Yesterday, in true Sara fashion, I got a horrible stomach bug. I had to leave the whole day early and return to the house by myself, where I laid in my bed for the next 12 hours. I'm feeling better today but I haven't eaten much. Today we went to Jinja, a town largely supported by tourists coming to see and raft the Nile. We went to visit an organization called S.O.U.L- Supporting Opportunities for Ugandan's to Learn. It's a really great organization that works within the community to support educational opportunities and empowerment. The organization pay 50% of school fees and expect parent's to pay the other 50%. They find that this shared accountability is much more effective than just providing charity alone. It was a very interesting model and seems to be very successful, although I wonder about the sustainability of the organization, as the funding comes from donors in the United States and seems to come directly from connections that the founders of the organization have back home. After we were introduced to the program a bit we walked around the local village and met some of the people living there. We then walked across the road where we could finally truly appreciate the Nile. It was breathtaking. Absolutely an amazing sight. Some of us walked down to the water and put our feet in. It was a wonderful moment.
I am fascinated by the children of Uganda. First, just by how many there are. They are everywhere. And in the villages they seem to just wander about. When they see you coming, many will run up and jump in your arms like you're a long lost friend they haven't seen in years. And then they grab your hands (sometimes three or four children at once) and walk with you through the village. I wonder if it's because we're new and different. I also wonder if they've learned to expect to receive things from the Muzungos- white wanderers as we're called.
Uganda is so green and vast. It really is beautiful. Beauty everywhere you look. But there is also stuff and people everywhere you look, particularly in Kampala. Stuff and people packed into the largest city I think I've ever been in. There's clothing and shoes and toys and markets and thousands of people selling fruits and cassava and other produce. In the middle of the crazy streets and traffic and boda bodas flying past are people standing and walking up to cars trying to sell the most bizarre things to passersby: gum, tuppeware, shoes, kitchen knives... today we saw a man selling a bunch of bobble head dogs. I wonder about these people. Who-if anyone-they work for, where they get their merchandise, if they sell their items, if they make any money. We met a woman yesterday, Pamela, who started her own business in Kampala when she was 21 making and selling honey and peanut butter (called Tuspa). She has expanded in the last 5 years and now has her own shop and sells in the largest supermarkets in Uganda (Tuskys). She is a truly amazing and passionate woman. As Jamie (our professor) said this morning: big business and charity organizations aren't going to bring Africa out of poverty. Pamela is going to bring Africa out of poverty." I believe that.
Also. Huge disclaimer to my friends and family. Wifi is just not as available as we were hoping my it would be. It is possible we could go a few days without Internet. Please do not worry if you don't hear from me. I am doing my best to make contact as often as possible but it proving to be more and more difficult. We are heading out for the day to do a health clinic in the slums. It should be a very interesting day.
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