Malayaka House, We Go...

It's 5:30am on Sunday and we're leaving Entebbe in 17 hours. I haven't gone to bed yet, partially because I'm exhausted and I know I'd sleep in later than I want, and partially because I feel like there's too much that should be done before I go. But regardless of if I go to sleep, I'm not going to be ready to leave tonight. I don't know when it will truly sink in that we're moving out of this incredible place that we've called home for the last 5 months. It's hard to imagine that tomorrow morning I won't wake up to the sounds of 36 children and teenagers laughing, yelling, crying, and playing. I won't walk to town to buy groceries and pay bills. I won't help waitress at a restaurant in my own home. I won't live with 7 dogs. I won't have rice & beans for lunch, prepared with love by wonderful aunties.I won't have homework time with 10 first and second graders. I won't be able to walk to the beach to get a soda and chips with the kids. I won't have a farm in my backyard. I won't hear awesome thunderstorms while falling asleep at night.

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It's hard to imagine, but I'm sure the 23 hour trip home will pull me into reality. And I have a lot to look forward to at home. A few days in New Jersey as Evan prepares to move down south (and maybe even a night in Newark for a Stanley Cup game!). Seeing my parents and the rest of my family. My high school reunion on Saturday. Some much needed visits to Vermont. Plenty of time with friends. Fun work with my cousin. Maybe even coaching basketball. Road races and road trips. Family vacation in Nantucket. And eventually the start of a whole new adventure in Arkansas.

The last couple weeks here have been a whirlwind of both chaos and delight. We have 11 volunteers in our new house plus 7 in my house, so there's never a dull moment. Evan and I had strep throat last week and spent 2 days resting, but other than that we've been trying to do everything we've been forgetting, plus some special outings thanks to the money raised by the Champlain College students and staff that are here. On top of the money they raised, they also arrived with 12 bags, each weighing 50 lbs, totally full of donations. Our new friend, Fern Melvin, organized a donation drive through the Ludlow Rotary Club in Vermont and met many generous donors. Besides bringing donations and money to Malayaka House, Fern brought a whole lot of love. Everyone here enjoyed their time with her, and I know she'll be back here as soon as she gets the chance. But, back to our latest adventures... thanks to Fern's hard work we were able to take everyone to the zoo, to the pool at the nicest hotel in Entebbe, and to the beach twice. We also spent half a day without the kids at Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary, which included a beautiful boat ride across the equator. We went to the craft market in Kampala and walked around the city a bit. We spent an afternoon rollerblading and skateboarding with Hakim. We went out for dinner last night with all the volunteers plus the 6 oldest kids in the house and had a great time. In between all these big things, we've also been making sure that all the kids get some individual attention outside of the house with us.

And all of this fun has been amplified because Conor's here. He dove in head first and has built awesome relationships in just 2 weeks. Little Diego is very attached to him and refuses to be put down. Hakim warmed up to him real fast and immediately began calling him "Con." Elijah and Amina loved having his full attention all morning while the other kids are in school. He quickly discovered Jacinta's sense of humor and hangs out with her whenever possible. He has fallen in love with Salih and Didas and I think they're just as enamored with him. I think, as her peer, he's impressed with Namatov, the way she carries herself, and all that she does here. He's smitten with Malayaka and has caught on to her sneaky side.  And he sees a lot of himself in our hyperactive Bobo, so that's been cool. I have no doubt that Conor will return to Malayaka House, but I knew that would be true before he even arrived. I don't know how anyone could come and get to know the children and not want to stay connected to the organization.

So now we've said our goodbyes to the school principal at Entebbe Junior, to some of our friends that occasionally volunteer at the house, and to Carol - one of the oldest Malayaka kids. Carol lives and works among the Silverback Gorillas at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in the southwestern part of the country, but she's been home visiting for the last month. She's an incredible girl and, at 19 years old, the first from the house to find a job and live on her own. She's gone back to Bwindi now, but we were lucky to have been here during her visit home. The rest of the goodbyes will come tonight when some of the aunties go home, then the young kids go to bed, then we'll leave Hakim and the older girls when we head to the airport. Goodbyes are tough, but now this place is a part of us and even when we're not here we'll carry it with us. And if the past 5 years have taught me anything it's that time passes too quickly, so I think I'll be back here before I know it.

