The birthing clinic is just one of Natalie's projects in Uganda. She also started a women's group who meet on the grounds of Bishop Asili Clinic (they will move to the Shanti Uganda site when it is finished - hopefully by the end of March). The group consists of 26 women, chosen out of 600, ranging from 24 to 60 years old. The women are HIV+, some are grandmothers who are raising their grandchildren, others are younger woman - some of whom are pregnant, all on ARV treatment (drugs an infected person can take to control and lessen the effects of HIV). Prior to this women's group they were living in extremely challenging situations with little hope and essentially this group has given them a new start on life in Uganda.
The women were trained by other women in Kampala on the art of rolling recycled paper into beautiful beaded jewelry. Remember all of the beaded jewelry I sold last year through BeadforLife (over $6,000 worth)...these are the same exact beads, just made through a different group of women in Uganda. Other women in the group were trained on creating beautiful patchwork bags/purses. Natalie sells the beaded jewelry and bags back in the US and Canada for these women (mainly at different festivals/markets) and the women also sell locally. Natalie makes sure everyone is paid equally each week and created an economic group so the women learn to manage and save their money. With training they used the proper resources to help them get our of their current living situation, improve their nutrition, health status, and prepare for the future of their lives and their children's. After 5 years the women will graduate from the program, receive a certificate of completion and a new group of women will transition in.
After talking with Natalie we went to Bishop Asili Clinic to meet these beautiful, successful women. They greeted us with a vibrant song and dance, an amazing welcome banner decorated with beads, and listened to a current midwife talk to the women about the risk of transmitting HIV onto their children and their current birth practices (all translated to us by Julius - Natalie's Ugandan project manager - he runs the show for Shanti Uganda when she is back in Canada). They served us a traditional Ugandan lunch of potatoes, greens (sort of like spinach), matoke (mashed bananas), rice, beans and G-nut sauce. This meal became our standard meal while in Kasana - I believe we had it 6 times total and came to know it very well by the end of our time there:). We were then split into groups where we learned to roll the beads - Yes, I finally learned to roll the beads! I was very excited for this as I felt a special connection to this project since selling this jewelry served as a major fundraiser for me over the past year!! It is not easy to roll the beads - very tedious and challenging - yet the women of course make it look so easy. We were able to financially support them by purchasing their jewelry and bags.
We taught gentle yoga to these beautiful women, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. It was fun, although challenging when it was my turn to lead the poses, especially with the language barrier. But just demonstrating the postures and encouraging them to try - sharing a smile, a gentle touch of assistance, and a nod of encouragement - brightened their day and mine.
That evening we split into groups of 5 and were invited into the homes of some of the women from the group for dinner. My group went to Babyire's home - a young mother of 4 children. Her 3 sons live with their grandparents - as she explained they are receiving better opportunities there and her 10 year old daughter lives with her. She does not have a husband. We were dropped off in her village and greeted by many, many children running up to us - smiling, some calling us "mzungos" (term for a white person), giggling, reaching their hands out to greet us. I was feeling torn here, as I have felt on many parts of this trip so far - I don't want to be looked at by the locals as "another white tourist" or a spectator or someone who just wants to take pictures of them - but what I have learned is these children and families rarely, if ever have people like us come to their village. It's an honor to them to have us (as it is an absolute beyond an honor to be there), the children love having their picture taken and being shown the picture on your camera afterwards, they love playing with us and just looking at our white skin and our "loose" hair. I am still reluctant at times to take out my camera - as I truly want to capture everything, but I keep reminding myself when I am taking pictures of the mothers and their children, of their homes, of their environment it is coming from a place of compassion, understanding, curiosity, not of sympathy and pity.
Babyire's home is a one-room concrete structure with a simple fabric curtain separating the living area from the bedroom. Dinner was prepared on a tiny charcoal stove outside her home and was beautifully displayed on a small table in the living area. We sat on mats with our legs underneath us. Her neighbor, Moses, a 23 year old artist, joined us for dinner and acted as our interpret or. He spoke English fairly well and took the conversation off on a tangent towards the end of the evening about his born again Christian religion. Yes, it was a bit awkward but yet it's all about embracing all of the experiences, right? Her extremely polite daughter left her friends outside playing in the dark to join us for this delicious meal. As I was sitting in Babyire's home I kept telling myself to absorb every moment...be in the present moment....take it all in. Traveling through Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Kenya, and Tanzania the curiosity always arose in me wondering what the homes looked like inside. Again - this curiosity isn't come from the sense of I want to see it so I can pity them or for a comparison to what we have at home -it comes from a sense of curiosity so I can truly empathize and understand where they are coming from. Dinner was a truly delightful, yet humbling experience. You can hear the giggles and squeals of children outside her curtain door, the dim light of her cell phone (yes, I did find the irony in that) allowed us to see each other's faces, the food on our plates, and the simple exchange of smiles added a sense of comfort to the situation. We were all so grateful for this experience. Babyire repeatedly thanked us and I of course kept shaking my head saying it is me who is thanking you for inviting us into your home, to witness/see your world, your life, your family - it is you who worked so hard to present us with this wonderful meal - thank you doesn't even begin to express my gratitude for this experience.
