| Tuesday-
August 16, 2005 (Day 5) Building day 2 |
"making the decision to jump was the hardest one she has ever made, but she wouldn't change a thing" |
 The house as it stood on Tuesday morning. |
Today
was a magnificent day. I woke up at 6:30am and sat on a big rock
in the village while brushing my teeth, then sat quietly and listened
for a few minutes. It is easy to forget how noisy our society is
- until you spend time in a place where all the noises around you are
made by nature. I wish I had brought a tape recorder to show just
how beautiful the morning symphony is here.
We arrive at the work site and went right to work - no lessons needed today, we knew what we were doing! The morning was slow because we had to build a scaffolding around two sides of the house so we could build the higher layers of brick. However, slow as it was, this was the most interesting thing I had seen yet. Mike and I followed one of the local gentlemen into the forest and watched as he used a machete to chop down branches of trees, strip them of their leaves, then handed them to us to carry back to the work site. One of the most impressive aspects of this operation was how careful he was to ensure he cut down too much of any one tree - they know very well here how to conserve the nature about them - it is their sustenance.
When we got back to the work
site with the branches, we were ready to create the scaffolding.
We began by digging holes about half a meter deep about a meter from
the walls of the house. We dug four of these holes on each
side. The ends of the branches then went into these holes and we
used the ends of other branches to pat down dirt and rocks around
them. We then took smaller branches and used them to create
crossbeams which were tied to the support branch and sat on top of the
walls of the house (this is all described in the pictures). The
brick laying continued, but with a hole left for the cross beam.
Finally, we placed long pieces of lumbar on top of the shelf this
created and tied them together to form a scaffolding. Contrary to
what you might think, these scaffoldings were very secure and nobody
felt any fear about standing on them.
The rest of the day was spent building the walls up. By the end of the day, we had two of the walls complete and the other two half-way done. The locals were very impressed. In fact, we were working so well together, they decided to split the group and begin a second house! We left the work site at 5:30, exhausted but very satisfied.
When we arrived back at our house, Dave and Mike and I decided to go and climb the rock formation which sat just to the west of the
village. Now, it is
important to understand that while in Bululu, whenever a mzunga (white
person) decides to do something even remotely interesting, a gang of
children will come along. It is lots of fun to get to interact
with so many wonderful children! So, Dave, Mike myself and about
fifty kids (no, I'm not exaggerating) headed off to the rock
formation. I walked with them to the outskirts of the village,
thinking they meant to climb the large boulders at the edge of
Bululu. However, when I realized they meant the enormous
formation a kilometer away, I decided to stay behind and write
instead. So, I chose a rock, sat down, and began to write.
About a dozen children stayed with me, the rest continuing with Mike
and Dave.
As I was writing, the
children hovered around me, speaking to each other in Lusoga and
occasionally touching my hair. Shortly, two baby goats (siblings I later found out) came
about, crying for their mother and looking everywhere for her.
They climbed up onto the rock next to me and I video taped them as they
looked for a way down. One of the children who had stayed behind
with me was a baby not more than three years old. She began to
cry and instantly, every child who had stayed behind with me surrounded
her, tending to her and comforting her. It was so beautiful to
see such a sense of community among children so young. That same
sense of community is to be found in everyone here. It seems as
though most families here have 4-10 children, yet every woman is a
mother to all of them and they all act like brothers and sisters to one
another. As we sat their quietly, exploring each other with our
eyes, my attention kept being drawn to one of the younger boys.
His stomach was protruding in a tell-tale sign of starvation.
Fortunately, most of the people in this village have enough to eat, but
seeing children who don't makes me feel guilty for every time I took
more than I could eat.
About half an hour after Dave and Mike had left, a long line of about fifty people, both locals and some of my colleagues, walked by me -they were on their way to climb the rock formation as well, so I decided to tag along. As we walked through the fields of crops, I noticed
a grown female goat crying
out. Each time she cried out, you could hear the replies of her
children - the two goats I had been filming just minutes earlier.
From my vantage point, I could see both the mother and her
children. I watched as she called to them, waited for their
reply, then moved towards the sounds and repeated the process.
Within a few minutes, they found each other and the mother laid down to
feed her young. The baby goats drank their mothers milk, then
laid down in her fur and slept - the whole scene was one of the most
beautiful things I had ever seen.
