Thursday, October 21, 2010
Whilifred
It’s hard to feel close to someone you have only ever seen in a photograph and who lives far away in a country on the other side of the world, I get it! Sometimes when I would get our sponsor child Whilifred’s letter I would quickly open it, chuckle at his childlike comments and questions like “Do you grow any crops” or “ What is your best dish”, put it on my kitchen bench and stumble upon it a few weeks later buried under a pile of bills, notes and crumbs. When it came time to write back to him I would sometimes begrudgingly sit down for 5 minutes and franticly search my brain for something relatively interesting to say that would fill up the 20 lines on the page in front of me. Pathetic, I know.
Then we moved to Uganda. Seeing as though Whilifred lives here too we decide to contact the Tear Fund New Zealand office and see if it might be possible to make the 7 hour journey to his village. After hearing back from them we set a date and last Monday October 18th we met the little boy in the photograph.
We arrived at the Project Office in the rural Kashongi Village and met with the warm, helpful and competent staff who explained to us in detail what they are doing in the village. When I first laid eyes on him I burst into tears. Here, standing in front of me, was this beautiful, precious little 12 year old boy who was not just a picture. He had a beating heart, dreams and desires, he has things he wants to do and be, he feels sad and happy, he was so...human. It suddenly struck me, he was real long before I came here, I just didn’t care enough to think about that. He is not just a picture, he’s real.
Being the touchy feely person I am I was all over him like a rash Hugging him, kissing him, holding his hand, inspecting him from head to toe, pinching him to check he was real. Although he didn’t speak much English, our translator enabled us to talk freely with him about everything from his favourite subjects in school to what sports he enjoys, to how he was born with just one eye.
When we went to his school to visit his classroom and see his desk, he was a celebrity, through and through. All eyes were on him. Photo proof attached. He was bouncing around with joy, so happy to have white people in his school, holding his hand, loving him, and him only.
The most heart warming moment for me was when we visited his home. Whilifred showed me his family’s photo album. It contained pictures of his brothers, sisters, mother, father and their life’s most precious memories. There were not many pictures (cameras are hard to come by) but you can imagine how I felt when I saw my picture in there. There was Tim and I, sitting on a fence at our friends house and yet also sitting in his family’s treasured album. How many times had I wondered if he even got my letters, let alone photos and gifts. Not only had my letters and photos made it, but they took pride of place. Humbled is an understatement.
We brought some gifts for Whilifred, a Mancheseter and Aresenal Soccer Jersey, soccer ball, coloring in markers, a Superman shirt and a Soccer book for him to write and draw in. Can you tell he loves soccer? We gave his family some rice, soap and candy. You can picture the look on our faces when his mother then turned around and gave us a gift that had taken her two weeks to make. It was a beautiful handmade bowl and will take pride of place in our home once Customs inspects and de-fumigates it.
The thing that made me the most sad during our visit was not the fact that he was living in a relatively poor area, or that he was born with just one eye. Rather it was the fact that, as our Compassion Leader told us, only one or two sponsors visit each year. Sure, we send our money in and barely even notice its gone, but asking to connect with this child on the other side of the world - that’s a bit too much to ask. It never occurred to me that when our child writes to us 4 times a year and we seldom reply – he wonders why.
If you sponsor a child, my prayer is that you would engage. Engage with them, think about them, make their photo big in your house – give it pride of place, write to them with joy when you get their letter. They are WAITING for your reply! A letter from you, even a sticker from you, is a treasured item – worth far more than you realise. Each thing you send is beloved by them. It takes pride of place in their mud hut house, it adorns the walls, it captivates them. You are SO much more important to them than you realise. You are the reason they are in school. Your support is invaluable and is giving them a chance to make something of their lives. Perhaps even take it one step further and consider making your next holiday destination his or her hometown!
One reason people are sometimes hesitant to sponsor a child is because of the reasonable fear they have that corruption and unaccountability occurs in 3rd world countries. Well, after visiting the actual project, standing on the soil, meeting the children that are only at school because they are sponsored and looking through the well ordered and organised office files of our sponsor child...I can recommend and proudly stand behind the excellent, professional and honest work Compassion and Tear Fund are partnering together to do in Uganda. These are two organisations we trust.
http://www.tearfund.org.nz/
http://www.compassion.com/
Meeting the boy or girl you sponsor is a moment that you’ll treasure forever as you realise the actual impact your contribution has made in this child’s life. It was for me.
