Interview

This is a link to one of the girls testimonies.  It's rather long but gives a really good picture of the life that these girls have lived.  If you don't have facebook email me and I'll send it.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1480140617#!/notes/megan-clapp/a-friends-story-of-being-abducted-by-the-lra/423998931606

New York

Got to New York just fine.  I fell asleep on the tarmac in France but woke up before takeoff.  Somehow I managed to miss the fact that there was a bomb scare and the terminal was evacuated during that time.  I didn't find out why we were late until I arrived in New York and heard other passengers talking about it!

I think no matter where you go you always have that moment when you realize that it’s over for the time being.  Your tan fades.  You go back to where it’s snowing.  Someone honks at you and you snap back to reality.

Last time I left Africa it hit me when I heard a little American boy shout on the airplane that “at least we don’t have to share the tvs like last flight!”  Bam.  Back.

This time the moment was more subtle.  I was neatly folding up the plastic cellophane wrapping that my fourth airline blanket of the day came in.  I thought of how kids in Kitgum make kites out of pieces of trash just like this.  And have a great time flying them.

I love it there.

France

Made it out of Egypt and I'm now in France.  After having to go through security here three times because of wrong directions and a general lack of screens showing flight gates, I'm finally where I should be and have an hour left until I journey to New York where I'll spend the night with Brian.  Catch you later!

It could be worse

Just learned that one family of 5 has been in this room for 6 days and another for 4.  Anyhow, our's is going through and we should be on the plane in an hour or so!

Flying home

So I made it from Uganda to Ethiopia to Sudan and I'm now sitting in Egypt.  Everything has been uneventful thus far.  I'm hoping to keep it that way.  It's now 4:30am my time and I have about 3 hours until my next flight to France... I'm not feeling tired, hungry, thirsty or anything.

However, I should be feeling all of the above.

Also, I'm not quite sure what's happening at the moment.  I'm transferring to a different airline so I had to get my bags but not get a visa for Egypt.  That didn't seem to go over real well but at least there were about 4 others doing the same.  Anyhow, I have my luggage and they have us in some kind of holding room and they took our passports and spoke a lot of Arabic.

Haha I'm not so sure what that means but I think it'll all be good.

So the girls at the Centre all woke up to say goodbye at 4:30 this morning thanks to Colline who went to each hut and banged on the door!  I'm going to miss them a ton.

Then made it safely to Kampala.  My cook Concy came with me on the bus.  She doesn't travel much so she wanted to pray before going.  It started like this - "God, please don't let me vomit like last time I was on a bus."  Haha anyway we made it vomit free the whole way.

Then got pick pocketed.  I stepped off the bus, stuck my phone in the side pocket of my backpack and took a few steps.  A guy pushed against me and lo and behold he stole my phone out of my bag and sped away.  I swiftly yelled to him that he was an idiot and to give me back my phone.  He did.  I think that's what Jesus teaches you to do in this type of situation?

Then caught up with Phil, Suzan and Silver in K'la and hung out with them all day.  Right now we're all hanging out at Suzan's house eating the wonderful cake that Concy made for me to take back to America (sorry mom and dad, I don't think it would have made it in one piece).  Tomorrow I have some errands to run, chilling to do and a plane to catch in the evening.  Then starts my trek home.

Good byes

I hate goodbyes.  I've never been very good at them, I get all kinds of nostalgia about the past, how the kids will change, how things won't be the same next time I come etc.  The group of girls that has been living at the Centre while I have been here has been amazing, each in their own way.  Whereas last time only a few who spoke English well told me their whole stories, this time many of them wanted to talk, either through a translator or broken English.

So today I spent the day doing all my last minute bonding time with the children and girls.  I bought soda for them for dinner which they ended up quarreling about because 3 kids didn't get one.  It left me feeling crappy that it caused a problem instead of just being fun.  But they quickly made up for that when they started with the goodbyes and thank yous.  I swear if I was told I am beautiful and that I'm loved half as much in the State's as I was today I'd be a different person!