Lastly, before I go I want to share something really special. Viola is 17 years old and she's wanted to be a pilot since she was very young, and she's absolutely determined to make it happen. Luckily, as the waitress for the pizza business, she's had the opportunity to meet several UN and airport employees. A few of these people that come weekly to pizza night, and occasionally to spend time with the kids, have been talking about organizing a trip to the airport for Viola. She was trilled with the idea and so appreciative. But then on Thursday night they told me that instead of just visiting the airport and going in the hangar, they had put together some money to pay for Viola to take a 30 minute flight. So today Robert and Fran took her and she got to do something that she dreamed about for years. She had been speechless when I told her that she was going, and upon her return she still didn't have words to describe how awesome it was to be up in the air. The pilot even let her steer the plane for a minute. Big thanks go out to our friends Sonia and Tomii for organizing and funding this experience for Viola.

Extreme Makeover

Sorry for the long silence here, but we’ve been very busy since Robert’s return. We have a service trip from Champlain College coming on Thursday night and just one week ago our new house that they’ll be staying in was empty and ugly. Now it’s painted, inside and out, in bright colors; Fran and Evan are nearly finished making and assembling 5 bunk beds plus a big table with benches; Evan and I have painted almost every piece of furniture; Uncle Tony and his workers from the farm have secured the wall around the property and fixed up the back yard; and we’ll be ready to move the group of 11 into the house in just 2 days. On top of this mini Extreme Makeover Home Edition, we’ve been trying to get all the kids to finish their school packets before Thursday since they’ll just want to play all day with the new volunteers. I’ve also been preparing for Conor to arrive next Monday night and I couldn’t be more excited. My mom’s been organizing some donations for him to bring over – big thanks to Ellen Munger, Kathy Twitchell, Diana Potter, Judy Nagle, Meg O’Connell, and several others who have offered up some great toys/games/books/puzzles for the kids!

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it yet, but Evan and I are cutting our stay short by a few weeks because he was accepted to Teach for America and has to be back in the States at the beginning of June. He’s heading down to Arkansas to teach in a KIPP elementary school and, after spending the summer in Norton, I’ll be joining him down south. We’re both really excited, but it will be hard to leave here in just 3 weeks. We can feel each day slipping away, especially since it’s been so busy lately, but there’s still a lot of time to enjoy the life we’ve made for ourselves here. And since Evan will be teaching, and hopefully I can find a job in a school as well, we will be able to return next summer for at least a few weeks. It will be incredibly hard to leave here, but that would have been true regardless of the timing. But coming home early means that I get to see my family sooner, spend a whole summer living with my brother again, visit Vermont frequently, and go to my high school reunion in June. So it will be a bittersweet goodbye, but also the beginning of a whole new adventure.

Thanks for following me on this journey and for playing a part in this unbelievable experience. Stay tuned for some posts about the fun things we’ll be doing with all our new volunteers next week!

Robert is Back!

Robert is home! At 7:00am on Tuesday morning we were awoken to chants of “Uncle Boberti!” as Robert’s taxi dropped him at home, fresh off 2 full days of traveling from Houston to Entebbe, by way of Qatar. The kids were still a little sleepy so the greetings weren’t as energetic as I’d been anticipating, but everyone was smiling ear to ear. Knowing how attached we’ve become to these kids in just 3 months, I can’t imagine what it’s like for Robert to come home and see all his kids again.

One of the things Robert worked on in the states was updating the organization’s website (www.malayakahouse.com). A long-time volunteer actually did the new site, but Robert spent a lot of time writing up the pages and information. Please check it out to learn more about the kids and the businesses. For each of the kids Robert wrote a story of where they came from and what they’re like now, plus each story is linked to an album of photos. He still has 10 more bios to write, but the ones he’s done so far are incredible. There’s also information about each of the businesses, the role of the aunties, and a link to his new blog. With the blog he started from the very beginning and eventually, when he’s given a back story and current story of every child, he’s hoping that he can turn it into a book.

On another note - only 2 weeks until Conor flies to Entebbe, and just 4 days before he comes we have a service trip from Champlain College arriving! May will be exciting, but also bitter sweet because Evan and I are heading home at the end of the month. Evan's accepted a position with Teach for America in the Mississippi Delta region so we're coming home a few weeks early. I'm thrilled to see my family and friends so soon, but it will be incredibly hard to leave here. But, I still have a month so we'll save the tears for now. If anyone would like to donate items to the Malayaka House, I would love for Conor to bring some puzzles, building blocks, DVD's, books, etc over here, so any of these things that you're looking to get rid of would be really helpful for us!

