilling for me to be involved in. I love using my skills to help others.

I helped bring much needed supplies to the orphanage.

Of course, not every day was hard work. There is one swim pool and sauna at Acholi Inn that I was known to be seen enjoying occasionally. I enjoyed going to a club called BJz for Quiz night and dancing once a week. I spent time reading books, writing my blog, and communicating via Facebook with my family and friends. Life is harder here than in Hawaii. It takes time to wash my clothes by hand, boil my water to drink, and try to keep things semi-clean in a dusty environment. I spent my share of time fixing flat tires on my bike too. Everything takes longer in Africa.

This bike has saved me so much money in transportation costs; regardless of the flat tires!

I learned to have Patience here. Now, instead of getting anxious when we leave two hours after we are told to arrive, I just bring a book, relax and read. When meetings start at 6pm, I don’t get there until 7pm because I know they never start on time! I am not going to change the way things are done here; I have to adapt. Adjust. Smile. Be happy. Be Patient. This is Africa!

The Source of the River Nile

2011-07-05T05:39:00.000-07:00

The Source of the Nile River is in Jinja, Uganda. It begins as one-fourth fresh water springs and three-fourths Lake Victoria.

From Lake Victoria in Uganda, the Nile River flows 4184 miles (6695km) through Uganda, Sudan and Egypt where it empties into the Mediterranean Sea about 90 days later from where it started.

The Nile is famous as the longest river in the world. The river got its name from the Greek word Neilos, which means “valley”. It was an amazing place to visit such a River that is so important to the world historically.

David’s Visit

2011-06-05T05:16:00.000-07:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to bring my son to Gulu, Uganda and share with him the things I have been doing here and to meet these wonderful people. I wanted to share with him another side of life, because I believe that Africa changes a person for the better. People bring aid to Africa, but Africa gives them a gift in return; a bigger heart, more patience, more compassion and love. One cannot return home without more gratitude for all of the blessings we enjoy living in the US; electricity, clean water, and good health. The most important discovery, though, is the recognition and appreciation of the opportunities that exist for us in our developed country. And let’s not forget that wonderful thing called democracy. Most importantly, Africa taught me to simplify my life, and I no longer desire so many worldly things. I love my simple life in Gulu.

David is very sharp and interested in politics, so he talked to people about the government here. Uganda has a dictator. He would discuss the lack of laws or the enforcing of laws, the lack of sanitation and infrastructure, etc. David will be writing his thoughts about his trip to Gulu and sending them to me and I will post them on my blog. I can’t wait to read what he says. Now I will just tell you about the things we did.

David's first day at St Jude's Orphanage

Umm, this bike lasted about 2 hours and it broke twice. It's walking or bodas for us :)

We went to St Jude’s Orphanage on his first day in Gulu. We picked up my bike so that we both would have a bike to ride. My bike plan did not work out because the bike I borrowed from a friend for David broke two times within hours of riding it! We returned the bike and decided to walk or boda to places instead.

David at the Market

We bought fresh fruits and vegetables at the market. An African market is an amazing adventure of narrow walkways and good and bad smells and unusual sites! I was so engrossed in watching David enjoy everything that I almost bumped right into a huge slab of stinky beef that was hanging from a nail! David steered me clear of it ! You will find everything you need in this market. David’s favorite meal every morning was a cut up avocado mixed with chopped tomatoes and onions and a little salt. He loved it! And it is so simple.

David and Innocent

After leaving the market, we went to Acholi Inn for a swim. He made friends with Morris and Innocent. Just that afternoon, David got to go with me to the bank to pay Innocent’s school fees. I was glad that David could be involved in an activity I have spent so much time and money on; paying the school fees of 35 kids so far! Now, he had met Innocent and they were friends. I had told David the food rules; if you can’t peel it, and it’s not cooked, don’t eat it. He forgot. He had the buffet at Acholi Inn and he ate the coleslaw that had been sitting out for hours. He paid the price the next day by being very sick. I put him on cipro, a big anti-biotic, and he was better the next day.

David is very sick, but the monkey doesn't care!

One of the days we walked to St Jude’s, although we were fearing the rain. We played with a large trail of monster ants and confused their path and watched them scramble around; all while being very careful not to get bitten! At the Orphanage, David played soccer with some kids. On a different day, he entertained the kids by playing his harmonica for them. He met Stephen again, the driver for the Orphanage and the young man who picked him up at the airport. Stephen has a monkey, Nicky, and we played with it for awhile.

David is playing his harmonica for the handicapped kids at St Jude's

David and Stephen

The next day, Stephen took us to Paraa Safari National Park. It was awesome! We did everything in one day! We left Gulu at 5:30 and arrived at the park by 8am and immediately enjoyed seeing tons of wildlife; elephants, giraffes, Uganda cob, antelope, warthogs, etc. Eventually, a park ranger joined us in our vehicle and showed us 5 lions! I thought we got a little too close to them, but I was sitting in the backseat and new the lions would eat the people in the front seat before they would come after me ! After a three hour rest at the lodge, we ate a great lunch at a local food joint. At 2pm we caught a boat for a ride on the Nile River to Murchison Falls. We saw so many hippos and crocodiles. We returned to Gulu after dark on VERY bumpy roads. I forgot to mention, we did the whole safari in an ambulance! It was a very fun day.

Thursday, we spent the day with Aid Africa in the remote village of Rowotbillo. We assembled rocket stoves for the people. I think this was probably David’s favorite experience. First we had to load the very fragile bricks. Then we went to the plant nursery where Aid Africa grows the fruit tree seedlings that they distribute to the villages. They have grafted a mango tree with 5 different fruits on one tree! It took several hours to make almost 50 rocket stoves. David was able to go inside a mud thatched house and mingle with the local people. He has a great sense of humor and makes people laugh. We always have a great time together. The staff of Aid Africa really enjoyed David’s company and hard work.

Just loaded the special bricks for the rocket stoves

Aid Africa showed us their plant nursery

David is making rocket stoves with Aid Africa

Our days flew by fast and before I knew it, we were riding a bus back to Kampala. We spent the night at the Nimerembe Guest House in Kampala. The next afternoon, Moses drove us to Entebbe to catch his flight back to the US.but because we had so much extra time, we took a beautiful walk along the shores of Lake Victoria, the 2nd largest fresh water lake in the world. It was the perfect ending to a perfect week. I was so sad to say goodbye. It had many a couple of years sense we had spent this much time together; we had so much catching up to do.

David and I at Lake Victoria

My prayer for David is that he will take this experience and use it to do great things in his life. Success isn’t just getting an education or getting a good job. Success is using your life to make the world a better place; starting with your family, your friends, your country, and then the world. Thank you, David, for letting me share with you my love for Gulu, Uganda, Africa.

CONCY

2011-06-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

I met Concy when I was walking with David to St Jude’s Orphanage. I knew that school had started for most kids a couple of days ago, so I asked her why she was not in school on this particular day. I was startled by her answer, and decided to make a blog entry especially for Concy.

Concy sells a pig every once in awhile for her medicine.

Concy is a 17 year old young lady. She is very small for her age. Concy is attending Graceland Secondary School, Level 4. Concy has sickle cell anemia, a genetic bone disease that causes extreme pain in her bones and body, and often causes growth problems. Her pain is controlled through medication and diet, but there is no cure for it. Graceland does not like any of their students to be sick with anything, for they fear infection of the other children, even though sickle cell anemia can never infect others like that; it is something you are born with genetically. She showed us the very large scar on her thigh from one of her surgeries. Because she has such occasional bouts of pain at the school, and the school has no means of transporting her to the hospital, Concy is finding her life difficult. But she is a survivor and has every intention of graduating from Graceland in two years and would like to move on to college.

