Day 1 in Uganda

July 3, 2009
Kampala, Uganda

I'm thrilled to report that I finally got a full nights' sleep last night – which turned out to be extra important because we had a very full first day in Uganda. Our morning started with a meeting with a social worker at the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization, that provides psychosocial services to vulnerable people in Kampala. That was followed by a trip to a local market (where I bought only necessities, of course, like a statue and salt and pepper shakers), and then a meeting with the Director of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, who just happens to be an incredible and inspiring Ugandan woman. From there we went to Mengo Children's Center, where we spend the majority of our day. That was a powerful and exhausting few hours. Mengo provides schooling, food, and vocational training to children that are living in the slums of Kampala. We got to go into the classroom and play and sing with the children...and to their delight, take photos and let them see themselves on our cameras. Then we went on two home visits in the slums, where we were invited in to two homes and heard a little about their lives. I can't even begin to explain what the slums are like...poverty beyond description. We had to navigate through alleys, trenches, garbage, and mud huts to arrive at the first house. It was a 1-room mud hut inhabited by an (extremely) elderly woman who is raising 7 children that have been orphaned. She also appeared to be caring for a sick adult woman who never got up from her mattress while we were there. It is beyond me how this woman, living in squalor with no electricity or clean drinking water, and certainly no way of making money, would come to raise 7 babies that aren't hers. Isn't she exhausted? Doesn't she need some “me time”? What would make her take this on? The language barrier didn't allow me to ask this, and even if I had, I have a feeling that those concepts would make no sense to her. I wish I could have spoken to her directly and learned about what makes her not only survive, but appear so happy. I have a feeling she would be an inspiration.
Our (13 hour) day was wrapped up by a dinner with two police officers who head up the Child and Family Protection Unit. Hearing their perspective after our visit with the Human Rights Commission was verrrry interesting. Unfortunately, I have neither the energy nor computer battery left to write about it now.
At this point, I am still in shock that I'm in AFRICA and am trying my best to soak it all in...stay tuned!