And lastly, it's been a while since I put up pictures do there's a bunch below. But check out the website for even more info and pictures!

This is Amina – she’s 3 years old and, as you can see, is absolutely adorable. She’s funny, playful, and really sweet. Amina spends her days running around the house with Elijah, Mercy, and Diego while all the others are at school. She and Elijah are the best of friends and they’re virtually inseparable. Unfortunately Amina is HIV positive, but she is receiving the best care around. They say she gets sick a fair amount, but we’ve only had to take her to the doctor once in the last 3 months. Treatment and ARV’s are free in Uganda, and she’s been on medication since she was a few months old. 

This is Jacinta on the left– she’s 19 years old and manages both the pizza business and the cheese business here. She came to Malayaka House about 18 months ago, with an 8 month old baby and another on the way. When Jacinta was just 7 years old, she left her family out of fear that she would be kidnapped by Joseph Kony’s army. A few years later, after living on the streets, a woman found Jacinta and offered her a job doing some housework for a family in Kampala. She was still young, but this would provide her with a safe place to live. But, by the time this woman brought Jacinta to Kampala, the position had already been filled. So, after some more time looking for refuge, Jacinta ended up at Mercy Home, an orphanage that originally had good intentions but was beginning to fall to pieces. After a few years at Mercy Home, where the kids were treated poorly and internal abuse was around every corner, Jacinta fled. A young man who had also run away from Mercy Home invited Jacinta to live with him and he promised to find work for her. She was 16 at the time and felt she had no better option, so she moved in with him. At first he continued promising to find her a job, but she quickly became a servant to him. He made her clean the house, do the dishes, and prepare dinner when he got home from work. Eventually she got pregnant and gave birth to her daughter, who she named Mercy. When she was pregnant for the second time, a friend came to let her know that Robert had visited Mercy Home and was looking for her. Robert had met Jacinta when she was 15 and even then he was impressed with her determination and work ethic. Back then he had been trying to help Mercy Home improve, but now he knew that was hopeless and he wanted to take Jacinta and her baby to Malayaka House. Jacinta immediately left the young man she had been living with and moved to Malayaka House. Now she’s an incredible role model to all the kids here, especially the 10 other girls that also moved here from Mercy Home last year. She’s a quick learner, she’s motivated, and she’s one of the funniest people at the house. She works hard to manage these businesses, hone her skills, and take care of her beautiful babies, Mercy and Diego.

Namatov (or Tov or Tovu) is to the right of Jacinta in the picture above– she’s 19 years old and manages the office at the Malayaka House. She oversees all 3 business and has various roles within each; she does all of the accounting; she keeps all Malayaka House paperwork organized; she helps with homework every day; she manages the store room; and she finds time to have fun. She enjoys secretarial work, and she’s incredible at it. She’s also bubbly, enthusiastic, hardworking, and motivated. The children call her Teacher Tov and they have the utmost respect for her. What she says goes, always. She takes good care of all the children here, and ever since she was 10 years old she’s been the caretaker for Naiga and their younger brother Hakim.

This is Naiga – she’s 17 years old and manages the craft business. She spends her days making beads out of recycled paper, then designing necklaces, earrings, and bags, as well as table decorations for the pizza business. Naiga is kind of shy and hard to read at times, but she’s an incredible listener and always takes our advice about business matters. She effortlessly motivates the other girls and the aunties to help her business, and you can often find at least 10 people sitting and rolling beads with her during the school holiday. Naiga’s best friend is her older sister Namatov, and the 2 of them are perfect compliments. Namatov wears her emotions on her sleeve, while Naiga is always consistent.

This is Danny – he just turned 8 last week and he’s in second grade. When Danny was 2 years old he was abandoned in a forest and remained there alone for 2 days before someone found him. According to Robert, he was the most traumatized of the 36 children that he’s taken in. It took a full year for him to feel comfortable and allow others in, but if you met Danny now you’d never know it. He’s very social, very smart, and very thoughtful. He’s also the best reader out of our 10 first and second graders.