I asked Concy who was paying her school fees? She is living with her brother as both parents are dead. She informed me that she paid her own fees. She sells broiler hens for her school fees and she sells pigs to pay for her very expensive medicine that relieves her pain. I asked her to show me her little farm, and indeed she did. I was very moved by her hard work and her extreme desire to attend school. She showed me her chickens, which were just a few now, as she had just taken them to the market to sell in order to pay her term two fees. Her pigs were healthy and fat. She showed me the medicine that she had to take twice a day. I was very touched by her whole story. How many of us can overcome such problems and achieve independence like Concy?

Here is a 17 year old young lady who has to take care of herself, and she found a way to do it without depending on anybody else to support her. She will go far in this life; she is already a success. She is an amazing girl. One of my very best friends in Hawaii is going to send $50 to go toward some of Concy’s school fees for term three without Concy even asking for any help at all! What a surprise it will be for Concy when she sees how far $50 US dollars will go in making a dent in her school fees (which are about $450/year)! This is what life is about; giving to others in need.

Mango Days in Gulu

2011-06-02T00:54:00.000-07:00

The kids at St Judes are enjoying the mangos!

The trees are ripe with mangos in Gulu, Uganda. There are hundreds of trees heavy laden with fruit. It is the one time on year that the orphanage children can eat their fill of fresh fruit until their bellies are swollen. Of course, this comes with some tummy aches and diarrhea as well as some worms. As the first fruits matured and dropped on the ground, the children would wrestle over its ownership. Now the fruits lay alone and untouched as the children have reached their fill.

I brought some bubbles one day for the kids to chase and play with.

6 people on a bike? Drive slow please!

As I ride my bike through the villages (and often through the cattle), the air is thick with the smell of rotting fruit. There is someone on every corner selling mangos for a very cheap price. It is a wonderful site. They are delicious. I have learned to peel them with my teeth and eat the mangos like the local people; sometimes with the peeling and all. I should probably consider taking a de-worm pill before I leave Uganda, yeah?!

Sometimes I have to ride through cattle to get home!

The weather in Gulu is cooler now. The days are still hot, but the evening gets cool and I need a jacket. It rains every afternoon now and usually into the night. The thunder and lightning shows are fabulous. I have pulled a chair outside just to watch nature’s fury at work. It’s hard to even dry my laundry on the line because of the rain. It often gets washed again. I've arrived home several times drenched, but I still prefer the rain and mud to the dry red dust during the dry season.

Dont take my picture!

Crops are planted everywhere. The grass is greener than green. It is a VERY dark, rich green and the brown and red dirt is fertile and bursting with crops. It is a beautiful site to see. Growing food is not a problem here.

One evening, I was at the Ethiopian Restaurant, which is a bit out of town, and this HUGE rain storm came trapping all of us in the restaurant for quite awhile. It was too dangerous to walk and it was impossible for a boda to get us (gigantic potholes cannot be seen when filled with water). Eventually, as I was in the company of Peace Corp Volunteers, a car came and took us all to our homes. Thank you Peace Corps! Joining the Peace Corps is something I might be interested in someday….

This is the offices of Frontline Engineering. I live in the guest wing to the very left by those motorbikes.

Mombasa, Kenya

2011-06-01T00:10:00.000-07:00

Mombasa, Kenya

After the Rotary District Conference in Kampala, Uganda, some Rotarians headed to Mombasa, Kenya. I was lucky enough to join them. We stayed at the Shelly Beach home of Rotarian Dr. Ben Abe. His home is situated right on the Indian Ocean with a beautiful view and wonderful amenities. Though, personally, I have to say that coming from Gulu, where it is difficult to find good food in a restaurant, I was most impressed with the awesome seafood that was cooked for us by Muhammad. We were there for just 4 days, but it was relaxing, fun and another adventure under my belt. We swam in the pool, walked by the Indian Ocean, read our books, discussed Rotary, and shared stories and laughter.

This is the house that Tom lives in. He is the original builder and caretake of the entire place.

This is the home Angela and I stayed in.

Tom is the original builder and Muhammad is the award winning chef!

A Rotary Club in Seattle, WA, had emailed me wanting to get some information about a food project sponsored by the Kilindini Rotary Club in Mombasa. This just so happens to be the Rotary Club that had a Group Study Exchange in Edina, MN with Rotarian Tim Murphy’s club. So we spent a wonderful day and evening with the Kilindini Rotary Club. We toured several of the member’s businesses, went to the home of one of them, then had a dinner with other club members. It was a great time for everyone.

Rotarian Tim Murphey, USA with the past president of the Kilindini, Mombasa Rotary Club.

Mombasa, Kenya is a really beautiful place. I am glad I was able to go to Kenya. Maybe someday I will live there.

This is the beautiful front of the pool. It goes through a channel to overlook the ocean.

The pool ends with a breath taking view of the Indian Ocean.

Rotarian Angela is my roommate under this huge mosquito net.

I suppose I need to add one photo of myself just to prove that I was really there! I didn't take many photos at all in Kenya. I think I posted everyone of them! I am in this photo with Rotarian Tim Murphy from Edina, MN Rotary Club. He was also with us during the Rotary Convention and the World Vision project tour in Gulu.

And a big thank you to Ben Abe for letting us all enjoy his home in Mombasa!

2011 Rotary International District 9200 Conference

2011-05-31T23:09:00.000-07:00

Rotarian Kim Lorenz is the lead person between Rotary International and World Vision .

Rotarian Tim Murphy, Edina, MN, USA is speaking about the Rotary International/World Vision Project.

The third week of April (20th-23rd) I attended the Rotary District 9200 Conference in Kampala where Rotarians from 5 countries came together for fellowship; Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. It is a District that is soon to be divided as it is very large. The Conference had so many great speakers. It was very educational and exciting to attend. But really, the best part was the fellowship dinners in the evening. They always had great music, amazing food and wonderful entertainment, and yes, lots of fun and laughter.

Betina is speaking in behalf of World Vision

Members of World Vision staff and Rotarians from the United States, involved from the beginning of this great partnership, spoke at the conference. The Rotary Club of Gulu Uganda wanted to do a large water project to help facilitate displaced persons moving back to their villages. District 5950 and Edina Rotary Club donated money that was matched by Rotary International and then partnered with World Vision to bring almost $1 million to Northern Uganda for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.

Incoming President of the Gulu Rotary Club, Rotarian Gerald Obai, has been involved with the World Vision/Rotary project from the beginning.

Rotarian Dr. Ben Abe helped bring Rotary and World Vision together for this great partnership.

I mingled with Rotarian friends I knew from Ethiopia, Uganda, and the United States. Yes! Even Rotarians I know from Seattle and Minnesota were there. Friends I knew from World Vision were also there. The whole event took place at the beautiful Speke Resort and Conference Center in Munyonyo on the shores of Lake Victoria, the 2nd largest fresh water lake and the main source of the Nile River.

Rotarian Tim Murphy from Minnesota, USA

The whole weekend was educational and inspiring. A lot of brilliant minds were brought together to focus on what Rotary International does best; changing lives and making the world a better place to live. I am so proud to be a Rotarian!

Rotarian Dr. Ben Abe, Me, and Mary Howard, who works for Rotary International, enjoy a meal together.

