Akwata Empola Atukawala

Children of Uganda Contestance

2010-07-14T23:51:00.000-07:00

Grove Library Project

2009-06-01T15:39:00.001-07:00

I've been back for some time now and getting used to the American lifestyle, and missing Uganda every waking moment. I have not posted since my return because I am no longer 'Sarah-in-Africa' but I figured because my heart is still there, I would start posting again.

The elementary school I am working with in Illinois did a book drive for the children at Sabina and raised so many books to send. Enough for each child at our school in Uganda to have their own book to keep. Below are some pictures of the books being passed out to the children. It was an incredibly successful project on both ends.

Mweraba, bambi mweraba

2008-11-12T04:28:00.000-08:00

Two years ago, I packed my bags full of items I thought I would need for my peace corps adventure. The things I carried with me included my oboe, laptop, music, clothes and random necessities I though I would need. I packed unknowing what was in store for my life. Two days ago, I packed again but this time I stuffed my bags full of gifts received from the amazing people I have grown to love in what now seems to be a very short time. Over the past 2 weeks friends, coworkers, students and parents of students have given me 2 suitcases full of beautiful hats, painting skirts ect. to “remember Uganda.” As if I could forget! In addition, the Sabina staff threw me a surprise-going-away party which included so much food made by all of the aunties and dancing until I though my feet would fall off. They even prepared luwombo, a dish only used on the most special of occasions. Yesterday, as the kids sang and said their goodbyes, I wept with them as they were into their 4th song only a few kids were still able to sing as the rest had succumbed to sobbing. Before moving to Ssanje, Uganda, I have never before felt such acceptance into a community of people despite being such an obvious outsider (white skin?). The people of Sabina and Ssanje have warmly welcomed me into their homes through hospitality unmatched anywhere in the world. I know it is time to come home but I will miss Uganda forever. The constant perfect 80 degree weather, the abundance of fresh fruit, the monkeys and the beautiful people will of course be missed as I walk through Chicago in freezing weather. As Jon Kabat-Zinn sad, “Where you go is where you are,” and I will be happy where I will be living with my old roommates from college, living near my family and friends, being around for important events, but I’m still not sure if I will ever be able to readjust to the cold. Freezing is possibly one of my worst fears now. If freezing is the worst, then I guess I’ll be okay. I just might wear 3 coats at the same time for a while. It’s been a hard two years, although ‘hard’ does not begin to describe the challenges I have faced here, but I guess what they say is true, Peace Corps is “the toughest job you’ll ever love!”

Before I come home, my friend Hannah and I are stopping to tour Egypt, Jordan and Israel for a month and will arrive state side for Christmas and Becca and Jason’s wedding. I do still hope it’s okay with them if I wear a parka over my bridesmaid dress. This will probably will be my last blog from Uganda so I will leave you with some more pictures. Thanks again for all of your wonderful support through this crazy adventure.

Nkwagala nnyo!

One last hike to Katanjovu, a local hill/mountain with some of the students (i'm the white girl)

Machue and Teddy reading in the library.

Peter, our librarian teaching students in the library.

Playing volleyball at my going away party with some Sabina staff members.

Dancing the night away at my party with Sabina teachers.

A trip to the Library!

2008-10-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the now fully completed library. The walls are painted, the 5000+ books are all labeled, categorized and catalogued, and the building is ready for learning. The grand opening will happen tomorrow and we are excitedly getting ready. We have invited district officials, teachers from Sabina and the other schools in the area and some community members to the opening to make them aware of the library and present the programs we will be offering to them. Our committee for the library has now met 5 times and all of the members are so enthusiastic about the library and creating great programs for the students here as well as the community. Their enthusiasm and dedication have made me so sure that the library will be put to the best use possible. If I do have to leave (and I do) it’s so good to know that the library will be in great hands. Also, Amy, our new Peace Corps Volunteer who is replacing me, is already passionate about starting programs for the community.

The final countdown to my departure has begun; I’m only left with 13 days which is harder to believe than anything. I can’t believe that I have made it all the way to the end! I’m trying to take time to say good bye to everyone before I go. Yesterday, one of my women’s groups I have been working with organized a goodbye party for me. They sang and danced for 3 hours and I was tearful the entire time. They kept thanking me for everything I have done for them, but I couldn’t make them realize that it was I that should be grateful for what they have done for me.

Hope you are all well, and I’ll see you soon!

Everybodys goin' surfin!

2008-09-30T06:48:00.000-07:00

I’m typing this entry from Ssanje village inside the library and I will post it within minutes because we now have internet access. Yes folks, internet in the village. Because COU is an international organization we are in constant communication with the head office in Kampala as well as the COU headquarters in the states. This means we were having to go to Kyotera (25km crowded car ride away) to try to find internet. I say try because after you cram your self into a tiny car with approximately 10 other people you most often times arrive when the power is off or the internet is not working. If it does work, you have to pay so much money to use the very slow internet. This resulted in much money, time and energy being spent in traveling back and forth all the time. The solution was to bring the net here! Currently it is just for COU employees but further along we will be able to offer it at a rate to community members along with the potential for computer classes. For now it is saving us so much time and even money! This new development is so exciting for all involved, especially the kids who love to look up information through good search or on wikipedia. The world wide web has just become even wider. All the way to the village.

The library with solar power and a very long antenna for recieving internet!

Mikwano gyaffe

2008-09-11T02:19:00.000-07:00

tarzan, swining on a rubber band!

Becca E. and me at the nile...at least we are not in de-nile!

Becca Evans came to visit what seems like just days ago, but as I am writing this blog I am now realising that she has actually been gone for a long time. She was able to come visit for 3 weeks at the begining of August and we had so much fun enjoying spending time with the amazing Children of Uganda students, running around Uganda seeing warthogs, swinging on vines, climbing trees, sleeping next to hippos....the list could go on for 5 pages! Her time here was so much fun and really reminded me yet again how incredibly blessed I have been to have so many wonderful family and friends, or friends and family or just family as my friends are my family and my family are my friends. :-) To have my family and two Beccas come visit has meant more than I can possibly even begin to describe. All my other "support staff" sending letters and packages have been equally brilliant and absolutely wonderful. I know maybe I have said it before, but I love you all so much! Thanks for everything!

Painting

2008-09-01T02:42:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy these days at COU with all the new projects. One of the most exciting things for me is that we are very close to being ready to open the Library, or the Ssanje Community Resource Center which is the official name. The solar system is running beautifully and the children are studying every night in the space. The shipment of books arrived in Ssanje last week and we have been sorting, catologuing and shelving all of the books. The books were donated by a wonderful church in Washington DC. Most books were novels, but they also sent so many valuable reference books. With the money we have left over from the budget of building the library we are going to buy books printed in Luganda and Swahili so the children can read in their original languages.

I have been painting the walls with educational and fun murals with the help of some older students.

A semi-to-scale map of the solar system behind the massive amount of books we now have:

A giant map of the world:

"The giving tree" the leaves are names of people and organizations that gave to the library, zoon in and try to find your name!

Sash, another PCV's creation inspired by one of my favorite books:

When we were finished, we had a lot of paint left so we decided to redo some very old dirty paintings on the walls of Sabina and make fresh new paintings which represented COUs missions

AIDS awarness and care, a design colaboration between staff and visitors: This one is designed by Mugalula, a COU seconday student, and is his representation of the importance of protecting our environment: We also put up a few fun pictures. The one below depicting the Ugandan Crane was done by visitors to COU. The gates to the home:
Thats all I have time for today. Love you all!

Enjoy the day!

Rafiki!

2008-08-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are some more photos from Kenya, sorry it took so long, but as always, slow Internet.

Our trip started out with a very long overnight bus ride to Nairobi where we got to stay with one of Hannah's friends. We stayed there for two days, and we were constantly surprised by the amount of development in the city. They had street lights everywhere and actual malls with stores resembling Barns and Nobel and even Starbucks! My favorite part was when we got to go to the zoo and pet a cheetah! I was only slightly terrified that he would want to eat my hand for lunch.

After Nairobi our group headed to Mombasa for one day where we toured Fort Jesus located on the coast.

The Mombasa harbor

In stead of using motorcycles the main mode of transport here was the tuk-tuk, so much fun! See small yellow vehicle in picture below beside Hannah and Courtney. Fort Jesus is a Portuguese fort built in 1590 by order of King Philip II of Spain (King Philip I of Portugal), then ruler of the joint Portuguese and Spanish Kingdoms, located on Mombasa Island to guard the Old Port of Mombasa, Kenya. The fort was built in the shape of a man, most likely Jesus, hence the name. The people building thought the shape out help them to protect themselves more. Outside of the fort....and Courtney and I inside the fort pretending to be guards, you know you would be scared of us! We then headed up the cost to the Gede ruins just north of Mombasa. Gede is an ancient, mysterious place which has no record of existing in history except for the ruins of the old castles. It was suspected that it was a place which the elite of Kenya went to hide away, mafia perhaps? Estimated to be built in the 13th century, their palace was complete with running water. Something my village in Uganda doesn't even have today. Below is Hannah and I at the old entrance to Gede.
One of my favorite parts of Kenya were the boboa trees which were giant and everywhere.
After Gede we went further north to the cost where we were met by our lovely friend, Abdala who brought his boat to drive us to the island of Lamu. Abdala is the cousin of the brother-in-law to professor Gearhart, a professor I had at IWU. He showed us around the beautiful island and introduced us to his friends. Because it has been used as a trading island, it has become a wonderful mix of Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic and Swahili cultures all together in a beautiful mixture. The island is rich in stunning art work with exquisit detail like the door in the picture below. Traditionally, the Swahili culture takes pride in their entryways to their homes and most people make intricate carvings for all of their doors. Besides the wonderful people and places, the food was also increadable, I had forgotten how much I love seafood. Also, at almost every meal we enjoyed delicious juices (mango, papaya, coconut, pineapple, avocado ect.) We thought that transport could not be any better than the tuk-tuks in Mombasa, but we were wrong as the main mode of transport on Lamu was......donkeys! They only have 3 vehicles on the whole island and everyone else gets around on donkeys.

We spent a week on this amazing island enjoying the ocean, food and friendly locals. Abdala had us over to his house one night for a crab feast where we got to meet Dr. Gearhart's lovely family.

(Dr. Gehart's brother in law and wife , me, Courtney, Catherine, Hannah and Abdala)

We spent one whole day in the best way possible, on a sail boat. They have dows you can rent for the day complete with an amazing crew and we even got to go fishing! Don't be to jealous Dad, we didn't catch anything. Pinto our captain let me help pull in the anchor! Lisandro and I on the boat enjoying the water.

We sadly had to leave, but I know one day I will go back to Lamu. If anyone wants to go, just let me know and I will tag along.

Hakuna Matata in Kenya

2008-07-30T02:41:00.000-07:00

Jambo, Jambo mwana, hakuna matata!

I'm writting this to you after a 24 hour bus ride from Mombasa to Kampala. Am I grumpy from the long hours being squished on a stinky, and very cold bus? Nope! Thats because I finally got to go to Kenya! I have been trying for so long to make it to the island of Lamu, as many of you remember I was going to go with a course during my days at IWU but the trip got cancelled 3 times so I decided that since I'm living in Uganda I had better make it to Lamu once and for all. I went with Hannah, Courtney, Lisandro (other PCVs in Uganda) and Cathrine (Lisandro's friend from home). We stopped in Narobi,then Mombasa and spent most of our time on Lamu an island off the northern coast of Kenya. The island completely surpassed my expectations. It was more than beautiful with it's sandy beaches, over friendly residents and with the main mode of transport being donkeys, how could you not love it? I promise to write more later and post more pictures, but for now I need to go get ready to go pick up Becca Evans from the airport!!! Thats right, another visitor! Yipee!

Me on the beach at Lamu on the Indian Ocean.

Our last night on Lamu we had a happy birthday to me celebration dinner of crab, lobster and fish on the beach.

Carrots and solar and conservation, oh my!

