We have settled in even more now and things are going well. James was horribly ill but has now recovered and fighting fit! Things are becoming very Christmassy now. Our neighbour plays carols very early every morning and last thing at night, but it’s kind of nice. It’s getting a bit chilly in the mornings now… we even have to put a jumper on (very strange).
Yesterday the church next to our guesthouse was holding a Christmas party for some of the street children. 350 kids turned up to see santa! They were all given a good meal and a present. They hung on to the present for dear life. There was music and they were all dancing.
It was adorable to watch but twined with sadness. Outside the gates, tons more children were scrabbling to get in. They were not able to let everyone in. I found this hard as not only were they shunned by society every other day of the year, these kids were being shunned again on the day of their Christmas party. At the end of the party, there was some meal boxes left so they were given to the kids outside. This was a small consolation for those left out I suppose.
It has taken a while for our project to be in full swing. I will be spending 3 days a week at a hospice for people with AIDS. Everyone is so friendly and they are doing great work. They have an outreach project that I am getting involved with. The other two days I am pushing hard for the bead project to go ahead. SCIR seem egar but things happen so slowly in India I am not holding my breath.
So, altogether things are going well. We have been away for almost 5 months now and it is all happening so fast. I have finally put some photo’s up on my facebook (sorry if you don’t have facebook). It’s just it takes sooo long to upload them onto this page.
Let us know how you’re all getting on as James and I would love to hear from you, it’s so weird being away from everyone at this time of year!
Lots of crimbo love Amy xxx
Saturday, 15 December 2007
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Kolkata aka 'The City of Joy'
If id have written this a few days ago like I had intended it would be somehow different! It would probably have started like this aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. But we’ve been in Kolkata over a week now and we have started to settle in.
This city is also known as the ‘city of joy’ and at first I really couldn’t understand this. I have never in my life seen or imagined such poverty. There is no such thing as space. Every square inch of the city is occupied by a person or a family. People sleep in the middle of the street, side by side with stray dogs. Babies are just sleeping on the pavement and busy crowds are stepping over them…
We are staying in a guest house in the middle of the city. It’s a little spooky. Next to a huge church. James and I are living in a small room at the top of a funny tower. Very weird but its becoming home!
We have met with our organisation which sounds very interesting. We are working for the West Bengali Public Services for AIDS Control. The organisation is the biggest HIV/AIDS org in India. They fund many NGO’s and it’s within these NGO’s we are based. One is called ‘Social and Community Intervention and Research’. This is where we will be spending a great deal of our time. Basically they work with those most at risk of becoming HIV+. (Mainly sex workers and injecting drug users.)
The centre is based in the middle of a huge slum. There is also a school at the top of the centre for the children to attend. It’s a place for the children to go to play, learn, eat and generally be children. They all live in shacks built with cardboard and tarpaulin on the railway lines. Most of their fathers are alcoholics and there is domestic violence within the ‘home’. The school is a place for them to have fun. We spend a few mornings a week helping out there.
The rest of the centre is dedicated to adults who are mainly HIV+. There is counseling, medical services, group work and vocational training for the men (leather making and screen printing). However, there is no vocational training for the women. This is where I am hoping to help out. We are starting a group for the women. Bead making (like the beautiful paper ones in Uganda) and general crafts. The women will then sell them in the local tourist markets. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes as of course it’s early days.
James is working in the research department of the organisation, plus the Public Services Office want to use his skills so he’s going to be splitting his time with them.
We are looking forward to diving into the work. However we have had a minor set back in the shape of a shitty virus! James has had a temperature and aches and chills but the doc’s pumped him full of drugs and he’s getting better. It does mean he’s spent the last 2 days in bed though!
So apart from that… Things are good. Kolkata is a crazy place but I am beginning to see why it is called the city of Joy. People may be very poor but everyone smiles and people are friendly to each other. Plus there is a lot of chai stalls which makes me happy! There is so much to see and do I do not think we’ll get bored in the next 3 months! I hope all is well at home and everyone is getting ready for Christmas. We are getting out of the city and spending some time in Sikkim at the base of the Himalayas, I can’t wait for fresh air!
This city is also known as the ‘city of joy’ and at first I really couldn’t understand this. I have never in my life seen or imagined such poverty. There is no such thing as space. Every square inch of the city is occupied by a person or a family. People sleep in the middle of the street, side by side with stray dogs. Babies are just sleeping on the pavement and busy crowds are stepping over them…
We are staying in a guest house in the middle of the city. It’s a little spooky. Next to a huge church. James and I are living in a small room at the top of a funny tower. Very weird but its becoming home!
We have met with our organisation which sounds very interesting. We are working for the West Bengali Public Services for AIDS Control. The organisation is the biggest HIV/AIDS org in India. They fund many NGO’s and it’s within these NGO’s we are based. One is called ‘Social and Community Intervention and Research’. This is where we will be spending a great deal of our time. Basically they work with those most at risk of becoming HIV+. (Mainly sex workers and injecting drug users.)
The centre is based in the middle of a huge slum. There is also a school at the top of the centre for the children to attend. It’s a place for the children to go to play, learn, eat and generally be children. They all live in shacks built with cardboard and tarpaulin on the railway lines. Most of their fathers are alcoholics and there is domestic violence within the ‘home’. The school is a place for them to have fun. We spend a few mornings a week helping out there.
The rest of the centre is dedicated to adults who are mainly HIV+. There is counseling, medical services, group work and vocational training for the men (leather making and screen printing). However, there is no vocational training for the women. This is where I am hoping to help out. We are starting a group for the women. Bead making (like the beautiful paper ones in Uganda) and general crafts. The women will then sell them in the local tourist markets. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes as of course it’s early days.
James is working in the research department of the organisation, plus the Public Services Office want to use his skills so he’s going to be splitting his time with them.