A day with World Vision

2011-04-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

World Vision and Rotary have combined forces to reduce the mortality rate due to water, sanitation and hygeine related diseases in the Gulu area. Together, they have planned for about $1 million in projects. They have constructed 28 new boreholes, repaired 16 existing boreholes, distributed sanitation and latrine digging kits, and supported 8 model villages for training purposes, among many other wonderful things. Today I was priveledged to see some of the projects.

This is a hand washing station in the WV Model village. Step on the wooden board at my feet and the water pours over my hands. The soap dish is nailed on the post. Technology at its best!

Tim Murphy from Edina Rotary Club is laying bricks on the VIP Latrine at a Primary school.

This is the group of Rotarians/World vision staff that spent the day together.

Here is a young man doing the dishes at the station in the model village.

One of the new boreholesthat was drilled.

This borehole is not too busy because it has some iron in it that the people dont like, but it is still a safe water source.

This is a VERY busy borehole well. In fact, it takes several hours to be in line to get water.

Thank you World Vision for all of the good things you are doing; not only in Gulu, Uganda, but all over the world. Myheart is so touched when I see the good things being done here by individuals and large NGOs. There is still so much to do, and I love being a small part of the process. A day doesn't go by that I am not confirmed in my heart that I am in the right place at the right time. It is a blessing to me to be here :).

The Story of a Child Soldier

2011-04-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

This is the story of the experience and rehabilitation of a child soldier. World Vision operates a rehabilitation program here in Gulu, Uganda. There are still new arrivals coming from the Congo that were abducted 15-17 years ago! They are men now, and have lived most of their lives forced to be a soldier.

Peaceful Acholi home.

Attack by Rebels.

Abduction as Child Soldier.

Pursuit by Army.

Crossfire. Fighting between LRA and UG Army.

Rescue by Army.

Army hands over rescued child soldier to World Vision.

Arrival of child soldier to World Vision.

Medical Treatment

Documentation by World Vision and finding of families and relatives.

Various vocational skills training of the former child soldier.

Board Vehicle for going home. Some are given beds, clothes, supplies, etc.

Parents receiving their child after years of separation and sadness.

Hangzhou and Shanghai, China

2011-04-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

We have a wonderful day planned in Hangzhou before heading back to Shanghai for our final day. In Hangzhou, we took a cruise on the West Lake. It is a very large fresh water lake; no fishing or swimming is allowed to keep it clean. Then we went to the famous Long Jiang tea demonstrations. We learned how green tea is harvested, how to tell the different grades of green tea and we were able to taste some quality green tea. Our tea man, Dr. Tea himself, was a real showman! He was a good salesman too . It was interesting to see the Chinese workers in the tea bushes picking the leaves. The tea gardens are huge and it was a very green, lush, beautiful place to visit. After lunch, we had a very long drive back to Shanghai. We are in Shanghai for the last two nights.

When we arrived in Shanghai in the evening, we went on an evening cruise on the Huang Pu River Cruise. Both sides of the river were lit up with many beautiful sky scrapers. It was very cold for me, so I stayed below deck near the window. Then they took us to the Putong and Nanjing Road shopping area for just a few minutes. This looked like Times Square to me. It is very bright, modern buildings, expensive brands and expensive prices. This is the modern part of Shanghai; nothing local about it. It was getting late, and our last day in Shanghai is a free day, so people can return for more shopping if they want tomorrow.

For my last full day in Shanghai, I slept in until 9am . I had a leisurely breakfast, and then joined some friends to go to the “Old City” of Shanghai. It was relaxing and a great day of leisure. I am not a real shopper, so I just like to watch people, look at the local things in the shops, and occasionally try the local street food. I have been lucky in that the street food has not made me sick.

I am with the President of the Rotary Club of Shanghai exchanging banners.

Our Rotary Club of Shanghai meeting and dinner was on our last evening in Shanghai. It was a wonderful evening in a beautiful hotel. I exchanged banners with the Shanghai Club President, an Indian man. I wish I had written down his name. The club, although not officially chartered, is very active in service projects. They showed us slides of some of their projects, including the Gift of Life project. Many Shanghai Rotarians were at the meeting representing countries from all over the world. You might remember that Chinese passport holders are not allowed to be members of the Rotary Club. I am sure that all of this will eventually change as the Chinese government sees all of the good works and service that members of Rotary and the organization itself spreads all over the world. I exchanged banners, giving them a Kapolei, Hawaii banner and receiving their Shanghai banner.

Face booking and blogging is not allowed in China. I have been writing when possible along the way and just saving them. I will start uploading when I arrive in Dubai airport. I know you will love the pictures. I have learned so much about China. I never really thought passed the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Warriors. I had no idea what adventures lay ahead of me and all the history I would learn along the way. I didn’t even have a China tour book like I always do when I travel to a new country! My mind has definitely enlarged and my life has been so enriched from this trip. I am still in awe at all that I saw and experienced and learned.

Lots of new friendships were made on this trip :)

But the greatest thing that happened here is the new friends I made on the trip. I traveled with a wonderful group of 27 Rotarians, their spouses, and perhaps future Rotarians from the Seattle area. I have 26 new friends in my life. I also have some new friends in China! I want to publically thank Jesse and Lilly Tam for putting this China tour together and for their endless patience with everyone. It is very hard, and actually quite impossible, to keep everyone happy in a big group like this, yet Jesse solved the problems as they came up with such finesse and professionalism. As a Rotarian, I am very proud to represent America in China and to spread goodwill and better friendships all over the world!!

Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing China

2011-04-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning in Shanghai before leaving for Suzhou by bus in the afternoon. Our first stop was the YuYuan Garden. It is an excellent model of classical Chinese gardening architecture. It was built during the reign of the Ming Emperor Jiajing (1559). Before we arrived there though, we walked through by some great food vendors and a beautiful shopping area. The entire garden is walled in and the wall is topper by a very large dragon. After the garden, we went to the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. It has a very large model of the future Shanghai. For lunch, we had more Chinese food. The dishes are very good. We also had a quick stop at the Shanghai museum.

Suzhou is a water city. A city of canals; the Venice of China, but we didn’t get to see that part of town. We saw two or three canals, but not the “Venice” part . Some people were disappointed, but Nexus has our group on a schedule and they seem determined to keep us on it! Before we left Suzhou, Michael stopped at one of the little local alley roads and let us experience a very local area. The group loved it. We saw exotic foods, shops, local people, etc.

Our next city to visit was Wuxi. Our number one stop is the Lingering Garden, the third most beautiful garden in all of China (Summer Palace being the first). It was truly beautiful. Then we went to a silk factory. We saw how silk worms make silk! It was very cool. I learned a lot. It is really an amazing process, and silk is such a strong and beautiful and soft fabric.

We arrived in Nanjing in the evening, had another Chinese dinner, then we went to a night shopping area that was very bright and exciting. The next morning, we went to a fresh water pearl factory, Dr Sun Yat-Sen’s Mausoleum. We had a ride on a boat to see the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge and had lunch at the Confusian Temple. After lunch, we had a very long bus ride to Hangzhou.

Every single day is an early start and late finish. Many of the group are very tired, but our spirit and enthusiasm is still very strong. We are seeing much more of China than we ever imagined. It truly has been an amazing experience.

Xian, China

2011-04-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

A presentation at the Ancient City wall of Xian.

Every Terra Cotta Warrior has a different face. Recognize this one?

