| Monday
- August 22, 2005 (Day 11) Building day 7 |
"It speaks volumes about the situation in this village that two parents were willing to sent their child with a stranger, never to see him again, so that he could have the opportunity to grow up in America." |
 The house as it stood on Monday morning. |
Today
is our last day in Bululu. We woke up this morning to quite a
surprise - the men of the village had cooked breakfast! They made
French toast and muffins - so touching! We headed to the work site
leaving behind Doug, Joy, Stephanie, Luke and Juanita, all of whom are
feeling ill - people are dropping like flies! We we got to the
work site, we found that the roof
and floor were finished - the house was looking great! We helped
with
the finishing touches - mortaring the seams of the house and helping to
put
used motor oil on the wooden rafters to help preserve it. We left
at
11am to come back to the house and get ready for the dedication
ceremony this
afternoon. While waiting for our ride to the ceremony to arrive,
I
played with the baby goats in the village - I totally want a goat!
They are so adorable - especially the way they roam the village
and get lots, then
cry out for their mother and wait for her reply to find their way back.
We arrived at the ceremony,
which is held in a church, to find the room full of people and sixteen
chairs set up for us at the front of the room. After an entire
week of being treated like royalty, we realized this was our last
chance to mingle with the local people who had been so hospitable to us
- so we asked permission, moved the chairs to the side and sat amongst
our newfound friends in the audience. The
ceremony began and one by one, every Habitat officer from the national
representative
down took the stage and gave a short speech. Their comments all
had
two things in common - they thanked us passionately for what we had
done,
and they all reminded us that the people of this region need much, much
more.
After the speeches were finished, the first of three performing troupes took the stage - it was the same group from Saturday and they were wonderful again. After they were finished, the next group, a children's choir from a local orphanage, took the stage. They sang two songs for us - the first was an African song sung in English, and the second was a miniature musical speaking about the AIDS pandemic which has ravished the continent. Despite the fact that we couldn't understand the words, the second piece was particularly moving. Following this performance, the head of the ceremony announced that we would be driving to the house for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Since few people there had cars, they were asked to remain there until we returned - there would be an unrelated presentation while we were gone.
At the house, we waited for everyone to gather before proceeding. Joy and Bonnie (our team leaders) were asked to cut the ribbon while everyone watched. Standing next to them were the new owners of the house - the woman in tears and the man comforting her. After a
few tries with a very dull
pair of scissors, the ribbon was cut and everyone cheered. The
procession entered the house singing praises to God and gathered in the
main room for a short prayer to bless the house. When this was
finished, we said good-bye
to all of the local workers with whom we had worked for the past week,
a
very emotional parting, and hopped into the truck to head back to the
church.
When we arrived back at the church, I was very surprised to see that the unrelated presentation being given during our absence consisted of a lady selling a Chinese herbal remedy. She had written all sorts of medical BS on the white board trying to convince the starving people of the village to spend their money on her product. I was very upset and surprised by this - fortunately, nobody in the audience seemed to be convinced by any of this. We reconvened in the room and were each presented with a certificate thanking us for our work on the house. Considering how much work it must have been to find a computer and a printer, I found this to be very moving. I will cherish this simple piece of paper forever. The presentation was interrupted at one point by a man in the audience standing and passionately pleading for something before being led out by the guards at the door. We later learned that he was begging to go back to America with us...we were all speechless at hearing this.
We were then led to a room
where lunch was served to us. During lunch, we each went around
the room and
talked about what was going through our minds. I said that I was
particularly
moved by the fact that even though the entire ceremony was in Lusoga,
almost
no translation was needed - the emotion and passion in their voices
spoke
volumes. Others spoke about how much they felt they had changed
in
the last week - I completely agree. I am anxious to see how my
life
will be different following this trip - I know already I will never be
quite
the same again.
Following lunch, we went back into the church for one more performance by a group of six singers called the 'King Soloman's Singers.' They were my favorite, singing in an almost barbershop quartet type style. We adjourned after this and spent the next half our saying goodbye to all the people we would not be seeing later that night. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers, took pictures and hugged each other with very few dry eyes in the place. It was difficult to move around as we were all surrounded by miniature crowds of children wanting to touch and hug us. It was difficult to pull ourselves away from such a beautiful display, but we had to begin our journey home. We decided as a group to walk the few kilometers back to our house, a line of children following us.
When we arrived back at the house, the band from Saturday had set up and begun playing for the children. I went back to my room to begin packing, but was distracted by the sound of Stephanie singing Canadian songs to the children! I joined her and we sang the 'hokey pokey' to the kids with the band playing along in the background. Stephanie had yet to climb the rock formation, so she asked me if I would come along and we left the performance to head up the mountain. We got about halfway up before it became too dark to continue, so we headed back with a vow to return the next morning.
When we returned to the village, our teammates had built a fire and were teaching the locals how to roast a bag of marshmallows which
Jen had brought along.
We sat around the fire under a star-filled sky and talked to our
Bululan friends about anything and everything. I think I could
have stayed in that moment
forever - in that moment, there were no barriers, cultural, racial,
economic
or otherwise. We were just people, roasting marshmallows and
enjoying
our newfound friendship. I think that moment summarized the trip
perfectly.
At around 9pm, we sat down to have our last dinner in Bululu. When we had all finished eating, Simon and David (two of the local Habitat representatives) stood up to make a small presentation. They thanked us for all we had done and offered us a small token of appreciation on behalf of the village - the women were presented with hand-made coin purses and the men with leather cut-outs of Uganda. When they were finished, they asked if any of us wanted to add anything. Farouk (our driver) pointed at me and everyone laughed :-) I said that when I interviewed for the Peace Corps, my interviewer (a former volunteer) said that everyone goes into the Peace Corps wanting to give everything they have, but they always end up taking much more from the experience. Now, I understand what she meant.