2008-07-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

These days we are facing rather imposing and terrifying world problems: peak oil, global warming and ozone layer destruction. This is only a beginning of a list that could continue for miles. Endless problems that seem to be heading towards inevitably grim outcomes which often times causes us to stick our head in the ground, feeling hopeless to make any difference. Along side of providing care and education for orphans and vulnerable children in Uganda, COU is stepping up to the plate to begin combat against the incoming and present food crisis. For the past three weeks the staff at COU have been making plans with the guidance of expert permaculturist, Rosemary Morrow towards ways to improve our land by increasing food production and decreasing waste. This program was brought to COU by one of our fabulous board members, Jan Smart who had the vi son to make a huge difference in the way we use our land. I am so ecstatic with the opportunity this has brought to the home. The children are learning how to reduce our waste and how to separate that which they do create, better water conservation and a better method of farming the land. Already Sabina Home is running on solar power and without showers and washing machines there is not a lot of water wastage. The biggest problem we face is littering and pollution through burning of black plastic bags which seems to be ubiquitous to Uganda. The children at Sabina (and myself) are buzzing with excitement of the new trash bins which they use to separate organics from plastics. They scold each other when waste is put in the wrong container and delightful continue to as questions about what is organic material. Vegetable gardens are being planted in a small part of the 106 acres that belong to Sabina Home. Other plans for the land include; planting fruit trees, starting cassava plantations and even possibly creating a land conservation area which will provide a home to indigenous animals and plants as well as to provide and educational spot for many students. The goal behind planting all the food is to improve the nutrition of the children in the program and to reduce the budget we have to allocate to feeding of so many. If all goes well we will be able to feed all children and staff of the land we have. Mpola mpola (slowly by slowly) we are coming up with long term, environmentally friendly solutions to a few of the new problems. This program has already made lasting, positive changes in the home. These are exciting times!

To see our permaculture blog please go to www.childrenofuganda-permaculture.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Mom

2008-07-07T03:20:00.000-07:00

Quick update: The library is coming along great! We just got the solar lighting installed which means the kids are now able to study at night!!!! We are still awaiting the arrival of the books and finishing up details on the painting and then we will open! (wow, that was an extreme use of exclamation marks, sorry!) I promise to post photos later.

Love!

PS. Happy (early) Birthday, Mom!!! Love you!

Jangu, tulye!

2008-06-20T03:56:00.000-07:00

A flower I found by my house, bonus points to anyone who can identify it for me.

Six months! I only have six months left in Uganda! It seems surreal to think that I am already 3/4ths done with my time with Children of Uganda. I’m still so glad to be back in Rakai, the clean air, the friendly people, the kids, people who know my name instead of just ‘muzungu’ life just seems so much better here. I know that I am always writing about how wonderful the people are here don’t think that I’m blind to the problems. Uganda, like anywhere in the world, has many cultural and governmental problems. The worst of which centers around corruption. Instead of dwelling on tose problems I try to think about how amazing so many other things are. One of the most greatest things that I have found here is the incredible hospitality of the people. Every time I walk through town I get approximately 8 offers to eat food. I walk along the road and hear people call to me “jangu, tulye!” (you come, we eat!). Usually I have to pass up these generous offers as I am pressed for time or already full of the giant amount of food that has already been served to me. On the few occasions I take time to eat with my friends, the conversations had and bonds formed are always bountiful. It’s inconceivable how they can offer me (someone who to them seems to be incredibly rich) so much of their own food. This is a habit I want to bring back with me when I come home, although I think that people might think I’m a bit crazy if I’m sitting on my front porch and yell to a complete stranger that they should come and eat my food. My activities recently are just the same as always. I’ve been spending a lot of time in the library trying to paint some murals with the help of other PCVs and our older students we have done a map of the solar system, the world and a few fun art murals.

Still doing home visits everynow and then and odd jobs here and there to help out COU in anyway that I can.

(me and a super cute baby I met during a home visitation)

In my spare time I still find that my best Ugandan friends are the kids who are ALWAYS at my house. I'm trying to turn a few into guitarists....

This is a picture of my attempts at becoming a master chef. Far from master, but at least I can kind of cook things that don't come out of a box! Lisandro and I made homemade pizza on my stove! It actually tasted great, and no one got sick from food poisoning!

I’m running out of internet time (as always) so I’ll say….

HAVE A SUPER DAY!

Love you!

New Number

2008-05-15T23:46:00.000-07:00

ATTN ALL!

In hopes to have better network in my village I'm switching my number, again. Please find the number listed on the right.

Q: What does this mean for you?

A: You should call me! :-)

Peace!

If I had a hammer...

2008-05-15T03:27:00.000-07:00

I moved back to Rakai last weekend with the help of Lisandro and was enthusiastically greeted by my neighbors, townspeople and children. We spent the weekend baking and, with the help of some of our COU students, prepared a multi-course-thank you meal for Debora (COU Rakai home administrator), Father Edwards and Father Jaja (the two priests I live with). To bake here you have to fashion a 'Dutch oven' from three pans placing three stones on the bottom of one giant pan with your batter in a smaller pan and the remaining big pan on top creating a seal and a space for the warm air to move around. You place it on top of a charcoal stove and as long as you can keep the fire lit, you have a make-shift oven.

We also got to spend some time washing the walls and windows of the library to get it ready for painting. We were assisted by professional washers, COU students Rita, Gorretti, Daisy and Agnes.

but then we had to stop and take a break for a little bakasimba (traditional Ugandan dancing)
Agness loved my emergency rain poncho and of course some silly picture time...
Doing building work is really one of my most favorite activities. There is something so satisfying about seeing the work done when you are finished. This is in opposition to the results you get from other work that is not always visible ie. teaching, learning, playing your instrument. Don’t get me wrong, teaching is very rewarding, as is performing, but it is just nice to every so often be able to step back and say, ‘yes, I painted that whole wall!’

Sash, another PCV who is an amazing artist is going to come over next week to help me paint a giant world map and some of our vocational students are already working on designs for some big murals. Will keep you posted on the progress.

Love and peace!

Ngenda Kudayo!

2008-05-06T22:57:00.000-07:00

Hello! Things are quite busy as I am trying to finish wrapping up some projects here in the head office before I head back to the village on Friday. Yes, that’s right folks; I’m going back to Rakai! The new Country Director for COU is in the office and is absolutely fabulous. She has so much potential and I just know she will help COU in so many ways. When I get back to Rakai I will begin to help paint the newly finished library and then organize and get it ready for use. The opening date is now estimated to be June 1st. I can hardly wait to see this project come through to completion. Then begins the exciting business of starting the book clubs, reading projects, and English and literacy classes.

This past week I got the pleasure of going to visit another PCV in Uganda. One of my most favorite things to do on the weekends is to go visit other volunteers around the country. Seeing the way they live, what they are doing and just having fun commiserating about our challenges. I’ve gotten to visit all the girls in my group a few times each and a few other volunteers from the other groups. As always in life, it is good to see that other people are struggling with the same things you are. It gives you perspective and ideas on how to cope with your own problems. Also, finding humor in the challenges makes your heart feel so much better about everything. I mean, I have always known this, but it’s just good to realize life lessons over and over again.

The downfall of returning to Rakai is that I will not have internet, electricity or toilets. All of these things are okay with me; just don’t expect me to reply quickly to e-mails. Also, packages and letters can be sent to the old address in Kyotera.

Take care and keep me updated on your lives.

Peace and love!

Sarah

Splish, splash, I was washin my clothes!

2008-04-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

Even after one and a half years of living in Uganda, I still find it a challenge to do my wash by hand. I scrub, and scrub, and scrub and the clothes still don't seem to get very clean. When I was living in Rakai, I would do my wash every Sunday accompanied by a group of girls from our primary school. We put on music and have a rocking time dancing and washing. I try to chose a different group of kids each time and am often bombarded with requests to be chosen to help me come clean. Kids here love to clean and because they do, the average Ugandan can do their laundry approximately 100 times faster than I can even attempt to do. Despite my lack of talent in this task, I find myself enjoying the ever present task of scrubbing my clothes. You use far less water and the only energy you waste is your own.

The other day, Melody (a volunteer from Canada) and I brought our clothes outside to begin washing. We were preparing ourselves for a couple of hours of work ahead of us.Almost before we could get the buckets in place to begin, four of our COU high school boys came over and demanded that they could help us. Thats right, highschool boys, demanding to help, without being asked!

Serenjerogi rocking the washing.

We tried to tell them that we were very capable and could do our wash, but they insisted, so we had no choice but to permit them to help.
The wash was done in under an hour and we had a blast trying to help the boys as they made our clothes smell as fresh as the day we bought them.

Melody looks on as the boys show us how it's done (really, we did do some work!)

It's days like this that I find myself absolutely loving life here. Not because I didn't have to do much work, but because of the kindness the boys showed us. It is yet another example of how service to others seems to shine through in so many people here :-)

Since I am able to get so much internet these days I thought I would post some more random photos:

Sabina School, P4 class

Goretti, me, Flavia and Bena listening to music.

Lisandro and his very curious neighborhood kids.

Till next time! Happy end of April!
Love and peace,
Sarah

This is Just a Tribute

2008-04-14T03:28:00.000-07:00

Our PC group, Nov06 Swearing in Ceremony at the Ambassadors House

Amanda, Hannah, Brett, Courtney, Me, Christina

Tiffany, Erin, Alexis, Jess, Nora, Carrie May

This blog is a tribute to my Sep06Uganda group. Peace corps is a job unlike any other. You apply not knowing which country you will be going to. You go to the country not knowing what kind of organization you will be working with. You go to work at your organization and are usually the only American for a radius that always seems just a bit to big. They say it is the toughest job you will ever love. Toughest is a light word… We struggle against/with cultural differences. We combat worms and intestinal parasites. We spend a lot of our time camped on public transport, twisting our bodies into shapes we never thought possible all for the cause of fitting that extra goat or chicken into the already crowded car. Yet, most of the time, we love the job because of so many reasons. When I came to Uganda in September 2006, I came with a group of 12 extraordinarily strong women. We are now a group of 7 as some have decided to leave the Peace Corps and return to America. First Nora, then Alexis, Carrie May, Tiffany and most recently, Jess who left Uganda for various reasons, but will never leave our hearts, nor the heart of the communities they worked with! They have given so much to their organizations, their communities, Uganda and to me. Their positive (and sometimes, but as equally appreciated sarcastic and realistic) attitude has helped me get through on so many occasions. We have grown so, so much together: two months of training, learning how to ride bikes in skirts (Alexis), learning how to use the impossibly small facilities (Nora), learning how be alone and still have ‘fun’ (Carrie May), learning how to be okay with talking to the lizards (Tiffany), learning how to open bottles with out a cork screw (Jess) the list could continue for miles. They will forever be part of our small, but mighty PC group and part of my heart. I love you girls, get ready for visits from me in the states starting January 2009!

Happy Easter

2008-03-30T23:15:00.000-07:00

So, I may be a little behind on wishing you all a very Happy Easter, but I am in Uganda and am getting very ‘used’ to running on ‘African’ time. Also, we have been soooo busy here. By here, I mean Kampala. I am still living at Kiwanga helping out in the head office for COU. This will probably be until mid May when I will head back to Rakai. Perks of this is electricity and……..INTERNET! We have internet in our offices so I now have access to intermittent (and very slow) internet. At least it is internet. I’m sure not complaining! So yes, this means you can all send me tons of e-mails with lots of details on your lives (hint, hint) until May when I shall return to Rakai and the land of no internet.

Easter flew by but I did take time to stop and dye some Easter eggs with the residence of Philip’s House which was a blast. Philip’s Home is a part of the COU program which provides children who have physical and learning disabilities with shelter, food, care and education. Many thanks to my Grandma Norma who sent some Easter Egg Dye! Side note: thanks so much to everyone for all the packages and letters. I am still astonished by the love I see from everyone and can’t mention it enough. I have never stopped to think about the yearly ritual of dropping eggs into colored dye, but after trying to explain it to the kids here I realized how silly it seems to someone from an non-easter-egg-dying-culture. None the less, I still love this tradition and the kids all had a great time.

This past weekend COU got the opportunity to participate in the first “Festival of Hope,” an event held at the Sheraton hotel in Kampala. The office staff has been very busy in preparation for this but it paid off as we were able to make very many useful contacts. The dance troupe got a chance to perform and they did so well! I am still constantly amazed by their ability to always pull of stunning performances. I, on the other hand, am still trying to learn how to shake my body. My teacher (the children) are great, but my coordination, I am afraid will never allow me to become a professional bakasimba-er.

That’s alllllllllllllll for now folks! Have a super day!

A few old I thought I should post

Kids at Sabina

Becca Marsh and crew came in January to help with the construction of our library.

Sweet home, Ssanje village

2008-03-06T23:54:00.000-08:00

To anyone who is still checking the blog, my apologies for the very long delay in updating. We have been so very busy in the head office of CoU that I have hardly had time to think about things other than schools, children, paying salaries and databases. As I mentioned in the last blog, I have temporally relocated to Seeta (15 km east of Kampala) living and working in Kiwanga, CoU’s other home. The Children of Uganda’s head office is now located there and I am helping out in this time of transition. Things are going well and I am very optimistic about the changes this organization is undergoing. Once the changes are complete, I know that it will create a better environment and better learning opportunities for the children. Not that things were bad before, but as time moves forward, so is required of every organization. I’m doing many activities to try to help CoU some of these include: organizing letters to sponsors, updating our database of children’s histories, finding schools for secondary students to attend, running around Kampala looking for a number of things, today it was papers to apply for tax exemption.

