Gulu Week 3

This week signaled the beginning of the end of my time in Gulu. What a bittersweet week this has been! I have loved spending time in Gulu. When I first arrived, I had a hard time picturing how I would fill up my time. Yet, now that the days are fast coming to an end, I find myself having more things to do than time to do them.

I feel pretty satisfied, though, with what I have done and accomplished. I have learned a lot – about Acholi culture and language, about how to get around town, about the school system up here, about Vocational schools and requirements, and about how Hope Alive! Gulu operates. I have met many new friends and gotten to know old friends better. I have eaten new foods (white ants!). I have established new routines and new relationships with different business people throughout town (i.e. a shopkeeper, a market vendor, skirt seller, hotel staff, food maker, etc.). I will miss this place. It is difficult to leave. Yet I am looking forward to being home again, having a kitchen, and seeing my friends in Kampala once again.

Here are a few pics from the week:

Kacie and I after a really long, dusty boda ride. (We were literally covered head to toe in dust, with it caked on our faces. The picture does not do it justice!)

Me with some new friends - Scovia and Susan - after the midweek fellowship at Sports Outreach.

Kacie trying out her drumming skills.

On Thursday, Sarah came to visit from Kampala!

Thursday night we had dinner with some of the Hope Alive! staff. It was a nice time of fellowship, appreciating all these men and women do and the impact they have in the lives of so many students.

To Capture a Smile...

I don’t know how many Americans know this, but most of the world does not like to smile in photos. This was true in South Korea, and it is true here in Uganda as well. If you show the average person two pictures of themselves – a serious one and a smiling one – nine times out of ten he or she will choose the serious one as the favorite.

Americans, however, have an obsession with smiling. Serious photos give us the wrong impression – making us think the person is angry or sad. The non-smiling face hides how much life and joy abide in a person.

I went to Hope Alive!’s Saturday club yesterday, and one of my main objectives was to get updated photos of all the students so that we can issue the kids new Hope Alive! id cards and also send photos to their sponsors. Usually we take two photos – the kids can be serious in one, but in the other they have to smile. We do all kinds of things to get them to smile – make faces, tickle, laugh, etc. Sometimes the kids that are watching are the best help. However, the cameraperson aka me has to be ready to catch the perfect moment when the beauty of a genuine smile shines through.

Here are a few photos to illustrate my attempt:

Gulu Week 2

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Gulu for two weeks already. This last week has been full of a variety of activities. One of the most important happenings of the week is that the rains came!!! Starting on Tuesday, it has rained almost every night. Besides cooling off the extreme heat, the rain is needed for the people to grow their crops. Planting season has already been delayed a few weeks and everyone is anxious to get their seeds sown. Please pray for a consistent and good rainfall in the next weeks and months!

On Wednesday, Kacie and I joined a group called Sports Outreach for their midweek fellowship. Sports Outreach is a great organization that works in many areas: church planting, medical clinics, nursery school, farming. It seeks to go deep into the village and help communities become self sufficient by

them farming skills and equipping them to raise pigs or goats or cows. It’s a neat ministry and the people who work there are full of joy and passion for the Lord.

The midweek fellowship brought together people from three different communities in which Sports Outreach works. We sang and danced, prayed together, and listened to the sharing of the Word. Afterwards some of the women came together for some fun in football. Because the center operates a nursery school, some of the kids were still around waiting for their parents to come pick them. I took the opportunity to hang out with them for awhile. Communication between me and them was pretty hilarious. In my limited Acholi, I tried to convince them that my name was Kate and not Munu (white person). I was not successful :). But we had fun together.

This week I also helped Kacie do some health exams on some of the students at our Feeding Centre. Kacie took care of all the real medical things, but I enjoyed helping out where I could: measuring height, weight, etc. I even learned how to measure visual acuity with an eye chart!

Afterwards we enjoyed eating lunch together. Some students from the nearby schools come to the Feeding Centre each day for lunch.

On Friday, I was able to visit a couple of schools that our vocational students are studying at. This is Morris and he is studying Carpentry and Joinery at Minakulu Technical Institute. I enjoyed finding more information out about the school as well as seeing the different classrooms and training areas. Morris even showed me a chair that he is working on building

FACES OF GULU

(Photos by Kacie Josifek and Kate Segrin)

LIFE IN GULU: Week 1

Last week, my roommate Kacie and I drove off on an adventure! Our goal: to spend the entire month of March in Gulu, working with our staff and students at the Hope Alive! site up there. Gulu is a great town, a lot more manageable than Kampala. The people are friendly, and there's much more foot traffic than cars on the road. It's the end of the dry season, however, so the weather is extremely hot and dusty.

We're staying at the Gulu Churchill Hotel, and I have to say, it has the best staff of any place I've every stayed at in Uganda. Each staff member is warm and personable. They go out of their way to make you feel welcome. They do their jobs well and seem to enjoy working here.

Here are some photos commemorating the past week:

Kacie and I settled in our room.

Last Saturday, we had a parents' meeting at Gulu site. Before the meeting began, however, Kacie and I enjoyed playing with Akena Daniel, our mentor Concy's 3 month old baby boy.

Parents are gathered together periodically throughout the year. Announcements are given and Hope Alive! policies are shared. Questions are answered, and parents are encouraged to take responsibility for their children and establish good relationships with them.

Making dinner in our hotel room!

Tuesday, 9 March 2011, I got to take part in the dedication of two wells. Kacie's church in the U.S. had raised funds to restore some broken wells here in Uganda. Partnering with Living Water, Kacie was able to pinpoint wells that were in need of repair in the areas where our students live. Both of these wells serve about 600 people each. While they were broken the people had to walk a long distance to another well, or use swampy water (as seen below). A group of people gathered together for the dedications. They were so kind and grateful for the well. I felt honored to be there and glad to be part of something that had such a practical, but profound impact on people.

Kacie sharing about her church with everyone.

Me, Kacie, and Peter (the guy from Living Water who actually repaired the well) pumping water.