kacy Brown (1st yate(Avon) trip to uganda 2014

kacy's Uganda Trip 2014

Saturday, 28 June 2014

The team ready to go

Sunday, 29 June 2014

Uganda - Sunday

We started today by getting a flight from Nairobi into Uganda. It was a relief to get all the flights over with! The first place we visited was Maya dental practice. It was inspiring to hear the story about how it all started from a girl's dream when she was the same age as us. It was also exciting to meet some of the children who lived in the rural area and their enthusiasm was great to see.After this we went to séfe where we would daily be working the next week and met the Acholi tribe. The children were so happy to see us and we were all completely swarmed by the young children. We visited the church and met the pastor and all had a small gathering.We all got to know the children a little bit more which was a rewarding feeling because we could see first hand how much we could help them.We were slightly overwhelmed and shocked to see the conditions some of these children were living in, but also felt inspired by the optimism and positive spirits.

Emma and Vicky I

Monday, 30 June 2014

Blog day 2 - Hannah. Ellie and Ella To our amazement the children of the Acholi tribe were alert, smiling and even early to our lessons today! All four of the large groups from the tribe were added to by the many other children, trying to sneak into the lessons and activities or just whispering 'Muzungos' through the windows. This made it very difficult for us to worry about the lessons we were delivering as the contageous excitement of the children kept our energy levels high.In the Church, the team members taking the groups of younger children all noticed the increase in their confidence as they demonstrated abilities in the maths and english exercises that impressed us all. Similarly in the Community Centre, the older children of around 14/15 enjoyed practicing their English, some even using their language skill to mock our 'Team Kenya' t-shirts, reminding us that we are in fact in Uganda. The others whose English was not so good found it slightly tricky to not get caught out in a game of'Simon says' as the delay between the action and the interpretation proved detrimental.

It was hard for the team to turn the children away who were not in the chosen classes as well as telling the younger boys in the Church off when their cheeky grins and excitement were so heart warming; especially those with younger siblings on their backs or in their hands trying to find out what was going on.

The porridge handouts at break times were a reminder of milk at primary school, although their determination to get seconds and third helpings of what was really flour and water was a contrast to our dislike of milk and reminded us of the privileges we have in our lives when these kids have so little yet are always so happy and grateful for what they have. The Acholi women however showed the use of what to us seems like 'so little' and gave us a demonstration of the bead making (which uses paper from magazines and glue) both praising and enjoying our attempts at their work. The skoobie making activity in the Community Centre was definitely put to shame - although the kids were crazy for the skoobies. The familiarlity with all the children and the respect amongst both children and ladies was admirable.

Upon reflection of the lessons, the general consensus amongst the two teams is that the morning lessons and activities served as a learning opportunity, allowing us to deliver more confident, organised lessons in the afternoon to a new group. Having got the first day of lessons done, everyone seems very exciited to deliver new

Tuesday, 1 July 2014

Uganda Tuesday

On our second day at the Acholi tribe we began teaching the children the lessons we have prepared in advance. Today we were greeted by the children (who were shouting mazungas! !) as we arrived at the Church. Today the children were confident and more comfortable and were thoroughly enthusiastic about the things we have planned for them. The children particularly enjoyed the mini sports day as well as singing, they really appreciate us being here and it shows through the effort they put in. This makes us feel that the 2 years of fundraising has and is paying off.

After the children left this afternoon we were guided through the village by the Acholi women who have really helped us with the teaching by providing support and translating which have allowed the children to engage more in our lessons to enhance their ability. We were shown to a couple of quarries where people spend hour after hour, day after day working just breaking large rocks. It was a poignant experience as it really fascinated us as well as being upsetting. We were stunned by the fact the one person working an entire day gets only 25p which is such a small amount considering who much physical effort they have to put in, in order to try and provide for themselves as well as their families.

Even though these people are in terrible conditions, they continue to be positive and smile and get on with things. We have only been here 3 days and we have already experienced and seen so much; for example young children wearing the same tacky clothes, picking food scraps off the floor and walking miles for dirty water. It was amazing to see how supportive the community are to each other, especially the siblings who do anything for each other. Through seeing this we have truly realized we need to appreciate how much we really do have and the opportunities available to us. Most children here don't get the option to go to school so us being here really has an impact on them - they are so eager to learn.

