Day 5: Last Morning at Camp

Kids were very sweet this morning. Lots of notes and drawings for me as
well as a few for my girlfriend, Lisa. Despite the fact that only a few
of these kids had access to computers (not to mention that most of them
live in areas with no electricity), everyone wanted my e-mail. Very
bittersweet to watch the bus drive off with the kids singing happily
inside while I'm left knowing the reality of the homes and lives they
would be returning to. Spent the drive to Kampala reminding myself that
I did do something to make things better and that's worth something.
Hard to keep from getting discouraged, however, when you look out over
the ocean of poverty that you pass by on the way back to the city. A
sea of children that says "help us, too.

Day 4: Big Night Out

Kids came to the hotel for dinner. Easily the nicest place and best food the kids have ever had. They completely overran the property sending the other guests running for their cabanas. Couldn't have been more fun. Hotel set up a DJ booth by the pool and the kids had a dance party after they ate. "The Calypso", which is the biggest pop song in Uganda this year, was played no less than 5 times. While I really tried to hold my own, some of the girls were kind enough to level that I "just wasn't much of a dancer." Thought that was a good time to call it a night (and a career).

Day 4: Talent Show/Fred's New Shoes

The afternoon was spent preparing for the talent show. Kids were incredible! Lots of local songs and dances from each of the tribes that was represented at the camp, some great "pantomimes" (their term for a lip synch, thankfully not the "walking in the wind" kind) and a spectacular fashion show in which the kids modeled their new clothes as well as some "adventurous" designs fashioned from whatever materials they could find (newspapers, paper sacks, etc.) After the show, Fred, one of the kids that had befriended me early on, told me that he had a problem, he needed money for shoes. I asked what was wrong with the shoes he had on. His response: they didn't belong to him, they had been borrowed for the camp. I was stunned. Throughout the week I had heard horrible stories from these kids about the hardships they faced. Through it all, however, I could take comfort that the kids at least looked like they were being taken care of better than the village children I saw when we drove through the country. Their clothes are better so surely they must be doing a little better, right? Well, now I was confronted with a reality I had never even considered. These clothes may not even belong to them. I still really had no idea what life was like for them back home. It totally deflated me to realize that while I thought of them in terms of soccer matches and talent shows, their real lives were deprived of basic necessities. No shoes! This really is a place beyond my understanding.

Day 4: The River of Life

Arrived at camp at 7:15 to the normal chorus of "You're late!" from the counselors. By far the most punctual people I have ever met. Don't know if that's a typical Ugandan trait or something that is specific to the EGPAF staff but these people are serious about being on time. After breakfast Joy and Rita, the two lead social workers, led a discussion about the challenges the children face. The stories the kids shared were staggering. The discussion was followed by an exercise in which the children were asked to draw a "River of Life", a timeline of their life's journey drawn to resemble the course of The Nile. With very few exceptions, the drawings began with "1. Born, 2. Father died, 3. Mother died". The stories got worse from there: periods of persistent illness, negligent or abusive relatives, hunger, homelessness. One boy admitted to an attempted suicide by overdosing on his ARVs. A girl was infected with HIV when she was raped by her stepfather at 8 years old. Another girl has been fending off the sexual advances of a 70 year old stepfather for months and was literally fighting for her life every night. I had never heard so much suffering and to see it all woven into childrens' drawings was horrific and surreal. It's one thing to hear about these tragedies on TV and assume that "life is just harder there", that the events aren't as bad for the people that suffer them as they would be for us. But to know these kids, to see that they are children just like children anywhere, then you know that there are parts of being a child that are universal to everyone. And that suffering is also universal and is felt just as keenly by everyone, no matter where they live. These drawings will haunt me forever.

Day 3: UJFA Cup Championship/Birth of The Domino Craze

The afternoon was dedicated to the much anticipated UJFA Cup Championship between long-standing rivals Jinja Arsenal (managed by yours truly) and Manchester Uganda (skippered by Willie). Needless to say, the clash of these powerhouse clubs did not disappoint despite the devastating 4-1 loss suffered by the Arsenal side. I was inconsolable. Brian played bravely despite the fact that he appears to have malaria. Heartbreaking to watch him force down dinner later that night. Despite a high fever and a total loss of appetite, these are the best meals he'll have all year and can't stand the thought of missing out. I taught the kids to play dominoes after dinner. They took to the game really quickly (maybe a little too quickly since I lost the second game to Perez).

Day 3: Field Trip

Everyone then piled into the buses and headed off to the source of The Nile and Bujagali Falls. The Falls were pretty amazing...but not as amazing as the group of wacko locals that we watched float through class 3 rapids WITH NO BOAT AND NO LIFE JACKET (They would hold on to empty water jugs as floats). Never seen anything quite so crazy. Also saw a great acrobat at the source of The Nile that put on a show the kids loved. Lots of singing in the bus on the way to and from our outing. Some of the girls tried to teach me a few words in Luganda and Swahili but I unfortunately didn't make much of a student.

Day 3: Christmas Gifts

After breakfast, the counselors gave all the children great Christmas presents: new clothes! You've never seen so many happy faces. This was followed by a solid hour of showing off and photo shoots ("now take one of the three of us", "now just me", "now just me...but with sunglasses", etc.)