We are looking forward to diving into the work. However we have had a minor set back in the shape of a shitty virus! James has had a temperature and aches and chills but the doc’s pumped him full of drugs and he’s getting better. It does mean he’s spent the last 2 days in bed though!
So apart from that… Things are good. Kolkata is a crazy place but I am beginning to see why it is called the city of Joy. People may be very poor but everyone smiles and people are friendly to each other. Plus there is a lot of chai stalls which makes me happy! There is so much to see and do I do not think we’ll get bored in the next 3 months! I hope all is well at home and everyone is getting ready for Christmas. We are getting out of the city and spending some time in Sikkim at the base of the Himalayas, I can’t wait for fresh air!
Tuesday, 27 November 2007
Gorgeous Goa
Wow well after the shock of Delhi we traveled down to Goa for a two week holiday with my parents. It has been amazing. I feel so relaxed I don’t want to leave. We have just waved them goodbye and we are now sat in a sweaty Internet café in Margo waiting to board the train to Mumbai. Were feeling very deflated to I thought writing my blog would help!
Before my mum and dad got here we stayed in a place called Calangute for 2 nights. To put it bluntly it was Costa del RANK. We were gutted. It was full of fat, bold, beer louts! The beach was rammed and the bars were playing the worst 90’s dance music.. far too loud. We escaped there as soon as we could and met my mum and dad in panjim.
We stayed at a place called Panjim Inn. It was the most beautiful place, very old and colonial. There were 4 poster beds in our rooms, which were so old. (We could tell they were old as one night we were all sat on my mum and dads and it broke… whoops..)
We had a big catch up over tea and galaxy (mmmmmm). It was great. We spent most of our time in Panjim drinking tea and eating the best Indian food. In one place It was hilarious to see my dads face when we told him you have to eat with your hands!
I also had my first experience at Diving. I loved it. We dived a wreck, which was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done. I definitely want to do more of that, so James and I are tempted to come back after Kolkata.
From Panjim we visited Old Goa then traveled down to Colva. This was a nice simple beach, not half as busy as Calangute and much nicer. However there were the most stray dogs you’ve seen in your life. Most of them were covered in scratches and flesh rotting diseases. They looked so sad.
We started to relax there and me and mum became obsessed with the street stalls.. We found it very difficult to say no! (No surprise there then.) We also visited a spice plantation, which was beautiful. It was great to see where the spices came from. When the guide would ask us what spice we thought it was James would more often than not get it right (because of his love for cooking) and the other people on the tour would tut and giggle. It was funny because they clearly thought he was a massive geek! But he didn’t really give a shit!
Then from Colva for our last 5 days we moved on to Palolim. We had been advised not to go there because of how busy it was but we must have struck lucky because it was beautiful and empty. It was a tropical Glastonbury! The crowds hadn’t arrived yet. Mum and I did Yoga on the beach with this ancient Indian man who looked unbelievably supple for his age! We drank Chai and ate cake every day and I had the best massage of my life. We really didn’t want to leave this place AT ALL.
But we have to and to be honest I feel we’ve been so lucky to have the last month doing what we’ve been doing we need to pay it back!
So we’re waiting for our train to Mumbai, then up to Kolkata to start work. Although I’d like to stay by the beach forever, I am really looking forward to Kolkata as I can’t wait to take what we’ve learned in Uganda and see if it helps here in India.
I hope everyone is well and getting ready for Christmas.. James and I are going to see if we can sus a place to have a crimbo dinner!
Lots of love Amy xxx
Sunday, 11 November 2007
Indiaaaa
Well here we are… after a looong journey from
Coming from
We were unable to book a train ticket back to
A few things I have noticed since I have been here which has been a huge shock to me is… people generally pooh wherever they want. There is shit all over the train tracks. (not everyone though). Also so many people live on the platforms at the train stations. There are tents erected and whole families live there and make there living by begging on the trains. The poverty smacks you in the face as soon as you come into
I have only been here (like I said) for 4 days so can only write about what I have seen so far. My opinion I am sure will be very different in a couple of months. I am looking forward to staying in this country for 5 months as already I am fascinated. I can’t believe were finally here!!
Monday, 5 November 2007
Gorrillas and hot showers and on we go..
My last post from Uganda, how sad:(. I have completely mixed feelings. I adore Uganda and really don’t want to leave as I am so comfortable here. However we are going on to India. I am so excited as I’ve wanted to go for years (but I am a little nervous too).
Our last 2 weeks in Uganda have been amazing. We picked up James’ mum from the airport which was so nice to see family. We had a huge catch up in Kampala then headed off down to the south of Uganda. It was exciting as we have not ventured down there yet. Our first stop was a place called Lake Bunyonyi. It is a huge crater lake. Very beautiful but very cold! A big change from what we were used to. We borrowed a dug out canoe and James paddled us round the Island. It was so peaceful.
We then went on to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Here we went Gorilla tracking. This was unreal. We were so close to the gorillas, I was a little scared! They sat there eating and farting… It reminded me of humans. It took 4 hours to find them but was well worth it.
The next day we headed onto Ishasha. This was to see the tree climbing lions but they clearly were not bothered about seeing us as they didn’t show their faces. We were a little sad but instead we saw many elephants. They were huge and one of the elephant’s trunks was hanging on by a thread. The guide said it had been in a fight.
We did however get to see the lions the next day. There were 6 lying in front of us. (We were in the safety of the car of course). They were so sleepy and cuddly… (well maybe not cuddly.)
We saw many hippo’s, croc’s, cob’s and buffalo. It was amazing to see and it was the Africa we all see on TV. We also went chimp tracking and stayed in the most amazing lodge overlooking the set of King Kong. Well not quite but it could have been. It was such a contrast from what we have been doing for the last 3 months. It took a while to get used to having access to a hot shower every day but I soon got used to it!
