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Wednesday, January 5, 2011 - This is Africa!

By Annslie Bigbee

(Written on Friday January 7, 2011 -- our last day in the village) I am charged with the task of blogging about Wednesday's letter exchange event between the children of Del Mar Heights Elementary in Del Mar, California and Immeri Primary School in Immeri, Uganda. But as I sit down to write of children and letters, I find myself first reflecting on the week we have had.

Time flies in Africa, just as it so often does back home in America and suddenly Wednesday seems so long ago. It is hard to believe the first week of 2011 is already behind us. The new year came on a Saturday, which gave us some time to relax and celebrate and explore. We decided we wanted to see the lake and the great Nile River which border the region where we are working. So, after stopping in Iringa trading center to pay the carpenters to get started on the bookshelves, we headed off to the shores of Lake Kyoga and then on to the mighty Nile.

"This is Africa," I thought later from high atop a hill near the Nile as I gazed out across the lush green valley and the endless Nile that stretched out as far as the eye could see. On the shore of Lake Kyoga, we had spotted a lofty hill in the distance and decided it would be a great vantage point for viewing the Nile and the entire area. And although, Patrick's 4 wheel drive Toyota 4Runner could not make the steep rain-warped road, we decided to brave the challenge and make the trek on foot. We all piled out of the SUV and leaned forward as we marched uphill. The climb was exhilarating with beautiful views all along the way. But the view from the top was the most breathtaking of all. "Who lives in the tiny huts scattered sparsely through the lush green landscape on the edge of this legendary river?" I wondered as I watched narrow wafts of smoke rise from their cook fires. "What great explorer may have stood where I am standing now?" "How many Americans can say they have welcomed in a New Year gazing down at the great Nile from a hill in Uganda?"

"This is Africa!" I thought again, a key phrase to us the VTT team. It has come to express so many emotions -- from frustration, when there is no internet connectivity, to amazement when out of the black of the African night sky a million stars reveal themselves for our own private nightly theater show. One night Philippe was even able to make a shooting star appear with just a wave of his hand. The night sky in Uganda is magic!

So, we started this new year with thoughts of Africa and the people of Uganda we have been blessed to come to know and also thoughts of those of you back home and of the week of work ahead. We were filled with a renewed sense of adventure and enthusiasm, which only grew by Tuesday when we visited the clinic to find the painting well under way and the carpenters making steady progress on the bookcases as well.

And then Wednesday, the day for our letter exchange arrived. Wherever I travel, I am always interested in bringing the world home as part of the experience and I was thrilled to find the Rotary has the same ideas in that respect. I read a sign recently that said, "To have gratitude and not express it, is like wrapping a present and never giving it." I feel that way about our adventure here. "To come here and teach and learn is only half the experience if we do not go home to share it and to continue to learn and to teach."

There was no vehicle about Wednesday at noon, so I packed up my backpack, put on my sun protection hat, and started off on the 5 kilometer trek to the school. Along the way, I was greeted with "Jambos" and "How are yous?" by all the children and villagers. We have all had the experience of being the pied piper, so by the time I reached the school I had a dozen children in tow. It was early, so I sat beneath the shade of the giant mango tree, which also serves as the P3 (third grade) classroom and pulled out a package of word flash cards. The dozen students instantly multiplied and 20 Ugandan children yelled out "Aa" "A-double p-l-e" they all clapped. "The word is apple!" And so it went A to Z. Some words I had to explain like iguana and violin and some words I had to tell them were "muzungu" (the word they use for white man). Like H for house, because our house's look so different than their little houses, I had to explain this was a muzungu house.

Slowly, the older students, who could write in English, began to arrive. The students here are still on holiday, so we appreciate their efforts to come to write letters back to the children back home. We set up in a classroom, dusting off chairs and sweeping the goat dropping out the door. Animals take up post in the classrooms here when school is not in session, so each day begins with a sweeping out before classes can begin. Benches dusted and lined up straight, the controlled chaos was began. Geoff and Shelly helped pass out the letters and pencils from the children at home. Every child received a letter and a pencil and 25 pencil sharpeners were passed around. It was a little rough going because the levels of English comprehension and writing were not up to what I had expected, but Joanna and Amanda joined in with the others and we all spread out among the3 children sharing in the letter reading and helping facilitate the writing. Many Immeri students just copied the letters they had received. The laughed with joy and clapped when I presented them with the photo of the 2nd grade Del Mar Heights. They are going to glue it on the wall so that they can remember the day forever, but I am sure they will never forget it anyway. None of them had ever received or written a letter in their lifetime. There is no post office here in the village or even in the region.

As most things do here in Uganda, the letter writing event was ended with children rushing to be in photos. One of the students from Girls on the Run back home had sent me with a bag of confetti, so I threw the confetti in the air as Amanda and Joanna captured the moment. "Jambo America" they yelled again and again, smiling for the cameras as the sparkling pieces rained down in a the remote Immeri classroom.

It was not the letter writing experience I had pictured in my head, but, "This is Africa!" and it turned out to be a fun day for all.

Jambo America. And thank you Del Mar Heights Elementary and Mira Mesa Highschool for all the letters and the love, which made for a fantastic day in Africa. This is Africa!!! Happy New Year to you all!!!