Contemplating ..... the children of Uganda

Did you know that the population of Uganda is about 33.5 million and, of this, nearly 56% of the population are children. Ninety percent of all Ugandan children grow up in poverty. The life expectancy is quoted at anywhere between 53 and a generous 58 years, with women living slightly longer than men. Nearly 3 million children are orphans. Maybe the pictures help to put some faces to these numbers. The fertility rate is 6.3%, but the birth rate is 4.6%. The rate of maternal deaths in childbirth is 4.3%.

In 1998, Uganda passed a Universal Primary Education law and reports cite a 97% primary school enrollment rate, with 67% dropping out before completing primary school. Malaria accounts for the largest percentage of absenteeism among children enrolled in primary school. If you want more information about the status of children in Uganda, including crimes against children you can check out this site: http://www.anppcanug.org/wp-content/uploads/press_kits/The_Sit_of_Child_in_Ug.pdf

As I wander around with my camera, I have noticed that generally children are moving in groups and that the adults I am seeing near this university setting are watching out for the children. It seems to be everyone's responsibility to care for the children as they gather, play, work, and go to school. Yet, the many reports of child abuse and abandonment suggest that the challenges of parenting and the prevalence of orphans has put a strain on the nation's ability to provide sustained care for the children in the way many of the people I talk with would wish.

As I mentioned in an earlier Blog, I was quite impressed with the work of Caroline who is involved in bringing Children's Rights Awareness to Uganda schools in the Kampala area. She has been focusing particularly on the right of children to be heard, to have a voice in the school and in the curriculum and in terms of speaking up on matters that affect them.

Here are a few links to international children's rights organizations:
http://www.iicrd.org/
http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c1f4.html
http://www.childjustice.org/

THE EDUCATIONAL STORY FOR ME

Schools can be safe places where children are provided with opportunities to explore challenges in an educational environment. Seeing children recognize their value to their communities and their rights to safety, food, shelter, an education and freedom sexual abuse, sacrifice, other forms of violence, and unfair labor provide a start for the conversation. I like that schools are involved in this dialogue. I was surprised, actually, at how collectively open the children are about abuse and I life up my prayers that each of these children will experience some freedom from basic harms, like abuse and neglect. Perhaps we can all do that for the children we are in touch with. I have been taking a lot of picture of children, partly because I am drawn to them, and each of these children has their own story. Some positive, some negative, most a mix of the two, like we find anywhere. But Uganda has a larger than average rate of child poverty, orphans, drop-outs at primary level, health issues, and abuse. I had not before heard of contemporary practices of child sacrifice. I hope this kind of killing is rare. Despite the challenges, you see in my pictures, a resilience, a love of life, a happiness, that the children share even with a stranger.... a Mzungu.....a Barbara (which literally means stranger wandering in a foreign land).

Common Storytelling

Alright, Non-Ugandans, let's hear what you have to say. We are analyzing data from the interviews collected at two primary schools, one in the north and one in the central east side of the country. Children were asked to share stories which they had been told that they relate with peace. In this blog post, I want to share one of them.

Typically, in a setting with adults, when a traditional story is told, children are asked what they think is the point of the story. So we can start there. Also, you might think of traditional stories you know of which relate to peace. It will be nice to share these.

HERE  IS ONE OF THE STORIES THAT WAS TOLD.

"During hunger season, there was a girl, her parents used to send her to the bush, to pick wild fruits to be cooked. One day after picking the fruits a certain wild bird came and started singing to the girl. The girl looked at the bird and the bird told the girl that I can help you keep your wild fruits safely. So when I sing you listen to me. The bird started singing and flew down and started scattering the fruits and took them. When the girl went home she explained to her mother and the mother started quarreling. The mother went to pick the wild fruits herself and found that same bird which tricked her also.

The father went also to pick some fruits and still found that same bird, it tricked him and when it flew down to scatters the fruits he grabbed it and took it home. He put it in a box and told the children that they had got a radio. Each time they want to listen to music the bird should sing and asked them not to take out the bird when he was away. One day a neighbor went to grind and asked the girl to let her listen to the new radio. The bird asked the girl to let it sing from the door way, when the girl put it there, it again asked to be put in the middle of the compound. The girl put it there and it just flew away. When the parents came back, they asked who had let the bird go and were told it was the girl. They told her to always listen to elders when they tell her something."

Sitting on my front porch in the morning July 12

The breeze and the sun have already started their day.

Accompanying them, sounds richly invite me to the porch

As I marvel, still, at how strange it is to be so far from home.

Yet in this place, I am finding myself, also, at home.

I wake up knowing where I am and I smile.

I am ready to throw open the curtains and the doors

To step outside,

Allowing the outside to, also, step in.

Welcome to Uganda, I am told.

Welcomed, I feel.

They have welcomed this stranger in.

And I have wondered at its mysteries.

Animals that have Greeted me (besides Molly the cat)

Today I want to share some of the animals I meet outside my door. I already shared a picture of Molly, the cat. You can usually find her sleeping near the front garden in the morning, but by afternoon she has wondered over to the lunch cafe and by evening she seems out on the prowl.

