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Bud & Olivia's story |
Bud's story Last autumn we went to see the Pearl of Africa Childrens choir perform when they visited Cornwall as part of their annual fundraising tour. They were amazing and inspiring. I had worked as a relief nurse in the Sudanese refugee camp for Save the Children Fund in my 20's. My desire to return was suppressed as I raised my children. During last winter I kept pondering- my younger daughter Olivia was now eight years old and my elder- Annie was in her final year of A-levels, and my husband Tim was always enthusiastic and keen for adventure and new experiences. After the concert I had taken a contact number for the charity in Kate Oakley. She was so positive and welcoming of any help that we were able to give that the desire to actually go to Uganda as a family suddenly became a reality. Before we left we raised some money to take with us (Tim did a triathlon, and we all did a sponsored bike ride). We went for a month from the beginning of July to the beginning of August. We all wish we had booked to stay longer The experience has been life changing and life enhancing for us all. When we arrived at Entebbe airport we were greeted warmly by Molly and Paul themselves. We were taken to their Kampala home which was bursting to the seams with the evidence of their love and compassion in the form of the many children who were being accommodated by them. We knew we had embarked on a wonderful experience. The next day we visited two of their five Kampala schools that are part of the Molly and Paul Foundation. Tim began his project to video as much as he could, and Olivia began as she meant to carry on for the next month; with a whole new world of friendship and play. Later in the day we went in the Molly and Paul bus travelling south of Kampala for three hours through lush banana plantations and wonderful scenery, glimpsing Lake Victoria to our left. At dusk we passed through the town of Masaka and shortly afterwards left the tarmac road for dirt track eventually arriving at our destination , Kamuzinda. The school that Paul and Molly founded was to be our home for the next month. Our living conditions were better than anticipated. The Mission house is a concrete structure with a central living area ,five bedrooms with comfortable beds all equipped with mosquito nets and two bathrooms with running cold water. The electric supply can be sporadic and internet access not always possible. As a busy mother at home one of the luxuries was that all the meals appeared from Mama Moses nearby kitchen like clockwork which freed me up to concentrate on the work to hand. Initially I felt somewhat overawed by what we encountered ; there were so many children and so many people to meet ,it was hard to know where to begin. Olivia was probably the one to settle most easily. School was still well under way and she joined Year 4 of the primary school during morning lessons. She was the first white child to attend one of the Molly and Paul schools and her little blonde head stood out amongst a sea of black faces all delighted to have her amongst them! I have no doubt that it was a thoroughly enriching experience for her and time will only tell what impact it will have. My elder daughter Annie [18 years] and her school friend Donna( 17 years) who came with us had just finished their art A level. They galvanised their artistic talents by painting and creating murals in the kindergarten. Along with Becky, a British university student whose stay coincided with ours , they also gave invaluable help in the mass health registration and deworming programme that became a large part of my work. As a family we became involved in many different areas of the school. Much of the capital that we had raised was spent on a construction project overseen by Tim. Amazingly it was finished before we left. We all connected to the Farm School which was a short walk from the main school site.The girls took it in turns in the mornings to deliver milk fresh from the cows to the various children's Homes.We all had a go at milking the cows.The farm is going a long way to help make the whole project be self -sustaining and is inspirational. My main task related to health and the clinic. Before we arrived a group of Irish volunteers had visited and they had restocked the clinic with basic medicines, which was a godsend. Because of the charity's crisis 18 months ago, the doctor had left and the two nurses had been left with few resources. In an area where malaria was endemic this must have presented huge difficulties. However, while there, we managed to connect with a local government led clinic whose clinical medical officer will now be spending two days a week at the school clinic supplying some medicines and linking into government led initiatives such as immunisation programmes, HIV support etc. If anyone reading this would like to help me fund this medical initiative it would be gratefully received. Goreth? The registration of all the children attending the school (approx. 1200) was enlightening in many ways. Because of the high prevalence of parasites, it was necessary to de worm all children, and at the same time we gave them a vitamin A supplement and weighed them. While registering them we also took a family and social history aided by those who could speak Lugandan, the local language. A significant number of children were orphans, their parents probably having died as a result of having AIDS. Prior to the registration I had assumed that most of the orphans were living and cared for in one of the school "homes" (each one of which had a "Mama" or a "Papa" who were truly inspiring people). However having noticed a particularly malnourished and anaemic looking child in the Kindergarten called Maureen aged 5, we did a home visit to a village a couple miles from the school. There another critically ill child was brought out to us. Goreth was nine years old and she and her nine brothers and sisters had been orphaned by AIDS two years before. The grandmother (in her 70s) was trying desperately, with no resources, to feed the family. Some of the children had been diagnosed HIV positive and were accessing anti-retrovirals and supplementary feeding from a programme called "Uganda Cares" in Masaka. Goreth, however, had had a negative HIV test and was essentially starving. We took her to the school clinic where she stayed the night looked after by the nurses Gertrude and Sarah. The next morning Gertrude, the grandmother and I took Goreth to Masaka General Referral Hospital in the school bus where God willing she is improving. Annie, Donna and I visited the hospital the next day. And seeing the only food provided was "Posho" - maize porridge, we took grandma who was staying with Goreth in the hospital shopping for food. She was so grateful and delighted when we bought Goreth and her some shoes and another garment. Her most prized purchase was a jerrican (gold dust) which they use to carry water. Can anyone sponsor Goreth? Back in the village we also found Maureen's brother Edward 7 years, her brother, who was equally sickly. Both were being neglected by their father, who had