The rest of this week we have been showing James’ mum around saying our farewells. This was very hard. The children in the school sang to us and the teachers and directors made very emotional speeches. I was in tears by the end of it. But as they keep saying it’s a necessary evil and we must head on!
So we are spending our last day in Uganda in Jinja (the source of the Nile). We are relaxing in the sun and getting ready for the crazyness of India. We are flying into Delhi then making our way down to Goa for 2 weeks to hang out with my mum and dad. Then we are off to Kolkata to start work again.
I hope everyone is well and happy. Sorry the photos have been few and far between. I will try to upload some soon. Also sorry individual emails have been thin on the ground. Time is running away with me but I shall sort it out! Lots of love xxx
Our last 2 weeks in Uganda have been amazing. We picked up James’ mum from the airport which was so nice to see family. We had a huge catch up in Kampala then headed off down to the south of Uganda. It was exciting as we have not ventured down there yet. Our first stop was a place called Lake Bunyonyi. It is a huge crater lake. Very beautiful but very cold! A big change from what we were used to. We borrowed a dug out canoe and James paddled us round the Island. It was so peaceful.
We then went on to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Here we went Gorilla tracking. This was unreal. We were so close to the gorillas, I was a little scared! They sat there eating and farting… It reminded me of humans. It took 4 hours to find them but was well worth it.
The next day we headed onto Ishasha. This was to see the tree climbing lions but they clearly were not bothered about seeing us as they didn’t show their faces. We were a little sad but instead we saw many elephants. They were huge and one of the elephant’s trunks was hanging on by a thread. The guide said it had been in a fight.
We did however get to see the lions the next day. There were 6 lying in front of us. (We were in the safety of the car of course). They were so sleepy and cuddly… (well maybe not cuddly.)
We saw many hippo’s, croc’s, cob’s and buffalo. It was amazing to see and it was the Africa we all see on TV. We also went chimp tracking and stayed in the most amazing lodge overlooking the set of King Kong. Well not quite but it could have been. It was such a contrast from what we have been doing for the last 3 months. It took a while to get used to having access to a hot shower every day but I soon got used to it!
The rest of this week we have been showing James’ mum around saying our farewells. This was very hard. The children in the school sang to us and the teachers and directors made very emotional speeches. I was in tears by the end of it. But as they keep saying it’s a necessary evil and we must head on!
So we are spending our last day in Uganda in Jinja (the source of the Nile). We are relaxing in the sun and getting ready for the crazyness of India. We are flying into Delhi then making our way down to Goa for 2 weeks to hang out with my mum and dad. Then we are off to Kolkata to start work again.
I hope everyone is well and happy. Sorry the photos have been few and far between. I will try to upload some soon. Also sorry individual emails have been thin on the ground. Time is running away with me but I shall sort it out! Lots of love xxx
Tuesday, 23 October 2007
Goodbyes and Combyar
Our last few days volunteering in Uganda have been pretty sad. I can’t believe we’ve done here! We have our last HIV workshop tomorrow. I will be especially sad to finish that as I have worked so hard. I just hope The Youth League will carry on with the workshops as they have become very good and popular in the Mukono County. I’m sure they will.
We had our last days at the school this week. We had a sports day which was so much fun. There were sack races, crab races, balancing Frisbees on the head race and all sorts. The kids loved it! I’ve never seen them smile so much. At the end we gave them sweets they were so polite. It was a different story with the teachers though. I offered them one and they grabbed the whole bag. They were practically fighting over then. Then they wanted to chocolate that the winning teams were eating. It was so strange and I had to take them away. I think its because volunteers must bring sweets for the kids but never for them. It was a weird experience. Being here really has been a huge eye opener in every way. I’m getting slightly nervous about India program, as here has been so good. We’ll see!
Last night we went to one of our teachers’ mothers’ house. He’s been asking us to go for ages so last night we went. The house was gorgeous. It was so cosy with the first carpet and TV I’ve seen in Uganda. His mother was a head teacher of another school. She was so lovely. They made us African Tea and bread. It turns out she was hoping we would go and work for her school but unfortunately we have run out of time. She was saying how she is a Girl Guides leader and I slipped in that I used to be a brownie and a guide for a while (big mistake!). Well that was it, she had the flag out, photos, even the guides motto! When it was time for us to go she made us stand in a circle holding hands. Then Sebastian (the teacher at our school) sang ‘combyar’ (excuse spelling if wrong) and we had to join in. It was soo funny and I had to stop myself from laughing. I felt terrible but it was such a random situation I couldn’t help but laugh! They were so lovely though and it was definitely an experience I will not forget in a hurry!
I now have to go as we are still working on last bits and bobs for the organization ands it’s starting to get late. The Queen is visiting Uganda in a few weeks and they are frantically clearing the place up. This means it takes hours to get home from Kampala. Some people here still think I know her personally even though I’ve told them I don’t, one person asked if I could tell her to visit Mukono!
Love Amy xxxWednesday, 10 October 2007
A big catch up post
Hello! Wow it’s been a long time since I wrote. Well the bats came back… lots of them, but we eventually got it sorted, we taped up the hole they were getting through, this meant they had no way of getting out so they all died. I felt a bit sorry for them because all night you’d hear them dropping dead.. It was horrible, even now we hear the odd one drop dead. I just dread to think how it’s going to smell in a few weeks to come. Luckily we’ll be gone by then! We have only 2 weeks left to volunteer before James’ mum comes to visit. We are getting excited actually as the volunteering has been pretty intense and were looking forward to the break. We have 5 weeks off before volunteering again in India.