Everyone was very tired at our 6:30am wakeup call and our 8 am departure for our day in Xian. This morning I ate my fill of Dragon fruit! It was delicious! We have two nights at this hotel. Today we started our day with a visit to the Ancient City Wall. There was a show with ancient soldiers, drums and marching. It was very good. We have a new guide here called Rose. Then we stopped at one of the government mandated places; a ceramic art factory. We had lunch at a great noodle restaurant and watched them make several different kinds of noodles. Then we saw the highlight of the day, and my second favorite place in all of China besides the Great Wall; Terra Cotta Warriors Museum. The first Emperor of China thought that after this life he would be living underground, so he staffed his underground tomb with over 6,000 life-sized warriors, horses, and chariots and vast amounts of treasures for his use after death. It was just discovered in the late 70’s by a farmer who was digging a well. The tomb and all of the soldiers had been destroyed and buried thousands of years ago, but archeologists are painstakingly putting the pieces slowly back together. It will take years and years because the place is so huge! They only have about a 1/3 of the soldiers back together again. The Terra Cotta Warriors were recently named the 8th Wonder of the World! That is exciting! As with the wall, I find it difficult to put into words how over whelming seeing such an amazing site is. It’s just very moving to the very core of my soul!

Only a fraction of the 6,000 warriors have been put together again.

Recently named as the 8th Wonder of the World!

We ate a very special local Imperial Dumpling banquet dinner and attended a traditional Tang Dynasty Singing and Dancing Show. It was another late night and we got back to our hotel at almost 10pm. We have another morning in Xian before we fly to Shanghai tomorrow at 2pm.

Our group in front of the Wild Goose Pagoda.

Before our flight to Shanghai today, April 7th, we stopped at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Xian. Some of the group lit incense and offered prayers at the big burning pot at the top of the stairs near the very big Golden Buddha.

We flew to Shanghai at 2:30, arriving in the evening. We have a new tour guide now, Michael. He sings us songs. He is a bit stricter on our time table, but he is very funny. We have one night at the Minya Hotel in Shanghai before leaving by bus for Suzhou in the morning.

3 days in Beijing, China

2011-04-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

Rotary Friendship trip to China: 27 members. 17 Rotarians/10 Spouses and friends. Here we are at Tianeman Square.

Getting to China was about a 48 hour event when you consider that I have to leave Gulu for Kampala the day before I fly out. I caught a 1:00 bus to Kampala and arrived about 6pm. I stayed at the same guesthouse that I did when I was getting my China Visa. They have a wonderful dinner buffet with a lot of green vegetables. Green vegetables are hard to find in Gulu.

We ate lots of duck in China :)

Umm, I didnt eat this, but saw lots of stuff like this....

To get to the airport, I rode a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) to the taxi station in Kampala, then a taxi minivan to Entebbe, then hired a private car to the airport. At one point when I was on the boda, I found us stuck between two buses that were angling toward each other. The motor cycle handle bars were almost touching the sides of both buses! It was a bit nerve racking, but I survived. I flew from Entebbe to Dubai, and then to Beijing on Emirates Airbus 380. It was huge! I watched about 6 movies on my two 7.5 hour flights.

This is our awesome group at the Great Wall of China!

I landed in terminal 3 about an hour ahead of the Seattle group. Two hours later, when I had not seen anyone that I recognized, I figured out that I was in a different terminal than they were. Yes, I caught up with the group and made it to the hotel with everyone. Finally!

This is the side I climbed as far as possible. It was steep! My legs hurt for days!

This is a group of 27 people. Everyone, except me, is from Seattle, Washington. Seventeen of us are Rotarians and the rest are spouses or friends. This Rotary International Friendship trip to China was organized by Rotarian Jesse Tam. We are visiting the only two Rotary clubs in all of China; Beijing and Shanghai. We are also touring 7 cities.

Me in front of the Temple of Heaven

Day #1: Every day is packed from morning to night with sites and visits. We have had very little rest. It has been an amazing experience. Our guide in Beijing is Jo Jo. She is very knowledgeable about the area and is very personable; her stories and history lessons are endless. Our first stop of the day is the Forbidden City. It is called that because it was forbidden for common people to enter, and forbidden for the royal family within to leave the walls. It was a private city of luxury, concubines, food and riches. We walked from the Forbidden City to Tiananmen Square, the largest public square in the world. We had lunch at the famous Peking Roast Duck Restaurant. After lunch, we toured the Temple of Heaven. It was a full day and we were all still very jet lagged. Our hotel in Beijing is the Changan Grand Hotel. I am collecting all of the extra toiletries and hotel toothbrushes from everyone to take back to St Jude’s Orphanage.

OK, now I am sweaty and hot! It was a big climb!

Day #2: This is the day I have dreamed about for years. Today I walked on the Great Wall of China!!! It is one of the “seven wonders of the world”, and the second one I have been to this year (Machu Picchu was in Feb). Wow, I climbed up to the very top of the steep Western side as far as we were permitted to go. I went too far, too fast, and too hard, but that is usually the way I do things. My legs were shaking when I got to the bottom, and my knee was weak. I knew I would be paying with sore muscles for a few days, and I sure did. After sitting on the bus, my legs will get sore and cramped and I can hardly go down steps now. I take hot leg baths, massage the muscles, walk, stretch my legs, use muscle cream, etc; anything to alleviate the pain and soreness! But WOW! The Great Wall of China! I can’t even describe how joyful it was to be on the wall. Words just won’t do justice to what my heart was feeling! Again, it was a dream come true for me.

Being on the Great Wall of China was a dream come true for me :)!

After the Great Wall, we went to a Cloisonné Factory, and the Ming Tombs. We also drove past the Olympic rings and the birds nest and water cube (Olympic buildings). We are fed three big meals every day and we have the best assorted Chinese food ever! It’s just too much! I have learned that in China, it is the year of the rabbit, and I am born in the year of the rabbit. It is my year. Good things will come my way this whole year, and it has! It is my year!

A beautiful vase at the Cloisonné Factory.

One of the Olympic Buildings called the "Birds Nest"

Day #3: Our first stop of the day is the Summer Palace of the Emperor, which was very beautiful. Then we had a tour of a silk carpet factory. The carpets are very difficult to make by hand and are very, very expensive. It was not originally in our schedule, but was added by the government of China for their foreign visitors. We then went to our lunch meeting with the Rotary Club of Beijing. There are only two Rotary Clubs in all of China, and we came to give support and exchange ideas and fellowship. Rotary in China is not open to any holder of a Chinese passport, so it is a club of ex-patriots and foreigners living in Beijing. The Beijing Club is not officially chartered, but it is very active in service and they showed us a video of some of their projects. Some of us exchanged Club banners with them. I now have a beautiful Beijing Rotary Club banner for my home club, Kapolei Rotary Club. Our day was not yet finished. We still had a Hu Tong visit. A Hu-Tong is the name of an older residential living area. We also had a rickshaw ride and climbed a tower (yes, more painful steps) to see a drum ceremony which is the way they kept time in ancient days. After our home visit, we went to a Chinese Acrobat show and had another great dinner before our flight left at 10pm for Xian. This day was the longest yet. We didn’t get to our hotel in Xian until about 1:30 in the morning. We are staying at the Grand Noble Hotel in Xian for two nights.

Summer Palace

Seattle area Rotarains visiting the Rotary Club of Beijing, China

Me with the President of the Beijing Rotary Club.