After about an hour of that they decided to escort me to my house.  So 25 of the women and I walked across the compound.  Scratch that.  25 women carried me like a rock star in a crowd to my house.  It was hilarious, I've never laughed so hard.  After some more time they began to go back to their beds but some lingered around to have private conversations about the future etc.

It was a good day. One of the girls said she wants just a little piece of my heart in hers.  I realized that so much of my heart already is in Kitgum.  I love feeling so at home here.  I'm going to miss it so much.


Last minute prayer requests:
Electricity!  My phone battery is almost dead, my computer is almost dead (I have an internet modem) and the only ATM in Kitgum that accepts my ATM card wasn't functional today.  Thus, I am now unsure how I am going to pay for my bus ticket to Kampala at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

I'm lying under my mosquito net, listening to dogs barking, a cow mooing and Shania Twain playing far off in the distance.  I am in serious denial about leaving here in less than 36 hours.  Fortunately, I do believe that I will be coming back here, and soon I hope.  When I tell people I'm in university they're either shocked that I'm old enough or shocked that I haven't finished yet.  I'm not sure why I can never be my age, but I don't mind.

I spent today figuring out all kinds of last minute things in preparation for my being absent.  The scholarships should be able to run smoothly from here on out, at least I'm praying for that outcome.  It has also been hectic trying to see everybody, and I really enjoy sitting with people, talking, or just being silent together but being in a rush is not conducive to such long conversations.  However, I'm blessed that I have had plenty of time for this in the past weeks.

Today the kids all got new shoes and bounced around the compound all day with them.

Making Peace

Sorry about the frustration of my last post, it was a knee-jerk reaction from being protective of the girls here.

The fact is this could have been anyone unfamiliar with the situation asking such questions in a moment of excitement or anxiety from hearing such extreme stories.  I know she was just doing her job trying to hear from different categories of women that are here at the Centre and she may not have known how well they understand English.  She made a mistake and caught me on a day that I was feeling incredibly protective since I am soon leaving here and I want them to be in the best possible condition when they return to their own communities in two weeks.

That being said, I'd love to hear all the things that I've messed up by saying in the past!  I'm sure I would be horrified!

Frustration

So there's an American woman who came to visit today from an NGO.  Working with an NGO you would expect them to be extremely sensitive to the cases that we're working with here.  Instead she asked things like "when you were trained by the LRA, did you ever fight in a battle?"  Here that question would be comparable to asking a soldier you don't know if he killed people during the war. Or maybe even worse because the people the child soldiers were forced to kill here were from their own communities.  That's not a question for the general public to know.

I was embarrassed after that one but it got worse when she requested to have one more testimony "from the one girl with HIV/AIDS"  She asked plenty loud enough for everyone, including the only girl here who has AIDS to hear clearly.  Everybody looked at her at which point she had to leave the room because she was crying from being labeled as "that one girl with AIDS."  It took her 5 weeks to tell  me her story, she wasn't about to do it for completely strangers.

If you're ever in a situation like this, in the States or elsewhere, talk with people beforehand and find out what's appropriate in the culture before humiliating whoever you are talking with.

Today was interesting.  The man who donated the funds for the New Life Centre came to visit from the States.  He's an older man  but he is active and loves the Lord. Two other Americans came with him for their first time.  It was fun to see their reactions to the activities here - they laughed and cried.

The girls did a great job with entertainment and such.  We had testimonies, dancing, singing, devotions, relay races and netball.  Good times.

One of the girls, Brenda, told her story today.  Her father is a drunkard and has beaten her for years.  Growing up she had to work for relatives in order to pay her PTA fees for school (about $5 a term for primary).  And when she'd enroll her father would beat her and tell her she was wasting her time because she'd never succeed, but she went anyway.  The father even held her at gunpoint at one point in his anger.

The first week she was here she told me that she'd love to go back to school.  She graduated Primary and wants to pursue secondary.  Brenda asked again today (she doesn't know that she's already on the list).  I asked her what her father would say about her continuing her education.  She responded very matter-of-factly "he'll beat me."  The desire this girl has for an education is incredible.  While we're hoping her sister will allow her to move in with her so she can avoid the abuse of the father, it's telling that she would be willing to be beaten so she can go to school.