Love,
Helen
Disparity
One of the things I have been struck by is the enormous disparity between the daily life experiences of people here compared to people in the West. This is something that I find really difficult to express but I think it is important to try. I’m writing this blog to record the challenge to my perception of what a normal life is like, that has taken place during my time here.
There’s a boy in my rugby team here at Hope High School called Moses who has genuine talent. I think he would easily get selected on most high school 1st XVs in New Zealand despite only having played the game for a couple of months. The other day he told me his fascinating story. It highlighted for me the rich world - poor world gap.
Moses was born in a rural area of Uganda. His father had more than one wife. He was raised by a woman who he thought was his mother along with 7 other kids. He found out later that his mother had moved to Kampala shortly after he was born. Moses’ family was too poor to send him or any of his siblings to school so he worked digging in the fields and herding cattle. When he was 7 years old his mother came back to see him. She unsuccessfully tried to persuade Moses’ father to let her take him to Kampala where he could go to school.
A couple of years later she returned and took Moses away from his village (without the father’s knowledge). Shortly after this they heard that his father had died and Moses was accepted into a Watoto village. Almost immediately he had an audition to join a choir that was to travel the world promoting the work done by Watoto. He said:
“They told me to sing, so I sang a song I knew from my village. They told me I was going to America.” Evidently he had a good voice. Before the age of 10 he had never been out of his rural village community. He said he had seen planes flying overhead but thought they were small (like a duck). They rarely saw cars and he had only seen a few White people.
So he was taken to Entebbe Airport to fly out on their tour. He told me he was amazed by the size of the planes and couldn’t wait to get on one. Once the gates opened he was first across the tarmac to board the plane. All of the kids had been given a sleeping pill to help them sleep through the night but his had no effect. He sat with his eyes wide open for the entire leg to London.
They continued on from London to the States. Within a month of leaving his home village he was in the metropolis that is NYC. I cannot imagine how this must have been for him. Even telling me about it seven years on, he was almost shaking with excitement as he described JFK airport, the sky-scrapers, the traffic and the people. From a world of mud huts, no electricity, no running water and one meal per day this must have seemed unreal. American cheese and ranch dressing made him want to throw up but he was more partial to burgers. As he only started school at the age of 11 he is now in his first year of high school as a 17 year old. (Jo don’t read this part) He raises rabbits and has promised to give me one- and not as a pet.
Not surprisingly his goal is to become a pilot.
Helen and I have struggled to adjust from our usually comfortable lifestyle. We often miss having hot running water or a washing machine or an oven. Yet when we compare ourselves to the locals we still live in abundance - even here. I wonder whether we will quickly forget to be grateful for our lifestyle back home. Most likely. Still I think our time here has been an excellent challenge for my perception of what we need to live or what a normal standard of living is.
 |
| Moses went from this... |
One of the things I have been struck by is the enormous disparity between the daily life experiences of people here compared to people in the West. This is something that I find really difficult to express but I think it is important to try. I’m writing this blog to record the challenge to my perception of what a normal life is like, that has taken place during my time here.
There’s a boy in my rugby team here at Hope High School called Moses who has genuine talent. I think he would easily get selected on most high school 1st XVs in New Zealand despite only having played the game for a couple of months. The other day he told me his fascinating story. It highlighted for me the rich world - poor world gap.
Moses was born in a rural area of Uganda. His father had more than one wife. He was raised by a woman who he thought was his mother along with 7 other kids. He found out later that his mother had moved to Kampala shortly after he was born. Moses’ family was too poor to send him or any of his siblings to school so he worked digging in the fields and herding cattle. When he was 7 years old his mother came back to see him. She unsuccessfully tried to persuade Moses’ father to let her take him to Kampala where he could go to school.
A couple of years later she returned and took Moses away from his village (without the father’s knowledge). Shortly after this they heard that his father had died and Moses was accepted into a Watoto village. Almost immediately he had an audition to join a choir that was to travel the world promoting the work done by Watoto. He said:
“They told me to sing, so I sang a song I knew from my village. They told me I was going to America.” Evidently he had a good voice. Before the age of 10 he had never been out of his rural village community. He said he had seen planes flying overhead but thought they were small (like a duck). They rarely saw cars and he had only seen a few White people.
So he was taken to Entebbe Airport to fly out on their tour. He told me he was amazed by the size of the planes and couldn’t wait to get on one. Once the gates opened he was first across the tarmac to board the plane. All of the kids had been given a sleeping pill to help them sleep through the night but his had no effect. He sat with his eyes wide open for the entire leg to London.
 |
| ..to this |
Not surprisingly his goal is to become a pilot.