James and I have both had the flu since I last wrote, it was horrible! It was like at home but twice as bad as were not used to the Ugandan bugs. We are fighting fit again now though (just about!).
We have been teaching quite a lot over the last few weeks and it’s been loads of fun. The kids are awesome. We had another volunteer who was a professional dancer so I got her to come along to the school and teach the kids, they loved it! We have also been continuing with the HIV awareness outreach program in schools. It’s going a lot better than I anticipated. The kids/ young adults are really getting into it. They ask so many interesting questions, questions that I haven’t even thought of. I am learning loads from them, it’s definitely getting me ready for my social work course!
We are now wrapping everything up and making sure all our work is getting passed on to new volunteers and locals who want to keep it running when we leave. The thought of leaving is sad but at the same time I feel there is not a great deal more we can do for the organization as we have no more time left… Oh but we are organizing a sports day for our last day in school. I’m looking forward to that as the kids don’t really do any exercise. They spend the majority of their time repeating what the teachers say to them. Today we were doing ‘Art’ with the really young kids (we don’t normally teach them but they asked us last week if we could do one lesson with them as apparently they keep asking the teachers) James was telling them to write their name on their own drawing. He did an example on the board and wrote his own name. When we took all the pictures in they all had James’ name written on them! Bless them; however it shows they just copy and don’t actually understand what you’re saying!
Last Saturday we went white water rafting on the Nile.. It was ace! I only did to grade 3 as I was on the ‘mild’ boat. James did to level 5 which was the ‘wild’ boat. I thought.. sod that there’s no way your getting me on that. We managed not to flip on a rapid and I was soo pleased as I had almost drowned on the practice flip! There were 11 of us from GVN doing and I was sat on a boat with some of the women from the Guesthouse.. We had just had lunch and were about to go down a grade 3 and another volunteer turned to me and was like, Amy.. Do I have anything in my teeth? I was like WHAT? Were just about to hold on for dear life are you really that concerned! ..It was so funny and such a good day, I would recommend it to anyone passing by Uganda!
Right there is so much more I could go on about but I haven’t had a good working computer with internet in a while so I’m going to leave it here. I hope everyone is well, thanks for the messages you’ve been leaving too. Its nice to get them! Amy xx
James and I have both had the flu since I last wrote, it was horrible! It was like at home but twice as bad as were not used to the Ugandan bugs. We are fighting fit again now though (just about!).
We have been teaching quite a lot over the last few weeks and it’s been loads of fun. The kids are awesome. We had another volunteer who was a professional dancer so I got her to come along to the school and teach the kids, they loved it! We have also been continuing with the HIV awareness outreach program in schools. It’s going a lot better than I anticipated. The kids/ young adults are really getting into it. They ask so many interesting questions, questions that I haven’t even thought of. I am learning loads from them, it’s definitely getting me ready for my social work course!
We are now wrapping everything up and making sure all our work is getting passed on to new volunteers and locals who want to keep it running when we leave. The thought of leaving is sad but at the same time I feel there is not a great deal more we can do for the organization as we have no more time left… Oh but we are organizing a sports day for our last day in school. I’m looking forward to that as the kids don’t really do any exercise. They spend the majority of their time repeating what the teachers say to them. Today we were doing ‘Art’ with the really young kids (we don’t normally teach them but they asked us last week if we could do one lesson with them as apparently they keep asking the teachers) James was telling them to write their name on their own drawing. He did an example on the board and wrote his own name. When we took all the pictures in they all had James’ name written on them! Bless them; however it shows they just copy and don’t actually understand what you’re saying!
Last Saturday we went white water rafting on the Nile.. It was ace! I only did to grade 3 as I was on the ‘mild’ boat. James did to level 5 which was the ‘wild’ boat. I thought.. sod that there’s no way your getting me on that. We managed not to flip on a rapid and I was soo pleased as I had almost drowned on the practice flip! There were 11 of us from GVN doing and I was sat on a boat with some of the women from the Guesthouse.. We had just had lunch and were about to go down a grade 3 and another volunteer turned to me and was like, Amy.. Do I have anything in my teeth? I was like WHAT? Were just about to hold on for dear life are you really that concerned! ..It was so funny and such a good day, I would recommend it to anyone passing by Uganda!
Right there is so much more I could go on about but I haven’t had a good working computer with internet in a while so I’m going to leave it here. I hope everyone is well, thanks for the messages you’ve been leaving too. Its nice to get them! Amy xx
Saturday, 22 September 2007
Bat to School
Hello! Hope everyone’s well. We are well and have had a good week. We started school! It was well exciting going in with our pencil cases.
On the first day all the teachers were there but only about 5 kids turned up! Imagine that at the first day back in the UK! The teachers were like, ‘yeah this happens a lot, they’ll all be here by Friday’. So, on the Tuesday there were a few more. We had around 10 in each class. I taught P5 and P6 English and James taught Science. It was loads of fun but I was pretty worried about having to correct their spelling as I can’t spell myself! It was fine though. I asked the students to write me letters telling me about themselves. Some were so sad, telling me they were orphans because of AIDS. Others were writing I love teacher Amy, I want to be friends with her family! It was sweet.
On Thursday we went to a different school in Mukono to do some outreach work. We gave a talk to 200 kids about HIV. We tried to make it fun. We acted out a drama on how HIV works in the body. It went really well. It was me, James, Frank and Kayiira!(ill put some photos up of that soon) It was loads of fun. Then we played true or false games with them. At the end they were asking loads of questions which felt good because it meant they had been listening. One student asked us if HIV had been invented to kill all Africans… I didn’t know what to say, I was pretty taken back by it. We explained that anyone can get it, even white people. Then they were shocked, even the teachers were like, really??
Yesterday we went to Jinja to Interview more of the Pik Tek women (women who make the beads). This time it was women who had fled from the north. Again their stories were fascinating. I enjoy working with these women, they tell you a lot about life in Uganda.