This is Malayaka – she’s 6 years old and in P1. Her other name is Mary but she goes by Malayaka at home, despite the fact that many of the other kids were also given the name Malayaka. We recently learned that she actually thinks her full name is Mary Malayaka House. She probably took the longest to warm up to Evan and I, but now we really love her. She’s funny and wild and usually polite. She seems to get along with everyone, and her teacher says she’s the best behaved in school. But she definitely knows how to be a troublemaker too, and sometimes she likes to steal keys, pencils, books, etc from the guest house. When Malayaka’s old enough to really understand what’s happened in her life, I hope that she doesn’t focus on the terrible events that made her such a vulnerable baby, but rather on the fact that because of her, 35 other children were given a second chance and a better life.

This is Justine – she’s probably about 13 years old and she’s in P4. She does very well in school, and she’s also a talented rugby player. Justine is sweet, funny, and always happy. She loves to do any worksheets, coloring pages, word searches, or math problems that we give her, and she likes to just hang out in the guest house some nights. As is true with all of the older girls, Justine likes to help Naiga with her jewelry making when she has extra time on the weekends or during school holidays.

This is Hakim – he’s 14 years old and in his first year of high school. Naiga and Namatov are his older sisters, and they’ve all been living at Malayaka House for about 3 years. Hakim wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up and he works hard taking care of his animals here. Everyday a couple of his friends come over and they care for Hakim’s pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits, and pigeons. Hakim’s favorite things right now are rollerblading, skateboarding, playing computer games, and watching action movies.

This is Juliet – she’s about 13 years old and she’s in P5. Julie loves rugby more than anything, and she’s extremely competitive. You can often find her climbing dangerous high in the trees around the compound. Her and Sharon climb up to cut down jackfruits that they share with all the kids. Juliet does well enough in school without much effort, so Evan’s been trying to motivate her a little more because she has so much potential in the classroom. 

This is Mercy – she’s 2 years old, the daughter of Jacinta, and Diego’s older sister. She loves to be held, but she’s also very independent. Despite the fact that she’s a relatively new talker, especially in English, I can tell that Mercy’s a really funny kid. She’s inherited her mother’s good sense of humor. Mercy likes to color, play with Elijah & Amina, and listen to me read the book ‘8 Silly Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.’

This is Viola – she’s about 17 years old and she’s in her second year of secondary school. She’s dressed up in the picture because she was going to a friend’s wedding. Viola came to the house right after Malayaka was born and Bobo was taken in, so she’s like a mother to them and many of the children. She is funny, articulate, energetic, and she is wise beyond her years. Viola dreams of being a pilot when she grows up, and she always has that goal in mind. She’s also a trained masseuse and just gave me an excellent massage today. 

Conor comes in 5 weeks!

My brother finally booked his flight and he’ll be coming to Entebbe for 2 weeks in May! I’m so excited to see him and show him what my life here is all about. Besides the obvious reasons why I’m excited about his visit, it also gives me a nice opportunity to have him bring things here for the kids. Since arriving here I’ve discovered that these kids have all their essentials taken care of… they have food, shelter, a decent amount of clothes, and lots of love. The house is always in need of more money for operating costs and everyday expenses, but the kids live a comfortable life. But, as could be assumed about a family with 35 kids, they don’t have much beyond the essentials. So, between Conor and a service trip of 11 people from Vermont, I think May will be an exciting time for the kids. The group has received many donations from a Rotary Club as well as individual volunteers, and my family has already been very generous with Conor. But, in case other people wanted to contribute, I’ve put together a “wish list” on Amazon. Like I said before, none of this stuff is imperative, but I thought that it would make the most sense to give people an idea of the things we could use in case anyone wanted to donate. If you choose to buy something on the list, it will be shipped directly to my house, so it’s really simple. OR, if you have anything similar at home that you’d like to get rid of anyway, used donations are even better. Movies, books, sports balls, skateboards, scooters, rollerblades, puzzles, phonics books/games, computer games, and water bottles… they would all be great. Alright so here’s the link to the wish list for anyone who is interested - http://amzn.com/w/1XM5WXP6LJTJ9. And thank you to everyone who is still reading my blog! I miss you all!

Oh and also, my mom has some aprons, bags, and necklaces that were made in the Malayaka House Craft Shop, so contact her if you'd like to buy any! Thanks again!

