Pizza nights, crafts, and a new guest...

Hi Everyone,

This was the last week of summer vacation here in Uganda and some exciting things happened…

- On Saturday night, while Fran was staying at a friend’s house in Kampala rather than being our protector at the house, Evan and I were awoken by Alice, the security guard, outside our window. She doesn’t speak too much English and she has a thick accent (and it was 4:25am), so all we heard was “outside the gate.” Since Fran wasn’t home, and we weren’t sure what was outside the gate, Evan grabbed the big stick that Fran gave him and we went out to the gate. There we found Marta, a volunteer from Poland, who had been waiting outside the gate for 30 minutes. Before Robert left for the U.S. (I’ll explain that later) he had told us that Marta would be coming at some point, but she hadn’t booked a flight yet and so we were surprised to see her. But luckily she’s been here before and she had a friend drive her and wait until she was let in, so she was safe, and obviously so were we. She enjoyed telling everyone the story about Evan’s stick the next morning.

- A little more about Marta… she’s really great. She’s 27 years old and recently opened her own orphanage for babies in a different part of Uganda. She’s here for about 6 months and will be travelling to her orphanage in Masindi occasionally. She also has an interesting potential project for us here at the Malayaka House that I’ll talk about once it’s evolved a little more.

- On Monday we had a business meeting with the girls involved in the craft business. We have 3 different distribution plans… (1) we’re going to make some nice displays of jewelry, aprons, and bags in the room where the women sew during the day, and hopefully the volunteers that come through each day will take a look at all the items and buy some for a higher price than locals would; (2) we have some items in a shop called Anna’s Corner and we’ll soon have some at the Lake Victoria Hotel, so that will be a steady monthly paycheck; (3) when volunteers go home to the U.S. or Europe they are welcome to buy any amount that they can afford and then re-sell them at home. The items they make are beautiful and I’ll post some pictures soon in case any of you at home want to purchase something for me to bring back this summer.

- Tuesday was our first pizza night… and it was excellent! The girls worked all day – making cheese, making sauce, making dough, making juice, cutting vegetables, cooking meat, cleaning the outdoor seating area, cleaning dishes – and the outcome was great. They had a candle-lit table and they served the most delicious meal we’d had yet. As a thank you and congratulations, we got some ice cream and enjoyed dessert with all the girls afterwards. Thursday night’s dinner went just as well and, after just two nights, it looks like the Malayaka House won’t have to put any more money into the business and it can run on its own profits.

- Hakim, who is starting S1 on Monday (the first year of secondary school), got his Primary Leaving Exam results this week. Your score on this exam determines which secondary school you can attend, and Hakim scored in the first division! He was so thrilled and showed everyone his certificate. Uncle Tony took him to Entebbe Senior School to get his uniform and we got him and his friends some ice cream to celebrate. He’ll be going to the same school as Viola now and, just like the primary school, it is one of the best in the country.

- So, as I mentioned above, Robert isn’t at the House right now. He usually goes back home every summer to work, but money was getting tight here so he’s in Houston for a few months coaching tennis. As sad as I was to learn that he would be leaving here, it’s been incredible to see how this place functions without him. I’m eagerly awaiting his return so that we can hang out and I can get to know him better but, until then, I’m enjoying the responsibilities that he passed on to us. The aunties and the older girls take care of nearly everything, and they are unbelievable with the children. The kids do exactly what the aunties say and you can see just how much respect they have for the older girls that have helped to raise them.

So those are the highlights from this week. Keep commenting and emailing friends!