Hakuna Matata
We’ve been warned about “African time” since arriving here. Someone may have an appointment to meet a friend at 3. They may come at 2, they may come at 3, they may come at 6. Its all fine and totally expected. It’s the continent of laid back looseness; a problem-free philosophy… Hakuna Matata indeed.
I was feeling a little less Hakuna matata this morning at breakfast when the young boy whose express job it was to load and unload the toaster, had decided his toast-removal implement of choice would be a metal knife. I was holding my breath in expectation of an almighty zapping and although I did express concern and ask if he had any non-metal objects he could employ for the task, he seemed totally unfazed. Hakuna matata.
Jeanette and Peter’s airconditioning was on the blink. They said they might fix it last night. They said they might fix it this morning, they said they might fix it today. It’s still not fixed. Hakuna matata.
Our accommodation in Gulu is a lot more like I expected in Africa than our first night in relative luxury. It’s really comfortable and clean but the fridge doesn’t work, the airconditioning is a bit temperamental and the run-around-to-get-wet shower may or may not produce any hot water. It’s all just part of the adventure and besides, the beaming smiles and warm hospitality of the staff, some of whom are resplendent in their gleaming bellhop outfits that wouldn’t look out of place at The Ritz, make it all worth it. The Ugandan people are exceptionally welcoming and friendly. Aside from the grumpy guard at the bridge yesterday, anyone we wave to from our bus, obliges us with a friendly return wave. Even the toughest looking guys by the side of the road, are happy to return our waves.
Our first stop this morning was the “Watoto Neighbourhood”. This is a an incredibly inspirational set-up. Starting in 2008, it was originally formed to protect widows and women who had been victims of vicious attacks from rebel soldiers during the civil war. It was common for girls to be abducted at a young age and forced to marry older men who often performed horrific mutilation to their faces (cutting off lips or noses!) and got them pregnant in their teens. Education for women in Uganda is also not a priority, with many girls encouraged to stay home to do domestic chores rather than go to school. As sad as this seems, menstruation is also a major reason for girls to drop out of school. Their poverty prevents them from being able to afford sanitary products so they remain at home to avoid embarrassment and shame. This has left a huge proportion of the female population illiterate, contributing to their vulnerability in society. This is where Watoto steps in.
Watoto provides a safe haven for such women (and their children), initially giving them trauma counselling and then giving them basic literacy skills and an ongoing two-year program aiming to empower them to break their vulnerability through education. The program includes vocational training, budgeting advice, business skills and a start-up capital to help launch their new businesses. Each woman has a bank account opened for her. The women who have been disfigured are given re-constructive surgery and there is a focus on restoring dignity. Currently 40% of the women there are HIV positive so they are also provided with medication and ongoing medical support. Watoto sees itself as an organisation offering a “hand-up”, rather than a hand-out. Overarching all of this is Watoto’s commitment to God and their Christian faith and the girls are given hope and a purpose for the first time. It was incredibly inspiring.
Our team was ushered into a room full-to-the-brim with women sitting at sewing machines. Their welcome to us was as enthusiastic as it was unique and, as they cupped their hands over their mouths, on-and-off, American Indian style, emitting the loudest and most raucous cheers, we were humbled. It was a cacophony like none we’d heard, with thunderous clapping, foot stomping and shrill hollering all in honour of our arrival. What a reception! Next, we were treated to some incredible singing, accompanied by two girls on a drum and more rhythmic clapping. Though we may not have understood the words (most of the girls spoke only in their African dialect) we were swept up in the music and joy of it all just the same. It’s an experience I’ll never forget.
One of the women got up and shared her incredible story of abduction at 14, teen pregnancy and a marriage where she was held hostage at gun-point. Bravely, she had fled with her child and had made her way to the safety of Watoto. A large part of the healing process for these women and a major facet of their trauma counselling is Forgiveness. They are not able to move on until they can truly forgive. I was struck by the enormity of this task, given the magnitude of their mistreatment at the hands of such cruelty but they say they are able to do this only in God’s strength. Julieanne from our team gave a short bible talk afterwards to encourage the girls, which was interpreted sentence by sentence and was received enthusiastically. Then a few of the young girls on our team, including Molly and Maisy, got up and sang Amazing Grace to the women, most of whom joined in. It was awesome!
Our next destination was the neighbourhood village. We were being invited into the homes of women who were part of the program. To say this was confronting was to say the least. We met the beautiful, gentle Nancy, who had a congenital birth defect that caused her face to be disfigured and consequently left her an outcast. As she sat, breastfeeding her baby, Emanuel, and we sat on plastic chairs she’d set up for us inside her tiny, traditional African hut, she was excited to share that she was on the brink of launching her own shoe-selling business. She was waiting for her start-up capital to arrive. I’m not sure why, but I felt overcome with emotion meeting Nancy. To see her, living with her 3 small kids in this tiny mud house with a dirt floor, a small pot of rice cooking on a fire in the corner, experiencing her joy and warm hospitality, was overwhelming. Our abundance is so taken for granted and though it’s a cliche, our first-world problems really pale into insignificance here.
The neighbourhood kids were roaming with chickens, playing between the huts and yelling out to us in their language. When we enquired about what they were yelling, our guide informed us they were yelling “Whities!!” We were being heckled! We had come straight from winter but come on. Maybe we should have issued them all with sunglasses to help with the glare. We’d brought over some soccer balls and Ross had one pumped up in the bus. As a big group of kids stood around to get a better look at us (or realistically, to laugh at our lack of tans) Ross threw the soccer ball to them and caused a frenzy. They were SO excited. Kids came out of the woodwork and followed Pied Piper fashion as the boy with the ball led the way. The universal appeal of the round ball game. Maybe we’d made their day but actually, their excitement had made ours.
This afternoon we had the choice of going to the building site to start work on the greenhouse or to visit Baby Watoto in Gulu. Our family divided along gender lines, Ross & the boys going to build and the girls and I spending the afternoon with the orphaned babies. We had an absolute ball and got to cuddle and feed babies from 6 weeks old! They were unbelievably cute. Their huge brown eyes with eyelashes for days and their skin so dark and flawless. We just wanted to take them home! The home at Gulu houses around 80 babies so the task of looking after them is mammoth. Preparing bottles, changing nappies, bathing and dressing, all done by the loving carers like a well-oiled machine. We arrived during afternoon nap time to a peaceful, calm environment but the tone of the place quickly changed once the little tackers were up and about. They were everywhere – crawling, bouncing, playing. It was just so much fun. We all bonded with these gorgeous little people and I can’t wait to see them tomorrow.
The building team had a great, productive afternoon too. The enormous site set to accommodate the greenhouse had been cleared in preparation and the team worked tirelessly digging holes, barrowing red dirt and cementing the poles in place. Toby and Ross were on cement duty while Sam worked on getting the trusses in order, a project Ross described as like a giant Meccano set.
Dinner eaten, malaria tablets taken, teeth brushed with bottled water, insect spray on, mozzie net in place…time to hit the sack, exhausted.