It was heartbreaking to hear that some of the children we have taught have become ill over a night, so it really hits home how lucky we are even to have free medical care because so many people here cannot afford it. We were speaking to one of the women who live here about the health system, and she told us that even if you have a problem they most likely won't have the stuff and would have to suffer without medication, this is quite personal to me (Hollie) because I have diabetes and if I were to live here I wouldn't have the access to high quality treatment in order to maintain my health and amazing quality of life I have at home.

It isn't until you come to a country like this that you realize how awful the conditions really are, even when we see it on TV you ignore it, but when it's happening right in front of you it really hits you and it's a constant thought which remains in your head.

»                                 By Hollie & Phoebe

Wednesday, 2 July 2014

Wednesday in Uganda

At the end of our teaching sessions, half of the group had the opportunity to do home visits, to discuss the lives of the women and their children that are living in the Acholi shanty towns. The rest of the team had some free play time with the children and will do home visits tomorrow. These are two of the stories we heard:

Rosie: Today I had the opportunity to meet a woman called Mary who lives in the Acholi shanty town. When I went into the building that she considered as her house, there was nothing but two mattresses on the floor and a wooden bench, with wet clothes draining from the roof and jerry cans that contained water. When talking to Mary, she explained to us how she doesn't work and has little money for food and water to provide for her and her 6 children, because her husband had left her and her kids a long time ago. We discovered that Mary has 6 children, with 20yrs being the eldest and four being the youngest, but only one child, called Rose, has had the opportunity to go school.

As their home only had two mattresses, Mary and her 6 children had to share the two mattresses between them at night when they were going to sleep. The experience of meeting Mary was a real eye opener because even though she was miserable and not happy living in Acholi and doesn't have any family or friends to help support her, she still had a smile and cared well for her children to the best of her ability, considering she had hardly any food or water.

Sydney: I had the opportunity to meet a woman called Grace and her five children. When I went to her shanty home in the village, she had two mattresses with mosquito nets with holes in them, jerry cans and pans hanging from the ceiling with a wooden, broken bench. It was extremely cramped and could just about fit us all in the room. Grace also has to walk several miles up a hill just to get water.

When talking with Grace, she explained that she works all day in the stone quarry doing back-breaking labour for less than a pound a day. She also said how she has a heart and lung disease from all the dust at the quarry with no money to pay for health care.

Her husband left her and refuses to support her children, she has no other family except for her elderly mother,

but her eldest daughter has moved in with her to help care for the children whilst she is at work.

When asking about food, Grace explained that she often goes without any food and water or even light as

candles and food are so expensive in the dry season. None of her children have the opportunity to go to school but her 7 year old daughter is in one of our teaching groups, meaning her daughter no longer cries watching other children leave for school. I did find it a very emotional conversation but refused to cry in front of Grace, as this is her life everyday.

PS from all the team - we love to receive your comments on the blog, so feel free to send us as many as you'd like!

Thursday, 3 July 2014

Thursday in Uganda

Beth àThe highlight of today has been seeing the ever improving skills of the children we have been teaching. At our math's lesson today we almost ran out of things to do as the children could do it all very easily. As we were first driving up the dirty hill to the slum, I was almost brought to tears as I saw a little girl who I have been helping one on one waiting and looking for me. It wasn't until she had spotted me that she got a giant grin on her face, and started winking at me as I have been teaching her how to wink since Tuesday. Today as the activity we played pop the balloon on each of the children's legs. They found it hilarious, until the game turned into 24 children against 1. The children who I have been helping have really improved their English skills and can almost translate to help you with the children who don't speak any English at all.