Kigali and Bunyonyi!

Hi Everyone!

Evan and I just returned from a week of travelling in western Uganda and Rwanda. Last Tuesday we took a 9 hour bus ride from Kampala to Kigali, Rwanda and spent three nights with our friend Elena (and our new friends Ally and Elizabeth). We could have spent a week with them and never been bored... it was so nice to see a familiar face, stay up late talking (and eating), and reflect on our very different experiences in the middle of this diverse continent.

Rwanda is a small, complex country with absolutely beautiful landscapes and a tragic piece of history that has left physical, emotional, and psychological scars on every citizen. Obviously being there for 3 days only gave us a glimpse of the nation and it’s people, but it was incredible nonetheless. We visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial and were impressed with the museum/education center. The genocide in 1994 is so difficult to learn about, not only because of the horrific atrocities that were commited, but also because it all could have been prevented or curtailed with some international support. However, if someone didn’t know about the events that took place in the 90’s, a visit to Kigali would make you feel like it’s a utopia (especially if you’ve seen other African cities). In 2008 is was ranked the #1 cleanest city on the entire continent. You’re not allowed to walk on the grass, workers spend the day picking up litter, and plastic bags are illegal. Besides being clean, it’s quiet, there’s very little traffic, people follow driving laws, motorcycle taxis can only have one passenger on board AND they have to be wearing a helmet. It’s a different world from Uganda. But, as our friends kept reminding us, Rwanda prides itself on it’s appearance, yet the pleasant exterior hides many issues, tensions, and corruption underneath the surface. And, to give credit where it’s due, I think Ugandan people as a whole are friendlier than Rwandans. And, lastly, being a tourist or temporary resident in Uganda is much easier because many, many people speak English, while in Rwanda they mostly only speak French and Kinyarwanda.

A litle bit about what our friends are doing in Rwanda… Elena, Ally, and Elizabeth are volunteering at Les Enfants de Dieu, a center for boys who had at one time lived on the street, but have now decided to work towards a better life. There are about 140 boys there, and the center has its own school for grades 1 and 2. The goal of the center is to give the boys a place to live, a proper education, and eventually to reintigrate them back into their families. What really makes this place unique is the ‘ministry system’ that runs the center. The boys elect various ministers (of sports, education, health, administration, etc) that each have specific roles and responsibilities. The point of the system is to teach the boys valuable life skills AND ensure that everything that goes on at the center is in their best interest. It’s a brilliant idea and we got to see just how well it can work when the staff respects the system and and boys. Elena, Ally, and Elizabeth have a friend named Willy who is 19 yers old and reintigrated, from the center, back to his mother’s home about 2 years ago. He’s really incredible… he’s funny, intelligent, motivated, thoughtful, curious, and kind. The girls say that there are many boys that came from the center that are dong as well as Willy now, but unfortunately right now the staff at the center are making some waves an not putting theboys needs first. But luckily the boys have people like Elena, Ally, Elizabeth, and Willy, who are all doing great work and will continue to be connected to the center long after they leave. If you’re interested to learn more about their time in Rwanda, check out Elena or Ally’s blog!

When we left Kigali we took a taxi bus to the border and then a private taxi to Lake Bunyonyi. Fran and Elena had both encouraged us to visit this lake in western Uganda that has 35 islands popping up from the middle. We stayed at Byoona Amagara and had a great time. Our room was called a geodome, and basically it’s a sturdy, weatherproofed hut with an open front, built into the side of a hill. So, while laying in bed we could see the water and a couple other islands. It rained on and off for our entire stay, but the time to sit and relax was all we needed. Plus we got to watch an incredible thunderstorm over the water one night, while sitting on our covered porch. The food was extremely cheap at the resort’s restaurant and it was all delicious. They had everything from crepes to breakfast sandwiches to burritos to fish to pizza to pasta… it might not sound that impressive but it’s a change from the typical Ugandan diet. My pictures don’t do this place justice because it was overcast most of the time, and my camera isn’t great, but I’ll put some pictures up soon. You can check out the resort website for some pictures too.

So after a week away it’s nice to be back home in Entebbe. We missed it a lot, and I think we realized just how hard it will be to leave here in a couple months. The kids have no school until Tuesday because of Easter, so we have plenty of time to catch up with them and work on some literacy stuff at home. I hope all is well at home, and Happy Easter to everyone!