I'm beginning to get sad because people are starting to talk about how I'm leaving on Sunday.  I could stay here longer. I love the community so much, I feel so at home here.

Frozen Water

New game!  Put ice in a kids hand and watch their reaction.  It's hilarious, especially when they eat it and scrunch up their little faces.

Aber and Avatar

Aber.

I've created a new game I like to call Weird Kids out with American Things.

For instance, you show a 3 year old a video clip of their mom on your computer and watch them run behind the screen to see how she got in there.  Show a kid a full sized mirror.  Let them play with a faucet.  Teach them the chicken dance.  Put their picture on the projector.

Today I put Avatar on for some of the kids.  None of the moms were around so I had no help with translations but they were asking me so many questions about the movie.  I have no idea what they asked but I assume it was something like "why are these people blue?"  or "is this real?" or "is this what people look like in America?"  I would have loved to know.



On to a more serious note, one of the girls, Janet, called her husband from my phone today.  He abandoned her while she was pregnant with her daughter, Aber (meaning, "Beautiful).  She called to ask him to pay the school fees of Innocent, her 5 year old son.  When they finished she told me a bit more about him.  I knew from before that he had cheated on her and gave her and her (then baby) daughter AIDS.  She told me today that "he likes women too much."  That all he does is go from woman to woman.  This man knows that he has AIDS and yet he has sex with as many women as possible.

Should this be illegal?  If a man knows that he is infected should he have to inform the women before he sleeps with them?


Janet then explained how worried she is about her daughter's future and that her only hope is to go back to school for tailoring to make a bit of money for school fees etc. since she's often too tired from being sick to work in the fields.

She's actually on our list of girls to receive a scholarship but she hasn't been informed yet (as we're trying to avoid jealousy among the girls), I'm praying that she can use this boost to lessen her fears of failing her kids.

updateee

This week has been really busy.  The donor who paid for the New Life Centre to open is coming tomorrow to see how things are going.  I'm working on making a video of all the staff and girls etc.  I love video editing but I don't have the software I like and it has taken ages to compile.  On top of that we're still cranking out work on the scholarships!

So here's an update:

The woman who went into labor last week is STILL waiting.  The pains have been on and off and since she lost a lot of fluid they want her to remain in the hospital.  She's going a bit stir crazy, says if it doesn't come by the end of the week she's running away!  She doesn't speak any English so one of the other girls translates for me.  When I leave I always say to her stomach in Acholi, "Baby, come here today!"  Hasn't worked yet but I'll keep trying.

We have 41 girls who are set to start primary, secondary or vocational schools!  I'm extremely happy with how well things have gone.  I never expected my tiny "these girls should be able to go back to school" to work like this, way to go God.  I'm also working on writing up stories about them to send to all those who supported this.  I'll mail them out once I get home!

In other news, one of our kids fell and split his forehead open today :-/

Speaking of kids, I absolutely love all of the kids at the Centre, I would stay here just for them.  I'm pretty sure you may have gathered that from past posts but I'm not sure if you know how much I enjoy them.



So during the day I think of all these things I want to post about and then I sit down to write this and I have nothing.  


Oh funny story, two of my friends were laughing about how short my basketball shorts are that I wear to bed here (I was hanging my laundry).  I explained that they are actually long shorts compared to most.  They were astonished that we wear something that exposing, that we "don't respect our bodies."

I then made mention of the fact that we would never step outside of our bedroom without a shirt on.  (In the villages women can sit outside of their house without a shirt and there are moms breastfeeding everywhere you go.)  I was reminded of our Africa introduction session before I came here last time when they said "knees are the boobs of Africa."

They laughed so hard by the fact that we consider a woman's chest to be private, that even if breastfeeding women use a blanket or something to cover.  I don't think I've ever seen them laugh so hard.  Ohh culture, you're a funny thing.

Stories from the Bush

Today was pretty intense.  I've been working on this video for the Centre and decided to interview two of the girls about their experience when they were abducted.  I was expecting for them to be timid in discussing it, especially with the camera around.  But they talked without pausing for well over a half an hour each.

