A day and a half in and I’ve managed to laugh hysterically, cry uncontrollably, witness a suckling family of pigs, break my sandals from dancing too much along with my belt (trying to uncap a bottle of the local soda called Mirinda) and getting to know more and more about these incredible children. What an incredible day full of unexpected turns and twists!  The rapport with the kids keep getting stronger and stronger and I am already feeling the separation anxiety that will happen a mere 10 days from now.

I have been to townships in Capetown, Favelas in Bahia, the Dalit villages in Madras and now the slums of Kampala; all had a common denominator-JOY. Probably not what you would expect amidst the poverty, but that is exactly what we are experiencing here. As you enter their world, you are greeted with open arms and beaming white smiles and offered morsels of food that they should be keeping for themselves because it is so scarce. They revel in the presence of a “muzongo” (or foreigner) who traveled thousands of miles to be with them, laugh with them and sit with an immense feeling of contentment and I feel that same intensity as they tell me how grateful they are for the visit.  The small offering we took of grapes, apples, a loaf of bread and a bottle of coke was greatly appreciated…especially the grapes. Moses’ sister, Gurita (also Regious’ mom-I’ll post pics later) had NEVER tasted grapes in her life. She had only seen it in books and I told her that this is something that is abundant in the States and she thanked me for introducing it to her. I mean, really? I thought she was pulling my leg but the piglets suckling in the backyard and the men in the front forming bricks by hand and laying them out to dry along with cows walking by made me realize that she was dead serious.

I am a bit jetlagged after almost 24 hours of travel and all I want to do is keep writing…but I must wait until the next entry :)

~Marivic