remarried after the mother's death. With their father's consent they are now going to be living in one of the school homes and our family will sponsor these two children at £15 per month each via the UK charity Pearly of Africa Children's Choir. We also formed a health committee made up of people from all parts of the community: teachers, students, village reps, farm school manager and home mamas. Its main emphasis will be on primary health care i.e. preventative medicine and the team plan to meet weekly. For me this was one of the most exciting initiatives. e.g. Apollo Saku from the farm school had information about a simple hand washing contraption called a "tip tap". We decided to position one of these outside every latrine to encourage hand washing and therefore decrease diarrhoea, parasites etc. To help educate the children Tim composed a song in the local language which we taught with great hilarity to the whole school. Some video footage of this will be put on the website So many of the children have so little, not even a pair of shoes or a change of clothes. Going into "the bush" is like travelling back in time to a much more raw and simpler world. The basic necessities which we take so much for granted are struggled for. The children walk miles for water, carrying it home morning and afternoon but despite the hardships the love and joy shine from all. We were welcomed as friends everywhere and we left Uganda feeling enriched and humble. We took away far more than we gave, and I hope that the connection we have made will stretch into the years ahead. A visit by me is already being plannned for six months hence. Back in the village we also found Maureen's brother Edward 7 years, her brother, who was equally sickly. Both were being neglected by their father, who had remarried after the mother's death. With their father's consent they are now going to be living in one of the school homes and our family will sponsor these two children at £15 per month each via the UK charity Pearly of Africa Children's Choir. We also formed a health committee made up of people from all parts of the community: teachers, students, village reps, farm school manager and home mamas. Its main emphasis will be on primary health care i.e. preventative medicine and the team plan to meet weekly. For me this was one of the most exciting initiatives. e.g. Apollo Saku from the farm school had information about a simple hand washing contraption called a "tip tap". We decided to position one of these outside every latrine to encourage hand washing and therefore decrease diarrhoea, parasites etc. To help educate the children Tim composed a song in the local language which we taught with great hilarity to the whole school. Some video footage of this will be put on the website So many of the children have so little, not even a pair of shoes or a change of clothes. Going into "the bush" is like travelling back in time to a much more raw and simpler world. The basic necessities which we take so much for granted are struggled for. The children walk miles for water, carrying it home morning and afternoon but despite the hardships the love and joy shine from all. We were welcomed as friends everywhere and we left Uganda feeling enriched and humble. We took away far more than we gave, and I hope that the connection we have made will stretch into the years ahead. A visit by me is already being plannned for six months hence. |
The Pearl of Africa Children's Choir supporting the Molly and Paul Childcare Foundation of Uganda |
Olivia's story. Age ten I first went to Uganda with my family last year when I was eight years old. While I was there I had my ninth birthday and this year I went again and celebrated my tenth birthday . When we arrived at the airport in Uganda Uncle Paul and Auntie Molly greeted us with great big hugs and smiles. After staying at their home for a night in Kampala we visited their schools in Kampala which were very busy ones .We then travelled down to Kamuzinda village and school that has become a second home and family to me now. I was the first mozungu (white person) to be a pupil in one of their schools . The classrooms are made of stone ,the windows have no glass. A big black board is at the front of the classroom and wooden desks with benches attached to them hold three or four children.They are very crowded. If the children have a uniform it is blue and yellow . Most of the children run around bare footed. Jiggers and worms sometimes burrow into their feet making them itchy. Around the classrooms are animals running wild such as goats and baby goats ,pigs and piglets ,chickens and chicks .Once a baby goat ran into the classroom. In primary school we have 4 subjects ; social sciences, maths, english and science. In social sciences I learnt about Uganda ,we copied a lot from the blackboard into our textbooks .The teachers speak in english during the lessons. If the children speak their Ugandan language they are punished e.g cleaning the pit latrines at the end of the day. You need a gas mask to use the pit latrines! Many of the children have to walk miles to school from their villages through the banana plantations. Some children bring some food with them for lunch but many have nothing to eat all day . In break times we went to the water pump to play. The water pump is the only one for many villages. The children have to carry water in yellow jerry cans on their heads to their homes at the beginning and end of each day. Theyn also have to carry firewood for their mothers or grandmothers to cook the evening meal. They eat something called matoke which is cooked and mashed plantain. It tasetes bland and horrid. They also eat beans and potatoes . Some of the children have to live in homes at the school because their parents have died due to Aids. each home has a different name ; Lion home , Kookaburra, Kangaroo ,Eagle, Arken and White Angel. Each home has a Mama who looks after all of the children. 20 chldren can sleep in one room with bunk beds and mosquito nets . Malaria is there in Uganda . I played alot at Lion Home which was closest to the house where we stayed. We played with balls made from rags or games called '7 sticks' and ' Enter ' . Nearby is the Farm School. Here there are pigs, goats, chickens and cows. Sometimes I did the milk round with my big sister Annie. Each home took it in turns to have fresh cows milk and sometimes eggs . I liked to help on the farm -once I tried to hand-milk the cow. It was very dificult. One of my best friends in Kamuzinda is called Esther. Her mum Milly is the mama of White Angel home. Esther's dad died from Aids and her mum has Aids. This summer Milly was ill and had to go to the clinic where my mum was working. Esther came to stay with us and she slept above me in the top bunk. We giggled alot ; she is very ticklish. This year a friend from Devoran ( Chris - 11 years old) came with us. He was in P6 class next to mine and he joined the football club.We both enjoyed going on the motorbikes. I love Uganda and the friends I have made. The green landscape with banana trees, the woodsmoke , the blue skies , the birds and the laughing children. I want to go again soon. |