Like I mentioned before, I am missing my village, but really, really, really enjoying the intermittent electricity. I will be staying in Kiwanga until mid May and then back to the Rakai home to finish out my service, which is done in November. I’m planning a trip with a couple of other PCVs to see some of the seven wonders of the world before I arrive home but we hope to back state side by December 23^rd, just in time for Christmas! I have no doubt that I will have plenty of things to keep my very busy until then. Opening the library will take a lot of work, but will be very much worth it. I am so excited for it to be complete. Then I have a visit in August from the amazing Becca Evans, so I’m sure time will fly.

Last week, I got the fantastic opportunity to travel to Rakai to stay at my home for 4 whole days! We are preparing for a visit from a team of doctors from Baylor and so I had to go organize the files for every child in our program at the home in Rakai. While this is not the most exciting work, I enjoyed every minute of my time. I was a bit nervous that the people in my village would have forgotten about me and would have reverted to calling me a muzungu again. I have been away for a month and co-workers at Sabina home have told me that the people in the community thought I had gone back to the states. I was so relieved when I was greeted by the people and small children with shouts of, ‘aunti salah’ (that’s how they pronounce my name), ngo buzze, kudi kayo! (you have been lost, welcome back). Even all the taxi drivers in Kyotera, a town 30 km away from my village, remembered who I was and where I stay. When I arrived at Sabina home, I was dog-piled by 50 very excited children who all tried to jump into my arms at the same time. As painful as this was, I didn’t feel the bruises until hours later as I was so happy to be ‘home.’ The children all send their greetings and love to everyone in America.

I hope you are all well and enjoying what I hope will soon be spring. Its still consistently, amazingly warm here. I guess that’s what you get for living on the equator.

Love and peace!

Sarah :-)

new address

2008-02-06T00:21:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone! I am temporarly moving to Children of Uganda's Kiwanga Home in Mukono to move there to live and work for a couple of months, so I will now be very close to Kampala (and very far away from Rakai) until May. I am struggling to be so far away from my ‘children’ in Rakai, but loving the electricity. We are so busy in the office, but I know (hope) all the hard work will pay off soon. Because I am far from Rakai, if you want to send letters or packages between now and May you should send them to:
Sarah Cowan, PCV
PO BOX 27613
Kampala, Uganda

I hope you are all well! Take care.

What is A Dollar Worth?

2008-01-20T06:37:00.000-08:00

This is a story of one of the 667 students sponsored by Children of Uganda. She wrote this herself to share with you.

“My name is Mariah I am 15 yrs old, I study at Wits College Namulanda. I finished my primary level at Mother Kevin Primary School in Mukono district. I am now gone to S.4
a candidate class and I hope to get a first grade. I came to Children of Uganda when I was 5 years old after both of my parents had died of AIDS, I did not understand why life was like this. But now when I am with Children of Uganda I am okay. I love Children of Uganda because it has provided school fees and requirements for me and I am receiving love from Children of Uganda. I now have many brothers, sister, aunties and uncles here at COU. I hope to graduate from Secondary School and go onto university to become a journalist.”

COU takes on the awesome responsibility of caring for orphans and vulnerable children through providing school fees, living requirements and most importantly, love. These children would not otherwise have the opportunity to study. They would not have the opportunity to become what they want to be. To no fault of their own they have been left less fortunate than many. COU needs your help in order to care for these amazing children. They have a sponsorship program where you can be paired with a child and your money will go to putting that child through school. COU also accepts straight donations. If you are interested in sponsoring a child, please go to http://www.childrenofuganda.org/ or if you want to give a donation please do so at the same website, or you can donate through the facebook group. Every little bit counts. No gift is too small. I have compiled a list of items COU purchases every term (except for items marked with a * which are a one time purchase) for each student to show you how far a little bit can go.

Daily Living Requirements
Item- Cost to Buy in Uganda - Amount in US Dollars
Toothpaste: 1000 Ush - $ 0.58
Soap for Bathing: 1000 Ush - $0.58
Soap for Washing: 1000 Ush - $0.58
Vaseline: 2000 Ush - $1.17
Sanitary towels: 2000 Ush - $1.17
Shoes: 15,000 Ush - $8.82
Shoe polish: 2000 Ush - $0.58
Shoe brush: 1000 Ush - $0.58
Razor: 1000 Ush - $0.58
Suit cases*: 20,000 Ush - $11.76
Bed sheets*: 20,000 Ush - $11.76
Blankets*: 15,000 Ush - $8.82
Mosquito net*: 35,000 Ush - $20.58
Mattress*: 40,000 Ush - $23.50

Scholastic materials for secondary school children
School Uniform: 40,000Ush - $23.53
Books: 4000 Ush x 4 - $0.41
Black books: 2000 Ush - $0.58
Calculator: 30,000 Ush - $17.65
Graph books: 1500 Ush - $0.88
Reams of paper: 8000 Ush - $2.05
File: 3500 Ush - $2.06
Text books: 15,000- 30,000 Ush - $8.82 - $17.65
Pens: 200 Ush x 4 - $0.47
Pencils: 100 Ush x 4 - $0.24

Scholastic material for primary school children
School uniform: 15000 Ush - $8.82
Exercise books: 4000 Ush x 12 - $28.24
Pens: 200 Ush x 4 - $0.47
Mathematic sets: 1200 Ush - $0.70
Pencils: 100 Ush x 4 - $0.24

So, $10.00 can buy 166 pencils.
$20.00 can buy 9 exercise books.
$50.00 can buy 6 text books.
$100.00 can buy 12 school uniforms.

One by one, we can change the world!!!

Tis the Season of Visitors

2008-01-20T06:19:00.000-08:00

Cowan family at the source of da nile.

This past month I have been very blessed to receive many visitors. My mom, dad and sister came to Uganda in December followed by Becca M. and 4 of her friends in January. They spent many days at my village as well as touring around Uganda and seeing the sites. It was my first time to try my hand at being a tour guide and although challenging, it turned out to be quite fun. The trip was quite the role reversal as my parents are usually the one with all the money, car keys and decision making power but as this is now ‘my home’ I was the one taking the responsibility. It is wonderful to be able to share this experience with loved ones from home. They can attest to the truth in my stories of Uganda that may seem outlandish to those who have not traveled here. They climbed into a small car with 10 other people and 5 chickens. They went to meetings starting 5 hours late. They ate the rice and beans and lived without a real toilet or washing machine. It was a rockin good time, and I miss them so much already. I think that you should all come visit, Uganda is not that far away. Haha, but seriously, anyone is welcome to Enyumba wa Sarah and experience Uganda through the Sarah Tour Guide Company.

kimu kimanyi

2007-12-13T00:39:00.000-08:00

I would like to share with you a story about fate, or perhaps coincidence. Which one it is, you can decide.

A long, long time ago, I was in third grade at Empire School. Our school choir performed two songs in Showtime, and if you are from Freeport, you know what a big deal this can be to a third grader. Showtime is an annual Freeport tradition of song and dance lead by Jeff Lehman, the choral director at the High School. Sparkles and lights adorn the event and tickets always sell out so it is about the closest thing to stardom in the little town of Freeport. So you can imagine, as a third grader, you feel like pretty big stuff performing up on stage for so many people. We were to perform a song that we had to sing in two languages, one was English and one was a language none of us knew. We were told the foreign words matched the meaning of the words in English:
One thing I know,
Everybody has a seed to sow.
Let your heart of hearts take you down the road,
Everybody has a seed to sow.

This song became stuck in my head for many years. As I become older, the song became very meaningful to me. It became an inspiration to me to find out what my ‘seeds’ were and where I should ‘sow’ them. Eventually, the song stopped playing on repeat in my head and I had almost forgotten about the tune until a few months ago when I received phone call from my parents. My father started the conversation by telling me that I would never guess what song they sang again at Showtime this year. He said it was the song about seeds and then sang (or attempted to sing) part of it for me. It was the same song that I had sung so many years ago. Once again I found myself frequently humming the tune. I was singing the song, trying to remember what the foreign words were and was surprised when the ones I could remember sounded a lot like Luganda. Luganda is the language they speak in the Buganda region of Uganda and it is also the language I am trying to learn, so I thought perhaps I was just putting in new words. About a week later I was at the orphanage cutting pineapples singing the song when one of our university students stopped me and asked how I knew the song. I told her the story and she starting laughing because it is, indeed, a song in Luganda:
Kimu kimanyi,
Buli muntu twasiga ensigo.
Omutima gwo wa gulu ngamye,
Buli muntu twasiga ensigo.

If you are unfamiliar with Peace Corps, when you apply to become a volunteer they can place you anywhere in the world. For me, they chose Uganda, and I ended up living the Buganda region. I think that Luganda is probably spoken by 0.6% of people in the world. So to me, having a song be my theme song growing up, and to then have it become part of my life as a grown up is a very moving realization. Much more than coincidence, it shows me that my entire life has led me here to this moment. Just another piece of evidence, that we are all part of a grand design.

Except for the university students, most of the kids here didn’t know the song so I got to teach them something in Luganda which everyone found very surprising and humorous. This is a video of my third and fourth grade students singing the song.

one year!

2007-11-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

One year! Can you believe it??? I’ve been at my sight working with Children of Uganda as a PCV for one year! That means I have one year left. 365 days to complete my service then I’ll be back home. At this milestone in my service, I have been taking time for reflection on the year past and the year to come. Trying to recap a years worth of moments is a daunting task, especially when it has been a year like this one. When attempting to sum it up I think that Jonathan Larson got it right when he taught us all that the only way you can measure a year is in love. Love from my support staff aka my family, friends and community in America through letters, phone calls, and delicious packages. Love from my host family who still sends me text messages to see how their “daughter” is doing. Love from the community members in my village through their smiling faces and endless greetings. Love from all of the children I work with. They really just ooze love. I’m not sure if it is actually possible to ooze love, but if it is, these kids can do it. They ooze it always and it inspires me every single day to try and be the same way. All of this love has kept me here. Why else would I leave the comfort of my home, leave my job and living/house situation in the hands of others, leave my family and friends? The answer, love. And maybe stubbornness. Hopefully it’s the former rather than the latter.

Even with all this inspirational love and signs from God, this is still the hardest thing I have ever done. I still miss America, snow, good food and you all like crazy! So keep up the calls and letters, please!

Love, love, love you!

Katonda yebale!

2007-10-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

So many things to tell you about and so little time….

We will start with the good. Library funding is complete! Thanks to all of you, we have surpassed the goal and will even have extra to put towards building upkeep. The building is going up and is looking fantastic. I promise to keep you updated as it is built and will send pictures when it opens. Thank you is not enough express my and the children’s gratitude to everyone who gave or helped to raise money.

Last Saturday, I organized a HIV/AIDS awareness and testing day in my village of Ssanje. They have never done something like this before in my community so it was a bit nerve-racking planning such an event. There is a lot of negative stigma here associated with HIV so we weren’t sure if anyone would come to get tested. We had a post test club (group of people living with HIV/AIDS) drama group some to perform songs and a drama about getting tested followed by whole day of free HIV/AIDS testing. The day was sponsored by a great friend of COU, Mike Oppenshaw. We ended up having a great turn out, about 300 people showed up to see the drama (see picture). The stage was made by some pieces of material and poles stuck into the ground, but the message was great and I believe it was a success. There were 65 people who tested, which maybe doesn’t seem like a lot to you, but for a village where testing is looked down upon and feared by so many, this is a great number. Some people I work with in Ssanje were estimating that perhaps 10 would show up to get tested. So 65, not to shabby.

A very bright note is that I got a light bulb in my house!!!!!!!! One fabulous, bright, illuminating light bulb. It was put in two days ago and already has made such a difference in my life. The priests I live with put a solar panel on their house and asked if I would like a light for my room. Would I like a light bulb. HAHAHA, YES! In the midst of a country that is struggling to find development, and working with an organization that is struggling to keep going, a light may be rather insignificant, but it has brought me so much joy.

Children of Uganda is going through some major changes right now. The children are in need of all of your help financially. COU is providing loving care for over 700 orphans and vulnerable children. There are so many children who depend on us to provide necessities for life as well as love for their souls. Please go to www.childrenofuganda.org to donate if you feel inspired to do so.

I hope you are all well.

Love, love, love,

Sarah

Children dancing along with the songs about HIV/AIDS at the testing day.

to cool for school, a kid who showed up to the drama performance was fascinated with my sunglasses.

Rwanda!

