Months continue to pass - not as fast as I'd like, but it will have to do. I'm going to Kbale this weekend to see my good friend Maria and go on a real picnic (potato salad even) and see the dance troupe made up of street children that she's working with.....the kids stories are really sad - many are AIDS orphans. They are being given some help and medical care by an organization in Kbale and Maria got a small grant to get them costumes and instruments and is now interviewing the kids. I'm excited to see Kbale again....hilly and cool!
Last Sunday I was doing my usual wash and clean after Mass - listening to Allen Asbury's "Somebody's Praying Me Through"....I listened to that all the time when Bert was in Iraq - now feel like it applies to me. Thanks all!!! Also, listened to some Peter, Paul and Mommy - in honor of Mary who died - I still love their music!!!
Monday at English I started reading a short story - was going to do a chapter book, but decided to start small. First, we talked about how to focus on the main parts of the story - who, what, etc. It seemed to go well. After class on Tuesday when we finished saw several kids who can read some English checking out the Library in the back - YEA! I finished Harry Potter 7 in three days - is that scary, or what? Now am reading The Shackled Continent - about why Africa is so far behind the rest of the world despite massive aid. If I find the answer I'll let you know!
Tuesday CBR was slow and Moses went home early to get some ground ready to plant cassava - now that the rains have started everyone is trying to plant. Certainly a lot better than Kenya and the awful drought. Sister Juliet has decided on a ag project for that part of the SPA grant - we're going to put in a small banana "plantation" behind the wall in the back - 130 trees. The grow for one year and then produce - after you cut the bananas off you cut down the tree, but it re-grows as a "sucker" which produces again in a year - guess you can do that for 5-10 years so it's a nice long range project. And you can plant beans under the trees! It will be close so the Ag class can work on it and should be doable for even the disabled.
Nusula is a 13 year old at Providence Home who had a tumor removed from behind her eye 3 years ago; the surgery and treatment was really badly done and she lost her eye and has a BIG hole - but fortunately no brain damage. She went w. Sr. Juliet to CoRSU Hospital Monday because it was still pussing after recent surgery (August). They taken skin from her leg and back and tried plastic surgery. (again - several previous unsuccessful tries - just a big hole). Sister said the pus is due to a bone infection and that to remove the bone might cost her the sight in the eye that is remaining - what a terrible thing for a 13 year old!! She's a really good student and just a great kid. She said "no more surgery"...she'll take what comes!
Fred and Sula got a ton of brewers mash for the cow from the Nile Brewery on Tuesday a.m. Maria won't produce as well w/o it - it smells disgusting, but guess not if you're a cow! Sr. Goretti has been holding the milk money and said they needed to get the mash because production was dropping but the white truck is still waiting to be serviced and the red truck doesn't have plates and can only be used for local trips(they were taken by the police on a trip several months ago because they were expired) so she had Sula "borrow" some plates from a friend and they made the trip to Jinja. Sr. Juliet was horrified when she heard - not to be done again!!!
On Wednesday I went to Kampala early to try to get my passport renewed (why didn't I do it when I was home - poor planning)....took the first taxi at 6:15 - sky was just turning pink and the chipati man was out already - saw kids going to school to do study or housekeeping chores. The schools here don't have janitors - the kids are assigned the cleaning projects to be done in the early am (try that one in America). I got to the Embassy O.K. after a long wait at an outlying taxi park for the connecting matatu....watched an interesting group of ladies w. huge, heavy bags of corn and cassava trying to get to various markets - it looked like a very hard was to make a living! At the Embassy I discovered the passport pictures I had were too small (think I should have known that)...and had to go back down into town and get new pictures and go back (also got some bagels, so the trip wasn't pointless). I always say "up" and "down" when in Kampala but it's built on 7 hills (like Rome - bad drivers, too, but not nearly as nice as I imagine Rome to be), so everyplace is either up or down. I got the passport ordered and stopped in Mukono on the way back to use the internet - left Nkokonjeru at 6:15 and returned at 4:30 just for a simple errand!!
Thursday was the Epilepsy Clinic - the Butabika Hospital people coming out got a flat tire just outside Nkokonjeru but no spare - Florence called and asked me send out some bodas (motorcycle taxis); I had her talk to the driver but she gave bad directions and he couldn't find them. They eventually got some villagers to lift the car (a Land Rover) and got the tire changed and came on to Nkokonjeru. Clinic went well despite a heavy rain, but they were WAY short of medicine and Moses had to go to the Hospital today (Friday) to get more. The funniest story of the day - if you like black humor - involved 2 boys (aged 8 or 10 - both epileptics). One boy had a seizure while waiting and the other went into his pocket and stole a 500 shilling coin!!! When the boy regained consciousness he said something to Moses who suspected the other boy - he asked him and of course the kid said no, so Moses fished in his pockets and sure enough, there was the coin!!! Stealing is such a way of life here - they don't see it as wrong - just sharing the wealth!!! Unless they get stolen from - then it's a BIG deal.
Well, that's it for the week - lots of rain. Our garden is starting to show signs of vegetables (and lots of weeds)....the little pigs continue to do well, Maria (the cow) is happy again an the chickens are still healthy (but it's a long time till they produce eggs and can pay their own way).
Happy Birthday to Ellie (October 6) - and good luck on the Marathon Gail....wish I was there to cheer you on. Corky is going up north to grouse hunt..... Curt and Jamie are down for Jamie's cousin's wedding - and Ben is a ring bearer!!! Lots of press here about the Olympic selection - esp. since Obamas went to Copenhagen. Corky tries to keep me updated on the Twins - at least they made it interesting in the end.
Things are getting better, tho' I'm glad to have a weekend away from Providence - there is always a lot going on and I'll enjoy the break! Thanks again to all who have supported me with your prayers (somebody is praying me through - it's not my doing).....
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