i love africa!

i got to write in some cement that is going to be at dad's church. it says "hannah green was here". how original. lol

a group of kids at sanyu babies home having snack while in class.

me and courtney, another volunteer from texas, with some children at sanyu

here is francis.. he can't hold his head up by himself.

making pancakes for my family!

So, my trip to gulu has been postponed until next weekend because my family had some
engagements pop up for this weekend. we should be leaving next friday really early and come
back home on monday the 6th. my ugandan family has told me that gulu is a completely
different culture than here in kampala so i am eagerly anticipating experiencing a new
place.
i can't believe that i only have one and a half weeks left. while the trip has been amazing,
i am ready to come back home and see all of you again! mom and i went the other day to a
craft shop to purchase some bracelets, rings, and keychains for me to sell to anyone who is
interested. the proceeds of these purchases will go toward buying fire extinguishers for
the dormitories at the school. unlike in america, there is no requirement for dorms to have
fire extinguishers but now after a lot of dorms have been burning down the government is
requiring all dorms to have them by the end of the year. they need 4 of them and they cost
about $150 each. this is $600 that the school does not have, so God willing, these items
will help finance the purchases.
My past week has been fairly uneventful. When i arrived back home from the schools, i
became sick for the third time, so for a couple of days i was confined to home to
recuperate. i can't believe that i have been sick so much this trip especially considering
that i barely ever get sick back home. my immune system better be super super strong now!
On saturday i visited FOCUS and sat in on a primary class. the man teaching was talking
about the different forms of child abuse and what to do if you are a victim of child abuse.
i have noticed that here in uganda they talk about these issues to children so much more
than they do in the united states. it was so sad to look at all of those children and to
think that some of them were probably victims of child abuse themselves. one issue that you
hear about so often here in uganda that you rarely hear as an issue in america is child
sacrifice. i was tallking to the physiotherapist at sanyu babies home the other day and he
told me that his father actually sold him to a witch doctor as a child sacrifice. while he
had no idea at the time that he was actually sold to be killed, when the witch doctor made
him strip down and then left the room for a minute to get a knife, the boy ran away as fast
as he could and reported it to the police, who took him back to his father's house out of
all places.
on sunday which was FATHERS DAY, i got my ugandan father a photo frame with some pictures of
the ugandan family and i. i think he really enjoyed the pictures, especially since some of
them were pics of cathy (their daughter who is my age who is now in college in connecticut).
i can tell that they really miss their little girl!
on monday and tuesday i worked at sanyu babies home. i also talked to the program
admnistrator about francis, the boy with cerebral palsy. she told me that he not only has
cerebral palsy, but also epilepsy, and problems with his sight. she told me that they
would take him to an orphanage for children with special needs, but none of the orphanages
will accept him because the orphanages which are considered special needs specialize in
children who are lame. when i asked her what orphanage francis will be sent to once he
grows too old for the babies home, she said that no other orphanage will accept him and so
she's praying that a family will adopt him. apparently the orphanage used to have a child
with a more severe case of CP than francis and an american family ended up adopting her. i
am just so worried about that child and the quality of care he is recieving at the
orphanage. one of the volunteers who is adopting told me that every night before bed, the
caretakers give the babies bottles to drink and that one time one of the caretakers asked
who had not recieved a bottle because there was one full one left. when someone said that
francis had not gotten his bottle, the caretaker took all of the empty bottles and francis's
full bottle to the kitchen to be cleaned and washed out. she was not going to give francis
his bottle! the volunteer told me that as the caretaker was walking away, she snatched
francis's bottle and fed him herself. isn't that completely horrible?!
so for my birthday which is on sunday by the way, my american mother gave me some money to
buy a new african dress because she says that the one that i bought last time was ugly.
lol. on wednesday, i went with my african mom to purchase some material and to get sized
for a new african dress. i am really excited about how it is going to look and will post
pictures once it's finished being made next wednesday!
yesterday, i went to the babies home again for an afternoon visit. rather than using the
public transportation system to get home, i decided that i should walk so i can familiarize
myself better with kampala and just because i love walking. so, after two and a half hours
of walking i arrived home. im not gonna lie, i am still sore this morning from walking so
far. changing the subject, it is amazing how some ugandans will just start talking to you
in the strangest of situations. as i was walking home, a girl who is apparently in her
fourth year of secondary school named jane came up to me and introduced herself. right
after she asked me what my name was(which i gave her a fake one) and what country i was
from, she straight up asked if i would pay for her school fees. i honestly do not
understand why so many people here in uganda are so blunt about wanting money from white
people. i have had some people walking on the street say to me "Hi, give me money."
Seriously, it really upsets me and sometimes it makes me want to start lecturing them about
how just because i am white does not mean that i have all of the money in the world.
today i am just chilling at home and resting! i made my family some american pancakes with
a new recipe i got online and oh my goodness they were delicious! right now, i am craving
some cake like the kind we have in america. here in uganda, the people in general do not
eat very sweet cakes, so although the cakes look very rich and sweet, when you bite into it
you are disappointed. well thats all for now! see everyone soon!