2007-09-30T02:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday marked our one year in country mark and celebrated it in Uganda. 12 months down, 14 to go. We just got back from vacation to Rwanda. Some of you might be thinking, but Sarah, didn’t you just go on a vacation to the US? Yes, yes I did. However, when you are from American and try to live in a “developing nation” you need breaks! Also, we wanted to celebrate our anniversary of being in Uganda and of course, to see Rwanda! Rwanda is a fascinating and inspiring nation. I want to share my experiences there with you, so here is my attempt to put down in written word out experiences. First, I feel it is necessary to share with you a little bit of the history of Rwanda, primarily focusing on the genocide. While the genocide is not the most important thing about Rwanda, it is so important to know about.

“When they said ‘never again’ after the holocaust, was it meant for some and not others?”
-Apollon Kabahizi, in reference to the Genocide in Rwanda.

1994, Rwanda was torn apart when the Hutus attacked the Tutsis. What caused this to happen, no one is exactly sure, but I will share what I learned at the National Memorial in Kigali and in talking to the Rwandans. When the Belgium came to Rwanda in the early 1900’s, they brought many great things; improved science, education, roads and health. However, they also helped increase the divide between the Hutus and Tutsis. They grouped all Rwandans into Tutsi vs. Hutu by the number of cows a family owned. More than 10 and you became a Tutsi, less than 10, a Hutu. They made identity cards and made it a requirement for every Rwandan to carry them around. They then gave power to the minority Tutsis. This ignited a spark in the Hutu people. They began to resent the Tutsis and envy their power. Fueled by propaganda spread through a local radio station RTLM, the genocide exploded on April 6, 1994 after the death of the ten president, Juvenal Habyarimana. The Hutu men, women, children, and in some cases even nuns and priests, took up guns and machetes. They had one goal in mind, ethnic cleansing. They wanted to get rid of all of the Tutsis. The UN pulled out of Rwanda and the rest of the world turned their back with almost 1 million Tutsi and Tutsi sympathizers were killed. The RPF (Rwanda Patriotic Front) led by Paul Kagame finally succeed in regaining power. The UN came back dn red cross also stepped in to set up refugee camps. It was to late, as the Genocide was already over.

Today, 13 years after, you would hardly know of the terror that shook the small nation. The streets of Kigali are so clean and the people so warm and inviting. The only give away that something happened are the memorials set up in almost every village and the weariness in the faces of the people. After peace was restored, a survivor, Yolande Mukagasana said, “There will be no humanity with out forgiveness. There will be no forgiveness without justice. But justice will be impossible without humanity.” They have worked so hard to turn their country around and have greatly succeeded. They take care of their land and buildings better than any other country I have seen. They even have a holiday ever last Saturday of the month just for cleaning. Once a month, the whole country shuts down and no one can do any work except to clean their homes and town! I love that!

Rwanda is called “the land of 1000 hills, but really, it seams as if there are 10,000. The whole country is hills. I was sitting next to a Rwandan who had never been outside his country and it was so hard for him to believe me when I told him there were places that don’t have any hills at all.

We spent eight wonderful days doing all sorts of tourist stuff. We went to the National Memorial, the Butare National Museum, Nyamata church (where 10,000 were killed while hiding under the promise of safety from their priest who gave them up). We traveled through the Nyungwe forest and saw so many Colobus Monkeys. I felt just like Dian Fossy! Then we went up to lake Kivu for some little R&R time by the lake. I love the rhythm of Rwanda! The movement of the animals, the walk of the women carrying one to many things and the singing. Oh, the singing! Everywhere we went, people were singing. Men canoeing across the lake, women on the bus, mothers and fathers out in the fields, children learning to count, all singing! If you don’t believe me, check out the video clip! All of us were sad to leave beautiful, happy Rwanda, but I am excited to be back in Uganda where I can understand almost every other word (as opposed to none!) :-)

Have a great day!

Love you and miss you!

-Sarah

shot takin out the window, sorry its blurry

A beautiful Rwandan woman carrying: a baby (on her back), suitcase, water can, woven mat, sack of potatoes and a sack of beans. This woman is hard core!

Courtney, me and Jess at the entrance to Nungwe forest.

Courtney, Sarah, Daniel (our Guide) and Jess, getting ready to go monkey trecking and being Dian Fossy

Colobus monkeys in Nyungwe forest

Milles des Collines, land of 1000 hills

2007-09-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

Hey! Writing this from Rwanda just to check in and let everyone know that I am here and having a blast in this amazing country. Courtney, Jess (two other peace corps volunteers) and myself are taking a vacation from PCV life and visiting Rwanda. Our phones don't work while we are here, so if you have been trying to call, this is why you can't get through. Despite all their trouble in the past, this is by far one of the most breath taking places I have ever been. I don't have time for a real update, so here are a few pictures, more to come later, I promise :-)

Love you all!

Dancing to the music

2007-09-01T05:50:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Happy September! I can’t believe that it is already this late in the year. In a place where seasons never change, it is hard to keep track of or even have a sense of the time of year. I am used to summer bringing warm weather, a break from school and the camping season. Fall bringing crisp weather, falling leaves and the ever present return to school. The cold of winter bearing Christmas cheer and holiday delights. With out these changes, I find it hard to grasp the coming and going of time. At the end of this month will mark my one year in Uganda and November 29th will be the end of my first year of Peace Corps service. Gosh! Time does fly. The days are long, and nights even longer but the months have just melted away.

The children at my school are on holiday vacation so the dance and music training for the tour has started. They have selected a group of 40 children from the two orphanages (Sabina and Kiwanga) to train for this month and will eventually weed it down to a group of 20 who will tour to the USA in May and June of the upcoming year. Look for the tour schedule at http://www.childrenofuganda.org/ (you can also find information on how to sponsor a child from our program on the websight). I hope to go with them as a chaperone/tutor/stage manager/groupie/pre-concert discussion facilitator. Two months in the USA, hardly the typical Peace Corps experience, but I think 22 months in Uganda is plenty of service! Right now, I am hanging out with the kids at Kiwanga (the other orphanage in Children of Uganda’s program) during their training. The kids are working so hard, everyday I am amazed by their dedication and passion for dance. They wake up at 6am to run for one hour, return and do chores until 9, eat breakfast, rehearse from 10-1 eat lunch, rehearse from 2-7, eat dinner, then more rehearsal from 8-10 or 11! The kids rage in age from 5 to 17 and are working on perfecting their skills in traditional Ugandan dancing, singing and drumming. It’s going to be a rocking show, you don’t want to miss it.
I will travel back “home” to Rakai sometime next week and actually am looking forward to being back in my village. I miss the people there. It’s a great feeling that they are my “people” now. However, I still miss my people in the USA like CRAZY! But, such is life. I just have to keep remembering how lucky I am to have so many amazing people in my life to miss…

Love, love, love

Sarah

Humor

2007-08-21T01:23:00.000-07:00

Hey friends! Just a quick post of pictures that I have taken at various times of random things or events that happen in Uganda which probably would not happen in America.

Women waiting for a meeting to start. Meeting was scheduled to begin at 10, did not start till 2. Their solution was to sleep.

Seriously?

No tent, no walmart, no problem!
Jess, Laura and I wanted to go camping, so we improvised and used our mosquito net.

Pig outreach.
Actually, I was just reading, and Mr. pig also wanted to learn.

Ostriches that attack. There is a place by my house where you can "ride ostriches." We tried to do so, but they were not tame, and I think this one in the picture was trying to eat us. Needless to say, we did not end up riding.

Child size bike?

Jajas

2007-08-16T01:20:00.000-07:00

As I was sitting in my ‘House” this morning drafting this blog, I turned by IPod on shuffle play and “An American in Paris” started to play. This made me laugh out loud as I wondered what the music piece, “ An American in

Uganda

” would sound like. There would be many differences one being that instead of the trumpets and oboes imitating car horns they would have to shout things like, “muzungu!” or “give me money” or “you are my size” (the most common pick up line in Uganda, although I am not sure that it ever works). This is an old picture, but its one of my favorites and I wanted to put it on here. These are three of our students listening to classical music on my ipod.

My schedule has been keeping me on my toes these days. Children of Uganda has been getting many short term volunteers coordinated by Talitha and Cassie, two amazing sisters (an their equally amazing friend Tim) who have been helping COU in so many ways. They are all an inspiration to me! Check out their website at: http://tandcinuganda.livejournal.com/ They have now left Sabina and will soon return to America as “summer holiday” is over. I will miss them SO much. Gonzaga, the university student interning with COU, has also gone back to school which has meant that we have been working VERY hard to get as many home visits done as we possibly could before he left. Our hard work paid off as we reached nearly all of the homes. I feel like I could write a book about every home we visited, each family having their own tail about overcoming obstacles with love. Today, I want to share two stories with you.

Story one: Mentodi, an elderly man, guardian and grandfather to Mugenyi. Mugenyi is a student of COU in second grade who has lost both of his parents to AIDS. Mendoti used to repair shoes but it too sick to continue his work, so he is now farming potatoes and kasava to sustain himself, his wife and grandson. Farming in Uganda is not like that in America. It is usually done for survival and always by hand. Mentodi moved to Ssanje in 1956 and reports that “since that time, I have never taken medicine!” One of the questions we as all of the families is if they boil their water before drinking. When we questioned Mentodi about this, he stared at us blankly. I thought perhaps I had not correctly translated the question. After a few silent seconds. He said in seriousness, “I never take water, only local beer, but when Mugenyi is home for the holidays, we boil water for him.” Needless to say, I was shocked. However, he must be doing an okay job raising Mugenyi as he is one of the sweetest kids I know.

Earlier this year, Mugenyi’s sponsor sent extra money as a birthday present. We asked him what he wanted to do with the money, remember he is in second grade. He hold us that he wanted to use the money to fix his grandfather’s house because it was falling over. After this, there was still a lot of money left over so we asked him what else he would like. He said, “I would like to pay someone to help my grandfather in the garden because he is to old to do it by himself, and I am just to little to hope, also a chicken so my grandmother can eat eggs, she likes eggs.” How many second graders do you know that would be so selfless?

Story two: A couple of weeks ago, Gonzaga and I were off on yet another home visit, grumbling along the way about how hot it was and how tired we were when we came to Jaja (grandma) Berna’s home. Unable to stand, Berna scooted herself to the door to greet us. Most homes here don’t have a lot of material things, but this one actually had nothing. No furniture, no dishes, no pictures on the wall, no games to play, nothing except for two well worn mats and a bright pink, very well used tea cup. She greeted us about ten times each, it didn’t take us long to find out why she was so excited to see us. She is the elderly grandmother of one of our boarding students. We couldn’t figure out how old she was, but she told us, “I was able to do many things by 1920.” She was the mother to 10 children, all of whom, including her husband have passed away. Overcome with grief she collapsed into tears. She is now the guardian of four grandchildren, all of whom are at boarding schools. This means when school is in session, she is all alone. Unable to farm, she has no means of getting food or water. She is subject to the mercy of her neighbors who kindly bring her food. However, people are forgetful and sometimes she goes days without eating or drinking. She has no money for medicine and was very ill. She quietly confessed to us that she still thinks God is so great, but is confused why He has left her in this situation, why should someone have to burry all the people she thought would bury herself? Her body lapsed into heaving sobs. I have never given out money here before because I don’t want to be seen as a “rich, white bank” but I just felt something telling me I should make an exception to my rule. I pressed a 20,000 shilling bill (equivalent to 10 US dollars) into her hand and it was as if she had won the lottery. She immediately started praying and thanking God for giving her 12^th and 13^th children (myself and Gonzaga). Suddenly aware that my face was wet as I weeping with her.

After she settled down, she entertained us with stories of times past, all without any pause. I am sure this was her way of making us stay longer. She told us of how she prays the Rosary every day at her home because she is no longer able to go to church. She told us about how she bought her pink tea cup before Idi Ami name into power. She also told us a story of the time she feared for England. After King George died he left now sons and she did not know what would happen. Elizabeth took the throne and everyone here though that surly, England would fall, but she has done a “pretty good job.” We had to pry ourselves away as it was getting late, but promised to return soon. There was no grumbling between Gonzaga and I on the way home.

Since she couldn’t get to church, I returned the following Sunday and decided to take church to her. I went with a small group; Cassie, Tim, Gonzaga, Deborah and myself. We say, laughed cried and pried with her until it was nearly dark. Jaja Berna kept thanking us for changing her life. I thought this was odd, because I couldn’t find the words to tell her how much she had changed mine.

Tim Cassie, random kid, Gonzaga, Deborah, Jaja Berna, me after the prayer session.

Jaja Bena and me.
(she was leaning on my leg with her bony elbow, I couldn't figure out how to tell her this in Luganda)

LIBRARY UPDATE: My dad reports that we have almost 9000 out of 12000, so we will be breaking ground tomorrow!!! We still net to get the last 3000, but I am optimistic we will get there.

