Things That Have Made Me Smile This Week

1.  Realizing that God is so much greater than my human expectations.  Little Sarah, the toddler who I took to the doctor right after she was rescued only a few weeks ago, now acts as though she is queen of the bulrushes.  She escapes the clinic (where she is supposed to stay until she gains more weight) and toddles from room to room hugging on any leg she can find.  How fast she has become accustomed to the Bulrushes! 

2.  The fact that from Texas all the way to Africa, so many babies will do this immediately after you take him or her out of a swaddle.  It makes me laugh every time.  Look familiar Averitt family? 

3.  Watching these boys (the premie twins shown in the last post) get bigger and bigger every day.  They’re already growing so fast!

4.  The idea that I can look at a baby girl who comes in as tiny as 3 pounds and have full confidence in her tremendous future.  

5.  Really, how does this not make you smile?!

Sadly, I don’t have time to do a full update...but I couldn’t help but put up a few new pictures.  Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouraging emails; they have made my time in Uganda that much sweeter!  I will have a full and sadly final update ready in a few days!    

P.S. While I wish that I took such beautiful photos, most of the more artsy photos that I have posted were taken by sweet Beth.  I’m trying to convince her to minor in photography…she’s amazing!

More Pictures

The Preemie twins that were rescued this week.  They both weigh just a little over 4 lbs.

Rockin their shades

Feeding time.  These 8, plus 10 more all have to be fed at the same time (and this is the age group with the fewest babies!).  We have quickly learned the art of feeding multiple babies at once :)

Baby Jeff has stolen my heart

Our room in the apartments.

Watoto Children's Villages

Last Wednesday, we were given the opportunity to take a day off of work and tour the Watoto Children's villages with one of the volunteer supervisors.  It was such a blessing to see first hand Watoto's holistic approach to raising these orphans. 

To date, Watoto is raising 2,354 children in three different villages and three babies homes.  I know from working at the Bulrushes that this statistic is growing day by day as there is not one week that passes that we don't see at least 2 or 3 new faces.  Is that not an astounding statistic?  What a miracle that the Lord has blessed Watoto with the funds, leadership, and wisdom to grow such a ministry that can care for so many of these vulnerable children.  God is truly doing great things through this ministry.

Two of these villages are located within an hour of Kampala, Subbi and Bbirra.  Most of the babies we work with at the Bulrushes will most likely be sent to one of these two.  The other is located about 4 hours away in Gulu, a city that bore the brunt of the civil war.  The village and babies home in Gulu focus on trauma rehabilitation for the former child soldiers of the LRA.   Sadly, because it is so far away, we were not given the opportunity to visit the village in Gulu, but I’m really hoping to go and visit on one of our days off.

When a child moves into one of these villages they are placed with a “momma” and a family of seven other children that they will live with for the duration of their childhood.  A child is not placed with a family until they are at least 2 years old.  The houses are placed in “clusters” that function as little neighborhoods.  Each village has multiple schools, a church and a clinic.  These children will stay at the village with the same siblings and mother until they are 18, when Watoto will then pay for them to attend a 4 year University.   

The Watoto home model.  Built for 8 children and one mother.

The homes have 2 rooms for the children, 4 beds in each.  It was a very tight squeeze! 

P.S. can you imagine hand washing laundry for 8 children?! aye yay yay.

One of the "clusters"

It was breathtaking to see the Ugandan countryside.  It is so lush and hilly.  It was impossible for me to look at this landscape and not immediately think of Psalm 104, a Psalm that I read only a few days before the tour.

 Many Ugandans ask me to tell them the differences between Uganda and Texas, and that is always the first thing I mention.  Uganda is hilly and green, Texas is brown and flat.  Almost all of their immediate responses have been "so why do you live there?"

Subbi Babies Home

A Few Pictures

Beth and I on our Watoto Village tour.  (new post to come)

Just a few of the precious babies I get to spend my days with....

This is Abby, who I mentioned in a previous post.  Many of you have emailed me saying you were praying for her, so I wanted to make sure to include a picture!

 

The beginning of the bath time assembly line....