Megan à As I teach the older set of children, the leaders in our group like to challenge them. Today, Hannah and Emma helped out me and Danny with our English lesson. In the lesson we taught the children blended sounds, so 'sh' 'ch' and 'th' sounds. It is extremely rewarding knowing how much their English has improved since we have got here, and we really hope they carry it with them when we leave. We also taught the children some multiplication, which surprisingly they picked up very fast! Within the activities sessions, Rosie and Hannah did the Macarena (or however you spell it) and musical statues, which they loved as they could dance to the music thanks to Jimmy's speakers!

Both of us àtoday both of us have had the privilege to visit mumma bryan's house. She lives in her tiny house with 8 other people. 5 children and 4 adults. Her husband had sadly passed away leaving her to bring up their children. She also looks after her grandchildren as their mum has to work in the quarry everyday and their father has left them. We met her one week old granddaughter, another granddaughter named Elizabeth and one of her grandsons called Oliver. When we went she had beans cooking, and she explained to us that even though they cannot and have nothing to tell the time with, they come back for supper every night at 7. The translator explained to us how the 5 kids sleep in a single bed which had a malaria net, and the 4 adults slept on a sponge mattress. Even though the water was not very far away, they had very little food and sometimes even went without it a few times a week. There was no milk for the baby, but we did not ask how she is fed. The grandmother told us how she makes beads to sell and earn the little amount of money she gets to provide for the 9 people. We also found out how none of the kids are able to go to school, but one of her grandsons is extremely happy that we are able to teach him. She also explained how the week old baby's mother couldn't stay home to care for her, as she needs to work in the quarry as much as possible to help her family and her mother. For us two and Ana (Miss Stevenson) it was a huge eye opener and a very emotional experience, and like everybody else, it has made us realize how much we have back home and how lucky we are.

Tonight a lady called Trisha who works with a organization called ILA (I Live Again Uganda), which in Acholi means Help Me Up, came to tell us about the history of the Acholi Tribe, and how they ended up being where they are today, in Kampala, as they originated from the North of Uganda. The organization helps people of the tribe deal with the trauma of the war that started in 1986 until 2006. The war started where the Acholi Tribe originated from, in the north of Uganda, as this is where the rebel leader came from. A group called the LRA, lead by Joseph Kony, wanted to overthrow the government. In his attempt, he attacked the Villages in the North of Uganda where the Acholi Tribe lived. Because of this, they were therefore forced to move out of the local villages, down to Kampala in an attempt to protect themselves and their families from the LRA. The Acholi Tribe now live in the slums in Kampala which are owned by the government, but however, these were meant to be temporary refugee Camps whilst the war was happening. Many people of the tribe never returned back to the north as they still feel it is not safe enough. The LRA made many attempts to attack and take over the government and this tribe, resulting in children being abducted and being forced to become child soldiers or wives for the rebel leaders, or being made to do things the team today could not begin to fathom. Many people living in the Acholi quarters today still struggle with the memories left by this war. Trisha did share with us some brutal and heartbreaking stories of people who still live in the Acholi quarters today, which we cannot even begin to rethink at this time. The whole team today have realised ho^ much we are helping the people of Acholi, and do not want to leave them. We are hoping we will make tomorrow a memorable day, as we are having a celebration with all of the children to say goodbye. The whole team are looking forward to tomorrow, to make sure everyone enjoys themselves and to hope the children take everything we have taught them with them throughout their life.

Friday, 4 July 2014

Final day at Acholi, by Danny, Kacv and Jack

Today was the last day of the trip. Emotional but fantastic and exciting. It was great to see the kids but sad to see them for the last time after an enjoyable week teaching them and having fun. To start the day of we did Maths and English like every other day and it was good to see what they learned this week.

As we went through the week we saw the children improve sooooo much; it made us feel proud that they had learnt new stuff from us and they will go away with extra knowledge and hopefully continue to learn  throughout their lives and make new friends.

The activities were fun, dancing and singing all around. We learned a lot from them which will impact us a lot as well as we have impacted them. We taught them Gangnam style and they taught us a dance and sang to us, we had a lot of fun and we will keep memories of them for the rest of our lives.

I think this week it has opened our eyes massively; we will live our lives in a different way and treat them with more respect unlike before hand.

