Hiiii
I didn't manage to email yesterday because Immaculate got married so I spent the whole day at her wedding.. it was soo lovely, she looked stunning. There was a huuuge amount of speeches! It was interesting to see how they do it over here.. there was a much larger emphasis on the roles of a husband and a wife than there are in English ceremonies.
I'm currently at in an internet cafe being run by a generator as the power is constantly on and off here.
Friday was a very busy day. Eunice and I went to print some pictures of the boys so that they can have something to hang on the walls. I now have a picture of every boy holding their name so that I know exactly who is who when arranging sponsors.. there are so many it was easy to get confused!
I then went to the market with Eunice and Solo so buy two chairs for the home. The boys specifically requested these as they have no furniture in the home and they needed somewhere to sit at a table to do their homework. As we were walking through the veeerrrry busy market it literally started hammering it down.. the rain here is much heavier than in England. It took less than minutes to be completely drenched! Most of the Ugandans hid in the shops away from the rain waiting for the rain to stop but after half an hour of this we realised that the rain was not ready to stop any time soon so we bought a massive umbrella and braved it. It was sooo funny I couldn't stop laughing as I was holding on to Eunice for dear life as we jumped in and out of puddles that were getting almost knee high! Weaving in and out of small shacks and matatu taxis, through small alley-ways whilst being called 'muzumgu' a million and one times was quite entertaining. Many times the umbrella didnt cover us properly and we got absolutely drenched through! But we finally managed to get these chairs and the boys are very happy with them :)
The afternoon was spent getting the bits and bobs which were needed such as charcoal for the stove, padlocks for the doors in the home and an extra bulb. I also visited the local nurse who has been so lovely to all the boys when they have been sick. I gave her some money to create a big box full of medicine and she kindly donated one of her cupboards to keep the medicine in. Redondo will keep hold of the key for the cupboard so that when a boy is sick, cut or has malaria then he can just take them to the surgery down the road and open the cupboard to treat them with medicine already paid for. I'm so happy with this arrangement.
In the evening I arranged for a guy called Emmanuel to come and discuss wood carving with the boys. He explained that he was willing to come and teach the boys and we thought that this would be best to do in their school holidays, which is coming up in a few weeks, so that the boys can learn in a short space of time. The plan is for the boys to learn valuable skills for them to create things such as wooden plates, chairs and ornaments for them to then sell. Emma also told the boys that he can teach them to print on to clothes to make their own clothes design and so many of the boys were interested in this. Apparantly this doesnt take long to learn and is a quick and cheap way of making money so if we can find the money to fund this they can start this straight away.
Redondo and I also sat down with the older boys to discuss their future (Matia, Isaac, Gerald, Henry and Solo). I was amazed at how little they had thought about it. Some of them are finishing school very soon yet had not considered their next steps. It was almost like they were unaware of the possibilities as they have been living without hope for so long. It was such a productive meeting and they seemed encouraged to realise that they could make something of themselves. Most of them wanted to learn ICT and become either a computer engineer or run their own video library so I told them to research into courses which provide what they need with information of the price. I told the boys that they need to take more responsibility around the house and that as soon as they have set their plans for after school they would have to fend for themselves so that we can make space for new younger orphaned boys in the home. The older boys left the meeting with their eyes open to the possibilities of the future so I am very happy. If you are sponsoring one of the older boys, please consider whether you would like to continue supporting them after school for them to start a professional course or not. They are sooo grateful for all your support. Thank you soo much.
Today I am going to hand out all the gifts which I had crammed into my suitcase and enjoy a goodbye party. I am also going to have a meeting with the dance/drama guys about the possibility of helping them with a place to practise. At the wedding yesterday I met another guy from England who is running a charity in England called DanceAid and he would like to work with me and the Mydel Dance Crew, raising money for Mydel in England. It is just talk at the moment but fingers crossed!
I do have pictures to add but this internet is too slow so I will sort out piccies and videos when I get back :) Back tomorrow!!!