Thats all till next time (or thats allllllllllll folks!)

Love, love, love,
Sarah

Kudi Kayo! Welcome back

2007-07-07T01:11:00.000-07:00

My trip to America came and went in what seemed like only a fraction of a second. The days were filled with more hellos and goodbyes than pineapples that grow in back of my house here in Uganda, and believe me, there is a lot! I spent my two weeks running around visiting loved ones (and one day of pj’s, movies and Chinese food with my mom) and of course, doing my best to be a bridesmaid in Missy and Dave’s wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and I couldn’t me happier for the two of them. I also spent some time raising funds for the library. I was completely blown away by the support and love I came across. It made me realize yet again just how blessed I am to have such generous, loving, caring and absolutely wonderful friends and family I have. We still have a long way to go on the funding, but I am positive it will happen. My only regret from the trip home is not being able to spend more time with everyone. So get ready for a big party in December 2008. Te reverse culture adjustment was a bit shocking at first, as I am sure my family and friends who came to the airport can attest to. ;-) Overall, it was a great time.

Although it was a little bit hard to leave friends and family, I am glad to be back in Uganda. The kids welcomed me back with thousands of hugs and a few who shyly confessed, “Auntie, I cried every day when you were gone,” and “my heart was sad with out you.” This was more than enough to convince me I had made the right decision to come back.

Work is going really well. I am currently organizing a day in August to have all of our children at Sabina Home as well as their guardians and families tested for HIV/AIDS. Also, we are in the midst of trying to visit all the homes of the guardians of the children in the COU program. Our goal is to empower the families with more knowledge about health and the development of children as well as collecting background information that will enable us to better help the children. The visits are carried out by myself and Gonzaga, a Ugandan intern with COU. While come homes are near in my village, others are far away. So we hop on our bicycles and ride through the hills. With no maps we use big rocks and mango trees as our land marks. This makes for quite a comical experience of a mix of guessing and asking to find our way. This experience so far has been eye opening and heartwarming. House after house we are welcomed into homes with big smiles and open arms. Most of the homes are dirt floors and mud walls. Furniture is rarely found, but the spaces are all filled to the brim with love.

Along with this, I am still teaching a conglomeration of things two days a week at the school. Most of the classes I am teaching are health and life skills, but I am also teaching a few music and English classes. The kids, who were very bashful at first, have really begun to open up and ask great questions. One of my favorite being when a fifth grade student asked “Aunt Sarah, how can we stop the spread of sex?”

These days I am beginning to notice the similarities between Uganda and the USA: The way the leaves sound when the crunch under your feet; the noise wind makes as it moves through the trees; the way the sun warms your body; the way children spread germs. :-) Yes, these are all little things, but lately they have been making me happy.

I am posting some pictures below of my work commute. It is something quite different than my or most people’s commute in America.

I start by taking the road around the sugar cane...

passed the pineaples...

through the weeds ...

round the bend (sometimes there is a traffic jam, during rush hour you can even be blocked for a minute by a local cow or biker)

Then, two minutes after the trip began, I arrive at work, ready to start my day :-)

Well, my friends, that’s all till next time!

Katonda Yebale! (God bless you)

Going to America

2007-06-12T05:39:00.000-07:00

Wow! Hard to believe it’s already here. I am leaving to visit home tomorrow to see my family and friends and to be in Missy and Dave’s wedding, that is provided I can still fit into my bridesmaid dress! The food here is all carbs plus, culturally every time you enter some ones home they have to offer you food and it is considered very, very rude to turn them down. Needless to say, I have put on more weight then I would have liked. Haha, oh well, that’s why they have seamstresses, right? I have been so excited for the trip I haven’t slept for the past week. It is surreal to me to be coming back to the states. I have been dreaming about the things I will do, and eat, for a long time now! It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye to my children at the orphanage, I am only going to be gone for 2 weeks. Some of them were crying hysterically, begging me to not go. It really touched me, but really makes me afraid as to what will happen when I leave for good! I will be states-side for two weeks so if you want to reach me at home, shoot me an e-mail or call my home number. My flight gets into O’Hare on June 14th and will be in Illinois till the 28th. I hope to see as many of you all as I can.

Love you bunches of bananas!
Sarah

Zebras and warthogs and hippos, oh my!

2007-05-03T06:10:00.000-07:00

Hey there friends! Life in the big U is going pretty great these days. The kids are on break from school so everything is moving at a slower pace which has been a welcome break. I am still working almost every day but have been taking some time off to relax. I’m still trying to get used to the culture and language thing. There are so many ways in which culturally we are different. Differences that shake me to the core, but I try to hang onto the similarities you can always find in human nature. Last week two of my friends and I took some time to be “tourists” and went to a National Park, Lake Mburo. Took a hike through the park, with an armed guard (don’t worry mom), and saw sooo many animals. Zebras, hippos, warthogs, empalas, monkeys just to name a few. I really felt like I was living in the Lion King. I kept laughing out loud to my self realizing that I am actually living in Africa. School starts up again later this month so it will be back to the grind stone before long. Hope you all are well. Congrats to the 2007 IWU grads! Also, congrats to all the other grads out there too!

Ps. Warthogs are hilarious!

Me, Jess and Pumba, the warthog

Theory of Relativity

2007-05-03T05:39:00.000-07:00

This blog post isn’t so much an update on my life as it is just some observations.

In traveling around Uganda and observing this country, I have noticed that there is something unsettling about the place. This uneasy feeling was overpowered by my love and admiration for this land. Without a doubt, this is the most beautiful country I have been to in my life. The greens of the plants are intermingled with trees and flowers of every color. Uganda is blessed with two rainy seasons that keep the ground fertile for many crops. almost anything you put in the ground can grow in plenty. For the most part, I was able to put that unsettled feeling in the back of my mind, until today. A jaja, old woman, from my village was taking me through the matoke fields to show me the bricks that had been made to complete her house. We traipsed around together, me following her steps through the fields on the crooked paths.

We passed by many homes and people who were out digging in their gardens to gather food for the evenings meal. Our trip was greatly lengthened by the numerous times we had to stop and greet those we passed. It is considered to be very rude to walk by someone with out the exchange of ritual greetings. You stop and greet in this way:
A: Wasuze otya ssebo? (How have you spent the night sir?)
B: Bulungi nnyabo! (Great madam)
A: Mmmm (yes, you actually mmm, it is an important part of the conversation)
B: Mmmm
B: Wasuze otya nnyabo? (How have you spent the night mam?)
A: Bulungi ssebo (Great sir)
B: Mmmm
A: Mmmm
A: Abeka bali batya? (The people at home, how are they?)
B: Abeka bali bulungi. (The people at home, they are good)
B: Mpozi gwe? (perhaps you)
A: Bali bulungi. (the people are good)
A: Kati, ngenze beera bulungi! (now I am going, live well)
B: Nawe, siba bulungi tunalabagana! ( you too, spend the day well, we shall see each other again)
A: Mmmm
B: Mmmm
Then you can carry on your way. This above is the shortest version of the greeting, but could go even longer. At first coming here, I would dread the repetitiveness of this ritual, but now I somehow enjoy it knowing that the people here just love to know how you are.

In the middle of my walk with my Ugandan friend, we went around plantations, through plantations, stepped over streams and around graves. It was here that I finally realized what has been making me so uneasy about Uganda. You can’t find a straight line anywhere. To my western mind, I am used to seeing corn fields planted in tidy straight rows. Trees growing at ninety degree angels. Bales of hay spaced evenly around the field. Houses in neat tidy rows. Uganda is a chaotic mix of everything. Nothing is planted in rows; matoke grows next to coffee which is under the mango tree beside the kasava plants. Roads wind around the hills instead of plowing through them. Homes and villages are located close to water sources. Is this chaos or harmony? I think it is relative. Now that I can put a finger on what it is, I think it is just one more thing that I love about Uganda. Some may choose to call the randomness chaos, but its all a matter of relativity. I see it as the people of Uganda chose to live in harmony with the way nature has constructed itself. Not the other way around.

All you need is Love

2007-03-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hello dear friends!

I find my self once again in an overcrowded, swelteringly hot internet café. Most people are bent over the keyboard trying to figure out how to type and every now and then will look over my way to stare. More often then not as I walk around town I have the song “Take Me Or Leave Me” from Rent running through my head, looped to the part where Moreen sings, “I walk down the street, I hear people say baby (muzungu) so sweet, Everybody stares at me, boys girls, I can’t help it baby.” It is becoming more tolerable as I am growing to realize that it is nothing personal and that they are just curious. Heck, I’d probably stare at me too. Haha. I am impatiently flicking back and forth between web pages, trying to make the most of my time here. I don’t think how much I really love the internet until I came to the Big U. Often I find myself wondering what it must have been like to be in the Peace Corps in the 1960s; no cell phones, no internet, it must have been much so harder. I am so incredibly grateful for little miracles like facebook, blogs and the like. Can facebook be considered a miracle? Hmmm, well perhaps a miracle can be defined by the circumstances one finds oneself in. Certainly every day here I see many miracles much more worthy of noting then the joys of a PC and internet cord, but right now, today, that is what you get to hear about. :-)

Currently, I am at a two week long IST (in service training) with the girls from my training group. It is so good to be baclk with them, and to be able to talk fast! The Peace Corps has put us up in a swanky hotel located in a semi big town which has internet! Okay, so the hotel definatly wouldn't qualify as swanky by American standards but it does have a toilet and.....electricity!!! You all know how I love toilets these days.

After three months, I think I have finally settled in at sight. My village of Sanje is beginning to feel more like “home” now, although it will never feel as much like home as Empire Ct., East Bay or IWU does. Some of the village kids are even starting to learn my name, Ndagire, and will even call me by that instead of “muzungu.” Oh, by the way, I’m not sure if I told you all but my Luganda name is Ndagire (in-dah-gear-i). It was given to me by my host family who I stayed with in Luwerro during our training. Things are going well and I am staying healthy despite the fact that my diet is mainly posho and beans which been supplemented with junk food (and some disgusting health food) from care packages. My luganda language skills are still limited but I think I am learning a little bit every day. Sure, some days are still incredibly hard and stressful and lonely, but I know that I will get through them. These days are broken up by incredibly good and rewarding days of teaching, or by phone calls and letters from loved ones back home or my new friends here in Uganda . It just proves that in life you can get through anything if you have a little love. All you need is love!

Till next time!
Much love!

Ps. More new pictures can be found under the link “my photos,” enjoy!

Touched, By an Angel

2007-02-16T23:05:00.000-08:00

Down a dirt road, around the mango trees, hidden from tourists and most outsiders there is a little village of Matate, Uganda. This village has two small ‘dukas’ (shops) that sell the basic necessities for life. Population is probably around 50. My supervisor and I have been doing some outreaches to this incredible little town and yesterday we helped put on a day of music dance and drama to encourage people to get tested for HIV/AIDS. The day was rather long and as we moved into our 3rd hour of drama, yes 3rd hour, I was fading fast. Of course there is no power in Matate so microphones were out of the question. What I could hear, I only understood about half, it was all in Luganda. Out of nowhere a little baby of about 2 crawled up into my lap. This surprised me as most small children are too afraid of “muzungus” to come close enough to touch.

For the next two hours she sat with me and we clapped, played and danced together. From asking the people sitting around me, I found out that her name is Angel and she had recently been abandoned by her parents. Dropped off at this village without so much as a shirt on her back. I was completely blown away, how could anyone dump this little bundle of joy on the side of the road? She was the most friendly, happy baby I have ever met, and I instantly fell in love with her. When the event was over, we of course had to leave. My heart sank knowing that I would have to leave Angel as much as I wanted to take her with, our orphanage only accepts children who are 4 or above. I had to shut the door of our vehicle on her and through the window, I could hear her screaming and crying. I had to bite my lip to keep from weeping. As we drove off, I saw two older women go to comfort the baby and I was once again filled with hope. I realized that I should not feel so bad for this little Angel, for she would be taken care off. The village would raise her as their own. They would provide love and food for her. Even though they have very little food or clothing themselves, I knew they would share what they had with her. So instead of driving away depressed, I was happy but also questioning many things. It makes me think, would the same happen in America where we have so much to give? Hmmm……

giving in

2007-02-09T03:00:00.000-08:00

3 posts in 2 days, kind of crazy, huh? I'm in Kampala this weekend to do research among other things and taking some time to hang out with fellow PCVs and indulge myself in some quality internet time. I have been pressured from many people, who shall remain nameless, to rejoin the facebook craze. After resisiting very hard, for a very long time I have decided to give in and become a member. If you are part of the book of faces, log on and ad me as your friend! (if you want anyways) :-) Also, there are some new pictures under the photo album "sabina home!"

