Triplets

The sister patiently awaiting her turn for milk.

There's no explanation needed for these pictures.... Two different families in the same village had triplets - which is not that common. One set was 8 months, the other set was 3 months. They were all very adorable! The older set was boy, girl, boy and the second set was all boys. Each set of triplets also had multiple older siblings. Some were also neighbor kids who came to see the muzungus.

The older siblings looking in on us all.



Helpful older siblings.



3 months and so tiny.

He was giving Madison, my fellow student, a dirty look
because she was asking for a high-five.

Everyone looking on while mom and triplets
were getting their picture taken.



Some of these were neighbor kids, not all hers.



They wouldn't get close while we were there,
but they followed us as we left.

Boda-boda

THAT'S a delivery driver!

Bodas (dirt-bike/motorcycle) is even easier to get than a taxi. They come flocking, even when you don't need one. And they are good for carrying so many things. People, animals, or anything you can imagine. And when I say anything, I mean it. Furniture even. Awesome!!

The day of not getting it.

I did not get this burn from a boda. I did not get into an accident where the other boda hit us and then fell, landing on the driver's leg. I did not attempt to pull the boda off and get burned in the process. It's healing, this burn I don't have, and that's the important part.

This is us, NOT riding on the back of a boda.

 

Lukodi

Anna-Claire and I were given the great opportunity of going out to the village of the Lukodi people with a representative and translator from the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP). We had heard there was a massacre that occurred there but I hadn’t had the chance to look up much more information than that. It turns out that JRP is working with them on documenting events that happened during the war. JRP is having the members do timelines, writing personal accounts and even doing some storyboard exercises. There is a community committee that has gotten together to head this project and involve the community as much as possible. There were about 15 people that attended this meeting. Some of them were older and some just middle-aged.

In the past, whenever you hear ‘massacre,’ it’s about events that have happened so long ago. Most of the people who lived during the time have since passed. In the case of the Lukodi village, it was very recently. The massacre occurred in May of 2004, around the same time that I was celebrating graduation from high school. That is such a bizarre feeling for me. While I was celebrating my next step in life, people were just praying that they lived through the night in order to have a next step in life. As Martin Dennis from Canadian Physicians of Aid and Relief (CPAR) said, “You do not dream about tomorrow because it would be senseless.”

While visiting the village, Vicki (the JRP representative over the project) asked Vincent to tell us the history of the village. It’s something that he does regularly with visitors and he speaks English really well; so he gave his brief rendition. At first I was just thinking he knew the history, but seeing his age and listening closely it dawned on me that he was there. He personally experienced the attack, the killings, the hiding, and all the atrocities that had occurred. I believe that Vincent is probably not much older than me, so he remembers all that happened quite vividly. I have heard personal accounts, read about many of the things people went through, but I cannot even begin to imagine how it would feel or how I would possibly handle such things happening.

These people have been through terrible things, but are willing and wanting to record it all. They have learned that documenting these things is important, not only for their generations but for others such as students, historians, and everyone. Their story needs to be told, remembered, and never be repeated. They aren’t recording just the events of 2004 and after, but they started with history back in 1970’s and the hardships they were experiencing then too. I am so very impressed with these people. Remembering and reliving the pain and trauma of war is not easy. It’s necessary for healing, documenting, and helping but it’s hard to do. My heart goes out to them. I wish them all the best in this endeavor and I hope it works out very well. I hope that they get a lot of cooperation from the rest of their villages and that is a beneficial experience for all and to be used by many for years and years to come.

Interesting side-note: given my social work classes and discussions, I would say that this process of coping/recovering from trauma is a very new, but believed process. People have different ways of healing from very traumatic experiences. This way of doing it through art is very beneficial and yet also very detailed. I have also noticed, through discussions with different people here, that ‘traditional’ counseling as we think of in the states is not as well used. People don’t really seek out help for a traumatic event or situation. And any repercussions from such experiences don’t usually seek out help from counselors or anyone in that profession. So, even though they aren’t using the kind of coping and recovery that we may think of, it’s still a great process to discuss what happened and work through it.

Worldwide Religion

I was able to attend the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints while here in Gulu, Uganda. I have been to many different locations of the same church while in the United States. Services in Pennsylvania, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Washington, North Carolina, Tennessee, and probably other places I just have forgotten. And in each location the service was very similar. The messages were the same, the meetings were the same set up, and even all the music was from the same hymnal. So I felt that regardless of where I was, I would feel comfortable attending a Sunday service and know what to expect.

I was not disappointed being on the other side of the world.

Pouring rain during/after church. Glad we had our ponchos!

