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Currently sitting in the most luxurious internet cafe I've ever been to in Uganda. Leather chairs and internet that doesn't take an eternity to load a web page. Just finished the biggest rolex of my life (omlette and chapat), and topping it off with a can of apple fanta.
Tomorrow we will be visiting Kira to inspect the pretty much finished 3rd latrine, complete with plastered interior and a iron sheeted roof! The family head is a gentle 60 year old man called Gerosome, and the extremely large family he keeps under his modest house are all adorable and plite. Each one is a genuine character, and it has been a privilege to help them. Unfortunately given such a large family (14 children and 4 adults), they are lucky to get one and a half meals a day. Included in this group is a shrivelled spindley boy no older than 12. He is so withered and falls ill so often we suspect he has HIV, so sooner or later we will be taking him to get checked along with a few other haggered little kids. So we plan on helping them by means of matresses, mosquito nets, clothes, egg-laying-chickens and porridge, using the last million from funds. This is going to do an enermous deal to a large number of people so thank you so so muchfor all your donations.
We will also be visiting Nabawess for maybe the last time tomorrow. We will be dropping off the last of the school equipment we have bought for them; books, pencils, pens etc. and inspecting the brand new uniforms we've paid the tailor for. We have also decided to fund the second youngest to nursery, even though the school fees are vastly more expensive. By Uk standards it's a pittence.
Yesterday we visited a family which consisted of a mother/father and 6 children, 3 of which suffer from severe cerebral palsy. They do not have a latrine so me and Phil will likely be paying for the construction of a weelchair-freindly toilet for them. The pit and concrete cap has already been built so it will be at least partially cheaper than constructing an entirely new structure. What shocked us the most was the level of ignorance, neglect and abuse surrounding the disabled community. Stories of children being found in kennels with ropes and chains tied round their throats are not uncommon. The father we talked to has set up a local organisation that now comprises of over 500 members and households. Nonetheless weelchairs are hard to come by; they are expensive and even after procuring one, it may still be the wrong kind for the child. Information, awareness and preservation of rights are serious topics out here. Even doctors turn away disabled patients out of disgust. The main concensus surrounding disabled children is always closely associated with being cursed or bad voodo. This leads me effectively onto the role of the witchdoctor in Uganda.
Unbeknownst to us til the second time we visited Uganda, there is a locally notorious witchdoctor established down the road from our school Jolly Mercy. On several occaissions we have noticed parents taking their disabled children to visit him/her to conjure and blessing or to lift the curse that inflicts them. I'm split between 2 modes of thought as to why this is: firstly because the parents, after having exhausted every attempt at curing their child; by going to the hospital and the church etc., they have resorted to this final hope to save their child from a life of suffering. This may stem from the sheer lack of understanding of how certain diseases and inflictions work. There is no cure for downsyndrome, no matter how many injections or pills they take. Here any old injection is seen as a positive thing. There's no notion of injections being tailor-made cures for specific situations among the villagers and peasant-farmers. Just inject my son with that needle and there's a chance my boy will be normal. But after that fails, and the relentless preaching of the gospel also doesn't produce real results, then perhaps some parents resort to the mysteriously shrouded witchdoctor to at least try for the sake of their child.
If it's not for this reason, then I assume that the parent must take their son or daughter to seek a blessing because they do see it as a genuine curse that has ravaged their child's soul. There is so much spiritual tenacity surrounding the witchdoctor; when I asked if whether I could be given a simple blessing to help my finacial circumstances, I was told that he would not provide me with such a service, on account of my skin and the likelihood that I would not take it seriously.
However as witchdoctors gp, I have reason to believe that our local one is as legitimate as a witchdoctor can be. He is part of the witchdoctor union, believe it or not, and even has a certificate hanging from his wall to prove this. So I've been told. He is also a whole planet away from the voodo child-sacrificing withcdoctors and necromancers that plague Uganda's history. Fortunately they are all but extinct nowadays.
That is all for now. Only have couple of weeks left so I'll be updating as much as possible until then. I still have so much I want to get down. Just for those who want enjoy hearing updates on bead lady (Nain), she is doing very well and her English is vastly improved. We are planning on bringing an entire catalogue of her trade back home with us to sell at a much higher price to make her and her 2 adorable grandchildren a bit of money. Joel and Jonathan are 2 of my favourite kids from Jolly Mercy, and it amazes me how Deborah can work so tirelessly and still being up such lovely kids.
Will be back soon
looking forward to home and my comfy bed
much love
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