On the way back to my room, I passed Mike having a conversation with one of the local children's parents. Apparently, their child, Moses, had asked Mike if he could go to America with him and had misunderstood Mike's answer - he had gone home and told his parents that Mike had agreed to take back to the states. Moses' parents were thrilled and were thanking Mike for taking their child with him - Mike had the very unfortunate task of explaining that this was a sad misunderstanding. It speaks volumes about the situation in this village that two parents were willing to sent their child with a stranger, never to see him again, so that he could have the opportunity to grow up in America. It speaks volumes.
Stephanie and I are going to wake up before dawn tomorrow to climb the rock formation and watch the sun rise - must get some rest.
 ...and it's finished!!!. |
After the speeches were finished, the first of three performing troupes took the stage - it was the same group from Saturday and they were wonderful again. After they were finished, the next group, a children's choir from a local orphanage, took the stage. They sang two songs for us - the first was an African song sung in English, and the second was a miniature musical speaking about the AIDS pandemic which has ravished the continent. Despite the fact that we couldn't understand the words, the second piece was particularly moving. Following this performance, the head of the ceremony announced that we would be driving to the house for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Since few people there had cars, they were asked to remain there until we returned - there would be an unrelated presentation while we were gone.
At the house, we waited for everyone to gather before proceeding. Joy and Bonnie (our team leaders) were asked to cut the ribbon while everyone watched. Standing next to them were the new owners of the house - the woman in tears and the man comforting her. After a
|
Lusoga
lesson
Wasosotye (Wah-so-zo-tyay):
good morningOsibotya (Oh-see-boat-yah): good afternoon Oliotya (Oh-lee-oht-yah): good evening |
When we arrived back at the church, I was very surprised to see that the unrelated presentation being given during our absence consisted of a lady selling a Chinese herbal remedy. She had written all sorts of medical BS on the white board trying to convince the starving people of the village to spend their money on her product. I was very upset and surprised by this - fortunately, nobody in the audience seemed to be convinced by any of this. We reconvened in the room and were each presented with a certificate thanking us for our work on the house. Considering how much work it must have been to find a computer and a printer, I found this to be very moving. I will cherish this simple piece of paper forever. The presentation was interrupted at one point by a man in the audience standing and passionately pleading for something before being led out by the guards at the door. We later learned that he was begging to go back to America with us...we were all speechless at hearing this.
|
House
dedication programme schedule
1. Arrival
2. Opening prayer 3. Entertainment 4. Welcome Speech (Local Councilperson I) 5. Speech from Home Owner Representative 6. Speech from Chairman Affiliate 7. Speech from Regional Field Officer 8. Speech from National Office Representative 9. Speech from Head of Work Camp Team 10. Speech from Local Councilperson III 11. Speech from Guest of Honour (LC V) 12. Lunch at 1:30 13. Closure |
Following lunch, we went back into the church for one more performance by a group of six singers called the 'King Soloman's Singers.' They were my favorite, singing in an almost barbershop quartet type style. We adjourned after this and spent the next half our saying goodbye to all the people we would not be seeing later that night. We exchanged addresses and phone numbers, took pictures and hugged each other with very few dry eyes in the place. It was difficult to move around as we were all surrounded by miniature crowds of children wanting to touch and hug us. It was difficult to pull ourselves away from such a beautiful display, but we had to begin our journey home. We decided as a group to walk the few kilometers back to our house, a line of children following us.
When we arrived back at the house, the band from Saturday had set up and begun playing for the children. I went back to my room to begin packing, but was distracted by the sound of Stephanie singing Canadian songs to the children! I joined her and we sang the 'hokey pokey' to the kids with the band playing along in the background. Stephanie had yet to climb the rock formation, so she asked me if I would come along and we left the performance to head up the mountain. We got about halfway up before it became too dark to continue, so we headed back with a vow to return the next morning.
When we returned to the village, our teammates had built a fire and were teaching the locals how to roast a bag of marshmallows which
Featured Video: Ribbon cutting ceremony Watch here as Bonnie and
Joy (our team leaders) cut the ribbon at the house opening ceremony!
|
At around 9pm, we sat down to have our last dinner in Bululu. When we had all finished eating, Simon and David (two of the local Habitat representatives) stood up to make a small presentation. They thanked us for all we had done and offered us a small token of appreciation on behalf of the village - the women were presented with hand-made coin purses and the men with leather cut-outs of Uganda. When they were finished, they asked if any of us wanted to add anything. Farouk (our driver) pointed at me and everyone laughed :-) I said that when I interviewed for the Peace Corps, my interviewer (a former volunteer) said that everyone goes into the Peace Corps wanting to give everything they have, but they always end up taking much more from the experience. Now, I understand what she meant.
On the way back to my room, I passed Mike having a conversation with one of the local children's parents. Apparently, their child, Moses, had asked Mike if he could go to America with him and had misunderstood Mike's answer - he had gone home and told his parents that Mike had agreed to take back to the states. Moses' parents were thrilled and were thanking Mike for taking their child with him - Mike had the very unfortunate task of explaining that this was a sad misunderstanding. It speaks volumes about the situation in this village that two parents were willing to sent their child with a stranger, never to see him again, so that he could have the opportunity to grow up in America. It speaks volumes.
Stephanie and I are going to wake up before dawn tomorrow to climb the rock formation and watch the sun rise - must get some rest.