Sure, we hear about services being all over the world. And I have even had family members and close friends who have served in the church in different locations around the world (Chile, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico, Australia, Russia, Portugal, etc.). But it doesn’t quite hit home until you experience something yourself. And although today was my last chance to attend, I almost didn’t go. I am very glad that I did. I was certain that I had been told the service started at 10:30, but I guess it actually started at 10. We were late, but we were able to enjoy most of the main meeting (aka Sacrament meeting). We even sang a song that I knew very well, ‘Nearer My God to Thee.’ How nice it felt to be able to sing along to a song that I am so familiar with, surrounded by local Gulu people. Now I wish I had gotten up and attended last week as well.
I guess it just reaffirms that no matter where you are in the world, there are people that worship, pray, believe, sing and love just like yourself. And although the building may be different, the people may not dress the same, we are all still the same. We all feel, heal, and love the same. It's a comforting feeling.

Chicken..... is what's for dinner.

Julie haggling price on chicken

Our dinner



Julie getting the fire ready.

Timothy - Julie's 3 yr old son
 did the cutting.

Anna-Claire was given the wonderful opportunity to experience Ugandan cooking - from the beginning to the end. This included going to the market to purchase the chicken and veggies, slaughter the chicken, pluck, clean and cook the chicken. Also cut up all the veggies, matook, and sort the rice. It was actually rather awesome to be able to go and experience such with her. I will not post all the gruesome photos - it was like anatomy/biology dissection class all over again.




AC plucking - with Timothy supervising.



Those feathers stuck to us pretty good.

Cutting it up - I'll spare you the rest
of the pictures.



A quick browning before cutting.



Cutting Matook. It looks similar to bananas.
But it tastes different. Tasty too!

We need to cook more often - even cutting veggies we were slow.

Sorting/Sifting rice to be cooked

Julie kept saying she knows we would become a good wife for a Ugandan man because we are such fast learners and will be great cooks. Our moms would be proud. When we come again, she can sit back and be the 'big mom' while we cook for her. She was adorable and so sweet to us!!

Finished product. It was delicious!!!!

I really enjoyed the experience. I learned that it's a lot of work to prepare a meal for a small family, but it was well worth learning about. Again - learning to appreciate what I have. Thank you SO much, Julie and Timothy for showing us what to do and sharing a traditional Ugandan meal with us!!
 

Join me in the Market

The muddy road on the way in.

These cows just roam - look at the HORNS!

How things are displayed - this is at the beginning.



Clothes, clothes, clothes

Gotta have the tools, hardware, and such for around the house.

SHOES!!!!

Hey look.... it's not a super busy day.

The ladies displaying all their different nuts for sale.

Fresh Fruits and Veggies..... MMMMmmmmm!!

Bananas - so tasty!! And mini so it's just the right amount.

Rows of food

Sweet onions

Church A vs Church B

I have heard about and learned about different religions. Maybe not in great detail, but I have heard some things about them. Recently I was taken to a Catholic cathedral. The Father was trying to explain to us the history behind the building, artifacts, pictures and everything inside. I can appreciate the history of a building, especially a building with such detail that’s so old. But I can’t really understand or appreciate every cross, every letter, and every artifact a church might have in its possession. Maybe I just don’t understand the significance behind an inanimate object. The history of the people, okay. But the sacredness of it all, I don’t quite understand.
Maybe some people just need to have an object to see to really appreciate the sanctity of their religion, and that’s cool. But I really feel that some people put too much emphasis on their object and less on the deity or spirituality that the object represents.
Now, just because I don’t understand their pride in such an item doesn’t mean I think any less of them or think they are crazy. It’s just different. I’m not sure someone could change my mind or convert me to any religion, but I don’t judge, look down on or think badly about them. They are just different from me and my beliefs. And that’s okay. If we all believed and acted the same, it could be a boring world. It might be more peaceful, which would be nice.
Although, we had an interesting lecture a week or so ago. Regardless of what religion you are, no religion promotes violence. No god wants the death of people. ‘Religious war’ is a direct contradiction. As quoted from Bishop Ocholla’s power-point presentation: “All these religious or cultural prejudices that manifest themselves in any forms of violence against humanity can only interpreted, as spiritual blindness on the part of many different religious peoples in the world. The major tenets of all religions all over the world are love, justice, mercy, forgiveness, peace, truth, and reconciliation. Violence in any forms, therefore, has no place in real religion. Violence of any forms can never be justified in the name of religion or in the name of God.”
I believe that, regardless of what religion you ‘practice’ or believe in, that it should be more about love and caring than about being better than the other religion. Regardless of what God or gods you worship, love or believe exists, just treat people with respect and love. Don’t judge or belittle…. Keep to the basics. “Treat others how you would like to be treated.”