Little Moments

Time is flying by for us here at Malayaka House. Yesterday was the first time that I thought about the next couple months and felt like I didn’t have enough time left to do everything I want, both with the kids and in East Africa. But I guess another 2.5 months is a long time.

Lately I’ve been posting about the big highlights here - usually pizza nights, field trips, and updates about school/education – but in the past few weeks I’ve been noticing the little moments more. The individual time with kids or the moments when they really enjoy learning or when we discover another aspect of their maturity. So instead of the big things I’m going to share a bunch of the little things, because, as the saying goes, they’re actually the big things in the end.

Less than a half mile up the hill in Entebbe Town, there are people who make French fries (chips), grilled chicken, sausages, and a delicious treat called a rolex. It’s not a fancy watch, but a chapati with 2 fried eggs rolled inside (the name comes from a shortening of the description – rolled eggs). It costs about 60 cents for chips or a rolex, and about $1.20 for chicken. Evan and I would occasionally walk to town at night to get a cheap meal, so a few weeks ago we decided to start taking the older kids with us. We take just one or two a week, and it’s been really cool to talk to them individually when they have our undivided attention. We usually talk about what they want to do when they grow up, or we ask them about their life before Malayaka House, or we share more about ourselves and our lives back home. Each and every one of the kids is so incredible in their own way,

On a similar note, during the afternoons we try to take a couple of the young kids around town with us when we do errands. Because there are 35 kids here, and because there are always aunties and/or volunteers at the house to watch them, the kids don’t go out to do errands like a typical kid would. So if we’re going to buy airtime and internet or pick up some groceries or pay the bills, we often take a couple kids with us. The kids enjoy the attention and, for us, it’s always more entertaining with a couple of them around. A few weeks ago we took Ishmat and Elijah out with us and Ishmat didn’t stop talking the entire time. There are few things funnier than a 4 year olds’ commentary on life.

Something else we’ve been doing quite frequently lately is going to the doctor. For the first month that we were here no one got sick, but with the changing seasons it seems to be a different story. We’ve had ear infections, rashes, malaria, infected wounds, and pneumonia, all in the last month. It wasn’t until probably my 5^th time at the doctor that an obvious observation crossed my mind – I was a care taker for 35 children. I looked around the waiting room and wondered what the other parents and kids thought of me, Evan and Fran - besides the fact that we’re crazy for having 3 people take 1 child to the doctor. But, in our defense, since you never know who will be around at any given time, it helps to have multiple people hear what the doctor has to say and understand what medicine is being prescribed.

On a daily basis I spend at least a little bit of time thinking about the overwhelming task of giving these kids a better education. The most important and most intimidating issue is teaching a bunch of the kids how to read. But lately I’ve challenged myself to take baby steps each day instead of trying to think of a way to solve all the problems at once. So I created some word searches and an educational jeopardy game, Evan made flash cards with letter and word sounds, we made a multiplication chart, Marta photocopied a bunch of activities from the lesson books we have at the house… and now we’re putting them all to use. We’ve realized that the older girls really enjoy doing simple spelling and literacy tasks that we originally thought would be boring. So in the evenings and on the weekends now they sometimes come and ask if they can play these “games.”

With the young kids we’ve been using the letter tiles from our Bananagrams game and letting them spell words or unscramble words that we’ve mixed up. None of them do any sort of creative learning in school, so anything that deviates from just copying information into book seems really exciting and holds their attention. We also started today with weekly spelling lists for P. 1, 2, and 3. So it seems like very small steps, but I’ve really been enjoying it lately. It’s always nice to see the smile on a kid’s face when they complete a task or spell a word correctly or recognize a word that just looked like random letters before. And it’s nice to see many of them enjoy educational activities and beg us to do more with them, even after being in school for 10 hours and doing homework for another 1 or 2 at home.

So these little learning moments, the trips to the doctor, the evening walks to town, the spontaneous games at home, the afternoons with just a few kids at the park or the botanical garden, the conversations with the aunties, the business meetings with the girls… they’re all part of our days here and, in the end, they’re the most meaningful experiences.

