Nakhokho's Bunabumali School Project

Saturday a group of 45 children were here singing and playing games. They had a lunch together and then we explained the hammock making project. None of them had ever seen a hammock before. Nobody in Norman's village had either. Hammocks are just not common here, so this could be a very profitable opportunity for Life in Africa, and the Good Samaritan School to make them to sell in local and international markets.

I asked the kids how many were night commuters traveling from the villages to sleep together in shelters during the war in fear of being abducted. Nearly all of them put up their hands. Most of them also put up hands when I asked how many lost parents.

We have one sewing machine here ready, and the other awaits the peddle which fell out of the box on the bumpy bus ride from Mbale. The peddle is in the bus station office, so we'll have it back tomorrow and start sewing hammocks.

Yesterday, we attended a wedding in Masindi, a village near Karuma falls on the Nile. Along the drive we fed baboons' begging on the highway, and got some photos. I'd never experienced anything like it.

George was the chairman of the wedding committee. He grew up with the family and they paid for his school fees. The family is one of the largest land owners in that district, with 1000 acres, and all of them are very well educated... being doctors, lawyers and teachers. The father died early and eldest brother, a lawyer, was a member of parliament at age 23, and put the other eight siblings through school. They are keen to have more volunteers visit their village and offered their houses to live in and land to set up a camp on. One of the sisters is head teacher at a local school and will be happy to have guest teachers. The place felt very safe and I will work on facilitating this project.

We arrived at the village exhausted from an early morning and late night of dancing the night before. I regretted not bring a hammock to rest. Kids everywhere, keen to play with the Muzungu(strange white guy). It seemed like I was the only white person they have ever seen. I wished I had the dance hoop. I looked in hardware shops for materials, but plastic tubing is rare here. I grabbed a large bike tire off the roof of a bycycle repair shop, but it was too soft. The men there thought I was silly the way I was playing with it, but after walking away they called me back to get a more sturdy tire, with treads worn down smooth. It worked perfectly. We washed it at the village water pump, and by then there was a group of 30 kids ready for a show, plus a dozen prison inmates that happened to be sitting there.

The hoop play went on for hours before and after the wedding, and they were fighting over it by dark, and following me in a huge crowd, so I needed to hid-out to keep them from following. One little boy took a special liking to the hoop and loved being in front of the camera. He was a pushy kid, obviously needing attention. We became good friends and he stayed with me, holding my hand and asking me to swing him around. This sort of personal connection I find very satisfying, because I was able to give what he needed, and maybe the hoop could be a positive way he can continue to channel energy. The hoop being a bycycle tire ended up being a good thing, so that they could use what they had locally.

The choir singing at the wedding was enchanting and I plan to use the music for the soundtrack of my documentary. I shot a good overview of the whole wedding and will give a copy to the family, plus a disc of all the still images. The dance party afterward lasted all night and I was too tired dance, but the bed I was laying in was only a hundred feet from the massive speakers and crowd of 500+, so again I got little sleep. Norman slept in the vehicle far away, and got much better rest.

My head hurts, and throat hurts a bit, which I'm sure is due to lack of sleep and water. I can't drink the local water, everyone reminds me, so I always need to be prepared. It is hot, so I need to drink a lot. I need to sleep now.

Please take the time to read Aaron's proposal below and help continue the work we are doing here. I really want Aaron to come, knowing he has many gifts. I have given him $380 from the sale of 7 hammocks that Karenann Whalen sold in Montreal. Now we need others to take action soon as possible. The reason I write reports and share images is to inspire a grassroots movement, which will really make a difference on the ground in the long term. I'm not here on vacation. We will continue the work started by the connections made I've made this trip. Already, Shady Willis and Jamie Luv are planning Action Hero adventures in Uganda this coming summer.