Muzungubye... the keiki's think its one word...

Quick update on deborah

She has started school!!! yahoo. a few of the girls here have decided to sponsor her... i helped a little and then Carlee is going to set up an account. it only costs 160 dollars a term for her to go to school... so Carlee is really excited about that!

We also have been working with a great group of woman and the Slum in Namatala. They come from the Karamajong tribe. They are the lowest of the lowest group of woman. they are also in their own specific woman's group and it is really fun to get to know them. 

i was really nervous before our lesson today because we had tried to teach them about family planning and the lesson went horribly wrong! They were really upset because we weren't going to give them free contraceptions. which we actually could have done but we didn't know that they wanted that. and our translator was having trouble telling them what we were saying and we walked out of there feeling like we had failed. it was my first reality that we are dealing with real issues and i have no qualifications to teach these people about the lives that they live every single day. I need to learn so much from them. sure i come from a place that is "more developed" but that means that i have no idea what kind of struggles these people go through everyday. It was a huge reality check and to be completely frank it kinda made me feel like i shouldn't be here… I'm  just wasting time trying to do good when its not going to make a difference and i felt like i was just making it worse… if that is possible. 

This sweet girls name is Gifty... how cute is that!

So even though i felt like i should give up, my stubbornness i guess wouldn't allow me, so the following week we brought in a local organization that works with family planning and it went great. So that gave me the idea that we should just partner with the local organizations that are trying to deal with the issues that we come across and then the people we work with will have a place to go once we leave. Yahoo

This was a pamphlet on Family Planning with pictures and everything.. the children liked the paper  

so our next lesson was going to be on HIV and i was so incredibly nervous for it because we had found an organization that would do the free HIV testing but they weren't going to be able to come with us as we taught it so me and Kara asked the organization all the questions we had and asked any advise that they would like to give us because to be honest i was completely terrified that i would completely botch it again. So with a prayer in my heart and as much information as i could get into my brain me and Kara set off to teach the Karamajong woman again about a topic that was very much a reality in their lives and something i didn't really know much about personally. I have never met someone that has HIV and i don't live my life with the risk of getting it. So yes, i was completely feeling like i had nothing to teach these woman but then the other side of me felt like maybe there were some misconceptions about it and even in they did know about HIV they must not know enough to go and get tested… so they really did need it! Which gave me some comfort. So Kara and I talked and taught them and the lesson was actually going really fast and I got a little worried. Then when we had talked about all of the material that we had prepared. we asked if there were any questions and one girl raised her hand and said " when can we get tested"? seriously that was music to my ears! The organization that we had talked to wanted to do a HIV testing and so we told them that we would talk to them and let them know next week when the testing will be. The best part about it is that they will give the testing and then  counsel them no matter what the results and if they test positive they will give them the medication they need too so that they aren't left high and dry. Its really exciting that it was a success because i was really actually worried about it. so i am glad that it went well. 

Also, great great great news! we got donated 5 water filters and they are already in country so we can get the implemented quickly! AND…. our indiegogo website has been able to raise almost all the money that we need to be able to implement almost 36 water filters in the slums as well. Im so excited to get this project off of the ground and be able to see it change so may people's lives! i have been teaching sanitation in the slum community that pass couple of weeks and i have really gotten to know the people that we will be implementing the filters with and they are some incredible people!!! 

These are the devoted men that come even when we are talking about a women's cycle... they are troopers!

Starting young 

I look deep in thought... about family planning?....

This is Kalei, i love her smile, and she has a great laugh

This woman i can't remember her name but she is always so animated when she talks i almost get worried that she is mad about something. but he just likes to speak very sternly

Pastor Philip, a man that make Child of Hope run so smoothly and who is AMAZING and has the biggest heart and Great people skills... i feel like i could go on about how incredible he is!!!!!

ill have to take some pictures of the groups of woman and post them. They are such great people that i wish i could talk about each of them individually because they have such great lives!