Update

On Tuesday, we finally got to move out of the "guest house" at Buzeega and into the Kitante Volunteer Compound here in town.  We are so thankful as we are now a 15 minute walking distance from work.  It's saving us a lot of time and money now that we are not paying for 45 minute taxi commute.  We are missing the beautiful house in Buzeega though, we sure were spoiled!  Beth, Celine and I are sharing a teeny room (smaller than my freshmen dorm) with no electricity, but we don’t mind at all as we are so thankful to be walking to work.  Many of the long term volunteers, or what I would call missionaries, stay here.  These people amaze me.  It puts my 5 weeks in perspective when most of these people have been here for more than 6 months, some for even 4 years.  We have 5 chickens and a rooster living on the compound with us.  Unfortunately, the rooster decides to wake us up every 20 minutes starting at 5 am.  They also like to sneak in the house when we’re not watching, we’ve found a chicken in our kitchen twice.

Beth and I are on the afternoon shift this week (11 a.m. -7 p.m.).  On Tuesday, we were wrapping up our shift when one of the nanny supervisors came and found me.  She handed me a naked toddler and some clothes and told me to get in the car to go to the doctor with another nurse who also had another baby in her lap.  Everyone was speaking in Luganda, and I had NO clue who this child was, why she was going to the doctor and most importantly, why they were sending me with her.  Finally, we headed off to the doctor and I got a chance to ask the nurse riding with me what the story was with this little girl. 

She told me that the little girl, Sarah, was picked up by a social worker that day and just brought into the Bulrushes.  It is Watoto protocol to immediately take the child to the doctor to be examined.  Sarah had been abandoned by her mother days before, and no one knew who her father was.  She had been staying with a good samaritan who eventually called Watoto for help.  Needless to say, this little girl was terrified.  She kept her head buried in my chest the duration of the car ride.  Once we got to the clinic, it was a different story.  I think when she saw so many people and was in such a strange place, her defenses went up.  She spent most of the time in the waiting room pushing my face away from hers and hitting me.  (keep in mind, she is two so it wasn’t much of a struggle)  It was heartbreaking to see a child so distressed and not know how to comfort her.  I’m sure I’m the first muzoungoo (white person) who has held her, or possibly the first one she’d ever even seen.

We finally got called into the exam room, and I got up close and personal with African health care. Way too up close and personal.  There is no such thing as a “room” in this clinic, only curtains, so there is absolutely no privacy.  We were right in the middle of everybody’s business.  One of the more disturbing things I witnessed was a woman suffering from malaria hallucinations yelling and running from the doctors, only to be brought back in by two security guards a few minutes later and sedated...it was major motivation for me to double up my deet mosquito repellent application!

After her blood tests (which surprisingly didn’t seem to bother her too much) Sarah finally fell asleep.  It was a neat opportunity for me to pray for her; for her health, her future, her mother, and her heart.  Thank goodness all of her tests came back healthy; she was only to receive treatment for her malnourishment.  The whole experience just made Watoto’s ministry that much more real to me. 

I've gotten to spend time giving Sarah some extra TLC every day as she becomes accustomed to crazy life at the Bulrushes.  She is not quite adjusted and seems pretty overwhelmed, crying much of the day.  She did smile for me for the first time yesterday, which was quite a change from Tuesday night, so I know we are making some progress!  When you get the chance, please be praying for Sarah, her health and adjustment to life with Watoto.

Our Neighbors

Every day, we drive about 20-40 minutes to work (depending on the “jams” as they call it here in Africa).  This is actually one of my favorite (and the scariest, which I’ll write about later…) parts of the day as we get a chance drive through the neighborhoods of Kampala.  “Neighborhoods” here are what most Americans would consider slums.  I have been told we will be taken to visit the actual slums sometime in the next month.

As we take this drive, we see families with multiple generations living in a one room shack.  Mothers carrying their goods to sell for the day on their heads with a babies tied to their backs.  Children lying asleep in the streets (some, I pray that Watoto social workers find and send to a children’s village because they have been abandoned or abused).  I realize that some of the babies I care for likely come from these neighborhoods.   I take this time to pray for these families that we pass, not because I feel they need prayer anymore than the people in my neighborhoods at home (in a lot of ways, Africans seem a lot happier than many Americans), but because I feel it is the way I can best serve them.  I pray for their health, I pray that they would come to know Jesus that they may not know poverty and sickness when they come to glory.

I realize that I am truly experiencing the realities of a 3^rd world country.  Although I have been on mission trips to many countries in South America, I have never encountered poverty like I have here in Kampala.  