I have learned a lot about the Ugandan culture since we have been here and it has definitely not made men out to be the most likeable human beings in Uganda. But the men we worked with to build Shanti Uganda were inspiring and I believe we inspired them. It was bitter sweet when the men came running after our bus when we left the Shanti Uganda site that day. The men in Uganda are stereotypically "horrible" to women....but the men we worked so hard with to build Shanti Uganda were invested, supportive, generous, open, hard-working - so it just goes to show there are exceptions to every rule:).
Before we left Kasana we were invited to Natalie's and her partner's Nick's house for lunch. This is where we presented her with the suitcases full of donated items for the birth center we all collectively brought from our respective homes. It truly comes to show when people come together for a purpose the world can change.
I was trying to resolve the inner conflict going on in my head as we drove back to Kampala on Thursday afternoon. I was feeling guilty for looking forward to our warm hotel showers, clean clothes, a bed that I am "okay" to sleep in with my sleepsack (for those of you that don't know me I have this unexplainable fear of beds), a meal other than carbs......how can I be looking forward to all of this when we just witnessed people living without electricity, running water, clothes to cover their children or even themselves, shoes for their feet, schools for their children, a husband to love and to care for their children? I understand this is their lifestyle and what they are accustomed to....but how does one not feel guilty to return to an air conditioned hotel room? Yes, it does make me appreciate what we have - bottled water, clean clothes, a hot shower, a toilet that flushes. In talking with one of group leaders she helped me resolve this conflict in my mind - I am not pitying these people, but I have compassion for them and I am here for service. In order for me to keep continuing to provide for those in need I need to sustain myself - If anyone else has any others words of advice, guidance please feel free to share.
The women were trained by other women in Kampala on the art of rolling recycled paper into beautiful beaded jewelry. Remember all of the beaded jewelry I sold last year through BeadforLife (over $6,000 worth)...these are the same exact beads, just made through a different group of women in Uganda. Other women in the group were trained on creating beautiful patchwork bags/purses. Natalie sells the beaded jewelry and bags back in the US and Canada for these women (mainly at different festivals/markets) and the women also sell locally. Natalie makes sure everyone is paid equally each week and created an economic group so the women learn to manage and save their money. With training they used the proper resources to help them get our of their current living situation, improve their nutrition, health status, and prepare for the future of their lives and their children's. After 5 years the women will graduate from the program, receive a certificate of completion and a new group of women will transition in.
After talking with Natalie we went to Bishop Asili Clinic to meet these beautiful, successful women. They greeted us with a vibrant song and dance, an amazing welcome banner decorated with beads, and listened to a current midwife talk to the women about the risk of transmitting HIV onto their children and their current birth practices (all translated to us by Julius - Natalie's Ugandan project manager - he runs the show for Shanti Uganda when she is back in Canada). They served us a traditional Ugandan lunch of potatoes, greens (sort of like spinach), matoke (mashed bananas), rice, beans and G-nut sauce. This meal became our standard meal while in Kasana - I believe we had it 6 times total and came to know it very well by the end of our time there:). We were then split into groups where we learned to roll the beads - Yes, I finally learned to roll the beads! I was very excited for this as I felt a special connection to this project since selling this jewelry served as a major fundraiser for me over the past year!! It is not easy to roll the beads - very tedious and challenging - yet the women of course make it look so easy. We were able to financially support them by purchasing their jewelry and bags.
We taught gentle yoga to these beautiful women, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. It was fun, although challenging when it was my turn to lead the poses, especially with the language barrier. But just demonstrating the postures and encouraging them to try - sharing a smile, a gentle touch of assistance, and a nod of encouragement - brightened their day and mine.