The first video of a girl named Coline starts out with "When I was abducted they forced me to lie with my Uncle's son as husband and wife in a field of sweet potatoes.  After that I was given to a very old man.  When I complained to the elders, they dug a deep hole and put me in it.  When that punishment was over they caned me."

I have no idea what they said during most of it (I'll have the rest translated tomorrow) but with the little I know of the Acholi language I could decipher some of it.  One of the girls used hand motions that universally mean somebody's head was being cut off.  She used this reference on multiple occasions.

They both kept a completely strait face the whole time.  Didn't show any weakness.  It wasn't until later in the afternoon, when the cameras were off, that I saw Coline crying.

How is it already July 21!?! 

Health

So one of the girls at the Centre was taken to the hospital with labor pains on Sunday.  It seemed that her water broke.  Buttt she's still there and hasn't given birth.  In the US we'd induce labor in about 12 hours but that's risky here since if inducing doesn't work they need to do a c-section.  So, it's been 48 hours - no baby.

Just be praying for her, the chances of infection for her and her baby are much higher now.

Oh and there are two hospitals in Kitgum, the government hospital has run out of sterilization equipment, AKA if anyone needs any kind of invasive treatment they can't get it.  They also have no doctors on most of the wings.  Their sonogram machine is broken.  And if someone breaks something they can't get a cast because the plaster thing doesn't work anymore either.

Never complain about our healthcare, regardless of our problems we have state of the art equipment and facilities.

Church

So I got a call at 6:40 this morning from my cook Concy.  "Meg - are you coming to church?"  "I'm in bed Concy"  "Me too but I'm coming to get you."  I usually go to church at the service that's held on our compound but Concy always asks me to come to hers.  So I got out of bed today and headed out with her.

Thankfully for me, the early service is in English so I understood both the songs and the sermon - which I think is a first... ever.  So we jumped, danced and "ayayayayaed."  The church has a ton of people from FH, three of the pastors are coordinators at FH, the guy playing the keyboard is the guy that washes vehicles and cuts the grass, three people in the choir are on staff and the charismatic man leading worship is the quiet office assistant who sweeps and makes tea.  Lots of others are also members.  It's fun to see them in another context

So I sat there really enjoying the service, even with the small kid who sat next to me and just rubbed my arm to see if my color would show up on his hand.

I'm on the way to the orphanage now!

Peace

My name shall be _________ today.

I have mastered the fine art of responding to any western name that people yell to me when I'm walking down the road.  There aren't very many white people in Kitgum and many people tend to think we're all related.  Even my boda driver always tells me about how he saw my sister somewhere in town.  And people are convinced that the two other Americans and I at Food for the Hungry must be sisters.

Anyhow, I walk down the road and I hear kids and/or adults yell various names (besides the typical "Munu!").  "Erica! Erica!"  "Monica! Monica!"  "Chelsea! Chelsea!"  Since it's harder to explain (especially to kids) that I am not in fact the white person they know, I wave and ask them how they are.

On another note, all the kids at the Centre have stopped calling me Munu and now call me Meg.  It's fun to walk   around and hear little voices yelling my name.  I want to bring all them all home.

School and Pretzels

It's a beautiful thing to have so many young women interested in pursuing formal education and vocational training.  I've been amazed by the way they've reacted to the possibility.

If I had life my way I'd fund schooling for each of them, their children, their siblings, everyone.  In the whole world.

I am trilled by the number of girls we will be able to send, but it's hard knowing that we can't reach everyone.  Right now we're trying to make some sort of waiting list.  It's hard to look at the stories of each of these girls lives.  Each one needs assistance, so how do you narrow it down?  Do you make someone wait because only one of her parents was murdered in the war and accept the total orphan?  Each person has been through so much.  Each deserves this.

So we're working through these lists and other things - and we're making progress!  I'm really encouraged by the work we've been able to do.  I feel quite comfortable with the people who will be guiding this project once I leave.


I also invited the interns to come and make soft pretzels tomorrow morning!  I have no idea if we'll be able to do it.  I've never made pretzels and we don't have measuring cups.  Haha I'll let you know how it goes.