I am the one

This Facebook post had us really laughing last night as we could identify with most of them already, 'even' after only 6 months! Yes, I am the one.

AN EXPATRIATE OR A FOREIGNER KNOWS HE'S BEEN IN UGANDA FOR TOO LONG WHEN:

…seeing someone speeding towards you in the wrong lane seems completely normal …You find yourself pointing with your lips and saying "yes" by raising both eyebrows. …You can masterfully employ a variety of "Eh!" and "Eh eh!" noises to convey a range of meanings …You know "Come back tomorrow at 10:00 a.m." means whatever you're trying to get done is NEVER going to happen …You start using the words "even" and "ever" in places you never would have ("Even me, I'm feeling hungry," or "I have ever done that") …You start referring to people as "this one" or "that one" …You willingly drive into oncoming traffic just to avoid the potholes …you can speak Uganglish so well that - you talk with a Ugandan accent; use words like 'shocked,' 'fearing,' 'extend,' 'balance,' ''somehow,' 'even me,' and 'can you imagine' and 'are you sure?' far too often... …you know the load shedding schedule by heart …When you come back from being out of the country and conversations go as: Them: "you have been lost!!" and your response: "I have been found!" Them: "how is there?" and you: "there is fine!" Them: "you have gone fat!!!" and you are lost for words because you have forgotten how frank Ugandans are …You emphasize how you like something and they say: "Are you sure?" …someone calls out your name and your reply is: "I am the one!" …you end the conversation with "ok please" …You ask for someone, and you know the answer "He's within" means everything from "He's within the building" to "He's within the city" or even "He's within the country". …you start sentences with 'As for me, I ….' …you get 'Am Fine' as a reply to your 'hi'. …Clothes becomes a two-syllable word. Clo - thes. …You know the man asking for Lose actually refers to Rose. …your handshakes last an entire conversation …your home does not have an address …people walk into your house and you say "You are all most welcome!" …you think "eh" in a high pitch tone is the correct way to respond when a boda drivers price suggestion is too high.


We are now local already folks somehow, yes, you are shocked? Eh! Even me, I am a local! 

Extend your eyes this way and enjoy the pictures - can you imagine? You are all most welcome. 

Ok, please.

I feel like I fit in much more and just disappear into the background when I dress like this. Healthy tan, eh?

Jam anyone?

I'm never letting Sue drive a lorry ever again.

Now it all suddenly makes so much more sense!

Visiting in the slums

I don't often get the opportunity to visit families in the slum communities as I am busy with the girls and other commitments but recently I have had the privilege of visiting some families as part of some research that John and I are doing. Whenever I visit families I am overwhelmed by the welcome we receive and the warmth that is shown among the desperate situations that we witness. I just wanted to share with you, my visits to a few of these families to give you a picture of some of the people we are working with.

Mama I is a 19 year old mother originally from the Congo. She has a little boy who is around a year old and is bringing him up alone. My visit to this Mama's house was one of joy and hope. Mama had recently returned from a 3 week trip to a re-feeding and training centre which Revelation Life had paid for and taken her to, due to the severity of her son's malnutrition. As I sat in her one roomed home, she excitedly told me about her experience at the centre and how well her little boy was doing. She had the laminated timetable from her stay at the centre on her wall and was now following the same routine at home. She laughed and chatted, showing me the forms with baby I's weights at different stages and spoke with confidence about how she knew that baby I would not become malnourished again, as she now knew how to cook well for him. She spoke so fondly of the revelation life team and their faithfulness. She showed me the cream which the team had given her which healed a terrible rash that innocent had had. I was left so humbled and grateful for what I had in my own life. This Mama was so over the moon and grateful for having been given a pot of cream, some mentoring in how to cook and people that truly cared for her. Her home was very simple, she had few possessions, no husband to take care of her, no job but she now had a healthy son and was full of Hope. The team continue to visit her a few times a week to check in with her, deliver her food for her son and monitor her progress. Well done Mama Innocent for your positive approach to life and for showing me how small things can make a world of difference.

My visit with Mama T (in the picture above) was somewhat different from the one I described above. Sometimes when I chat with people and they tell me their story, I can't believe how so many tragedies can happen in one persons life. It was like this with Mama T. I sat on the floor on the edge of a thin dirty mattress as there were no chairs or beds in this tiny windowless one room home. Never the less, mama was extremely welcoming and was happen to tell us about her life and her situation. She had 2 babies living with her, baby T who is a year and a half and B, his younger sister, who is about 6 months. Both looked weak and unwell although there was an obvious bond and love between them and there mother. As we chatted I found out that her first husband had died and that her three children had gone to live with her in laws family (am unsure if this was against her will, her choice or just a necessity). She had left the countryside for the city in search of work and found a new man. She gave birth to a boy but sadly due to illness and lack of money for medical fees, he did not reach his first birthday. This profoundly affected Mama and she has not really been the same since. To add to all of this, when she was pregnant with baby B she found out that her husband had been killed in Somalia where he was a soldier. So much loss in one persons life. Life is tough in Kampala's slums, especially when you have no man to take care of you. There is no benefit system, so if you want to eat you have to somehow earn money even if you have no job. My heart went out to Mama T and her desperate situation. I wanted to hold her and for all the pain to go away. Although she had been given lots of help and support from Revelation Life, her situation failed to improve significantly because of the severity of her situation and her loss of Hope. We, however, are not losing Hope in her and now look to the future, considering what Mama T and others in a similar situation need to help get them back on their feet and re-find hope for their lives.

Making toys

Short and sweet!

Not just this blog post but these two lovely children who are about to teach you some cool new skills to try out:

a) with your own kids

b) with pupils at school

c) on your own, on a cold, wet, English Sunday afternoon ;-)

I made this one the other day. Daniella is Mayah's friend and our friend, Harriet's daughter.

This is an old one, but please watch it as I'm trying to break the 250,000 views mark!