Then in the evening it was the most surreal night ever. We were sat chilling out in the guesthouse, there were around 7 other volunteers and us. We were just chatting when a bat flew in. I was pretty scared but Esther (the house manager) caught it (after about an hour of it flying round the living room). Then.. 10 more flew in. It was terrifying; it felt like something out of a teen horror film. Esther and James ended up killing them all with brooms. Esther was like, this has never happened before it’s so strange. I wouldn’t come out of my room, I was such a wimp but it was sooo horrible! We think what happened is that they normally live up in the roof minding their own business but that day someone decided to smoke them out so they had all flown into our house.. Nice! I just hope it doesn’t happen tonight otherwise I’m not coming out from under my mozzie net! I think Esther said they were going to poison them or something.
So that was our eventful week. The internet has been pretty poor recently so I haven’t had chance to upload photos.. I’m going to try it now so fingers crossed! Love Amy xxx
On the first day all the teachers were there but only about 5 kids turned up! Imagine that at the first day back in the UK! The teachers were like, ‘yeah this happens a lot, they’ll all be here by Friday’. So, on the Tuesday there were a few more. We had around 10 in each class. I taught P5 and P6 English and James taught Science. It was loads of fun but I was pretty worried about having to correct their spelling as I can’t spell myself! It was fine though. I asked the students to write me letters telling me about themselves. Some were so sad, telling me they were orphans because of AIDS. Others were writing I love teacher Amy, I want to be friends with her family! It was sweet.
On Thursday we went to a different school in Mukono to do some outreach work. We gave a talk to 200 kids about HIV. We tried to make it fun. We acted out a drama on how HIV works in the body. It went really well. It was me, James, Frank and Kayiira!(ill put some photos up of that soon) It was loads of fun. Then we played true or false games with them. At the end they were asking loads of questions which felt good because it meant they had been listening. One student asked us if HIV had been invented to kill all Africans… I didn’t know what to say, I was pretty taken back by it. We explained that anyone can get it, even white people. Then they were shocked, even the teachers were like, really??
Yesterday we went to Jinja to Interview more of the Pik Tek women (women who make the beads). This time it was women who had fled from the north. Again their stories were fascinating. I enjoy working with these women, they tell you a lot about life in Uganda.
Then in the evening it was the most surreal night ever. We were sat chilling out in the guesthouse, there were around 7 other volunteers and us. We were just chatting when a bat flew in. I was pretty scared but Esther (the house manager) caught it (after about an hour of it flying round the living room). Then.. 10 more flew in. It was terrifying; it felt like something out of a teen horror film. Esther and James ended up killing them all with brooms. Esther was like, this has never happened before it’s so strange. I wouldn’t come out of my room, I was such a wimp but it was sooo horrible! We think what happened is that they normally live up in the roof minding their own business but that day someone decided to smoke them out so they had all flown into our house.. Nice! I just hope it doesn’t happen tonight otherwise I’m not coming out from under my mozzie net! I think Esther said they were going to poison them or something.
So that was our eventful week. The internet has been pretty poor recently so I haven’t had chance to upload photos.. I’m going to try it now so fingers crossed! Love Amy xxx
Tuesday, 11 September 2007
Kitgum
Wow. I don’t know where to start. We have had an amazing and extremely interesting weekend. We went to Kitgum, this place has suffered a great deal form the rebel war. We went with a local lady who wanted us to conduct some interviews with the children and their families for a sponsorship program that the organisation we are here with are running. It was so hot all weekend and we sat under a tree and interviewed about 10 – 15 different families about their lives and the way they live. This was to go on the website to try and gain sponsorship for the children so they can continue schooling.
The first person we interviewed was 19. He sat down with us and I was just not prepared for his story at all. He started to tell us (through a translator) how he lived at home with his mother and father and 3 younger siblings. When the war broke out rebels came into his home and killed his father with a machete right in front of them all. They abducted him and took him into the bush. He was taken for 2 years and trained to kill. He was then taken back to the local villages (where his mothers and sisters were still living) and was told/brainwashed into killing everyone there.
After 2 years, one day in the middle of an ambush he escaped. He ran miles to get back to his old village, when he got there it was deserted. Eventually he was picked up by World Vision (an NGO working in Kitgum) who housed him and rehabilitated him. His mother and sisters were thankfully found and they were reunited. Shortly after his mother became unwell and died. He was then left to support the family. They have been living in an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp and have been living on food supplied by the World Food Program. As he was abducted when he was 14 he did not finish school and has had no vocational training. This sponsorship program will hopefully help him pay the younger children’s school fees and allow him to do some vocational training so he can provide for his family.
He was not the only one with a story, each family had there own story to tell about the war and how it affected them. It was harrowing. They all live in hope that the peace agreement will work out and it will stay peaceful. It was amazing to see how positive these people are after everything that they have been through.
After the interviewing I sat with the mothers and they showed me how to make jewelry out of paper. It was fascinating and lots of fun. This is the way they make there living. They roll the paper into beads and thread them on string. They are absolutely gorgeous and of course I had to buy some to bring home!
We then went to visit a disabled children’s home where one of the volunteers are working. This was run by a nun. She was an inspiring woman who had set up the home on her own and with donations from local organizations. There were around 200 children living there. However we were there in the school holidays and there were only 10 students there. These were children whose parents and not turned up to pick them up. So they stayed there.
We spent a lot of time with 2 local guys who were family members of Rose (the lady we went with). They took us to one of the IDP camps. People were practically living on top of each other. Apparently there were quite often outbreaks of cholera, you can see how when one person goes down with it, they all do. There were so many NGO vans buzzing around and the guys were telling us, they are now working on sending people back to their villages. The only problem is, people have lived in the IDP camps for so long they have nothing to go back too. Plus they have been living off food from the World Food Program for so long they have not got there own means of buying food. It is such a difficult situation for everyone involved. It makes me think about Darfur and the whole crisis there and what the aftermath will be like for Sudan.