For the second group in activities the older ones sang to us and showed us a dance and the younger group sang a different song which was good to see and was fun to hear the kids sing.

They were all soooo excited to see us everyday this week and we enjoyed seeing them turn up everyday.

It was sad to see the kids leave and sad to see them crying because we have left. We will keep them in our hearts like they will keep us in there hearts. Going away from the kids is heart breaking but going away and knowing that they have learnt something from us is a life long achievement for all of us.

Saturday, 5 July 2014

I think coming out here is amazing and I think if we had the chance again the team will do it! Thank you Uganda for having us!

Final thoughts - in random order! Tracy: this week has been the most powerful and emotional week but I have loved every second of it. Rosie: it's been such an inspirational week and a big adventure with lots of ups and downs but it's been an amazing learning curve. Beth: emotional but life changing experience Hollie: it's been a life changing experience and it's made me appreciate things a lot more Georgia: this week has been truly incredible and I've loved every moment of it Hannah: this week has been difficult at times but it's the little moments that have made it really special Ana: it's been awesome, challenging, and incredibly humbling but I've loved it Sydney: this week has fteen emotional but extremely rewarding and I've loved every second of it Jimmy: humbled by inspirational people living in an incredible community Jack: this trip has been a massive eye opener, which will make me more appreciative of things to come Emma: this week has been a brand new experience and we've met a lot of inspirational people and I've loved every second of it Louise: this has been an absolutely legendary experience because of all the amazing people that I've worked with Kacy: one inspirational week, as well as they've learnt from us so we've learnt from them Vicky: I feel so lucky to have met some inspiring people and along the way everything has been put into perspective Sarah: a roller coaster of emotions that I feel privileged to have been on Ellie: this week has been an eye opener and I'll never forget the wonderful community that we worked with Ella: this week has been unforgettable and I have learnt many life lessons that I will treasure forever Megan: this week has been a truly eye opening adventure and it's been a huge privilege to meet so many amazing people Phoebe: this week has been an amazing experience and I've met some incredible people that I will never forget. Danny: this trip has been an amazing experience and I'll appreciate things a lot more now Helen: As team leader, I get to have my say now! I have been to the Acholi quarters many times with teams, but on all previous occasions the visits have been just for an afternoon - to take a walk through the community, have a go at bead making, and spend a couple of hours doing games and activities for any children who show up. This team was the first to actually do a week's worth of lessons with the children, and I have been blown away by what has been achieved. The impact on the children through what they have learned academically thanks to the high ratio of team to children allowing some really focused input has been wonderful. And also the impact on their behavior as they have thrived from the love and care of the team, for once being the centre of attention rather than having to spend each day fighting for survival or feeling cast aside. The impact on the parents has also been noticeable as their children, the ones who normally have aimless, poverty filled days, have this week been the stars of the show, have had somewhere to go, and have started to learn - these parents now feel special, and noticed, and aware that people care about them. I could go on, but I'll spare you that! What I do want to say though is this: Thank you to each of you for letting your son / daughter / wife / mum / friend / colleague come on this trip. I know, as a parent of teenagers, how hard it is to let them go somewhere that you have no experience of, which is outside your sphere of reference - thank you for trusting CRED and taking that risk. Each individual on this trip has been an absolute star and the trip wouldn't have been complete without him or her - you can be extremely proud of all that they have achieved. We all come home from these trips changed in many ways - even me who has done so many trips I've lost count! We can't help but be changed and it would be a sad thing if the trip didn't change us. When the team get home, be gentle with them- adjusting back to life in the UK after a week such as this can take time, and there may well be a range of emotions coming through at various times as different situations are encountered. Dealing with the material wealth, and the various materialistic, and fairly self-centred attitudes of many in the UK can be hard - thank you for supporting your loved ones as they work that through. There are lots of stories, and they will come out in time - sometimes they come in a flood, sometimes it is more like a dripping tap, little by little: I know you will enjoy hearing all of them over time. Everyone is looking forward to coming home, and being with family again. Most wish they could fit a few of the Acholi kids in their suitcases! Have a wonderful reunion, enjoy hearing the stories