A rickshaw ride with Danner

A Drum ceremony was an time telling event before clocks and watches.

Aid Africa

2011-04-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

Peter Keller and I with all of the stoves we made!

I met Peter Keller at a small coffee shop in town awhile ago. I don’t normally go to this coffee shop because it is where so many white people like to hang out, drink coffee, and use the wireless internet and generator power and I try to mingle more with the locals, I guess. But I see the good of meeting people in a place like that. I actually like going there now! A lot of networking is going on in there. My first two times there, I have made important contacts. Peter invited me to go out in the field with his NGO, Aid Africa. He is the executive director.

The rocket stove uses much less fuel and is smokeless.

Aid Africa is involved in many projects in the Gulu area, but the one I was going to spend the day doing with them is the making and distributing of rocket stoves to a village about two hours away. The smoke from cooking fires in a hut is a leading cause of blindness in women and children and a real serious issue in Northern Uganda. Also, many women and children suffer from lung diseases because of all the exposure to cooking smoke.

Every hut gets two stoves. This is step one of the mudding process.

Step two is surrounding it with mud.

And this is the finished product!

Rocket stoves are a smokeless, low fuel burning stove. It is good for the environment because it uses a fraction of the fuel necessary in cooking compared with open fires, and they also do not put smoke into the air. The bricks are made locally out of local materials. The clay of the brick is mixed with organic materials like straw and sticks. When the bricks are fired, the organic material burns away and the bricks are left with many small little holes like a sponge. They are fragile, light, and can even float in water. When 6 of the bricks are wired together in a circle, it makes a great smokeless stove. It is then mudded over and affixed inside the cooking hut and the hut is now a smokeless cooking area. Every hut gets two stoves. The pictures will explain it better than I can describe it. We built 58 rocket stoves, and took pictures and video of one stove being mudded in for promotional purposes. If you really want more information about Aid Africa or the rocket stoves, you can check out their website at http://www.aidafrica.net/.

This is my gift of eggs!

Even though I was just an observer and helper, I was awarded by one of the village ladies a gift of eggs this time. I actually took the eggs and traded them later for a fruit called tugu. It is a very fibrous, stringy fruit that falls off of a tree that looks like a coconut tree. It is eaten like sugar cane is eaten. You bite a bit off, chew the flavor of it out of the fibers, and then spit it out. It was delicious. Now I need to get packed for my departure to China tomorrow.

This Rotary CLub has given lots of money to Aid Africa.

Kalang Village and Sabina

2011-04-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

Bruce, Benson and Shawn from Seattle.

The Rotarian Rice Mill in Kalang being built by Frontline Engineering.

Today we took a visiting family from Seattle to see the building of the rice mill in Kalang Village, about an hour out of Gulu. They are here to buy beads for an NGO and do some volunteer work. We met them at the bus station when they arrived in town, and took them to St Jude’s where they had nice accommodations. It was nice to play host to our new friends. I love having visitors! I was only with them for a few days before I had to leave for China.

The rice mill is going up!

This is me with Blessed, from St. Jude's Orphange

Now back to Kalang. A Canadian Rotary Club donated $12,000 for the building of the mill and store. The building of the rice mill is coming along just fine. We were also sent to Kalang look at the progress of Sabina’s mud thatched house by a Rotarian who had found out she did not have her own place to live. Last October, he gave the village money to build her a home and wanted us to send pictures to him. Sabina is the little lady that two years ago had the courage to stand up in the crowd during a celebration and ask for something meaningful and necessary for her village when a few Rotarians stopped for a last minute visit. Her request was what motivated me to help raise funds two years ago for the Maize Grinding Mill in 2008, and it was dedicated in 2009. Now, a rice mill, store, pit latrine and a possible bore hole well is being built in the same area for this village. All because Sabina spoke up when women are traditionally not encouraged to speak out.

Children in the village of Kalang

We gave the kids a soccer ball!

Although it wasn’t me that donated money for Sabina’s house, she remembered me from my visit in 2009 and that I was connected to the grinding mill, and she was so happy to see me again. I think she thought I was responsible for building her house too, because she gifted me with this beautiful rooster. I actually had to hold the rooster and show how much I loved her gift. I wanted to give it back to her, but was told to keep it or she would be insulted. I am definitely not going to eat it! So maybe I will keep it and start a little chicken farm of my own in Gulu. I just need a few hens to keep my rooster happy!

Sabina

Sabina and I in front of her house which still needs a door and a floor.

Sabina gifted me a rooster! I am actually holding a rooster!!

I have also attached a few pictures of the neighborhood kids. The pictures are just precious. Rotary is really making a difference in the lives of the people of Kalang and all over the world!

The kids eating breakfast at St Judes Orphanage.

A child in Kalang Village. Someone is behind her that I didnt even notice at first!

Now you can see the child behind the pole.

A Visit to A Village

2011-03-26T02:31:00.000-07:00

Don't be fooled, I am merely serving the food...I did NOT cook it on the fire!

These six orphans,with their Aunt Santa and I, are sponsored by the Well of Hope Foundation.

Today I spent the afternoon in the village of some of the kids that we sponsor. They cooked me a great feast and treated me like royalty. The grandmother of the children wrote me a letter of thanks that is so touching. I wanted to share this with you. She says " Hello Mummy Kayla. I am thankful for what you are doing for the children of my sons who are not alive. Here in the village I have a piece of land which I need to provide for you to build your own house as much as you want. I need to do this because of what you are doing for my family and I would appreciate for you to be my daughter forever until further notice. Thank you"

Ummmm, isn’t this an amazing letter of thanks? Wow!

Starting left to right: Boo (greens and eggs), posho (corn), millet, beans, beef.

This is typical local food and was so delicious.

Then, this morning another great thing happened to me. When Agnes was 14, she was kidnapped and given as the wife to a rebel soldier. She had his baby. Eventually she escaped, came back home, and found a job. She kept her baby and is a very good mother despite her situation. That was 7 years ago. We sponsored her last year as she went back to high school. She did fantastic, and was number one in her class at Alliance High School for Adults. She recently lost her job as cook with the UNHCR, so she had to move back to her village which is far from town. She humbly asked if I could buy her a bike to ease her transportation difficulties, and I was very happy to do so. It was a wonderful investment in this bright woman’s future. I love being here and doing what I am doing. I wish my money would never run out and that I could do this forever :)

Agnes and her new bike :)!

I have interviewed and met some amazing young people as I was awarding the scholarship money from African Promise. All of the youth had extremely difficult stories to tell. Almost every one of these young adults has lost one or both parents in the war. One young woman lost both of her parents to poisoning over a land dispute, which is not uncommon! One young man recalls the rebels entering his home at night by surprise. He was able to escape to safety, but he never saw his parents again. The other great cause of death here, if not by war, is by HIV: Mothers, Fathers, Uncles, Aunts, brothers and sisters. It is really such a sad thing. I can’t put on paper all of the stories and horrifying facts that I have heard or read. And I am sure that I have only been exposed to a tiny bit of the real truth. Their stories have made our troubles, yours and mine in America, seem trivial. Whatever it is that we have been/are/or are going to go through is nothing like what these kids have already experienced and lost.

Jackie is the Social Worker at St Judes Orphanage that helps me with the scholarships, and a great friend!

