We're here!

We made it! After 21 hours of smooth travelling, including a layover in the incredible Schipol Airport of Amsterdam, we arrived at the Entebbe Airport where Robert was waiting for us. We were happy to see that he brought one of the children, two year old Mercy, to greet us even though it was late at night. It was only a 5 minute drive home from the airport and when we arrived only a couple other children were awake.

Our first 2 days here have been an odd mix of comfort and chaos. Our room in the guest house is a great size and we have plumbing, a warm shower, a small kitchen, and a little library all in our house. I feel very comfortable with our living arrangement and the children have welcomed us with open arms. They are so fun and so full of energy. They go to bed early, around 7pm, because the malaria mosquitos come out once it’s dark so this means they’re up pretty early in the morning and have energy to run around all day. During the day, we spend 95% of our time outside and they are always ready to play.

As entertaining as this is, it is also quite overwhelming. We have 26 children that are 12 years old or younger, and a big bulk of them are 6 and 7 years old. On day one I felt like I’d never learn all their names, but after day two I’m feeling confident. Tomorrow will be a test though because every time they change their clothes it’s a struggle again. Aside from the fact that we have a set of triplets and set of twins, we also have about 32 of them, both boys and girls, with the same haircut. That makes it hard to know their gender, let alone their name. But I already feel like I’m developing relationships with many of them and I think I’ll have their names down in a week.

Another aspect of this transition that’s overwhelming is that we’ve heard so many great things about past volunteers and the lasting impact they’ve made on the Malayaka House, so a high standard has been set. Robert and Anna, a close friend of his, explained to us that the most important thing to do in the first couple weeks is watch the aunties and learn how things are done here. They have this place running like clockwork and it’s really incredible how they get everything done. They do all the laundry, make all the food, clean all three houses, bathe all the children, feed all the children, and they do it all so gently. I hope I can find a way to spend time with them without getting in the way. It’s even harder to learn their names and keep them straight because I feel like a fool introducing myself multiple times.

There is so much to say already and so much has happened in the last 2 days, so here’s a list of some interesting things:

- Hakim, the oldest boy (13 years old), has a farm at the house that he takes care of. He has goats, pigs, ducks, chickens, roosters, turkeys, rabbits, and some newly acquired pigeons (when we asked Robert about them he said he had no idea where Hakim got them).

- The older girls are busy everyday making jewelry, handbags, and aprons. They are incredibly talented and are hoping that this can develop into a business. Tonight they taught me how to make beads but rolling up long triangles of magazine paper, which they will later thread together to make necklaces.

- Today Evan and I read with some of the kids and they absolutely loved it. I figured that with so much going on at the house and us reading outside they would get bored quickly, but they had me read book after book and didn’t stop until lunch was being served. Many of them just learned how to read in the last year and they enjoy it very much. Robert told us that they sometimes punish the children by making them stay home from school because they love it so much.

- Every Saturday Robert’s friend Anna takes the kids on “safari,” which means either a trip to the playground, the park, the zoo, or the beach, then they go and watch a rugby match. She also takes the older girls to rugby practice in the morning. We’ll be doing this tomorrow, as well as going to the market that happens in town every Tuesday and Saturday. Anna is German and came here 2 years ago to volunteer but loved it so much that she stayed and now works for a local safari company.

- We were asking Robert about adoption and he said it’s not possible for him and the Malayaka House because he is white and people often assume that that means he is a human trafficker. This is unfortunate for the children here, but luckily his Ugandan friend opened an orphanage when Robert stopped taking new children last year and she has facilitated successful adoptions. Anna, who I mentioned above, has adopted a young girl from this other orphanage and now houses the two oldest girls from the Malayaka House so that they have their own space.

- Today we met Tonny, a very good friend of Robert’s who lives up the road. He has an undergrad degree in social work, but because no one here has money to pay for social work services he has begun farming, as well as assisting the Malayaka House in any way that he can.

- Robert just began employee a security guard for the house last month. Her name is Alice, she is very sweet, she works 7pm to 7am patrolling the perimeter of the compound, and she carries a rifle. There had been some minor issues of people jumping the fence and stealing from the house so Robert thought it would make everyone more comfortable having someone here awake at night. He hired a security guard who is a mother so that she is comfortable being here with the children and vice versa.

- Uncle Fran, a volunteer from Spain, arrived last night and he will be here for our entire stay. He’s been here twice before, once for 3 months and once for 6 months, so he’ll be a big help to us. The kids love him and he spends a lot of time building things for the house (tables, benches, chicken coops, anything).

I could go on, but that’s long enough for now. I’m sure I’ll have interesting updates about the weekend.