I could talk for ages about what we saw, but I won’t go on any longer. We came back yesterday and have not been able to think of much else.
There are 12 new volunteers coming on sat for the start of the school term. That will be interesting as James and I are used to it being pretty chilled in the guest house. It has been raining a lot today which is kind of nice, it means it’s been cooler and makes me think of home!
Amy xxx
The first person we interviewed was 19. He sat down with us and I was just not prepared for his story at all. He started to tell us (through a translator) how he lived at home with his mother and father and 3 younger siblings. When the war broke out rebels came into his home and killed his father with a machete right in front of them all. They abducted him and took him into the bush. He was taken for 2 years and trained to kill. He was then taken back to the local villages (where his mothers and sisters were still living) and was told/brainwashed into killing everyone there.
After 2 years, one day in the middle of an ambush he escaped. He ran miles to get back to his old village, when he got there it was deserted. Eventually he was picked up by World Vision (an NGO working in Kitgum) who housed him and rehabilitated him. His mother and sisters were thankfully found and they were reunited. Shortly after his mother became unwell and died. He was then left to support the family. They have been living in an IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp and have been living on food supplied by the World Food Program. As he was abducted when he was 14 he did not finish school and has had no vocational training. This sponsorship program will hopefully help him pay the younger children’s school fees and allow him to do some vocational training so he can provide for his family.
He was not the only one with a story, each family had there own story to tell about the war and how it affected them. It was harrowing. They all live in hope that the peace agreement will work out and it will stay peaceful. It was amazing to see how positive these people are after everything that they have been through.
After the interviewing I sat with the mothers and they showed me how to make jewelry out of paper. It was fascinating and lots of fun. This is the way they make there living. They roll the paper into beads and thread them on string. They are absolutely gorgeous and of course I had to buy some to bring home!
We then went to visit a disabled children’s home where one of the volunteers are working. This was run by a nun. She was an inspiring woman who had set up the home on her own and with donations from local organizations. There were around 200 children living there. However we were there in the school holidays and there were only 10 students there. These were children whose parents and not turned up to pick them up. So they stayed there.
We spent a lot of time with 2 local guys who were family members of Rose (the lady we went with). They took us to one of the IDP camps. People were practically living on top of each other. Apparently there were quite often outbreaks of cholera, you can see how when one person goes down with it, they all do. There were so many NGO vans buzzing around and the guys were telling us, they are now working on sending people back to their villages. The only problem is, people have lived in the IDP camps for so long they have nothing to go back too. Plus they have been living off food from the World Food Program for so long they have not got there own means of buying food. It is such a difficult situation for everyone involved. It makes me think about Darfur and the whole crisis there and what the aftermath will be like for Sudan.
I could talk for ages about what we saw, but I won’t go on any longer. We came back yesterday and have not been able to think of much else.
There are 12 new volunteers coming on sat for the start of the school term. That will be interesting as James and I are used to it being pretty chilled in the guest house. It has been raining a lot today which is kind of nice, it means it’s been cooler and makes me think of home!
Amy xxx
Sunday, 2 September 2007
The Hairy Lemon and Royal Ascot Goat Races...
Hello!
I hope everyone is well.
It’s been a while since I last wrote so I’ll try and remember what we’ve been up to!
It was James’ birthday on the 26th so we went for the weekend to Jinja. (The source of the
Then this week has been interesting, if not a little odd. At the beginning of the week I was a bit unwell. Luckily I am feeling much better now. Apparently it was an African sore throat and my body was just not used to it and decided to go crazy. But it’s under control now! Thankfully.
We visited a village, one that we have been to before and gave an HIV awareness workshop. This time we went back with the Uganda Red Cross to do some HIV testing and blood donating. It was very interesting. We got there and The Red Cross set up shop in the middle of the village. It was fascinating to see the similarities and differences between the way things are done here and the way things are done at home. I got talking to one of the men who work at The Red Cross and it turns out he has his own radio show and talks about issues that are troubling the youth in
The rest of the week consisted of going back to
It is coming to the beginning of term now so we are getting ready to start teaching. I’m looking forward to it and have stocked up on some supplies such as books and pens and teaching materials for the school (courtesy of peoples donations, thank you so much!). Again I hope every one is well, it’s so nice to hear from people so keep messaging me!
Goodbye for now xxx
Wednesday, 22 August 2007
Birthday celebrations and stories
Heyho, this last week has again been very busy. It was my birthday on Monday so we spent the whole weekend celebrating which was ace. We went to
As for work, I have been compiling an HIV resource file for The Youth League for when we go into the villages to do workshops. The workshops are good but I feel we are not offering enough information on how to stay healthy. So i now am in the middle of producing food charts and all sorts so its good fun. Yesterday we also spent the day in
Today we have put on another HIV workshop. This generally happens twice a week now and each time I feel there getting better so that’s good. On our way back from the Village about 3 police cars speeded past and then another one came and stopped the taxi, at first I was pretty scared. Then about 4 army trucks came past with soldiers holding the biggest guns you’ve ever seen. I was like “what the hell’s going on?” Kayiira laughed at me and was like “chill out nyabo (madam) it’s the president!”… And it was, with a huge entourage of about 20 army trucks, 2 ambulances, a caravan, 10 police cars and then him in the middle waving! It was mad. The whole of Mukono stopped for at least half an hour. James was like.. “Do you think he’s paranoid?” . The feeling we get here is that he’s not liked much.
