I have been here a little over a week and I want to share with you a little bit about life in Uganda. It still seems like a dream that I am here. Sometimes my teammates and I will look at each other and say, “Y’all…we are in Africa…” but, day-by-day this way of life seems a little more normal.
I am doing ministry in Bulenga, which is about 30 minutes outside Kampala. Our house that we are staying in is beautiful! We even have an indoor bathroom and beds, which are luxuries on the Race! We don’t have running water so our toilet does not flush unless we dump water in it obtained from a nearby well, and we shower using buckets and well water; welcome to Uganda. I am 8 hours ahead of Texas, so as everyone back home is going to bed I am getting up and getting ready for ministry!
Culture: It is not proper to show your knees, especially doing ministry, so long pants and skirts this month! As a whole, Ugandans are not typically on time. You want to be picked up at 4? It will at least be 4:30 or 5:00 before that happens. When it I mealtime, talking does not occur. Everyone eats their food and then converses.
Weather: The weather is wonderful, typically in the 70’s or 80’s, which is amazing considering how hot it is back home in Texas! It is also the rainy season, so about once a day we will get a little shower, which also helps keep it cool.
Ministry: We are working with an AMAZING organization this month! We are so blessed! The organization is called Raising Up Hope for Uganda (RUHU). Our ministry contact, Patrick, started this organization and has a HUGE heart for reaching out to the forgotten. RUHU has many projects:
Community school- a free school where children from the community can attend and have a chance to receive an education. These children would not have an opportunity to attend school otherwise due to financial reasons. RUHU has opened its doors to the community to educate the youth and keep them off the streets. This is where we are spending most of our time. Six of my teammates and I spend our days teaching here.
Safe house- A house for girls rescued from the slums to live, our 7th teammate is working here to take care of the children so the safe house girls can go to school.
Boys home/girls home- an orphanage for children.
Village of Hope- Newest project, 4 acres of land being developed to hold houses for children, a church, a clinic, a school, and farmland to create community for the children that no longer have a family.
Slum ministry- Every Tuesday and Thursday Patrick and William go to the slums to run a program for about 60 street boys. They give them a meal, clean wounds, and preach the gospel. They also rent a house in the slums to house street kids that want to get clean from drug use and be rehabilitated from their life in the slums.
RUHU is changing lives in Uganda and the fruit of their labor is so evident. I will go more into depth with other blog posts, but for now, know that I am amazed and encouraged by how the Lord is moving in Uganda through this incredible ministry!
Language: Luganda is the national language of Uganda. You greet by saying “Oli otya (Hi, how are you)” to which the person will respond “Gyendi ( I’m fine).” “Mzungu (white person)” is the word I am most familiar with because we hear it so often. Wherever we go anywhere(on foot or by vehicle) people point and shout “Mzungu.” We get quite the following sometimes walking about. Children run from all corners of the village yelling “A MUZUNGU” or they chant “BYE MZUNGU, BYE MZUNGU, BYE MZUNGU” (I don’t know how all the children know the same chant, but they do) or my favorite, they just chant “SEE YOU, SEE YOU, SEE YOU.” We are pretty popular around here.The kids at school love teaching us new phrases, here are some of my favorites:
oli mukwano gwange (you’re my friend)
oli kirabo kyange (you’re my gift)
Food: The food is great! We have bananas or pineapple with almost every meal, noodles and rice are a staple, and there are always always eggs for breakfast, either fried or hard boiled. The most “Ugandan” items I have eaten are chapati, which is similar to fried flatbread or tortilla, matoke, which looks like a green banana, but tastes like a potato, and rolex (yes, rolex) which is egg, tomatoes, and onions all rolled in chapati like a burrito!
My time in Uganda has been hard, but sweet. I have met some incredible people here and I can’t wait to tell you more about them!