Helen and I have struggled to adjust from our usually comfortable lifestyle. We often miss having hot running water or a washing machine or an oven. Yet when we compare ourselves to the locals we still live in abundance - even here. I wonder whether we will quickly forget to be grateful for our lifestyle back home. Most likely. Still I think our time here has been an excellent challenge for my perception of what we need to live or what a normal standard of living is.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Making Chapati Ugandan Style
Ask any Ugandan what their favourite thing to eat is and you’ll usually hear the word Chapati at some point on their list! Chapatis are a delicious African flatbread that is prepared most weeks in many Ugandan homes. Cheap and relatively easy to make, the ingredients and process appear simple, but getting them to come out perfectly takes some practice.
Ingredients:
1 large packet of Flour
½ Litre Oil (approximately)
2 finely grated carrots
2 finely grated red onions
2 cups of hot water
1 or 2 pinches of salt
Optional: One stalk of finely chopped spring onion
This recipe will make 34 Chapatis
Instructions:
In a large bowl, add flour together with carrots, red onions and 3 tablespoons of oil. Adding a little bit of water at a time, mix the ingredients together to form dough. Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until it does not stick to your hands. The secret to really soft Chapatis lies in the kneading. The dough must be smooth and just the right softeness - medium.
Divide the dough into equal portions, roughly the size of a golf ball. Roll between your palms, applying a gentle pressure, till the balls are smooth and without cracks. Once completed, lightly brush each piece of dough with oil and then sprinkle a pinch of flour on top.
Sprinkle flour over the bench where you will be rolling the chapattis out. Use your rolling pin to push the dough into round flat circles about 5 inches wide. Flip the dough as you roll and make sure you add flour if it is sticking to the bench or the rolling pin.
Heat a pan on a medium flame and put one tablespoon of oil in the pan. Put the rolled out Chapati on it to cook. Use your hands to stretch the chapatti to the width of the pan so that the chapatti is as thin as possible. Take either a spatula or an empty flour bag and fold it down from the top to the bottom making a shape like the one in the picture. Slowly press down on the chapati as you turn it.
The Chapati is ready for its first flip when you begin to see raised bumps on its surface. Use a spatula to turn it on to its other side. Remove from the pan when both sides appear golden in colour.
Serving Suggestion: Chapati is best eaten warm and can be used to accompany any lunch or dinner menu. Alternatively, add an omelette with your chapatti, roll up and eat.
Ingredients:
1 large packet of Flour
½ Litre Oil (approximately)
2 finely grated carrots
2 finely grated red onions
2 cups of hot water
1 or 2 pinches of salt
Optional: One stalk of finely chopped spring onion
This recipe will make 34 Chapatis
Instructions:
In a large bowl, add flour together with carrots, red onions and 3 tablespoons of oil. Adding a little bit of water at a time, mix the ingredients together to form dough. Knead the dough for 10 minutes or until it does not stick to your hands. The secret to really soft Chapatis lies in the kneading. The dough must be smooth and just the right softeness - medium.
Divide the dough into equal portions, roughly the size of a golf ball. Roll between your palms, applying a gentle pressure, till the balls are smooth and without cracks. Once completed, lightly brush each piece of dough with oil and then sprinkle a pinch of flour on top.
Sprinkle flour over the bench where you will be rolling the chapattis out. Use your rolling pin to push the dough into round flat circles about 5 inches wide. Flip the dough as you roll and make sure you add flour if it is sticking to the bench or the rolling pin.
Heat a pan on a medium flame and put one tablespoon of oil in the pan. Put the rolled out Chapati on it to cook. Use your hands to stretch the chapatti to the width of the pan so that the chapatti is as thin as possible. Take either a spatula or an empty flour bag and fold it down from the top to the bottom making a shape like the one in the picture. Slowly press down on the chapati as you turn it.
The Chapati is ready for its first flip when you begin to see raised bumps on its surface. Use a spatula to turn it on to its other side. Remove from the pan when both sides appear golden in colour.
Serving Suggestion: Chapati is best eaten warm and can be used to accompany any lunch or dinner menu. Alternatively, add an omelette with your chapatti, roll up and eat.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Panoramic Shots from our camera over the last year
OUR HOME, BEACHLANDS, EAST AUCKLAND
PIHA, WEST AUCKLAND
Masai Mara, Kenya, Central Africa
Empire State Building View, New York City
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)