I’ve been here about a month. I have been very busy paying school fees every day, working with St Jude’s to find new recipients, and doing all of the paperwork and accounting that must be done for proper record keeping for both the Well of Hope Foundation and African Promise Foundation. I have/will have awarded about 20 students and $4600 from the Well of Hope Foundation, and covered 15 students with $4,000 from African Promise. The money is about finished, and I will turn my attention to other tasks. St. Jude’s has been asking for help in their accounting office, and I look forward to changing gears to help in that area. Another NGO, Favor of God, has also asked for my help with their Quickbooks and in their accounting area. There is always work to be found here. It keeps me busy. It keeps me happy. It keeps me smiling.

Santa is roasting fresh peanuts at the orphanage.

Paying School Fees

2011-03-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

Agnes was abducted at 14 and given to a LRA soldier. She eventually escaped and returned home. This is her second year in our scholarship program at Alliance High, and she is one of our highest performers.

Paying school fees is a lot more than just paying money to a bank. Sometimes it is a joyful experience, sometimes it is stressful. I met with each of my girls to discuss their progress and review their grades. I took their picture and spent some time with each of them to get to know them better. I want to put a human face to their school money so that they appreciate where the money is coming from. I tell them how the sponsors who donate money are very hard working and honest people. Some of the people that donate money to us live check to check themselves, yet they find it in their heart and pocketbook to still send money to Uganda to support education. One of my donors is paying college expenses for three children of her own!

Cecilia's father was killed by the LRA rebels and her mother is also dead. St Judes Orphanage brought Cecilia to our attention. She performed very good this past year.

I will start with the good news. Most of the kids did very well. We have to take into consideration that we took orphans out of a traumatic situation. Many of them had never been in a formal boarding school environment and they found themselves behind. Some had a difficult time catching up and adjusting. I applauded the kids that overcame this obstacle by working hard and getting good grades. I expressed my joy for them and told them how their hard work would bring a brighter future for themselves and for Uganda.

Mercy's father was killed by the LRA rebels in 1999. She lives with her grandmother. She is attending Sacred Heart SS for her second year in our program :)

On the other hand, if their report cards were less than average, I had to explain that they were now on probation; either for the next term, or for the next school year. Two were dismissed totally from the program. Some of the girls wanted to switch to a new school, or switch to a boarding school from a day school. I reviewed their grades to see if what they were asking for had been earned. Some requests were accommodated and some were denied. Some were very happy, and others cried tears of disappointment. It has been tough on me the last two weeks to make these types of life decisions. “Yes” here, “No” there.

Vicky was brought to me by St. Jude’s Orphanage. She is also attending Sacred Heart through our Well of Hope program and she is doing very well.

I have also learned how to pick better candidates for the new money I have from African Promise. I learned to kindly request the formal parent letter that officially tells me the amount to pay for tuition. I started doing this after I was asked by one child in my program to pay an amount 3X more than last year! Without that parent letter stating the amount, I could be paying a price much higher than necessary. Each girl also needs to have support from St Jude’s Orphanage or a family member or clan that can pay their school requirements; things like cement, mattress, brooms, paper, uniforms, bus, etc. The NGO, or charity, should only pay for tuition because we don’t want to get involved in purchasing individual items.

Vicky found herself quite behind when she entered school and is struggling to catch up in her studies. She is working hard to bring her grades up and is thankful for the opportunity we are giving her. She came to us from St Judes Orphange.

School fees have also gone up for almost everyone, and the money is going to run short. I have had to make some tough decisions. But for the most part, it has been a very rewarding experience for me. It brings me great joy to know that we are changing the lives of so many young people and we are improving the future of Uganda. These girls have been given a treasure of a life time; Education . I love my work here.

Agnes' parents are gone and she is living with her grandmother who cannot afford the school fees for Agnes. She is attending Pope Paul boarding school for her second year in our program.

As I finish paying the school fees of the Well of Hope kids, I will begin to find more youth to sponsor for the new money of African Promise. African Promise is a charity that sells Acholi beads in the US and then uses that money to pay school fees in the Gulu area. I am so lucky to be helping them spend their money on such a good cause! This is money I will enjoy spending!

Charlette’s father died from HIV and her mother died in an ambush during the war. She is living with an Auntie who cannot afford Secondary School fees because she is caring for 6 other orphans. Charlette is also attending Pope Paul Boarding school.

Gulu, Uganda March 2011

2011-03-13T14:37:00.000-07:00

I am helping these ladies buy the Acholi beads. Money from beads is used for school fees.

Wow! It’s just like I remember it; the same amazing people, the same fine red dust everywhere on on everything, the smoke from open pit fires, and of course, poverty is seen everywhere. Life is different here in Gulu, Northern Uganda, in Africa. Life slows down. Everything slows down (even the computer, he he). Whatever problems you brought with you now take a back seat, because they are not as bad as the problems that are surrounding you day and night right here. Seeing such poverty is the hardest. I am always asked for assistance, whether I am on a bus, in the sauna, in a restaurant, at the bank; people want help. It can be draining.

The Acholi Women selling their beautiful beads.

In my first week here, I met almost all of my friends from last Spring. It has been a happy reunion; they are glad I am back. I am also very glad to be back. I attend the Gulu Rotary meetings every week and have caught up with my great Rotary friends. Every day, I meet someone else, and it is a happy reunion.

Brother Elio is the Director of St Judes Orphanage

I am here to pay school fees for the second year. I have been collecting the money all year from friends, clients, family, Rotarians, etc. I am collecting fees through the Well of Hope Foundation. I actually have to go to the bank, withdraw the money, go to the specific school’s bank and pay the fees in person. I am also volunteering at St Jude’s orphanage; some days are with the babies, some days will be in the accounting office when my school fees have been paid. I have already made contact with all of the staff at the orphanage and we are ready to work together to get these school fees paid and find new ones to help. My name is known as “Mama Kayla”, after my daughter, who all the little children at the orphanage remember.

This big guy, Sunday, was the newborn baby I was always holding last year!

Life is harder here. Everything is covered in a layer of red dirt, and soon, when the rains begin, everything will be covered in mud. The water runs red when I shower at night from the layer of dirt covering my body and hair, and the bottom of my feet are probably permanently dyed red. It’s very hot and humid. I am always sweating. The food is back to basics; beans, avocados, eggs, peanuts, tomatoes, and bananas. It’s easy to lose weight here. I eat usually one good meal a day in a restaurant for about $3.00-$5.00/day in the late afternoon or evening. For the other two meals, I eat some of the food that I mentioned above which I keep stocked in my room. The internet is unreliable and so slow. It’s frustrating when I am trying to do work. Everything slows down here, and in most ways, that is a wonderful thing.

I Have Wheels!!

I bought a bike this weekend to save money on boda fees. Now I just need to keep it safe and not let it get stolen. It will save me a lot of money on boda fees. I can’t jog here; it’s not safe and the roads are just too rough. Biking isn’t really very safe either, but neither is riding the bodas. People drive crazy here. Biking will be my new form of exercise now. It is wonderful. Hot, but wonderful! I love biking through the villages and on trails away from the dusty roads.

My bed is my office and my TV room. I get one channel :)

I am so happy to be here, and I am doing some really great service. On my very first day, I traveled to a village to help another NGO buy Acholi Beads from the ladies. They sell the beads in America and use the money to support school fees for orphans, and also to improve the lives of the women making the beads. I will be helping the organization find the children that truly need the help and are bright and motivated to study hard. I have always wanted to get involved with the Aholi beads, now I have the opportunity. They raised the money, and I get to award it to the children. Now how great is that?

This African Cairn keeps my water cool once I boil it.