See you sooooon xxx
I didn't manage to email yesterday because Immaculate got married so I spent the whole day at her wedding.. it was soo lovely, she looked stunning. There was a huuuge amount of speeches! It was interesting to see how they do it over here.. there was a much larger emphasis on the roles of a husband and a wife than there are in English ceremonies.
I'm currently at in an internet cafe being run by a generator as the power is constantly on and off here.
Friday was a very busy day. Eunice and I went to print some pictures of the boys so that they can have something to hang on the walls. I now have a picture of every boy holding their name so that I know exactly who is who when arranging sponsors.. there are so many it was easy to get confused!
I then went to the market with Eunice and Solo so buy two chairs for the home. The boys specifically requested these as they have no furniture in the home and they needed somewhere to sit at a table to do their homework. As we were walking through the veeerrrry busy market it literally started hammering it down.. the rain here is much heavier than in England. It took less than minutes to be completely drenched! Most of the Ugandans hid in the shops away from the rain waiting for the rain to stop but after half an hour of this we realised that the rain was not ready to stop any time soon so we bought a massive umbrella and braved it. It was sooo funny I couldn't stop laughing as I was holding on to Eunice for dear life as we jumped in and out of puddles that were getting almost knee high! Weaving in and out of small shacks and matatu taxis, through small alley-ways whilst being called 'muzumgu' a million and one times was quite entertaining. Many times the umbrella didnt cover us properly and we got absolutely drenched through! But we finally managed to get these chairs and the boys are very happy with them :)
The afternoon was spent getting the bits and bobs which were needed such as charcoal for the stove, padlocks for the doors in the home and an extra bulb. I also visited the local nurse who has been so lovely to all the boys when they have been sick. I gave her some money to create a big box full of medicine and she kindly donated one of her cupboards to keep the medicine in. Redondo will keep hold of the key for the cupboard so that when a boy is sick, cut or has malaria then he can just take them to the surgery down the road and open the cupboard to treat them with medicine already paid for. I'm so happy with this arrangement.
In the evening I arranged for a guy called Emmanuel to come and discuss wood carving with the boys. He explained that he was willing to come and teach the boys and we thought that this would be best to do in their school holidays, which is coming up in a few weeks, so that the boys can learn in a short space of time. The plan is for the boys to learn valuable skills for them to create things such as wooden plates, chairs and ornaments for them to then sell. Emma also told the boys that he can teach them to print on to clothes to make their own clothes design and so many of the boys were interested in this. Apparantly this doesnt take long to learn and is a quick and cheap way of making money so if we can find the money to fund this they can start this straight away.
Redondo and I also sat down with the older boys to discuss their future (Matia, Isaac, Gerald, Henry and Solo). I was amazed at how little they had thought about it. Some of them are finishing school very soon yet had not considered their next steps. It was almost like they were unaware of the possibilities as they have been living without hope for so long. It was such a productive meeting and they seemed encouraged to realise that they could make something of themselves. Most of them wanted to learn ICT and become either a computer engineer or run their own video library so I told them to research into courses which provide what they need with information of the price. I told the boys that they need to take more responsibility around the house and that as soon as they have set their plans for after school they would have to fend for themselves so that we can make space for new younger orphaned boys in the home. The older boys left the meeting with their eyes open to the possibilities of the future so I am very happy. If you are sponsoring one of the older boys, please consider whether you would like to continue supporting them after school for them to start a professional course or not. They are sooo grateful for all your support. Thank you soo much.
Today I am going to hand out all the gifts which I had crammed into my suitcase and enjoy a goodbye party. I am also going to have a meeting with the dance/drama guys about the possibility of helping them with a place to practise. At the wedding yesterday I met another guy from England who is running a charity in England called DanceAid and he would like to work with me and the Mydel Dance Crew, raising money for Mydel in England. It is just talk at the moment but fingers crossed!
I do have pictures to add but this internet is too slow so I will sort out piccies and videos when I get back :) Back tomorrow!!!
See you sooooon xxx
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