That evening we split into groups of 5 and were invited into the homes of some of the women from the group for dinner. My group went to Babyire's home - a young mother of 4 children. Her 3 sons live with their grandparents - as she explained they are receiving better opportunities there and her 10 year old daughter lives with her. She does not have a husband. We were dropped off in her village and greeted by many, many children running up to us - smiling, some calling us "mzungos" (term for a white person), giggling, reaching their hands out to greet us. I was feeling torn here, as I have felt on many parts of this trip so far - I don't want to be looked at by the locals as "another white tourist" or a spectator or someone who just wants to take pictures of them - but what I have learned is these children and families rarely, if ever have people like us come to their village. It's an honor to them to have us (as it is an absolute beyond an honor to be there), the children love having their picture taken and being shown the picture on your camera afterwards, they love playing with us and just looking at our white skin and our "loose" hair. I am still reluctant at times to take out my camera - as I truly want to capture everything, but I keep reminding myself when I am taking pictures of the mothers and their children, of their homes, of their environment it is coming from a place of compassion, understanding, curiosity, not of sympathy and pity.
Babyire's home is a one-room concrete structure with a simple fabric curtain separating the living area from the bedroom. Dinner was prepared on a tiny charcoal stove outside her home and was beautifully displayed on a small table in the living area. We sat on mats with our legs underneath us. Her neighbor, Moses, a 23 year old artist, joined us for dinner and acted as our interpret or. He spoke English fairly well and took the conversation off on a tangent towards the end of the evening about his born again Christian religion. Yes, it was a bit awkward but yet it's all about embracing all of the experiences, right? Her extremely polite daughter left her friends outside playing in the dark to join us for this delicious meal. As I was sitting in Babyire's home I kept telling myself to absorb every moment...be in the present moment....take it all in. Traveling through Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Kenya, and Tanzania the curiosity always arose in me wondering what the homes looked like inside. Again - this curiosity isn't come from the sense of I want to see it so I can pity them or for a comparison to what we have at home -it comes from a sense of curiosity so I can truly empathize and understand where they are coming from. Dinner was a truly delightful, yet humbling experience. You can hear the giggles and squeals of children outside her curtain door, the dim light of her cell phone (yes, I did find the irony in that) allowed us to see each other's faces, the food on our plates, and the simple exchange of smiles added a sense of comfort to the situation. We were all so grateful for this experience. Babyire repeatedly thanked us and I of course kept shaking my head saying it is me who is thanking you for inviting us into your home, to witness/see your world, your life, your family - it is you who worked so hard to present us with this wonderful meal - thank you doesn't even begin to express my gratitude for this experience.
I have learned a lot about the Ugandan culture since we have been here and it has definitely not made men out to be the most likeable human beings in Uganda. But the men we worked with to build Shanti Uganda were inspiring and I believe we inspired them. It was bitter sweet when the men came running after our bus when we left the Shanti Uganda site that day. The men in Uganda are stereotypically "horrible" to women....but the men we worked so hard with to build Shanti Uganda were invested, supportive, generous, open, hard-working - so it just goes to show there are exceptions to every rule:).
Before we left Kasana we were invited to Natalie's and her partner's Nick's house for lunch. This is where we presented her with the suitcases full of donated items for the birth center we all collectively brought from our respective homes. It truly comes to show when people come together for a purpose the world can change.
I was trying to resolve the inner conflict going on in my head as we drove back to Kampala on Thursday afternoon. I was feeling guilty for looking forward to our warm hotel showers, clean clothes, a bed that I am "okay" to sleep in with my sleepsack (for those of you that don't know me I have this unexplainable fear of beds), a meal other than carbs......how can I be looking forward to all of this when we just witnessed people living without electricity, running water, clothes to cover their children or even themselves, shoes for their feet, schools for their children, a husband to love and to care for their children? I understand this is their lifestyle and what they are accustomed to....but how does one not feel guilty to return to an air conditioned hotel room? Yes, it does make me appreciate what we have - bottled water, clean clothes, a hot shower, a toilet that flushes. In talking with one of group leaders she helped me resolve this conflict in my mind - I am not pitying these people, but I have compassion for them and I am here for service. In order for me to keep continuing to provide for those in need I need to sustain myself - If anyone else has any others words of advice, guidance please feel free to share.
Danielle, you are very reflective and incredibly selfless. I am so, so proud of you and your journey. I think it will take time to process all of this...what you have seen, what you have done, who you have met and how you have helped.
ReplyDeleteMD is soooo sweet. You are on the other side of the world and he sends you flowers. Very, very thoughtful.
Miss you and our talks. Can't wait to hear about it all in person.
BTW, Tim busted his knee (probably tore his MCL) on Monday riding at Keystone. Interested in some rehab PT work when you return? :)
Hugs!