I have rented a room with its own separate bathroom. It is small, but it is secure and clean (as clean as things can get here!). I have warm water and a flushing toilet. The electricity strength is very weak, so at night if I want to read, I have to use a flashlight. I also have a mouse visitor I am trying to get rid of. I bring my bike into my room at night. I have my own entrance, so I can come and go on my own. I am back to washing my clothes by hand. This is a bit time consuming. I feel like I’m back in the pioneer times, but like I said, since time has slowed, there is more time to do things by hand. My water supply ran out Friday night. I don’t like being without water. I need water for bathing, and washing my hands and food, and for boiling to drink! I can live without electricity, but living without water is difficult. Drinking water can always be bought, so I’m just talking about the daily water we use. Half way through the day I lost my water supply, I lost my electricity too ! They will both eventually turn back on. Until then, I will shower at the Acholi Inn pool.

Two of the Well of Hope School fees girls. I will post more in the next blog.

Bricks are being made right outside of my room. Young boys from the neighborhood work in the mud all day long for a good lunch and about 5,000UGX/day ($2.50). They are happy for the money. It’s hard for me, though, to see such young boys work in the mud so hard from 7am to 7pm. They make 100’s of bricks everyday for a brick wall that will soon be put up. I am watching the process from the beginning. Right now the bricks are baking in the sun, but soon they will stack them into towers and put firewood inside and bake the bricks. They have made 10,000 bricks so far.

The straw covered bricks are baking in the sun.

These are some very hard working kids.

Each bricks is very heavy! They've made 10,000!

Well right now my daily schedule is to withdraw money, pay school fees, head to orphanage, sometimes swim in the evening, and then go to bed. I stay busy. I sleep well. I am satisfied .

Buenos Aires, Argentina, South America

2011-02-23T21:34:00.000-08:00

I'm sure this has a name, but to me, it is a beautiful alien-like flower.

Argentina is the home of TANGO! Lots of tango shows, dancers and lessons! Buenes Aires University is also where Emilia is attending University, and that is what brought us to this beautiful city.

Oh yeah, I like this partner. Can I keep him?!

I wish this was a mating dance, and not just the Tango!

We were only here for 5 days, but they were exhausting and fun days. Emilia registered for her classes, found an apartment and bought the things she needed to buy. We all bought things we “needed” ;0! I do believe I saw every square inch of Buenos Aires, Argentina via walking, bus, subway and taxi. I might not know the name of what I saw, but I saw everything. I didn’t take too many pictures because I am tired of taking pictures already.

OK, so this is his real partner! And they were really good!

The funnest thing for me was the tango shows, and my tango pictures. We also spent many hours shopping for numerous shoes, clothes, gifts and accessories. I am in good shape, and I jog almost every day, but Emilia wore me out! Six to eight hours of walking every day is more than my 40 minutes of jogging. Poor me went to bed every night with sore feet! Instead of wearing my fashionable cute sandals all day like the first day (ouch!), I switched to my sturdy jogging shoes, even though I was wearing shorts. Comfort becomes more important than style when you are walking all over the city!

One of the MANY streets we walked down!

I should write a book on how to travel cheap. If I didn’t buy any shirts or souvineers, I would have done Buenos Aires for five days for less than $150. That includes food, shelter, and transportation! We stayed at a comfortable Hostel that was $10 per night for each of us. It had warm water, soft beds, and internet. The bathrooms were clean and COED (new experience for me). At first I was very hesitant, but I became very comfortable there.

This area is called Havanna Caminito.

We usually had fruit for breakfast and ate one big late lunch for our main meal. I ate lots of bananas here. Yeah, whenever I travel with Emilia, I lose a little weight because she doesn’t eat much and she goes and goes and goes! It was a great trip! Buenos Aires is a beautiful city, and I am so glad I had the opportunity to see yet another country in South America.

It looks like the Washington Monument, yeah?

We returned to Chile very late on February 22. My time here is drawing to a close. I have an had an amazing experience the last two months here. Emilia’s family has been so kind and accommodating; a real blessing to my life. I truly don’t know how I’ll ever thank them enough for all the love that they have shown me. I love them so much. It will be sad to go, but it is time to move on to my next adventure. Chile was for travel and to learn Spanish, and to see my near and dear daughter Emilia. Now I need to engage in some heavy duty service in Gulu, Uganda, Africa! I have so much work waiting for me there, and I can’t wait to get started!

This says "Park your dog here"!

Fun things in Rancagua, Chile

2011-02-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

This lion isn't done eating. It wants more, so it's waiting for us....

I don’t have to leave far from home (Rancagua at this time) to have a good time. There are plenty of fun things to do right here. Ahimara and I recently spent an afternoon at the Safari Park, or zoo. But it was much better than a zoo. The animals were close up behind chain link fencing, not far away behind heavy bars. They were active too. The bear went swimming and ate the leaves in the water. The only White Lion in all of South America lives here. We saw monkeys, baboons, puma, deer, turtles and little animals of all sorts. But the best thing was the lion safari!

He smells the meat by our head and is coming to get it!

This is the truck behind us.

Ahimara and I climbed into a cage on the back of a truck. We were locked in. Meat was thrown on top of the cage. The truck was driven through a double set of locked gates and entered into the lion’s safari like home. The lion’s get excited about the smell of the meat. Next thing I know, the lion is jumping up on the hood of the truck onto the top of our cage to eat the meat that is just two inches from our head! It was so awesome! When the meat was gone from outside the cage, the lion seemed to be trying to figure out how to eat the meat inside the cage! The handler had to even throw some meat down on the ground to convince the lion to get off his truck! It was an amazing experience!

Hmmm, how do I get that meat in there?

This kind of fun stuff just happens to me. I don’t plan it. I didn’t even know about this park. I am just letting the forces of the Universe guide me to wherever they think I need to be, and on this particular day, it was with the lions.

Yeah, I'm going to take home a baby lion!

There are lots of birds here too.

Another day we spent the day picking peaches. Cecilia’s family is in the agriculture business. We picked lots and lots of peaches! Tons of peaches! I thought carrying a real picking pouch on my chest would be a good idea so that I could collect lots of peaches; it just meant I worked harder! But oh, the experience was awesome. Just a minute, I have to go eat a peach. I will be back.

I'm still looking fresh here. I have not begun. These are Cecilia's siblings with me.

No one translated for me this day. I learned from my rudimentary speaking skills that this year has been a very bountiful year for peaches, apples, corn, and pears. A few days before this peach day, we picked grapes (red and green), apples (gala and granny), and pears. It was my first time to ever be under the hanging grapes. It was just so bountiful to me and I have never seen so many big, fat, juicy grapes, beautiful, sweet, soft pears, and crisp hard apples. I didn’t know I was going to pick fruit, so I didn’t have my camera along to take pictures of the grapes and apples. I usually never know where I’m going until I am actually there! I was sad for the fallen fruit on the ground, and wanted to rescue every one of them, but alas, I can’t save the entire fruit world.

I think I can see the sweat starting!

We attended a wedding one evening. Now a wedding here in Chile is a very fun event that lasts all night long. Really! It started at 9:00pm and got over at 6;30AM!! And we stayed the whole time; eating, dancing, talking, and having a great time! Yes, I even had an English speaking friend this night, so Emilia was off the hook! Did I mention I danced all night? Yeah, it was very fun. I like the weddings in Chile!

She's a lovely bride and the wedding was fabulous!