Here is another frequent visitor! He greeted me yesterday when I arrived home. He never seems to mind how close I get to him so long as he has his eyes on  me. And, so long as he has his eyes on me, I am not that keen to get any closer.

Every day a flock of chickens with a rooster are hanging out. They don't really want me to get very close, so I only managed to get one of them somewhat at a distance.

 

Does anybody know what that stance is in chicken communication? Look how different from the Turkey.

Then this morning it was my pleasure to watch a beautiful blue-crested heron. I could not take a photo of that one, but I got one from the internet.

Lest, you think I am only visited by birds, check out the friendly dog who is happy to hang out with me on the porch.

And, last, though certainly not least, my favorite visitor of the day resulted in two homo sapiens catching up.

Mr. Okumu stopped in for a nice surprise visit, we talked, had lunch, exchanged deliveries, and greeted one another. It was wonderful most of all to get caught up with him. He is a wonderful person and I am glad to call him a friend.

I'll keep you posted on other regulars. I wish I could document the butterflies. They are stunning, but they defy my skill level of photo taking.

The sun is down. The music is out. The sounds are lovely. The sweet smells fill the air. Happy Friday Night from Africa.

Child's Rights Part One

I am saying Part I because I cannot possibly even know where to begin to talk about the lecture I went to today. I thought I would start with a little introduction and then share a bit of what the children say themselves.

An early childhood professor, Caroline Kavuma is doing a project in 5 primary schools where she works with primary teachers to create classrooms where a child's right to participation is respected. I think the points she makes are really good and interesting and I will write more about them in the future. To start the program off, children from 3 of the 5 schools in which she is doing her project presented songs, poems, essays, and skits. There was no way to record all these as I had not carried my video camera to Uganda. I also had left my audio recording device at the house. I did have my camera, so I was able to capture a small bit of video with it. One of the things that was so striking to me is how the children were talking about abuses as common knowledge. They seemed so powerful in their presentations. The only one of the videos I could get to load is the one below of a girl reciting her poem about defilement. I have a lovely video of a class singing about respecting children's rights and if I figure out why it is not loading I will share it.


Here is one of the poems - it is on the topic of defilement.

Meeting People you Never Thought You Would Meet

There is something amazing about the idea of seeing and meeting people whose existence was not quite imaginable to you outside the exotic portrayals of National Geographic. Today I was walking around with my camera. Sometimes I snap photos because I see something that captures an experience I am having and I want the photo to hold onto that memory for me. Sometimes I snap a photo because I want to better understand a life that seems foreign to me. Sometimes I snap a photo to share an experience with others. Sometimes I snap a photo just to anchor myself. There are myriad of reasons to take photos.The photos I am sharing today are photos of people whom I do not know. Yet, because I am here, the photo speaks to me about the people.

This beautiful woman was mopping the floor in the Department of Psychology building. I asked her if I could take her photo. She replied, "Why?" I stumbled a bit over words having expected her to just say either yes or no. I said something about trying to take photos of different kinds of work.. She agreed and then posed, quite deliberatively, for the photo. I love the way she is not exactly smiling and yet you can feel the smile under the skin of her lips and face. I imagine I have met her before, but I don't have a memory of it.

This is a lady called Monica. I had met her the previous day. She is in the small garden in front of the house where I am staying. This evening, she was harvesting ground nuts for supper. She doesn't know that ground nuts area favorite of mine. She didn't mind me taking her picture, but she also was not that interested in what it meant for me to take it. Unlike the other photos you will see where people were posing for the camera.

This fella is a bank ATM machine security. I usually walk  past him on the path to the Department of Psychology.  He has smiled and waved at me before. Today he saw me with my camera and he asked me to take his picture. Can you see the smile under his serious face?

Many women and girls carry baskets and food stuff on their heads. This youngster was selling ears of corn.  She looks a  bit skeptical of me, but who can blame her? I saw her sell on ear of corn to an older lady sitting on the side of the street with her wares for sale. I don't know if I will see this young lady again.

We never know whose paths we will cross and what their effect on us will be. Vice Versa.

As an American, how would it feel if someone from another country asked you if she could take a photo of you? I am trying to find the role my camera plays hanging on a lanyard off my wrist, waiting for its story to be told. What stories do these photos inspire for you?

Sitting under the mango tree

I arrived at Entebbe airport to James's waiting smile on July 5 after a full 32 hours of travel. We were late and so he really had to wait for me. I was brought to a wonderful house on the campus here at Kyambogo University - home until the end of the month. The house is quite spacious and has every convenience.

There is a cat who lives outside called Molly.

I was so tired when I finally got into bed 2am local time. When I woke up on Saturday I thought my watch had failed me because it said the exact same time it had said when I went to bed..... Guess that means I really did sleep 12 hours. Unbelievable. Is that what jet lag is like? It's never happened to me before.

Outside the front door is a beautiful old mango tree, just perfect for sitting under in the warm Uganda breeze.

I have already crossed paths with Sarah Bunoti and James from the music department. I have had my first of many meals at a local lunch on the campus.

And James bedecked my kitchen with many culinary supplies, including this one.

Picture me sitting under that mango tree, coke zero in hand as I work. That'll be me in about 10 minutes.