Blog 3: Introduction to the school
Day 2 - the object of this week is to be eased into the system. But understandably there is a lot to take in already. Heat and culture shock make it difficult to sleep for a while. A short drive on the mad roads lead us to the site; the beautiful Jolly Mercy charity school for orphans. The gats are opened by tiny smiling children, all waving as if possessed while chasing the care full of 'Mazoonga!' (white people). Here being white almost makes you a minor celebrity. Immediately are hands are snatched by kids shouting "Teacher! Teacher!". Very charming and adorable.

Martin, one of my favourite people so far, quietly lingers around the school almost whispering to us about the school history, the dorms and the on site vegetable fruit and pig famrs the charity has built over its surprisingly short life. Martin takes a while to say anything, but why rush in this heat. He is also very quiet, but there's no need to shout in Uganda. Everyone emulates relaxation and calmness. Obviously I still need to acclimatise to 'Uganda time' (if you are meant to be picked up for 9, you most certainly be on the road til at least 9:30).

The school itself has 7 classes, all sparse and pretty bare but posters and paintings bring life to the buildings. There is a kitchen with a wood burning stove which provides 3 meals a day to the children. Usually they consist of potatos or rice with beans, all grown and gethered on site from the charity's farms.

The school teaches around 140 children from around the local area. Virtually all of them are orphaned of at least one parent ( likely to be related to HIV/AIDS), and would not otherwise be able to go to school at all, if CALM AFRICA didn't provide at least partial financial support. But right now, due to the turmoil of the election week, the school is on a national holiday. The only children that stay are the resident borders.

These children are almost all fully orphaned or have parents who simply cannot provide them with decent livings. Many have been permenantly stunted or physically undeveloped from being forced to do laborious jobs like keeping cattle from the age of 3. Some used to be prostitutes. Yet there is no child here over the age of 13. Consequently some of them have contracted HIV, either from their parents or their horrendous pasts. All of these children have experienced horrors an atrocities that should never be inflicted upon human beings, let alone on helpless starved toddlers. But it easy to be fooled into thinking that all of these children have had perfectly normal and happy childhoods. Their full and beaming smiles and inquisitive curiosity and enthusiasm in church is testiment to the Ugandan sense of endearment and perseverance.

Everyone in this country, especially these children sitting on my lap and stealing my camera, has experinced hardship, suffering and poverty. Yet they stubbornly refuse to lay down and remain unhapy. They are relentlessly fighting against the odds to relish in every day. Their joy is infectious and a powerful tool in combatting their past, in order to look to the future. We are here to provide these kids their well belated childhood. They hug us, finding the love and security in their Mazoonga teachers which they never recieved wit their families.

After a mere few hours of turning up and meeting the kids for the first time I am roped into playing a footy game in the merciless heat. Luckily I was opted for goalie. This started my first experience interacting with the kids. This will be my base of work/help for the next 2 months. And as bewildering and shocking as it is for me, just by simply observing the children running around in their filthy and only set of clothes, puts everything into perspective. They are why I'm here. And I can't wait to make a real difference