On another fun day, I toured the largest copper mine in the world! El Teniente Copper Mine is where Emilia’s father works. We also toured Sewell, the mining town where all the miners lived years ago. I actually can’t cite too many facts because, again, my tour was in Spanish. So I just took lots of pictures. I had to wear a really cool gas mask in the mine, and we were REALLY far into the mountain, and it was cold and dark in there. I saw how the copper was mined. China and Japan are the largest importers of Copper. Chile is the #1 exported of copper in the world. The copper mine tour was very cool. Enjoy my pictures of things to do in Rancagua!

Machu Picchu- One of the 7 Wonders of the World!

2011-02-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

Machu Picchu is one of the 7 wonders of the world for a very good reason. It is absolutely “wonderful”. It is a “wonder” how they built it and how it has survived 100’s of years of forest overgrowth and earthquakes. I use to think that Rome, Italy, with all its ancient ruins and city mingled together, was my favorite place on earth, but it is now in spot #2. Machu Picchu, including Lima and Cuzco are my all time favorite. It is hard to put into words the stunning beauty, the advanced technology that was used to build the still sturdy walls, the technology used to mark the exact day of each new season, and the placement of the city itself. The history of Machu Picchu, or at least what they know of it, is so interesting.

Leaving Santiago, Chile for Peru with Emilia

I am getting ahead of myself. I traveled with Emilia to Peru for 7 days the end of Jan 2011. Two days in Lima, 2 days in Cuzco, 2 days in Machu Picchu, and 1 last day in Cuzco. Let’s start with Lima. Lima is a very beautiful city. It actually looks a lot like Rome the way the modern city is mingled with 250 ancient archeological sites. There are many Spanish and European churches, architecture, and buildings mingled with modern glass and steel ones. It was a Spanish speaking tour, so I don’t know any of the names of the places I saw, but they were beautiful, and I took lots of pictures. I couldn’t understand any of the history or stories of the place either. That was a bit frustrating for me. We descended into the catacombs of a cathedral and saw lots of human bones. I bought and ate a new fruit called mamey that looked like a potato and tasted like a cross between a peach and a melon. Emilia and I don’t like to spend much time in Cathedrals and Museums. So we shopped all morning and did the city tour thing in the afternoon!

A Monument in Lover's Park in Lima, Peru

One of the many cathedrals we toured. I love the birds in this photo.

There were lots of human bones down in the catacombs.

A wonderful new taste for me called "Mamey"

Cuzco is a 2 hour flight from Lima. We were now at almost 12,000 feet in altitude! At the hotel, they gave us Coca tea for altitude sickness. As it is made with the herbal leaves that are the base of cocaine, Emilia chose not to drink hers. I drank both of them  (It’s just herbal tea)! Out first afternoon was spent at the Mercado buying souvenirs for friends and family. That was FUN! We were picked up later that night and taken to a special dinner and show. The show was original Andes/Inca music and dancing. The food was OK, if you like llama, lamb, fish with heads and eyeballs, but the salads were very good; more new foods and exciting tastes. I had a medium headache this first night in Cuzco due to the altitude. Our second day in Cuzco was even busier and at a higher elevation. Now we are almost near 13,000 for the archeological tour in the morning. We visited awesome Inca ruins and fantastic archeological sites. We were given one hour for lunch, so some of us searched for a totally local joint with typical food and low prices. We hit the jack pot! I ate the local food and drank the local brew and paid with very few Soles (the Peruvian money is a Soles). The exchange rate is about 2.8 Soles/$1. 12 Soles is roughly $4. We even had live local music. It was a wonderful experience. This is what traveling is all about; experiencing the real Cuzco food, music and drink.

An ancient Inca dancer!

What fun this night was with traditional dancing and food!

Inca Ruins site

The afternoon City of Cuzco tour was beautiful, but boring. Again, I didn’t understand anything being said. All cathedrals start to look the same. I am tired and I had a VERY bad headache. It was alarming to me. I knew it was altitude related. The minute I got into the hotel room, I let the hot water of the shower pound on my head, neck and shoulders forever. I went straight to bed by 7:30 pm! If I even stood up, I would get dizzy! Time for more coca tea!

The doors and windows are slanted to withstand great pressure.

The stones are fit together so tight like a jigsaw puzzle.

Another Inca Ruin Site

This is 12,352 feet

Please, take a picture! Are you sure? Yes! OK, thanks! Give me money now! Run, Emy, Run!

Typical narrow streets of Cuzco.

Our wake up call for Machu Picchu day was 4:30am! Armed with a big jug of Coca tea and no headache, I was very excited for this day to begin. We took a small van to a big bus (30 min), a big bus to the train (2 hours), the vistadome train to another bus (2 hours), and finally the last bus up the switchbacks to Machu Picchu (30 min). It’s quite the adventure to just get there!

Local soup and drink. Chicha is made from corn and yeast.

Emilia boarding the Vistadome train to Machu Picchu.

This time I was prepared for the cold with a coat!...And shoes!

Ah, the beauty. It’s breath taking. Peaceful, and full of unknown secrets. The construction of Machu Picchu is stunning. No cement was used between the stones. They were carved to fit together so perfectly that a knife can’t even fit in the crack. Oh, and I was given an ENGLISH SPEAKING guide! Yes! He was wonderful! I learned such history and heard such stories. I learned of three important animals to the Incas and their meaning: the condor represents the soul or the spirit, the Puma represents the body, strength and health, and the snake represents the intellectual mind. All three elements need to be present and in good balance for a person’s happiness. I have heard other versions of this in other cultures and it is very true; balance in soul, health, and mind. If any one of these is hurt or weak, peace is not found. My three elements are doing very well :). I am truly blessed.

Emilia and I above Machu Picchu

The Sun Temple where they mark the first day of each season perfectly.

My own health was great this day. The Coca tea I sipped on all day helped a lot, but poor Emilia became quite sick by nightfall. Poor baby. Emilia and I were at Machu Picchu all day while most of the group left after a few hours. First we had the guide and the tour, then we ate a great lunch, then we explored and hiked until the last bus left at 5:00. It was pouring rain and we were exhausted and very happy.

This is called the three windows.

More beautiful Machu Picchu!!

It took most of the day to travel back to Cuzco the next day. We arrived there after dark to the same hotel and just went to bed because we had to go to the airport in the morning. They put a special stamp in your passport at Machu Picchu. My passport is getting quite stamped up: Out USA Dec 16th, In Chile Dec 16th, Out Chile Jan 25th, In Peru Jan 25th, Out Peru Jan 31st, In Chile Jan 31st, Out Chile Feb 17th, In Argentina Feb 17th, Out Argentina Feb 22nd, In Chile Feb 22nd, Out Chile Feb 25th, In USA Feb 25th, Out USA Feb 26th, In Uganda Feb 27th! Whew, that’s a lot of in and out, and this is only through March!

A curious falcon.

When the Incas wanted no visitors, they removed the wooden bridge on the cliff path.

No, I didnt eat the Cuy. I draw the line at eating Guinea Pig!

In summary, I feel very blessed to have seen with my own eyes this most amazing wonder of the world-Machu Picchu, Peru. It is truly a place of mystery, history, and much wisdom. The Inca people were very blessed with technology, abundant food and water, safety from attack, and such spirituality. Machu Picchu is thought to be a spiritual retreat or a place for others to come to learn the religion. You can feel it. The spirit of peace is there. This will always remain a highlight of my life!

Yes, Rotary is present everywhere, even in Lima, Peru!