We have been without power for most of the nights this week which means being sat with a candle and not really doing a lot. I have been reading an amazing book called 28 stories of AIDS in
Anyway I didn’t mean to write for so long, it’s just so full on here and nice to talk about it! Me and James are heading home now, we will probably play some cards and I will avoid going to the latrine until I really have too! Hope every one is well. Amy xxx
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Sipi Falls and Village fun
Hello! We have had a really busy week or so and have had no time to use the internet. It’s been great. At the end of last week we gave our first “empowerment” workshop on proposal writing. That went really well considering we don’t know much about it ourselves! We did some research and presented it to around 20 teachers and headmasters. They praised us on our teaching so that was positive.
At the weekend we went over to the Kenyan border (but still in Uganda) and visited a place called Sipi falls. It was gorgeous, with 3 main falls. There were 7 of us and it was great to see a different part of Uganda. It was so green and quite cold! We went on a 5 hour trek which was hard core (it was meant to be 4 but we were pretty slow), I was helped up most of the way by a local boy, he was pulling me trying to make me go faster, then charged me at the end! Ha! I found it quite funny really and probably couldn’t have done it without him.
This week we spent the first couple of days in a village called an hour outside of Mukono. We were there to help to lay the foundations for a new classroom. It involved a lot of digging. It was mainly the mothers of the children that turned up to help. That is something I have noticed in Uganda, the women do most of the manual work. It may not be true all over Uganda but it’s definitely the feeling I’m getting here. Every time I had a go at digging all the locals were laughing at me. When I asked Frank why he said they didn’t think mazungu’s worked that hard, so then I felt I had to show them I could and now I am in pain.. with blisters! On the second day we ran an educational session on HIV awareness to all the parents. It went really well and they were asking so many questions. Some were really good questions but quite scary. It made me realise how important The Youth League’s work is. We are going back to the Village in 2 weeks time with the Ugandan Red Cross to do some HIV testing. Almost 30 people put there name’s down to be tested so hopefully most people will turn up.
It was fun in the Village but hard work. We stayed with the headmaster and his wife and about 8 kids. I was pleased to get back to the guest house to have some space. Today we have been working on a blogsite for the organization. (I’ll put a link from mine when it’s done) and also applying for funding. It’s quite a relaxing day before we go off to another village tomorrow.
Amy xx
At the weekend we went over to the Kenyan border (but still in Uganda) and visited a place called Sipi falls. It was gorgeous, with 3 main falls. There were 7 of us and it was great to see a different part of Uganda. It was so green and quite cold! We went on a 5 hour trek which was hard core (it was meant to be 4 but we were pretty slow), I was helped up most of the way by a local boy, he was pulling me trying to make me go faster, then charged me at the end! Ha! I found it quite funny really and probably couldn’t have done it without him.
This week we spent the first couple of days in a village called an hour outside of Mukono. We were there to help to lay the foundations for a new classroom. It involved a lot of digging. It was mainly the mothers of the children that turned up to help. That is something I have noticed in Uganda, the women do most of the manual work. It may not be true all over Uganda but it’s definitely the feeling I’m getting here. Every time I had a go at digging all the locals were laughing at me. When I asked Frank why he said they didn’t think mazungu’s worked that hard, so then I felt I had to show them I could and now I am in pain.. with blisters! On the second day we ran an educational session on HIV awareness to all the parents. It went really well and they were asking so many questions. Some were really good questions but quite scary. It made me realise how important The Youth League’s work is. We are going back to the Village in 2 weeks time with the Ugandan Red Cross to do some HIV testing. Almost 30 people put there name’s down to be tested so hopefully most people will turn up.
It was fun in the Village but hard work. We stayed with the headmaster and his wife and about 8 kids. I was pleased to get back to the guest house to have some space. Today we have been working on a blogsite for the organization. (I’ll put a link from mine when it’s done) and also applying for funding. It’s quite a relaxing day before we go off to another village tomorrow.
Amy xx
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
A week has passed already
Wow, the week has flown by! I feel like we have done so much. We visited a village by Lake Victoria at the weekend where another volunteer has been staying. It was his leaving party. It was gorgeous, we were so welcomed, there were so many speeches and thank yous to the volunteer organisation which was good to see. The volunteer had donated a generator so the local school have power there for the first time. The children were amazed, there was music and we danced all night. It was so nice to see teachers and children all dancing and having fun together, that would never have happened at my school! All the volunteers that went along slept in Daragh's room (the volunteer that lived there) there was 6 of us and in the middle of the night we all heard something that sounded like some kind of animal in the house. In the morning we came to the conclusion it was probably a rat! Uuurgh, I'm glad i didn't see it thats all i can say, we were on the floor!
So this week the work has been interesting. Yesterday we visited a children's home/hospital where children go when they have 'club foot' or when there legs aren't straight. They are operated on there. Or also if they have a cleft lip. We were having a meeting about creating a partnership with them. This is because when the youth league visit many of the villages, there are a lot of children who cannot walk, therefore people see them as useless. It is so sad to see. They believe it is down to malnutrition. The families ask if there is anything that can be done and now The Youth League have formed a partnership with the Hospital and they can take them there. It is a huge step for The Youth League and the communities they work with.
Today we went to a village about 15 km outside of Mukono. A village where the majority of people are HIV+. This is all the people know, they know next to nothing about what that actually means for them. I gave my first talk on what is HIV, how can you become infected. myths of infection, ways to prevent infection and how to stay healthy when HIV+. It went very well, i spoke and Kayiira translated it to Luganda. They asked many questions so it that made it feel very worth while. The majority of the adults were so worried about what would happen to there children when they die. This is where The Youth League are trying to set up another Orphanage/School. They are looking for funding at the moment so i think it will be a while.
I have shown Frank and Kayiira my resources on HIV and they are asking me to make a resource file for their office. They were excited as when they showed me there resources it was literally an A4 page.
