Otyano? (How are you?)

The first part of our move has been getting set-up and oriented into the culture, learning the language, and establishing a daily routine.  Of course this will all change once we head for the village (Makondo/Jjaga), but for now, we have been staying with Bishop Paul Ssemogerere and working around the diocese and at Nativity High School in Kibengo.  The Kasana-Luweero Diocese is only about 1.5 to 2 hours from Kampala (compared to a 4-5 hour drive from Jjaga), so it is slightly more advanced when it comes to accessibility of items that usually can only be bought in Kampala.  The “shops” here have much more of a variety than the village trading centers. 
 

Luweero, Uganda 

This week we are preparing for talking to the classes at Nativity High School.  Kris has been asked to talk with the girls about girl things – staying in school and getting an education, and saving one’s self until marriage (or possibly for a vocational calling).  It is quite common here for girls to marry young at the ages of 12-14 (or to be given in marriage), and start a family, as they feel like that is their only hope in being provided for -- but education changes everything!  Now instead of being pheasant famers (which simply provides for “today”), education provides knowledge and skills to fulfill the realization of dreams, and breaks the cycle of poverty formally created by an uneducated society by extending advanced job opportunities and possibilities of entrepreneurship.  We have personally witnessed change taking place over the past four years in our travels to Uganda! 

Friday will be a “fun” day for the students and we have been asked, if possible, to provide a variety of sports equipment for the school.  The request includes footballs (i.e., soccer balls), volley balls and nets, and basketballs – these are the sports played here in Uganda, and currently the school does not have any of this equipment.  We will be traveling to Kampala tomorrow (about a 2-hour drive one-way) to see what we can afford to purchase out-of-pocket prior to Friday.  It is also to be noted that the need for new sports equipment is ongoing due to the rugged terrain, fields are not like those in America – they are hilly and rocky with lots of pokey sticks that tends to wear a ball out in no time at all and damages the equipment.  We do not have the money ourselves to purchase a lot, so if anyone is interested (or knows someone with a passion for sports who might be interested) in assisting with the purchase of sports equipment, for Nativity High School, a donation can be made to Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church (note on the check what the donation is for and send it to the attention of Carol Sullivan). 

Omukama abakuume (May God be with you), 

Kris & Dean

 

Our First Day: The Earth Shook

Following a fairly uneventful journey from America to Uganda, we arrived the evening of Tuesday, July 2, shortly after 11:00 PM.  Bishop Paul Ssemogerere of the Kasana-Luweero Diocese, along with Father Hillary, greeted us at the airport and got us settled into our room at the St. Paul Guest House around 2:00 AM on Wednesday morning.

We joined the Bishop for breakfast later that morning and then spent the day getting organized.  That evening, for dinner, Bishop Paul held a BBQ for us and a group with another non-profit organization from Pennsylvania.  It was during the BBQ that it happened…

THE GROUND SHOOK!  Uganda experienced an earthquake which registered 5.7 on the Richer scale.  Shortly before the quake began, the animals began to go ‘crazy’ -- there was loud fluttering and squawking of birds, an alarming barking of dogs, and the loud baaing and running around of the goats.  The animals knew something was wrong!

Although we were sitting in chairs it felt like the ripple of ocean waves, or like one might have had a little too much wine!  While we would like to jokingly say that the “earth shook the day we arrived in Uganda”, we are quite sure the event was not a greeting.  And we experienced yet another occurrence which woke us from sleep around 1:20 AM – this one being 5.4 on the Richer scale.

Those of you on Facebook noticed a brief posting from us on Thursday letting you know that we had successfully gotten our phones set-up and that we were working on getting Internet for our computer.  It is not perfect… like going back to dial-up days, but we are getting things worked out.

Again, thanks for following our post and for keeping the prayers coming… and if you feel compelled to throw in an added favor to your prayer, please ask God to help us get the Internet issues worked out so that we might be able to effectively upload pictures and videos for you to fully enjoy the experience of this journey that you have so kindly joined with us.

Until next time…

Kris & Dean