Speaking of business, the last thing I wanted to mention is that I shipped 7.5 kilos (16.5 lbs) of bags, aprons, and necklaces home to Norton. We wanted to see how much it costs and how quickly it arrives, in order to determine how practical it would be in the future to export our crafts. My mom should get the package at the end of next week and, once she does, she’ll be selling them for us. So if you’re interested, contact her and support Malayaka House! Thank you!

Highlights and Pictures

Sorry for the infrequent posting, but here are some highlights from the last week:

- Last Thursday the kids didn’t have school because it was International Women’s Day, so we had an afternoon of sports and games. We piled 42 children, aunties, and uncles into our 15 passenger van and drove across town to a hotel where some friends of ours live. There’s a group of Spanish guys who work for SwiftAir, an airline that is contracted by the UN, and they live in Entebbe temporarily and fly groups of UN employees and local military men around East and Central Africa. The UN rents an entire small hotel for them and they have a big yard, so they offered to host our sports day. We had wheelbarrow and potato sack races, a few different relay races, a volleyball game, and several rounds of tug o’ war. Everyone had a good time.

- Also last Thursday, our pizza business hosted its biggest night yet. We had 33 guests and served a total of 30 pizzas. Our profit for the night was 2/3 of what we made in the entire month of February, plus the girls made $45 in tips. They’ve recently added a couple appetizers to the menu and they’ve improved both the pizza and the sauce by playing around with a variety of spices. Evan and I got lucky with the timing of our stay here because it’s been a lot of fun to see this business grow and evolve over the last 9 weeks.

- We went to Entebbe Junior School on Sunday and met with all of the children’s teachers (that’s 17 different teachers for 13 different classrooms). We got to see their latest exams and get an idea for how their scores compare to their peers. Some teachers gave us great personal feedback about each student and the whole afternoon was really helpful. Some of our kids are doing great, but many need to work more on reading. We have at least one kid in grades 1-5 that struggle with reading, and you can see how that effects every their English, Social Studies, and Science exams. Hopefully we’ll be able to help at home because, unfortunately, the structure and curriculum here makes it too easy to sneak by without learning to read.

And here are some pictures…

Evan taught Didas how he's shaves his beard last week and then let him do the rest - it made for some cute pictures.

This is Johnny during our sack race last week. He’s another one of the 6 year old triplets, but the three of them are so distinctly different. Almost every day he comes up to me, quietly gets my attention, and says “story?” He doesn’t have the longest attention span, but he loves listening to you read. Although this hobby might suggest otherwise, Johnny doesn’t know how to read. Every day with his homework we’re working on letters and sounds, but it’s a struggle. He’s so sweet though and very well-behaved.

This is Isabella – she’s 4 years old and she’s William’s twin. She’s one of the biggest trouble-makers in the house and often will do exactly the opposite of what you ask. But, recently I’ve discovered another side to her. She really loves to do schoolwork and she’s motivated to learn. She’s in the middle class of the nursery and every Friday she has to write letters, match pictures, and color inside the lines for homework. She loves doing her worksheet each week and she gets excited every time she writes a letter correctly.

This is Shakira, the youngest of the girls that came to Malayaka House last year. In case you missed it in a previous entry, there are 10 girls that came here at the end of 2010 from Mercy Home, an awful orphanage that has since been shut down. Shakira’s documented age is 6, but I think she might be closer to 8. Each grade at Entebbe Junior has two classes and they’re divided by academic ability, and Shakira’s our only first grader in the more advanced class. She does really well in school and usually finishes her homework first. She’s also one of the most athletic kids here – we taught her how to throw an American football and how to hit a baseball, and she does them both better than anyone else.

This is Auntie Flo. She’s the oldest and certainly the wisest of the aunties. She is in her early forties and she has two teenagers of her own. She goes to the market on Tuesdays and Saturdays to buy all of the fruits and vegetables that the house needs. To give you an idea of how much food is needed to feed 45 people, she spends $260 each week on fruits and vegetables. That’s on top of monthly deliveries of rice, beans, nuts, millet for porridge, etc; weekly deliveries of meat; and daily deliveries of eggs and milk. Back to Auntie Flo though, she’s incredible and it seems like she can do absolutely anything. I took this picture one afternoon when Evan and Fran were cutting a dead tree down so we could use it for firewood in the pizza oven. They were going at it for a while before Flo noticed and took the axe away from them. Once she showed them the proper technique they tried to take the axe back, but she didn’t quit until she’d finished the job.