What a Week: Part 2

Day two: Thursday

I won’t spend too much time on details and I don’t have any photos, but on Thursday morning, Emily H, George and I got picked up at 8am by Job, one of our hired drivers, and began the 2 hour trip into Kampala to visit a couple of boarding schools for kids with special needs that were recommended to us. I have heard so much about the horrible institutions that you find here that I truly did not know what to expect. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. The first one was The Ugandan School for the Physically Disabled and it was a wonderful place. The kids were happy and well taken care of and the staff seemed to genuinely care for them. They also had a huge priority on giving these kids the independence to provide for themselves by teaching many vocational skills like leather making, beading, horticulture, etc. And, maybe, one of the best parts of this visit was that we were able to get our hands on the curriculum that they developed for their school, which is based on the British P1, P2 system but has been adapted specifically for kids with special needs in Uganda. This will come in very handy when we start up school at Ekisa…still a work in progress.

For lunch, we stopped at this little deli that has become a favorite for the Emily’s based on the fact that it has legit cheese and sits next door to the French bakery where we get chocolate croissants, among other things. I was sceptical about the cheese because most of the cheese in Jinja tastes like stinky feet but they had samples on the counter for the skeptic and I admit to doing a bit of an honest to goodness happy dance when I tasted it.

After lunch we headed to the Kampala School for the Deaf and were shown around by a woman from Canada. Canadians are few here, so that was kind of exciting. The place could actually be described as magical. The grounds were gorgeous; lush and beautifully laid out with many different buildings for the various skills they taught the children. There was also something about the signing; it’s beautiful to watch and created such a peaceful atmosphere. And to top it off, the three of us were given sign names by one of the teachers who worked with the deaf/blind kids after one of her students insisted on learning our names. Run your thumb and index finger down along the bridge of your nose…you have just signed my name.

All in all, a wonderful day.

Day three: Friday

I did something on Friday that I didn’t ever think I could do and there’s no reason to be poetic about it: I held down a live chicken with my feet, sawed its head off, plucked it and cut it up into the appropriate pieces…under Aaron’s tutorage. There were four of us and I was the last. The first one I could hardly watch, then the second wasn’t as bad, then I watched the third and by the time Aaron insisted that I do the last chicken, I think I was desensitized just enough and it actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be; actually, Aaron said I did “real” good.

I have put together a bit of a presentation, but it is not for the weak of heart as it includes a full video of the actual deed. Click here…if you dare… J P.S. If you are wondering what I was listening to in my headphones…Christmas music.

This day was capped off by a coffeeshop-style concert at The Keep featuring recording artists Josh & Tasha Via. They are friends of Pastor Terry and his wife Debbie and are in Jinja pending the adoption of their little girl. Josh shared a couple of songs with the church on a Sunday morning a while back and we were clamouring to find out who he was so we were super excited to hear that he was available on iTunes and that he’d be putting on a more formal performance with his wife accompanying him on violin. We got great seats on the couches, ordered some desserts and just chilled out to a combination of original music and familiar worship songs. It was such a great time of relaxation and fellowship and everyone agreed that the evening had a definite rejuvenating quality.

Part 3 coming soon…the zoo…