So things are going well. I am slowly putting photos up but it takes about 10mins to do each (and thats no exaggeration! So more will come.
I hope everyone is fine and well. Amy x
So this week the work has been interesting. Yesterday we visited a children's home/hospital where children go when they have 'club foot' or when there legs aren't straight. They are operated on there. Or also if they have a cleft lip. We were having a meeting about creating a partnership with them. This is because when the youth league visit many of the villages, there are a lot of children who cannot walk, therefore people see them as useless. It is so sad to see. They believe it is down to malnutrition. The families ask if there is anything that can be done and now The Youth League have formed a partnership with the Hospital and they can take them there. It is a huge step for The Youth League and the communities they work with.
Today we went to a village about 15 km outside of Mukono. A village where the majority of people are HIV+. This is all the people know, they know next to nothing about what that actually means for them. I gave my first talk on what is HIV, how can you become infected. myths of infection, ways to prevent infection and how to stay healthy when HIV+. It went very well, i spoke and Kayiira translated it to Luganda. They asked many questions so it that made it feel very worth while. The majority of the adults were so worried about what would happen to there children when they die. This is where The Youth League are trying to set up another Orphanage/School. They are looking for funding at the moment so i think it will be a while.
I have shown Frank and Kayiira my resources on HIV and they are asking me to make a resource file for their office. They were excited as when they showed me there resources it was literally an A4 page.
So things are going well. I am slowly putting photos up but it takes about 10mins to do each (and thats no exaggeration! So more will come.
I hope everyone is fine and well. Amy x
Thursday, 2 August 2007
first few days
Hey All.
So we arrived safe and sound after what felt like a pretty long flight. We were picked up by our volunteer coordinator who was the most laid back American woman ever. I thought if this was what Ugandan life's going to be like, I'll be happy with that!
We met all the other volunteers who seem really nice and have so many stories, a lot of them left today and a load more will be coming in a few weeks so that's cool. We have a next door neighbour Natalie who is gorgeous and is constantly at the guesthouse, she has been teaching us Luganda (she's 6!)
We were taken on a guide of Mukono town and had introductions to so many different people there is no way I'll remember names!
We then met the project managers of The Youth League Organisation, they are wonderful and their names i do remember. Frank and Kayiira. They took us through what we will be involved with for the next 3 months and it sounded so interesting. However I'm not sure how organised it all is but we shall see! James will be doing some policy writing and i will be helping put together an HIV awareness training programme for many of the farmers in the surrounding villages. These farmers, men and women are HIV+ and fear everyday they will die. So the programme will be about changing attitudes and giving basic information on HIV and AIDS.
We will also be teaching in a local school called Divine Mercy but at the moment the children are having their exams, then 3 weeks holiday, so that will not be for the next month. I'm glad because it gives us time to settle into the other work first. We did visit the school the other day and everyone was so nice. The teachers were so welcoming and the children were so cute, all staring at us whilst eating their porridge.
Frank and Kayiira took us for a welcoming dinner which consisted of Matakoo (excuse spelling) which is mashed plantain, rice, some kind of vegetable but I'm not sure what! Potato, ground peanut and also chicken soup. It was very nice but there was so much of it. I know i like my food but i just couldn't eat it all! They said i had a muzungu stomach (which means white persons stomach) They also said by the end i will be able to eat the whole plate and more. (i thought i hope not for my sake!)
So were so pleased to be hear and can feel it becoming like home already, there's still a few things I'm getting used to, like being woken at night by dogs and also the toilet at the guesthouse. But that's a whole other story altogether, (it makes Glastonbury pitts look like a palace!) I'm sure I'll get used to it though...
take care, Amy xxx
So we arrived safe and sound after what felt like a pretty long flight. We were picked up by our volunteer coordinator who was the most laid back American woman ever. I thought if this was what Ugandan life's going to be like, I'll be happy with that!
We met all the other volunteers who seem really nice and have so many stories, a lot of them left today and a load more will be coming in a few weeks so that's cool. We have a next door neighbour Natalie who is gorgeous and is constantly at the guesthouse, she has been teaching us Luganda (she's 6!)
We were taken on a guide of Mukono town and had introductions to so many different people there is no way I'll remember names!
We then met the project managers of The Youth League Organisation, they are wonderful and their names i do remember. Frank and Kayiira. They took us through what we will be involved with for the next 3 months and it sounded so interesting. However I'm not sure how organised it all is but we shall see! James will be doing some policy writing and i will be helping put together an HIV awareness training programme for many of the farmers in the surrounding villages. These farmers, men and women are HIV+ and fear everyday they will die. So the programme will be about changing attitudes and giving basic information on HIV and AIDS.
We will also be teaching in a local school called Divine Mercy but at the moment the children are having their exams, then 3 weeks holiday, so that will not be for the next month. I'm glad because it gives us time to settle into the other work first. We did visit the school the other day and everyone was so nice. The teachers were so welcoming and the children were so cute, all staring at us whilst eating their porridge.
Frank and Kayiira took us for a welcoming dinner which consisted of Matakoo (excuse spelling) which is mashed plantain, rice, some kind of vegetable but I'm not sure what! Potato, ground peanut and also chicken soup. It was very nice but there was so much of it. I know i like my food but i just couldn't eat it all! They said i had a muzungu stomach (which means white persons stomach) They also said by the end i will be able to eat the whole plate and more. (i thought i hope not for my sake!)
So were so pleased to be hear and can feel it becoming like home already, there's still a few things I'm getting used to, like being woken at night by dogs and also the toilet at the guesthouse. But that's a whole other story altogether, (it makes Glastonbury pitts look like a palace!) I'm sure I'll get used to it though...
take care, Amy xxx
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