I ran and caught up with the group and we headed for the rock formation. Together, we climbed up to the last plateau before the formation became too steep to climb while upright. I'm not sure why I decided I could climb it - not only have I never gone rock climbing before, but I'm also quite scared of heights! For whatever reason, I decided that I was invincible that day and went ahead on my own. I'm not sure how I survived, especially considering I later found out I took the hard way up the formation, but half an hour later, I was on top of the world waving down at my friends. The only part which was really scary was when I had to jump a ravine about two feet wide. Two feet - no problem, right? But the damn thing was like twenty feet deep, so I realized that if for some reason I tripped before jumping, I would find out first-hand how long it took life-flight to make it out here! Making the decision to jump was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but I'm so glad I did - the view was incredible.
I made my way back down to the plateau where my friends were waiting and we started back down the hill. As we walked, the kids who had come along named plants (cassava, banana, maize...). Joy and I walked together and chatted - she is such an amazing woman. She worked at USA Today for 18 years and finally decided that "God had put me on this earth for some other reason." She sold her house, car - everything she owned and made the jump to a life of service - working with NGOs. She goes on one or two of these trips a year and spends the rest of the time in one country or another helping the world's poorest people. She told me something very important - she said making the decision to jump was the hardest one she has ever made, but she wouldn't change a thing.
Dinner, a team meeting then off to bed - another life-changing day in Uganda.
We arrive at the work site and went right to work - no lessons needed today, we knew what we were doing! The morning was slow because we had to build a scaffolding around two sides of the house so we could build the higher layers of brick. However, slow as it was, this was the most interesting thing I had seen yet. Mike and I followed one of the local gentlemen into the forest and watched as he used a machete to chop down branches of trees, strip them of their leaves, then handed them to us to carry back to the work site. One of the most impressive aspects of this operation was how careful he was to ensure he cut down too much of any one tree - they know very well here how to conserve the nature about them - it is their sustenance.
 The local children are mesmerized by Tymberlee's blond hair! |
The rest of the day was spent building the walls up. By the end of the day, we had two of the walls complete and the other two half-way done. The locals were very impressed. In fact, we were working so well together, they decided to split the group and begin a second house! We left the work site at 5:30, exhausted but very satisfied.
When we arrived back at our house, Dave and Mike and I decided to go and climb the rock formation which sat just to the west of the
|
Lusoga
lesson
Mukwanowange (Moo-kwah-
no-wahng-gay): friendOkenasa Suwanee (Oh-kay-nah-sah Soo-waa-nee): washing the dishes Omazzocuya (Oh-mah-zo-koo-ya): have you finished eating? |
Featured Dish: Jack fruit With pods that grow to
the size of watermelons, jackfruit is the largest tree- borne fruit in
the world. It tastes a bit like mango, although not nearly as
juicy.
|
About half an hour after Dave and Mike had left, a long line of about fifty people, both locals and some of my colleagues, walked by me -they were on their way to climb the rock formation as well, so I decided to tag along. As we walked through the fields of crops, I noticed
Featured Video: Baby goat siblings Livestock live among the
people in rural Uganda - it is quite fun to get to know them (although
slightly more difficult to eat knowing you may have been petting your
dinner the day before). Here, watch two baby goats try to figure
out how to get off this rock.
|
I ran and caught up with the group and we headed for the rock formation. Together, we climbed up to the last plateau before the formation became too steep to climb while upright. I'm not sure why I decided I could climb it - not only have I never gone rock climbing before, but I'm also quite scared of heights! For whatever reason, I decided that I was invincible that day and went ahead on my own. I'm not sure how I survived, especially considering I later found out I took the hard way up the formation, but half an hour later, I was on top of the world waving down at my friends. The only part which was really scary was when I had to jump a ravine about two feet wide. Two feet - no problem, right? But the damn thing was like twenty feet deep, so I realized that if for some reason I tripped before jumping, I would find out first-hand how long it took life-flight to make it out here! Making the decision to jump was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but I'm so glad I did - the view was incredible.
I made my way back down to the plateau where my friends were waiting and we started back down the hill. As we walked, the kids who had come along named plants (cassava, banana, maize...). Joy and I walked together and chatted - she is such an amazing woman. She worked at USA Today for 18 years and finally decided that "God had put me on this earth for some other reason." She sold her house, car - everything she owned and made the jump to a life of service - working with NGOs. She goes on one or two of these trips a year and spends the rest of the time in one country or another helping the world's poorest people. She told me something very important - she said making the decision to jump was the hardest one she has ever made, but she wouldn't change a thing.
Dinner, a team meeting then off to bed - another life-changing day in Uganda.