Things are going really well right now. The children are all back from their holidays and school finally resumed which means that I get to start teaching. So far, its really been a blast. I can't wait to get to know all of these children. My first goal is to learn all of their names. We will see how that goes! Last week I was also able to sit down with my counterpart and supervisor to make a detailed work plan which looks something like this:

Monday: Field work with Grace (my supervisor). We will be doing home visits, workshops, community outreach centered on positive living, community wellbeing and community development.
Tuesday: Teaching health/life skills, PE, music and some English at Sabina school (the school which is connected with my orphanage)
Wednesday: Teaching health/life skills, PE, music and some English
Thursday: More community outreach with Grace
Friday: Visiting local schools to do health/HIV/AIDS/life skills education
Saturday: Girls empowerment club. I am starting a club in my town for 5th and 6th grade girls to have a safe place to come hang out, play sports and talk about life. Also, my Saturdays will be spent with my new friend from town who is going to help me learn more Luganda.
Sunday: Going to church, washing clothes, washing my house. Yes, washing your clothes does take all day!

Time is flying by, so I must go. I pray that you are all well, know that I miss you all like CRAZY!

Ps. Don’t forget to add me as your friend on facebook!

2 months at sight tally

2007-02-08T05:02:00.000-08:00

Number of:

Piles of cow droppings stepped in: 6 (the cows roam around everywhere here, they haven’t quite caught on to the idea of fences or animal pens here).

Snakes found in my bathing area: 1 Needless to say, said snake has been removed from bathing area.

Spiders killed from in house: 20 – yesterday I even squashed one with six legs, bizarre!

Marriage proposals: At least 40. You think this would be flattering, but it is actually just sad.

Times I have had to sing the Bugandan National Anthem: 20. Somehow I have become famous around the area as the ‘muzungu’ who knows how to sing the anthem, in Luganda.

Percentage of accuracy in aiming into the pit latrine: 96.8%

Months left until I COS (close of service): 22

Days till I come home for the wedding: 125

Times when I have wanted to come home: About 100

Times when I was glad I was in Uganda: About 1,000

Opportunities

2007-02-08T04:47:00.000-08:00

What did you do today? What decisions did you make? Did you decide whether or not you would wear a purple or pink shirt? Perhaps you made the decision of if you wanted swiss or cheddar cheese on your sandwich. Or maybe, today, you made a life changing decision; where you would go to college, what job you would take, where you would move too. I sat down to play cards with some of the kids here, and like always, we played “amatatu,” the only card game they know. Even though they have played it thousands of times, they still love it. We had just filled our stomachs with posho and beans for the 100th meal in a row, but none of the children complain. They eat posho and beans, every day, for every meal. They wear the same clothes, a navy blue uniform. They wake up at the same time everyday, go to school and come home to the orphanage and do chores, eat more posho and beans and then go to bed. They do this all with a smile on their face. No complaining about the uniformity of the everyday. It has made me realize just how blessed I am to have been given so many options in life. Most of these children will never have the opportunity to decide if they like strawberry or grape jelly. They won’t be able to decide where they will go to college. They won’t ever be asked what they want to be when they grow up. They won’t even get to decide if they want to buy a green or blue pinstriped shirt. So, why am I telling you this? Not to make you feel sorry for the children here, but maybe as just a little reminder of just how lucky we are. So tomorrow, when you are torn between wearing your new tennis shoes or your sandals, pray to God and thank Him for giving you the opportunity to have these decisions in your life.

Under the Ugandan Sun

2007-01-18T06:28:00.000-08:00

Each morning I wake up, crawl out of my mosquito net and head to by bathing area mentally preparing myself for my bucket bath of freezing water, knowing full well that I will never actually become clean, and I ask my self, is it really worth it, do I really want to be here? As I drag myself to my pit latrine I notice the sun brilliantly coming up over the horizon making everything seem to sparkle with wonder. Somehow the colors of the trees and flowers are more vibrant here. Someone should look it up and see if it is because I am now closer to the sun or if I am just going silly. It puts a smile on my face, because as I pass their home, I can hear the fathers praying. There are some mornings when I want nothing more in the world than to come home. I am thousands of miles away from home, probably developing more wrinkles than the downy dog, constantly covered in sweat, and for what? Then I reach the orphanage, a mere 150 yards away from my home. I know the distance because I roll stepped it, yeah marching band! As I approach the home, I am greeted by dozens of smiling faces. “Good morning Auntie Sarah, how was your night,” is what they all say. My response is usually, wonderful. Because, I am then reminded, no matter how homesick I was, or how late I was kept awake by the lizards and cockroaches the night before, I realise that I am wonderfully blessed. A majority of these kids have no relatives to speak of, other than their family of other children and staff here. What are two small years away from mine?

I have become very reflective lately in the late hours of the night I spend awake listening to the cockroaches scurry back and forth on my ceiling and I think in a way Uganda is changing me. Sure my skin is now darker and my hair (including my arm hair) lighter, but there is something deeper going on. Something inside that I can’t quite put my finger on, perhaps I will never know, but I know that it is something good. Don’t worry though, I am still Sarah Cowan, BME, lover of jellybellies, peanut butter and oboe music. Some things will never change. :-) This Sarah is smiling, under the Ugandan sun.

My cup runneth over

2007-01-18T06:25:00.000-08:00

I just came back from Kampala, and on the way stopped by the post office in Kyotera where there were SEVEN packages waiting for me! Seven, in one day! Including EIGHT bags of jelly bellies!!!! Now being added to the package-sending-hall-of-fame is Nate L, Jeff S, the Lischwe family, Mrs. Pruess, and Rachel R. thanks sooooooo much to all of you! It has really lifted my spirits and filled my heart with joy. The food as well as other items will be greatly enjoyed. I can’t explain how great processed food tastes to me now. Of course mom and dad and grandma are already rock star package-senders! Grandma, I finally got that box of tootsies roles, haha, it was post marked Sept. 28! I have also recently received a ton of pictures coloured by the NH-M first grade class, if any NH-M-ers are reading this blog, please pass on my thanks to Sheryl and her students. I now have very colourful walls :-) If I know several of you have said you have packages coming in the mail, but this is freaking Africa! :-) It takes a while. I feel so incredibly blessed to have wonderful friends and family like you all, I really don’t know what I would do with out you. Nayanzisa! (You have made me very happy).

Kulika Christmas!

2006-12-26T04:34:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

I hope you are all very well and enjoying the snow and cold weather. Today is warm yet again, around 80 or so, needless to say it was not ‘beginning to look a lot like Christmas.’ Or at least in the way I am used to. Most of the PCVs in Uganda traveled to Kampala (the capital city in Uganda) to spend the holidays together. We had several parties/dinners thrown for us the past few days by staff at the embassy. It was great to go for some home cooked food and really wonderful to speak with people who knew what I was saying. I have never appreciated Americans more in my life. Not that I don’t love Ugandans, because I do! However, there is just something comforting about being able to hang out with people who know where you are coming from esp. around the holidays. Incase any of you are thinking of going into the foreign service, they are set up with some pretty swank accommodations. Christmas this year was by far the hardest one I have experienced as of yet. It goes without saying that I missed my family and friends more than I can say however, when I think about all the orphans I work with who will never even get to know their family, being away for two years seems much more manageable. Plus I will be home in less than 6 months for the wedding of the year. For Christmas day, a few of us got up to go to church in Kampala. We piled into a Matatu (taxi) a long with 25 other people, Matatus are suppose to hold 14 ppl max. We sang Christmas carols the whole way to church, we even got a few Ugandans to join in! On the way there we stopped by a gas station for a classy Christmas breakfast of juice and crackers, now for you this may not seem exciting, but try eating posho and beans every single day and it will be more superb than any other food. They were selling a mini keyboard so, of course I had to go play and sing some more carols. While tooting around on the piano, I notice three barefoot, big bellied children running around outside playing in the dirt and shrieking with glee from whatever treasure they had found in the mud. All of a sudden it really was beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

I am now on my way back to sight – sad to leave my friends, but am excited to get back to work.

Thanks for all the holiday phone calls and cards! Have a happy new year and joys holiday season!

Ps. Marty and Lea-the toilets flush counter clockwise on this side of the equator. I took a video for you, but it is to big to load, so I will have to show you when I get home.

More Pics!

2006-12-22T04:53:00.000-08:00

Howdy! Just a quick blog to let you know there are more pictures up to view click on the picture link on the right.
Hope you enjoy!
Love you!

PCV

2006-12-06T06:10:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone!

So many things have happened in the last few weeks that it is hard to begin to try and summarize it in the short time I have here at this internet café. In order to preserve precious internet time, I will make a list of exciting/semi-exciting things to try and catch you up on my life.

-I passed my Luganda language test which I was pretty stoked about. I am far from being fluent, but it is good to know that I am on the right track!
-I am now a PCV!!! No longer a PCT!!! Last Thursday, my training class-all of us-were sworn in as official volunteers. I usually hate ceremonies that are like graduation, but this was pretty cool. I was so proud of all of us for making it through. The last 2 months were challenging in so many number of ways. So now I am Sarah Cowan, BME, PCV J
-Last Friday, I moved to my sight at Children of Uganda and mpola mpola (slowly by slowly) am getting adjusted. They have changed my living arrangements so I will no longer be living with the orphans, which is a very good thing. Living with 150 boys for 2 years would just be to much. I am no living with…..priests! I will have my own apartment which has 2 rooms and a wonderful pit latrine. I am slightly sad that I will no longer have a real toilet, but will gladly give that up for a little peace and quiet! They are still working on the rooms (fixing the holes in the walls, putting a roof on ect.) so for now I am staying in the orphanage.
- I have learned how to dance Ugandan style. We had a dance party last night with the orphans and they taught me how to shake my booty! I am pretty pathetic at dancing, but I had fun and the kids got a good laugh!

Once again, props to my wonderful family and friends for sending mail and packages. I was so pleasantly surprised to find that I had mail waiting for me when I first opened my box. Also, thanks for the wonderful packages Mom, Dad, grandma, Suitemates, Becca E and East Bay Crew, you guys seriously rock my world. Thanks to everyone else for sending mail! Mail has never made me happier in my life.

Ahhhhh! Time is almost up!
I love you all
Have a super day!

2006-11-11T03:25:00.000-08:00

HEY GANG!
I am returning from my future sight visit on my way back to Luweero and am relaxing in an internet café before returning to training. I am trying to upload some more pictures, but we will see how that goes. So my head is spinning from my visit! The children at the orphanage are so kind and welcoming, and the all call me Aunt Sarah. It really is too cute. My living conditions are, well, um, I guess it will be challenging. I have one room attached to the dorm hall that is filled with 150 orphans. I know, crazy, right? The good thing is that we do have a generator, so I will have power for about one hour every night! We will see if this will make up for the fact that I am bunking with 150 children….

I was able to meet with my counterpart and supervisor for an extended period of time to sit down and discuss what it is they would like me to be doing for their organization. Their list was not short, here is a brief summary:
-Teach health/life skills (their current health education is from signs painted around the school with messages like “stay virgin,” “aids is bad” ect.
-Teach music
-Create peer education groups
-Help with grant writing
-Counsel the children
-Organize sporting/game events on the weekends
-Supervise house duties/chores
-Organize and facilitate community outreach programs
-Home visits
Plus at least 5 or 6 other things of which I can’t remember right now. Needless to say, I do not think I will be bored. If you want to know more about the orginization I will be working for, please check out the websight at www.childrenofuganda.org

For Christmas time, I am thinking of organizing a Harry Potter week for the orphans dividing the kids into ‘houses’ and having a week long house cup tournament so, if you happen to have a bunch of Harry Potter stickers or something like that sitting around and you are wondering what to do with them, I know some adorable children who would love to be able to have them. Which brings me to my next point…..I got a post office box! I think the man at the post office thinks I am crazy, I was very excited to be getting my very own Ugandan post office box, and I think I told him this at least 5 or 6 times. You can now start using this address because I will be moving there November 30th, but remember; mail takes about 3-4 weeks to arrive.

I hope you are all doing well, please enjoy the snow for me.

ps. I ate a grasshopper the other day.

Children of Uganda!

2006-11-02T00:12:00.000-08:00

Hello mikwano!!!!

