Anyway enough about me.. the last day in Uganda was one of celebration. After spending half the day being set back by lack of electricity issues I arrived at the Mydel office to meet the drama/dance guys. I was sooo encouraged to hear how hard they have been working. The youth who I originally taught 3 years back are now running the drama/dance group 'Mydel Dance Crew'. They are soo focussed and dedicated to the project, I sat in awe at their organisation and how far they had come on their own with no funding.
They now have a registration process for new members and have set objectives for each month of the year. They have been touring around Kampala for performances, visiting many schools and community centers. They do breakdancing, street dance, african dance and expressive dramatic dance. They are currently using their performances to take the opportunity to talk to youth and children about drug addiction and HIV Aids (the main problems in the slums of Uganda). They talk to their audience with sincere concern and have the ability to connect to the audience without coming across as patronising as they have been brought up in the slums themselves. They use dramatic dance and sketches to teach good morals and solutions to the main problems affecting the youth of today living in the slums and in vulnerable circumstances.
Mydel Dance Crew have been putting on their performances for free on most occasions just to get their name known but we have now discussed ways of making money. I encouraged the team in their teaching skills so they are now going to be taking on teaching and well as performing, charging members a small fee to attend. They will use the money from performances and teaching to sustain their project, buy costumes and music and eventually become a successful dance/drama school. Thanks to some very kind sponsors I did not only buy them a new cd player but was now able to tell them that we can rent the local community centre hall for their practise! They have been struggling to find space to practise in, especially since the group has grown, so they are absolutely over the moon, saying that now their problems are over and they can focus on developing. Im sooo happy! Thank you soo much!! Check out the video links of the right hand side of them dancing, they also have a myspace and facebook page. Ideally they would like to increase publicity so that they can get into more schools and centres in the whole of Uganda and East Africa to raise awareness and help the struggling youth.
I then spent the afternoon with the boys in the Mydel Home. I gave out all gifts in my suitcase; t-shirts,shoes, school shirts and trousers. They were soo grateful and particularly loved the letter which Brislington Fellowship wrote to them along with a picture of the congregation. It's now pinned to their wall...
People living in the slums of Uganda save up the whole year to be able to buy a chicken for christmas. Thanks to your donations I was able to buy them a chicken for the party... I didn't realise it would be a wild chicken running around the compound only to be chased and caught by one of the boys before my eyes and killed there and then! They had the chicken with the wide range of foods which we bought a few days back and they ate like Kings!
I wish you could have seen the smiles on their faces! The atmosphere in the house was electric (impressive considering there was no power for a few hours, haha!) the boys were constantly joking around and laughing with one another and I was finally able to relax and enjoy my time with them. They called me their mother, which would also be impressive if it were true as I would have had to of popped one out every year since I was born! I loved just watching them enjoy themselves, sitting in a house which looked so much better to when I arrived.
The power came back just in time and the Mydel Dance Crew came with the cd player and joined the whole house in a night of dancing and partying. The local children in the community passed by to enjoy the scene, enjoying the balloons which were planted all over the home. Then came a load of speeches from various children and Mydel staff, showing their appreciation to me and all the supporters of Mydel. They are eternally grateful and say that we have changed so many people's lives and given a future and hope to those struggling in Uganda. It's cliche but there was a lot of love in the room. I feel like they are my family now.
Thank you to all those who made this visit possible!
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Here is a quick summary of needs and how it is now solved :)
Nasana Home needed electric: We had some spare money from the rent of the Mydel Home to pay for this
Mydel Dance Crew needed a cd player and a place to practise: I bought them a cd player and rent for the community centre is now being paid monthly
Mydel Home;
Need for Medication: Sorted! The local nurse has a prepared a box full of prepaid medicine
Need for Clothes: Sorted! I handed out all your clothes I brought with me from England
Need for Counselling and Guidance: Sorted! Redondo and I had many chats with the boys in need, particular those without sponsors and those who are leaving school soon.
Need for Necessities: Sorted! I paid for the extras like soap, toothpaste, shoe polish etc
Need for Toilet: Sorted! I paid the next door neighbour to maintain her toilet and give the boys a key
Need for a Variety in Food: Sorted! I went to the market with Redondo and we chose a wider range of foods for the home. Due to the price increase we have used the three month donation for two months
Need for Entertainment to prevent boredom: Sorted! No T.V yet but Mr Emmanuel will be teaching them wood carving in their school holidays for them to take on as a productive hobby
Need for Bedding: Sorted! We have put down a new carpet to protect the new mattress
Need to Fix the Roof: Sorted! There are no longer holes in the roof!
Need to sort out Bedbugs: Sorted! We have sprayed the budbugs so they are no longer!
Need for Recruitment Plan: Sorted! The boys, orphaned or from critically vulnerable backgrounds, join Mydel Home at age 11 and will leave with they finish school and have sorted their future plans.
Need for chairs, wash basins, bulbs, padlocks, charcoal and a charcoal stove: Sorted! Bought and enjoyed.
The only remaining needs are;
1) Metal secure cases for each child to store their belongings
2) School bags (I suggest sponsors pay an additional fee to cater for school equipment when they first sponsor a child)
3) Shoes (this is a big need so I will probably fill my suitcase with shoes next time so please save your old shoes!)
4) T.V with dvd
5) To finalise the ICT and wood carving course the boys can start in their school holidays during December and January. Funds will be needed for this.
6) To raise at least £5000 to buy land to build a larger, self-sufficient Mydel Home
Finally and most importantly, there are still 6 young boys not attending school. I will be putting a profile up of each boy every few days so that you can get to know them, pray for them and hopefully we can find sponsors for them. It costs £50 every term to sponsor a child to go to school and there are only three terms in a year. £150 a year can give a child a hope and a future to get themselves out of the poor situations they have been struggling with their whole lives. Any donations can be processed using paypal to the right of this page and would be received with a huuuuuuuuuuuge smile and thanks from me and the Mydel Boys. I guarantee the money will go straight to the purpose you specify and will make such a difference.
Thank you once again for all your support, love and prayers.
Tiarna xxx
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