About the Babies...

I wanted to share a few stories about the little ones I am quickly falling in love with (there are too many to write about, but I will share a few each week).  Each of these sweet babies have their own stories, and I wish I had time to learn and tell them all, but here are a few who have touched my heart.

Abby
Sweet baby abby is about 5 months old.  She was found in a latrine, and thus has lost all of her sight and is completely blind.  Can you imagine living in an orphanage with dozens of babies and nannies buzzing around and not being able to see?  I remember from some of my special education experiences that it is very important for young children who are blind to experience a lot of touch.  I try to take 10 minutes out of every day to take abby out onto the quiet porch and sing to her and let her touch my face and hair.  I actually saw her smile for the first time today, it was one of my happiest moments here!

David
David is a four year old in the "trauma" room (a room for the recently rescued babies who need a little less chaos and a little more TLC until they are ready to be with all the other babies).  He was recently rescued and consistently stays in a somewhat fetal position.  He cries everytime anyone touches or holds him.  The social workers told us that this was an abuse case (as I'm finding many of these babies are) and he has lived in a round plastic tub for the majority of his life (i.e. why he lays with his arms and legs tucked in 24/7).

Sylvia
Sylvia is 6 months old, but if you saw her you would guess she was a newborn.  She weighs around 10 lbs.  (but now is healthy and gaining weight daily!)  Her arms are as skinny as my thumbs.  While many of the babies come in malnourished, this is the most serious case that I have seen at The Bullrushes.

We asked today why so many of the babies come in premature and were shocked by the answer.  In Uganda, abortion is legal, but is a very different process.  The women have to carry their babies until 5 or 6 months (I guess depending on the clinic) and are then induced and give birth.  After the mothers give birth, the baby is handed over and the mother is then responsible for "getting rid of the baby".  Many mothers do not have the strength to actually kill the baby and thus abandon them.  I have been told that many of the babies are found on trash heaps, on roadsides or dropped at the hospital or police station.  We were also told that many of the babies are abandoned after birth at the hospital.  The way that Ugandan healthcare functions, the family is expected to pay for the babies formula at the hospital.  So if a mother abandons her child, the hospital will not feed it.  Thus Watoto makes biweekly trips to the hospital to feed and rescue babies.

The silver lining for all of these precious babies is that when they are rescued by Watoto, they are truly brought to a place where their future is brighter than the majority of Ugandan Children.  They are guaranteed 3 healthy meals a day, an education, a family and a Christian up bringing for the next 18 years of their lives.  This is what brings me hope when I hear these sad situations.  While these babies have such sad beginnings, the Lord has used that sad situation and made them some of the most privileged children in Uganda.  Every time I hear or see the effects of some of these sad stories, I think of these bright, bright futures and am joyful that the Lord truly does provide.

Here are a few pictures (there are a lot of restrictions of what we are allowed to post, so I'm sorry these aren't the best).

One of the newborn "bunks"

These are some of the sick babies who have been sent in from the villages to be near the hospitals for treatment.  

 

The Bullrushes

Beth and I are finally starting to call Uganda home.  We are settling into our jobs as well as our home and are really enjoying our time here. We are here through an organization called Watoto,  a ministry started by the Watoto church here in Kampala.  Here is some information from there website:

Watoto’s mission is to ‘raise the next generation of Ugandan leaders by meeting the spiritual, physical, educational and emotional needs of orphaned and vulnerable children.

We believe that as the children are trained academically and spiritually they will enter society equipped with the necessary life skills and moral values that enable them to make a significant and lasting impact on the future of Uganda.

Children’s villages have been established where orphaned and vulnerable children from age 2 to 12 are placed in a home with seven other siblings and a new mother.  In this environment, they are provided with love and support, food, shelter, education, health care and family values.  They remain in this family for life. 

Baby Watoto is a home for abandoned and vulnerable babies and gives even the tiniest life a chance at hope and a future.  When the babies are old enough they will enter a Watoto Children’s village. 

Watoto also reaches out to into war torn Northern Uganda.  The project includes the trauma rehabilitation of former child soldiers.   

