Welcome to Uganda

Words cannot accurately describe our first week here in Africa. Through a mutual connection, thanks to Matt and Wendy Napier we took a leap of faith and spent a week at the KVAC foundation. From the minute the Director James picked us up in his van we were warmly welcomed into the KVAC family. James and the lovely Miriam run a school in the remote District of Wakiso just outside Kampala. There are over 300 students ranging from age 3 through to 18, of which around 70 students live in all of which are reliant upon sponsorship. There are 34 staff including teachers, cooks, cleaners, security and handymen.

While we were treated like royalty our intention was to work hard and hopefully contribute to something sustainable. We kicked our first day off in the garden learning how to use a Hoe to dig small mounds in preparation for planting sweet potatoes. We enjoyed every minute but not as much as the locals enjoyed watching the “whites” do something unheard of to them. While not spoken of there is clearly a class system and those with money don’t do menial work such as cleaning or digging. This seemed to be our unintentional legacy – demonstrating that everyone is equal and we can all do everything.

Following our new found love for the garden we set off to pick sweet potato leaves with our new friends Michael and Julius, two of the most resourceful people we have ever met. We picked the leaves and carried them African style, on our heads back to KVAC where we planted them. In a place where there is very little, in a few months these potatoes will be a welcome addition to the menu which is predominantly posho (cornflour and water) and beans.

Given our self assessment as the handiest white people in Africa we thought we would paint the classroom that was in need. It took longer than expected having to navigate a room full of stuff but everyone seemed pleased with our efforts so I’m confident to say we nailed it!

Our daily routine was to wake up early to help the kids sweep the paths of dust and rubbish and do the washing up in between school breaks. A rough calculation suggests we washed well over 1000 plates and 1000 cups. We would have loved some morning fresh, hot water and a scourer but some simple soap, cold water and some cut up heshion bag proved to be more than adequate. We certainly learnt that many things we in the Western world consider to be standard requirements are in fact luxuries.

One of our highlights was the daily visits from the nursery children who finished at 1pm and just loved to touch our white skin and give amazing hugs. They also loved the camera especially looking at themselves in the photos.

It wasn’t all hard work though. We particularly enjoyed the sports afternoon where we played volleyball and netball with some very serious contenders. In the end we were all winners with the exception of our backs and knees that were a little stuff the next day.

As it is clear we live an incredibly privileged life we embarked upon a shopping adventure to the crazy city of Kampala to purchase a few items for the school. A bag of shoes, a couple of the biggest saucepans you’ve ever seen, some curriculum books for the high school, some hoes (named Tanya and Dani), some iron sheets to roof the church and a bicycle for Michael to get to school were all stacked into the van some hours later. We were overwhelmed with the joy this brought to everyone.

A highlight for us was Mikey’s personal tour of the village. We walked for a couple of hours where he pointed out the sights all of which was truly beautiful and peaceful. We really enjoyed getting to know this amazing teenager who has such a positive outlook on life despite having experienced more hardship than any child ever should.

We finished our week by attending the local church followed by a feast and a dance party. Fair to say next to these talented kids us white people definitely can’t dance although we did manage to teach them the nutbush.

While on a personal level at times we found it hard we have never done anything so rewarding, humbling and that has touched our hearts forever.

We thankyou James and Miriam you have changed our worlds and we look forward to staying in contact. For our friends and family reading you can sponsor a child for $22 per month. This provides food, clothes, shelter and education and is less than our weekly coffee bill!!

These children are the most joyful, happy fun loving kids that want for nothing other than a kind smile, a wave and the odd hug. Their commitment to learning completely overshadows all the hardship they face each and every day. The entire community is enveloped by love and hope and it’s as simple as that!!

We truly had the time of our lives.