So I am here at the PC office in Kampala for a short visit, and have a few minutes to blog. Many exciting things have been hapening in Uganda, first and formost being that I have found out where I will be spending the next 2 years of my life! My assignment is with the Children of Uganda, an organization which supports an orphanage and school for 350 orphans! From what I have found out, I will be living with the orphans, in the oprhanage. Hopefuly my life won't be to 'hard knock.' (haha) They recieve their fundig through their childrens choir which tours America ever 2 years. I will be able to do a lot of work with the choir, but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to tour with them, PC rule are pretty strict on amount of time spend out of country. We all head out to our Future Sights this Wednesday for a short visit to get a better feel for what our working and living conditions will be like. So far, I think that this assignment couldn't be better, infact I think it is perfect. I am having to sign off now, I am trying to upload some random pictures, hope youlike them!

Lots of love
Sarah

ps. i LOVE getting snail mail!!!! Thanks to everyone who has sent!

MATOKE

2006-10-19T07:18:00.000-07:00

Oli Otya Mukwano!

I bet you didn't expect to get another post so soon! Neither did I!!!! Today we were on a "field trip" for training and visited a current PCV at her school. It was so inspiring to see the great work she was doing. I hope to be half as successful as she is. We are on our way back to our training sight and our trainers suprised us with a trip to the internet cafe!!!!!!!! I only have a short time, so I am afraid this post will be rather short, but I wanted to drop a line to say hello and that, once again, LOVE all of the comments!!!! (sorry for the over use of exlimation marks, but i am just excited, also, I am sure there are about 1,000 typos, but with such slow internet, there is no time for edditing) Speaking of being excited, I got to use an actual toilet today, you know the kind where you can sit down and have a lovely time. It was GREAT! It is funny, the things I appretiate now. So many people are asking what the food is like here in Uganda. Bland. That pretty much sums it up. Their main dish is Matoke, which the Ugandans love, they eat it at every meal. To make matoke, you take bananas, mash them up and cook them inside banana leaves until it is the consitancy of mashed potatoes. I do not think it is appetizing, but everyone here is crazy about the stuff. I suppose it could be worse. Other food here would make Dr. Atkins roll over in his grave. Most meals consit of carbs: rice, potatoes, beans, cabbage, and....Matoke. Life is good overall, I think I am slowley getting used to this foreign culture. Please write with news of life in the USA. I have gotten 7 letters so far (much thanks to mom, dad, grandma, missy and dan g!!!) and they really make my day/week/life so much better. I've got to run now, have a super fantastic day. Enjoy your toilets!!!

Love you all!

A Day in the Life of a PCT

2006-10-13T02:25:00.000-07:00

Jambo Mikwano! (Hello Friends)

So I am sure you are all surprised to see another entry from me, I am surprised to be sitting at a computer!!! Right now another PCT, Hannah and myself are in Mityana visiting 2 current PCVs who are education volunteers. Everyone in our group left yesterday to do 3 day visit with current PCVs across Uganda to give us a hint at what our life will be like once we get to our sight. Right now our PCVs are giving a lecture to some teachers and they pointed us in the direction of an internet “café” the café is more like a closet with 5 or 6 slow computers cramed in. But it is internet, which is fantastic!!!! Today has been a fantastic day! We even found a resteraunt that sells cold drinks!

Some people have been asking, Sarah, what do you do during the day in the big U (Uganda)? So I thought I would let you see a day in the life of Sarah Cowan, PST

4:00 am wake up from the Rooster – Yes, I thought these things only crowed during day break, but they start crowing around 4 and don’t stop until, well, forever!
6:00 am I finally get out of bed from under my mosquito net and take a bucket bath-always cold water, which can actually be refreshing. I also usually run to the pit latrine because we are not allowed to go outside at night and by this point my bladder is at about breaking point. We have buckets in our room for middle-of-the-night emergencies, but I would rather not have to use that. Now, if you are not familiar with a pit latrine, it is simply a hole in the groud. ‘nuff said J
7:00 breakfast with my host mom and her granddaughter, Joy, who is possibly the cutest kid you have ever met!
7:20 head out for my walk to the training center.
7:21 hear “muzungu, muzungu, how are you?” being shauted at me along the entire walk. I can’t go anywhere around here with out being stalked by the little kids, but they are cute.
7:35-a great time for you to call me! (we are 8 hours ahead here, so that is 11:35 your time)
8:00am training starts. Training is INTENSE! We spend all day learning-or should I say trying to learn the language. We also have some sessions on HIV/AIDS education in Uganda. We also do some field work, and a couple of days ago, I was privileged to go to to go to observe in a school for a couple of hours. The typical Ugandan school starts at 7am and gets out at 5pm!!! However stressful this time is, I do enjoy some parts of training because I am making some wonderful friends here.
5:00pm Exausted, I head back to my home stay
5:30pm Arrive at home and immediately start helping Skovia (our house girl) cook supper. This is often humorous because she doesn’t speak any English, and I speak very little Luganda, but we have gotten very good at non verbal communication. Joy (my 3 year old host sister) follows me everywhere and is fascinated with my hair. It is also funy to interact with her, because we are both trying to learn the language.
7:00ishpm Eat supper with my host family. It is very strange to try and adjust to this culture, although I am very grateful to be staying with a Ugandan family. It is introducing me to a lot of customs I don’t think I would have known if otherwise
8:00pm head into the safety of my mosquito net! It has really become my safe haven. A place for me to escape from all evils of the world. I try to study Luganda by lantern and then read some from the Bible.
****This would be a perfect time to call me!!!***** (8:00pm my time is noon, your time) I have also gotten into journaling, a lot. It helps to process all of this. It is so strange and exciting being here, so many things are new. It is really like being an infant and learning everything over again. Including, how to use the bathroom! haha

Once again, thank you for all of your comments, I can't tell you enough how much they mean to me. I love you all SOOOOO much!

Love you!
Sarah C.

I'm Alive!

2006-10-12T03:36:00.000-07:00

Hello!!!!!!

So we finally are able to connect to the internet today, and let me tell you, all of your comments just make my life so much better! About the phone cards, I have heard that you can go to a Walmart/Target type store or if you can, you can go to an international food market you can buy a card, an MCI or STI are the best kind, and make sure that on the back Africa or Uganda is listed. I would LOVE a phone call. Days have been good, but nights are hard. I can't talk for long, there are others waiting to get on the computer. We are on our way to visit a current PCV for a long weekend. Uganda is beautiful, to hard to describe here. Many stories to come.

I miss you guys sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much!

Love to you all!!!!!

2006-10-01T03:45:00.000-07:00

9-30-06
PST star treatment
We are staying in Forrest Cottages in Kampala, U right now for the next 2 days and the PC is treating us like royalty. I feel like they are doing this to fatten us up before they throw us out to the hounds J just kidding! Everything is still supper. I got vaccinated for MMH and Typhoid today that makes the count up to 3. Side effects are still minimal, praise the Lord! Today we had our first language classes in “survival Lugandan” so we will be able to at least say please and thank you and where is the bathroom to our host families. The staff here is great! I love them all! We have a staff here of about 10ish comprised of Language Trainers, Country Directors, Associate Country Directors and Health Staff. The place we are staying right now, Forrest Cottages is located on a hillside and surrounded by Papaya and Mango trees. It feels like we are on a Caribbean island, although I don’t think this star treatment will last much longer. Our group grows closer everyday as we learn more about each other.

We had interviews with the Country Director today to discuss in more detail what it is we would like to be doing while here, and to tell them in more detail what our skills are. The CD (country director) told me that most likely I will be doing teacher training at one or more schools. I would work with the teachers to develop a better way to teach their students about AIDS/HIV through different teaching methods including, drama and MUSIC!!! Let’s keep our fingers crossed that is where I will be placed, because it is sooooo perfect.

Tomorrow we get to head into Kampala for a tour then to the PC office for a picnic from where I will be posting this blog. Each day seems more exciting from the last. I can’t wait to see what adventure holds in store tomorrow! Oh, and I also got my first card today from my Mom and Dad! Thanks guys!

Love you all!

Air planes

2006-10-01T03:42:00.000-07:00

9-29-06
The Big U (Uganda) was almost here, we could even taste it, it was so close, but first we had to endure the trip there. We went through 27.5 hours of plane and bus rides, less then pleasant. But yet again, somehow, the company made it oh so much better. The trip was fairly uneventful minus the unfortunate few who are minus a couple pieces of luggage to becoming later. We even managed to somehow make the 1 hour layover on time. Oh, and just so you know, the JFK airport is terrible! We arrived and found ourselves in a giant line. I have seen giant lines at airports before, but this one was the most giant I have ever seen. It was ridiculous! Thank goodness, Alexis, a girl in our group, found us someone who let us bypass the whole line. I felt guilty but it was kind of cool. She was yelling at the others, watch out, I have a group headed for the Peace Corps! I am in the freaking Peace Corps, can you believe it?
So we finally arrived in Uganda at 10:30pm, and even though we couldn’t see much, I knew I was in love. I absolutely love this country, and I’ve only just arrived. We took a mini-bus to our resort though Kampala and Entebbe and the ride was to much for the senses to take in. The smells, the feelings, the sights, the emotions; all so indescribable. I feel so settled here. As we bump along the road, giggling with excitement, I know that this IS where I am supposed to be.

Staging

2006-09-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

I am here in Philadelphia, one step closer to my dream, Uganda! Staging has been so great. The group I am going to Uganda with is a lot different then most groups sent with the PC. Instead of the usual 35ish volunteers, we only have 12 in our group….and we are all girls! How crazy is that? I think that this will be very good though because we have a very rare opportunity to become a very close group which I think will be essential down in a couple of weeks. Even our trainers were fantastic, they were very patient and diligent at answering all of our questions. So I know most of you are just dying to know if I have done it yet. Yes, yes I have. I had my first Phily Cheese Steak, and it was superb! I am not actually sure if the sandwich was pleasing, or if the company just made it seem so tasty. These girls are all incredible, and very talented. It is a completely diverse group and already we are all sharing our strengths with each other. Good news, I have taken my first dose of Malaria meds, and no serious side effects have popped up yet, I’m praying it stays that way. However, I have not gone to sleep yet, and that I hear, is when all of the crazy dreams/nightmares/acid trip-ish stuff happens. I’ll let you know how that goes, but at least I know I’ll have a wonderful support group if it gets bad. This is a picture of 10 of the 12 of us tonight eating our "last supper" here in America.

We fly out tomorrow from JFK and arrive in Uganda sometime Friday night or early Saturday. WOW! J I hope you are all having a wonderful time where ever you are, and whatever you are doing. Keep up the good work with the comments here, I LOVE getting comments. Keep ‘em coming!

Love you all!

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go!

2006-09-25T08:11:00.001-07:00

Well, here it is. My last blog published from Illinois. I have 23 hours left until the plane takes off from O'Hare. It is very surreal, I have been waiting for this for so long, and now it is finally here. I am leaving for freaking Africa!!!!! :-) I don't think I have gotten a good nights sleep in awhile. I feel like I am a little kid again, and every night has been the night before Christmas. The only bad part is saying goodbye. Even though, I know it is just, I'll see you later, it is a goodbye, and I suck at goodbyes. However, I know that this is exactly where I am suppose to be. So goodbye friends, I love you all!

And the kitchen sink too!

2006-09-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

Look! Here I am with all my stuff. Now just imagine monkeys and elephants in the background and you are set!

Packing List

2006-09-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

Many people have been asking what I will be taking with me for my 2 years, so here is my final packing list, enjoy! I know it looks like a lot, but remember I am going for 2 years and I will be in freaking Africa! J

Clothes:
4 button down shirts
2 t-shirts
2 tank tops
2 long skirts
1 pr. light weight “campish” pants
1 pr shorts
1 fleece sweatshirt (I know it’s Africa, but I get cold!)
Slip to wear under skirts
10 bras
10 pr socks
10 pr underwear
Shoes: Chacos, Keen hiking shoes, 1 pr. Nice flip flops
Rain Coat
IWU Hat
1 pr. Good multi purpose gardening gloves
Swimming suit

Toiletries:
Shampoo
Conditioner
Soap
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Razors
Deodorant
Tylenol
Pepto Bismol
Fingernail clippers
Tweezers
Q-Tips…I like clean ears
Pads + Tampons
The Keeper
1 large camping towel
1 small camping towel
Sunscreen-SPF 50, are you happy Becca E? haha
Purell Hand Sanitizer, I wonder if I should take some Odo-Ban?
Hand Lotion

Electronics:
Laptop and accessories
Writable CD’s to back up photos
DVDs of essential movies (thanks Compagnos!)
Power converter
Brunton’s Solar charger + rechargeable batteries
Head Lamp
2 sports watches
Digital Camera + extra memory chip
Flash Drive
Ipod + microphone for recording
Batt. Powered alarm clock with thermometer

Miscellaneous:
Travel Journal
My Life Application Study Bible
Pens + Pencils
Cards
Gifts for host family: Calendar with pics from IL, Uno, Crayons
10 passport photos, a PC requirement
Nalgene Bottle
Sun glasses
Money Belt
Travel Guide to East Africa
Sheets
Swiss Army Knife
Combination Pad Lock
Safety Pins
Small sewing kit
Oboe, tuner, sheet music and reed making supplies
Teflon No-Stick pan (I have heard that they are very expensive and hard to get in Uganda)
Spatula and cooking spoons
Good cooking knife
Pocket Suduko
Ziplock Baggies
Travelers Checks
Pens
And the most essential items: Post-it Notes and Duct Tape

To carry it all in:
Large Camping/Hiking back pack-thank you Lea and Deb T!
Small Suitcase
Back pack for carry on

Total Weight: 60 lbs!!! (that’s 20 lbs. under the weight requirement!)

