Sunday, September 9, 2012

First week in Uganda


It has now been a week since I arrived in Uganda. I have had the most amazing, heart wrenching, seven days. I never knew my heart could be stolen and broken at the same time. It is a powerful, sometimes overwhelming feeling.
After arriving on Sunday, I spent the night in a hotel in Kampala (the capitol of Uganda). When I got to the hotel I met the other volunteers. It was a first time experience for me to be the only American in a group of people. The volunteers are from Australia, Norway, England, Canada, and Japan. I have met the most amazing people and have thoroughly enjoyed living under the same roof with so many different kinds of personalities. I already feel that I have learned so much from each one of them. On the five hour bus ride from Kampala to Fort Portal (where the volunteer house is) I fell in love with this land. Every single aspect of it. The mountains, mango trees, red clay, all the people going through their daily routines, the school children walking down the road in their uniforms. Everything. I wonder why I waited twenty years to come here!
On Tuesday I walked down to the school and met all the children and the next day I started teaching! The school consists of three little wooden buildings with three classrooms in each building. The floors are dirt, the walls are pieces of wood with cracks between each one, there’s no playground or gym….but the kids are SO eager to learn and appreciate every lesson. My classroom is the P1 level which is equivalent to about first grade in America. I have the privilege of getting to teach, play with, and love on fourteen of the most precious children I've ever met. About half of my students live across the street at the orphanage, the other half are from the village. After we have our English lesson each day we have snack time. The workers from the orphanage bring over a big pot of porridge (rice powder and hot water) and give each student a cup. Snack time is hard for me because the kids who come from the village literally lick their cup (and other students cups) until there is not one drop left. I know the kids who live at the orphanage are provided three meals a day, but I'm afraid most kids from the village don't eat much besides their porridge and lunch during school. The amazing things is if a child happens to have their own snack that day (usually a piece of bread) they will break off a piece for every student. They share everything. After snack is break time which consists of playing tag or hacky sack with a balled up trash bag with rubber bands around it. My heart hurts every time I notice anything like the trash bag hacky sack ball, but I have to act like things like that are normal because the kids here don't know any different. I think about the variety of toys I had to play with at their age and it makes me nauseous.
You are free to come and go from the orphanage as you please so I get to spend a lot of time with my students and the other orphans there. We play lots of soccer there in the afternoon, they absolutely LOVE it!  I also go the orphanage in the evening for prayer time. Prayer time lasts for about an hour and consists of singing, dancing, and prayer. Imagine witnessing sixty orphans thanking and praising God....I know I'm a lucky girl. When the children pray they don't just recite the same prayer all together, they kneel on the ground, bow their heads, close their eyes and each talk to God like they're talking to one of their friends. They all say their own prayer at the same time. The room is so full of love, it's impossible for it not to touch your heart. It is honestly one of the most moving things I've witnessed. After experiencing this and seeing how all the orphans are like a big family, it got me to thinking. Coming from a first world country to a third world country, you usually feel that if you could bring the kids home with you that they'd have a much better life. Until I came to Uganda I thought that too, but spending time at the school and orphanage has altered my viewpoint. These kids love each other, share with each other, and truly care about each other. They are so full of love, life, and Jesus. They talk to Him every day, multiple times a day. They are grateful for what He has given them. Kids who are raised in orphanages like this are the ones who are actually rich. The people in first world countries who would rather spend all their time and money on things just to benefit themselves are the ones who are living in poverty. Sure, in America we could give these kids a college education and lots of material things, but isn't faith, hope, and love worth SO much more? That's just a thought that's been heavy on my mind lately.
Africa is no longer just a picture in a magazine to me. Africa is Kaijuka, Jordan, OPuuli, Aaron...and so many more. Africa has faces now, and I will never be able to forget them. Not that I'd ever want to anyways.

xoxo
Carson
My home for the next three months!

My classroom

Precious little faces

Our first craft! They loved being able to use markers!

Some of the volunteers and myself during our hike to the crater lakes

Crater lake....a picture doesn't do it justice

6 comments:

  1. Carson,

    What an amazing way to begin the day! You are such a beautiful, faithful, and amazing young woman with a true servant's heart! I look forward to following you on your journey, praying with you and know this my friend...you have touched and are touching lives and changing lives that will forever have a ripple effect on those children and all who are fortunate enough to be blessed by your huge heart! ~ Enjoy the Journey! With Love, Art and Maggie LeBlanc

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  2. AWESOME! You are 100% right about who is actually living in poverty.

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  3. Carson,
    Wow! What a 1st week! I know that God is blessing you AND the children by your presence! I'm very proud of you. Know that I'll be praying for you every day!
    I love you!
    Aunt Cheryl

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  4. I am missing you sooooo much today. I wish I could just pick up the phone and call you (not that you would answer! Ha!). I am so proud of you and I love sharing your story with my friends. Kiss all those precious children for me. Next time I will be there with you to kiss them myself! Remember I am thinking of you all the time and love you very much! Mom

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  5. Hey Aunt Carson,
    It's me Madi and I just wanted to say hi and I love you a lot. I can't wait til these three months are over and you can love on me and tell me how your trip was. Please tell your students that your niece Madi said hi and I would like to meet them one day when you can Skype me. Call me soon. Love you A lot and next time you go one a trip don't forget me

    xoxo

    madison simspon

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  6. your friend Maggie you may not know cheated with art whom was my husband at the time..what a wonderful lying woman she is...has some people fooled...

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