Safe from theft (sort of)

Abra

Karamoja is notorious for theiving, and not just of the cattle raiding sort. But one day I ran something over to the clinic for Martha, and had a nice chat there with Abra Joseph and Fiona about how in Karamoja you're safe from purse-snatchers, unlike in the cities, such as Mbale. People here only take stuff when you're not looking, but they won't cut your bag from your shoulder and run. I find that somehow consoling.

On this same visit, Elizabeth let me look through her microscope, which was fun. Not quite as exciting as looking at my own malaria smear, but anything under the microscope takes on an interesting quality.

Abra has twin daughters, Judith and Denise (named after Judy and Denise from Billings). Their little sister Mercy isn't nearly so shy...

souvenirs

souvenirs

Last year I gave away one of my extra bracelets...this time I have some extra keychains. I got carried away bargaining in the craft market in Kampala, and ended up with three keychains when I only needed one. No one else here seems to want them, so if any of my blog readers would like one, you are welcome. They are genuine Ugandan imports (I hope) and quite sturdily made. They also have some nice shiny beads mixed up with the solid-colored ones, which make them look very "smart."

Not much news on the Ugandan end, but Craig and Kris will be back next week. I'm very excited about seeing them again (and I'm looking forward to seeing their pictures, too)!

Always Come for Fresh Meat

Fresh

April 26, 2006

This morning I went to Namalu in the Land Rover ambulence, driven by Luka. Rachel, Kyalo, Anna, Josephine, Fiona, (the latter three are all Karamojong) and others from the clinic also came. Rach helped me pick out tomatoes, bananas, onions, what, what. Our bags quickly grew very heavy. I also got beads and a blanket, which are now 8000 shillings each; several vendors told me that they are costing 7500 from Mbale, so they're not making much profit! The market was very busy, partly because a lorry, parked by the side of the road, had two men in it. They had been shot on their way just that morning. There was a huge crowd around them.

On the drive, Rachel talked to Luka in a mix of Karamojong, English, and Arabic - she had just discovered he knew some Arabic, and so did she - and all the women in the back talked loudly and hilariously in Karamojong. It made me wish I knew more than a small smattering of the language, but sometimes I could laugh with them anyway because it was so funny that i felt like I understood the joke!

The meat stand in the picture is in Nakapiripirit - the one in Namalu is much bigger and better stocked, but not so attractively painted. And their marketing in Namalu is not so good. :)

Staying in the lines

Girl Coloring
Originally uploaded by alscalvin.

One of the funnest things about teaching the kids on Sunday mornings was how *good* they were at coloring. (And still are, I presume...) There was always a different mix of kids - I was surprised at how many very small children came, walking slowly or being carried by their big sisters, and then sometimes a half dozen mostly-naked shepherd boys would show up, and usually the kids of the clinic staff, who didn't seem to have much interaction with the village kids otherwise (perhaps because they live in better housing than the village, and not all of them are Karamojong?).

It was hard to focus on the kids sometimes while telling a story, because half the time I was talking to Lomo, both of us trying to find the right words to use ("excuse," as in make an excuse, isn't in Ngakarimojong vocubulary, I found out). But they were often patient listeners just the same, unless they started to quarrel, which did occasionally happen - littler siblings usually seemed to be the cause. And afterwards, they got to color.

A lot of these kids have had some small schooling, but probably more than half of them hadn't used crayons and paper before this. They got the hang of coloring quickly, though. In fact, I'm not sure when I've seen better coloring by such young kids! And they know which colors look good together - just like they have an excellent ear for rhythym?

I do wonder what they think of pictures of bearded men in flowing robes (like Abraham and Moses) - but then again, it's no more a stretch for them than for American kids, is it? But the concepts in the stories - God's promises to his people, to love them and forgive their sins at cost only to himself, even for the ones in Karamoja and Amerika - are the part that can cross cultural divisions. Sin and forgiveness are just as hard to come grips with here as there, but there's the same need to do so - and the same hope, in the end.

I forgot to post the good news last night - the clinic is open again! I don't have any details, but Chrissie says all the staff (old and new) is happy to be doing something now. I imagine Kris is pretty thankful to have her job back, too.

Rainy Days

akiru
Originally uploaded by alscalvin.

After weeks of being on fire (Billings has been gray with smoke all month), Montana is finally getting some rain. The mountains here won't ever look like this, but it will certainly be a relief to have some moisture.

These trees remind me of the Babar books I read over and over again as a kid. I kept half-expecting (or at least *hoping*) to see a giraffe poking his head around one! Sadly, all the wildlife I saw (besides some roaches and other miscellaneous bugs) was a toad and a very small deer (maybe too big and not cute enough to be a dik-dik?).

But rain and fields and mountains are pretty nice without any wildlife, too...

African WWII Vets

BBC Africa has a slide show on African WWII vets - I'd never realized that Britain enlisted men from Tanzania and Zimbabwe to help fight Germany and Japan. Some of these men fought as far away as Burma, and only know are being recognized for it.

Oh, the mud

When Amy and I went to Agirowas' place, where Bob was drilling a bore hole, we rode on her piki. (Cruising along a dirt road on the back of a motor bike is FUN!) The mud off the road was a little tricky to get through, though. I usually got off and walked through the mud - which sucks at the bottom of your Tevas like you're walking through thick glue - while Amy carefully made her way along the 30 feet of mud trail to where Bob's truck was parked. Somehow I was always pretty splattered with mud by the time we left again. Amy either had more experience avoiding mud on her clothes, or there's something about being Dutch that repels it! :)


Lodem Thomas and Bob drilling the bore hole

As you can see, mud boots are a good thing to have when you're drilling.

A brief rant...

The International Criminal Court won't drop charges against LRA leaders, so the rebels won't agree to accept Uganda's amnesty. (How can they?) I don't actually know much about this, so it's not a very fair rant, but Uganda is the one who should be dealing with this problem, not any court that has Europeans or Americans in it!

Three Years

Munyes, 2006

One of the funnest things about getting to make repeat trips is seeing the the same people again and getting to know them better. This is maybe not the best case to point to, since Munyes' mom, Josephine, and I were good friends the first two years, and this year I hardly saw her. As you can probably tell by the picture, Munyes didn't recognize me. But there were other people who I got to spend much more time with this summer. I guess that's the way it goes with most relationships, doesn't it? But it's very nice to see old friends, like Rose and Joyce, who are women I just like and respect more and more.)

Munyes in 2005 - Sunday School under the tree

Josephine and Baby Munyes in 2004