Pictures

2006-09-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from my going away party. Again, thank you to everyone who came, it was a wonderful time. I am so blessed to have such amazing friends!

Player Piano fun!

Dan, my Compagnos Katrina and Becca, and the new Pretzel, Amy P

Pretzel power!

Becca, Emily, Missy, Ame and Brooksie

The East Bay Crew (notice Brooksie is represented in photo)

Thanks for the good time everyone! Rocka-rocka-rocka

288 hours to go

2006-09-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

12 days left and I have become completely restless. It is hard to even think about the fact that in 12 days I will be hopping on a plane with my 2 bags which will contain all the things I need for 2 years. It is quite a liberating feeling. I finally get to live my dream and become a Hobo (but not one that lives under a bridge, Dan!) I thought before I left, I would leave you all with an outline of what I will be doing with my time spent in Uganda. Although, I have heard that the PC is very “flexible” with their dates, so all of this is subject to change.

Sept. 26, 2006 9:00am Board plane at O’Hare to Philadelphia
Begin registration for our 3 day Staging where we go to many seminars and participate in get to know you sessions with a group of volunteers headed for Uganda.

Sept. 28, 2006 Get on a bus and head for JFK Air Port in New York
7:50pm Flight leaves for Brussels, then from Brussels to Nairobi, Kenya, to Entebbe, Uganda!

Sept. 29, 2006 Begin Pre-Service Training in Mityana, a small village just north of the
capital of Uganda, Kampala. Here we will be living with host families so that we will have the opportunity to observe and participate in Ugandan culture and to practice my new language skills. We will be participating in long days aimed at preparing us with technical, language, health, culture and safety skills. So, basically, I get to go back to school! During this time many of the volunteers do not have much internet access, so I will do the best that I can at responding to letters, but just know that I will always be thinking of all of you.

Dec. 9, 2006 I will be sworn in as a PCV (peace corps volunteer). From here we will be
given an assignment somewhere in Uganda (see job description below) where I will spend the next 2 years of my life.

June 2007 Vacation time! Even PCVs get vacations, so I will be spending some of my
vacation by coming back to the USA for quality family and friends time, and of course, be a bridesmaid for Missy and Dave’s wedding.

Dec. 9, 2008 COS and return to the USA.

So in the meantime, for the next 288 hours, I will keep packing and re-packing. Right now my pack only weighs about 40 pounds! Impressive huh, but I think it may keep expanding. I will post a packing list for your enjoyment later, as soon as I finish packing. Uganda, ready of not, here I come!

Letter to Families from the PC office

2006-09-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!
First of all, thanks to everyone who came to Freeport this past weekend, I am soooo blessed to have such amazing friends and family! It was a fantastic weekend. I have 15 days left until I depart and since I had a free day, I decided to be very productive by renting the first season of Lost and watching several episodes. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the most important thing I could have done, but I have heard so much about it and am now hooked, it is a fantastic show! I figured that my laziness is justified by the fact that in a couple of days, such luxuries will not be afforded. I am going to post here a letter that was sent to us from the PC office concerning mailing during my time abroad. They encourage us to pass it on to friends and families so I hope it is helpful to you.

August 2006

Dear Families,

Greetings from the Uganda Desk in Washington, D.C. It is with great pleasure that we welcome your family member to Peace Corps. During the past year we have received many requests from Volunteers and family members alike regarding travel plans, sending money, relaying messages and mail, etc. As we are unable to involve ourselves in the personal arrangements of Volunteers, we would like to offer you advice and assistance in advance by providing specific examples of situations and how we suggest they be handled.

Irregular Communication
The mail service in Uganda is not as efficient as the U.S. Postal Service. Thus, it is important to be patient. It can take three to four weeks for mail coming from Uganda to arrive in the United States via the Ugandan postal system. From a Volunteer's post, mail might take 1-2 months to reach the United States. Sometimes mail is hand carried to the States by a traveler and then mailed through the US postal system. This leg of the trip can take another several weeks, as it is also dependent on the frequency of travelers to the U.S.

We suggest that in your first letters, you ask your Volunteer family member to give an estimate of how long it takes for him/her to receive your letters and then try to establish a predictable pattern of how often you will write to each other. Also, try numbering your letters so that the Volunteer knows if he/she has missed one. Postcards should be sent in envelopes--otherwise they may be found on the wall of the local post office!

Volunteers often enjoy telling their "war" stories when they write home. Letters might describe recent illnesses, lack of good food, isolation, etc. While the subject matter is good reading material, it is often misinterpreted on the home front. Please do not assume that if your family member has been ill that he or she has been unattended. Peace Corps has two physician's assistants on staff in Uganda. Through regular contact, they monitor the health of the Volunteers. In the event of a serious illness, the Volunteer comes to Kampala and is cared for by our medical staff. If the Volunteer requires medical care that is not available in Uganda, he/she will be medically evacuated to Kenya, South Africa or the United States, depending on the medical care required. Fortunately, these are rare circumstances.

Sending mail during Pre Service Training (PST)

Sarah Cowan, Peace Corps Trainee
P.O. Box 29348
Kampala, Uganda

Sending packages
Both parents and Volunteers like to send and receive care packages through the mail. Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all involved due to the possible theft and heavy customs taxes. You may want to try to send inexpensive items through the mail, but there is no guarantee that these items will arrive. We do not recommend, however, that costly items be sent through the mail. Even though Volunteers choose to get local post office boxes, you may use the following address to send letters to your family member at any time during his or her service:

Sarah Cowan, PCV
U.S. Peace Corps
P.O. Box 7007
Kampala, Uganda

We recommend that packages be sent in padded envelopes if possible, as boxes tend to be taxed more frequently. Sending airplane tickets and/or cash is not recommended. Several services such as DHL, FedEx, UPS do operate in Uganda, but can be very expensive. Certain airlines will allow you to buy a pre-paid ticket in the States; they will telex their Nairobi office to have the ticket ready. Unfortunately, this system is not always reliable. Several European carriers fly to Kampala. Please call the airline of your choice for more information. You could also send tickets via mail services as mentioned previously. However, Peace Corps will assume no liability in the event of a lost/stolen airline ticket.

Have a super day!

Love,
Sarah

Job description

2006-09-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

Hello! As the countdown to departure becomes smaller, I have been becoming more and more excited. I just contacted SATO travel and booked my tickets to Philadelphia for Sept. 26th. All of the volunteers heading to Uganda meet up in Phily for Staging where we get to meet our fellow volunteers and get lots of paperwork and shots J. I am stoked that Staging is in Phily, perhaps I can finally try a Phily Cheese Steak! In preparation for leaving, I am trying to figure out how to pack and how to say goodbye. My parents are throwing me a bon voyage party which is cool, but nerve-wracking. I have never been good at saying goodbye. However, I am calmed by the fact that I know that this is what God is calling me to do, and I am very excited to be going.

So many people have been asking me what I will be doing for 2 years in Africa, and as much as I like to respond with “spreading happiness, peace and love” there is a more accurate job description. This is what the Peace Corps has sent me about my assignment:

Program: Community Wellbeing/Positive Living Program/PEPFAR

Job Title: Community Health/PEPFAR Volunteer

Dates of Service: 12/07/06-12/06/08

Staging Dates (in Philadelphia): 9/26/06-9/28/06

Pre-Service Training (in Uganda): 9/29/06-12/07/06

My Primary Duties: Uganda’s Ministry of Health, NGOs, Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) are asking for Volunteers to help them with applying what they have learned about improving living conditions for poor families in rural areas. They are asking for assistance in several key areas:

Train trainers from government and community-based organizations (CBOs) so that they can improve their skills to plan and implement participatory educational programs for health workers in their communities. Requests emphasize new accurate information and improved methods of teaching nutrition, preventative health care, behavior modification, management of HIV/AIDS, basic sanitation, and reproductive health education, life skills for in-and-out-of school youth and working with orphans and vulnerable children.

Work with administrators to improve their organizational management skills by developing systems for planning, funding, designing, managing, and evaluating community health projects.

Work with communities to identify their resources and develop and manage appropriate community activities.

While in Uganda, I will also have the opportunity of starting or joining secondary projects. So basically, I still don’t know exactly what I will be doing, but as soon as I find out, I will let you all know. All I know is that this opportunity is an amazing blessing and I will be excited to do whatever it is they need me to do. I know that it will be very challenging, but also very rewarding. I am depending on your letters and comments to get me through the hard times. So you should leave lots of comments on this blog, and write many letters. I will try to write back as often as I can. Internet is not always guaranteed. I know, 2 years without AIM, facebook and Xanga, what will I do…haha.

Well, that’s all for now, until next time!

Love,
Sarah

Expiration

2006-05-11T12:09:00.000-07:00

As I was on my way to school today I started giggling because I noticed that the expiration date on my drink was 9-27-06. I’ll be in Africa then!!!!!!! The reality of it is setting in. I can’t wait! :-)

Abbreviations

2006-05-01T05:38:00.000-07:00

In preparations for my PC (peace corps) time I have discovered that they really like to use abbreviations. I will probably start using these too, so here is a list of some abbreviations I have found:

Ad Sep: Administrative Separation (occurs when Peace Corps administration decides to end a PCV's service early)
APCD: Associate Peace Corps Director (the director, often a HCN, in charge of your program)
CD: Country Director (senior Peace Corps official for a country)
COS: Close of Service (completion of Peace Corps service)
ET: Early Termination (used as a noun or a verb, ET refers to a PCT or PCV choosing to leave service early)
Field Sep: Field Separation (occurs when a PCV ends her service early but arranges to remain in the host country rather than immediately return to the US)
HCN: Host Country National
IOS: Interruption of Service (occurs when an entire program is pulled from a country. PCVs who don't meet the minimum requirement for a COS—usually at least one year of service—are listed as IOS)
IST: In-Service Training (usually held twice during a PCV's two years of service; to expand technical and/or language skills)
Med Evac: Medical Evacuation (if a PCV is sick/injured and can't be treated in-country, she will be sent either to DC or to the closest reliable medical facilities)
Med Sep: Medical Separation (Med Sep occurs when a PCT or PCV is sent home for medical reasons)
OMS: Office of Medical Services
PCMO: Peace Corps Medical Officer (the MD, PA, or RN in charge of a country's medical office)
PCT: Peace Corps Trainee (prospective PCV currently training in-country)
PCV: Peace Corps Volunteer (PCT who has been sworn-in)
PST: Pre-Service Training (the three months of in-country training before you are sworn in as a volunteer)
RPCV: Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (a Peace Corps Volunteer who has successfully completed service)

I hope this helps! :-)

Uganda

2006-04-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

I'm going to Uganda!!!

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ug.html

I'll write more later, I'm so excited right now! I'm going to go call everyone I know :-)

Invited

2006-04-20T06:25:00.000-07:00

I've been invited! I've been invited! I am no longer a PC nominee, I am now a Peace Corps Invitee!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH. Can't even handel this excitment. I'm going to try and remain focused on my students here at NHM but something tells me that that is a lost cause. At least for today. I don't think I will sleep until my invitation arrives in the mail. In the invitation will be my assignment: where I'm going , when I'm going, what I'm doing. Thats all I have to say for now, but I promise to keep you updated and will call everyone as soon as I find out more details.

Have a marvelous day!

2006-04-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

I just talked with one of my PC (Peace Corps) placement officers and while she still couldn't tell me where I'm going, she said I will be leaving in the second half of September 06!!! I can't wait to find out where I will be spending the next two years of my life. I am okay with going anywhere, I am just excited to start researching my country and you know, perhaps learning the language. September feels like it is so far away, but I have a feeling these 5 months will fly by. I feel like I've learned so much already and I havn't even left the country. Learning to be patient is probably the number one lesson. Did you know that I was nominated for service November 2004! That means that by the time I leave I would have been waiting for almost 2 years. I've also learned that God is totally in control. I guess I have always known this, but just not really. Dose this make any sence? It dose in my head, but perhaps not in yours. Haha, oh well.