Beth and I have been specifically assigned to a babies home called "The Bullrushes" which serves two functions for Watoto.  It is firstly the receiving home for the abandoned babies, thus there are many malnourished, sick and newborn babies. (we have about 50 "new ones" at the moment) Once they are 4 or 5 months old and healthy, they are sent out to one of the Children's Villages to be integrated into a family.  Secondly, this is a home for many of the sick and special needs children who need to be near a hospital (as The Bullrushes is the closest to the city).  We work 8 hours a day 6 days a week.  As you can imagine, I spend most of my days feeding, changing, rocking, bathing 5 or 6 babies at once(I haven't quite mastered it yet).  It's quite an adventure. (just imagine trying to keep 67 babies on a schedule! these nurses are amazing).

I figured out today that they will be utilizing me to work "intensively" with the few special needs kids here.  There are about 5.  Most of them have Cerebral Palsy (which affects both physically and cognitively), others have "global" cognitive delays.  Because most of them have laid in cribs for most of their lives (you must understand that as special education is very new to this culture, this is all these nurses know to do), there is much to be done in terms of physical and cognitive stimulation.  There is a volunteer occupational therapist who comes in once every few weeks.  I got the chance to meet with her today and helped set up some goals to for each of the children.  I am working one on one with some of their nurses and modeling a lot of occupational/physical therapies.  The Lord really has equipped me.  With such little experience, I never would have thought I could do this!  Needless to say, I am being stretched in oh so many ways!

I wish I could include more pictures of the babies, but there are very specific rules about publishing pictures etc.  These are the babies who soon will be sent out to villages, they are getting stronger and healthier and ready to join the babies homes there.  This gives you an idea of what a normal "feeding time" is like.  Its a lot like an assembly line, once a baby is fed, you pass him or her down to be changed or bathed before they go down for naps.  Often times you may be feeding multiple babies at once (which can get really messy with rice cereal!).

There is so much more to post, but we only get internet every few days.  Thank you again for all of your prayers, we are so happy and feel very blessed!

A Few Ugandan Pointers

1.  When you call for a taxi to pick you up at 6:45 the next morning, they will show up honking at 6:15...every morning.  (this has happened all three mornings.  needless to say, we've never left the house fully ready!)
2.  When you want someone to "pick you up" or to "pick up the phone" you don't say "please pick me up at 3" or else they will die laughing as they are picturing literally carrying you from point a to point b.  The correct term is "pick me at 3" or "pick the phone".
3.  Whenever a Ugandan figures out you are an American, without fail the first question they will ask you is "How is my man Barack Obama??".  There are many "Obama's" restaurants and hair salons.

I'm sure there will be many more to come.....

And So It Begins...

After a long two days of traveling (but quite an adventure to say the least!) Beth and I arrived in Uganda on Tuesday morning!  Sandra (our volunteer coordinator) was there to greet us at the airport.  We drove about 45 minutes from Entebbe into Kampala, where she took us directly to our guest house in a neighborhood called Buzeega.  (pictures below).  It is a beautiful beautiful house; we are so spoiled.  It is all "open air", but the temperature has been in the 70's at night so it really has been quite nice!  (it's just a little loud when we're trying to sleep at night, we've decided neither Ugandans, nor their dogs, ever sleep).  We have running water, which we've quickly learned is quite a blessing in Africa, so we are very thankful.  We are making fast friends with the guard of our house, Isaac, as we are consistently bugging him with questions.  Whether it's how to turn on the stove, why the lights went out, or a question about the city, Isaac is our man.

On Wednesday, we traveled to the church for our orientation and "staff devotions".  The Watoto church is deep in the heart of Kampala, and between their orphanages, clinics and other ministries to the city, Watoto has over 600 staff.  Needless to say, I was blown away at staff devotions when a room of 600 Ugandans and volunteers from around the world began to sing "Fairest Lord Jesus".  What a sweet, sweet sound it was.

The Guest House for Watoto at Buzeega.  Only Beth, Selene (our new friend from the UK) and I live here this week.

Beth and my room.

The last few days have been spent touring different children's villages and babies homes, and also trying to sort out our permanent accommodations and work.  I hope to be able to update more next week of my specific placement.  Please be praying for Watoto, their leadership and volunteers but especially the hundreds of precious orphans that we will meet.  Please also be praying that the Lord will ease Beth and my anxieties of being in a different culture so far away from home.  Thank you for all of your prayers and support!  It means more to us than you will ever know :)