Back in Africa

Okay, so I updated the top of this page to let you know what I am doing now. I have been away from home for about three weeks; here is a little of what's been going on.

It turns out that to get to Africa, it's cheaper to fly through Egypt and then to your destination (flights from Boston to Egypt are surprisingly cheap). I have always wanted to see Egypt, so we decided to turn what would have been a couple-hour layover into a ten day budget vacation.

Now Egypt is officially in Africa, but it might as well be part of the Middle East. The national language is Arabic and more than 80% of the population is Muslim. In fact, I think most of Northern Africa is Muslim and Arabic-speaking, but don't quote me on that. As my first time in a Middle Eastern country, one of the hardest things to swallow was the cultural roles of men and women.

Most women on the street wore a hijab (women's headdress) and had very little if any skin showing. Kiley felt a little out of place walking down the street in a sundress with her bright blond hair. But more than that, it was rare to see women working in stores or hotels. The women we met seemed deferential. A man told me and Kiley that the woman should always walk behind the man. When we asked our SCUBA instructor if he and his wife enjoyed diving together, he said "No, she is Egyptian woman, she is happy to tend to the house; she usually does not leave the house without me." This is not to say that all Muslim men mistreat women; this is just what we saw. It is difficult to digest when you come from a place where you consider women your equals, or often your superiors in the workplace or classroom.

Kiley told that man that she will never walk behind any man, she could never accept that. Most of you know that we are lucky to be born in the first world (and if you don't know, wake up) in Egypt, it seemed that women born in the first world are especially lucky.

Despite the cultural differences, we had a great time. We saw the last standing Wonder of the World, the Pyramids (in fact, we rode camels through the desert to see them) we climbed Mount Sinai in the dark hours of the morning and sat at the top to watch the sunrise (Mount Sinai is where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments from God) and we went SCUBA Diving in the red sea. We have surreal photos from all this, but the connection here is too slow to upload them.

After our vacation in Egypt, we finally made it to our destination - St Jude Children's Home. I am back in a place where Kiley says keeping clean is like shoveling the walk during a snowstorm. Until two years ago, Northern Uganda had been engaged in one of the longest running wars in African history, a 20 year conflict between the Government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), led by Joseph Kony. This conflict, whilst one of the longest running, seems also to have been one of the most forgotten.

We decided to come here because the effect the war has had on children. Over 40,000 have been abducted and forced into combat as child soldiers. For anyone that's interested, there is a great documentary done by three college students about these kids, Invisible Children (invisiblechildren.com). The LRA has been participating in peace talks with Ugandan authorities for the past two years, so it's safe here now, don't worry. But, that doesn't change the fact tens of thousands of kids have been traumatized, not to mention all the adults living in this area.

St. Jude is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes, which couldn't be more fitting here at the orphanage. 80 orphans live, eat, and go to school here; the only attention they get is from their 'mothers', nine women who work here, each in charge of eight to twelve kids. The kids might be here because they were abducted by the LRA and then rescued, their parents died from HIV/AIDS or suffer from severe mental illness, or they were found abandoned at a nearby hospital.

The women and teachers here are underpaid, and the kids are undersupplied with materials for school. Almost none of them have shoes. The ten babies walk around with no diapers and little supervision, eating rocks and anything they can swallow. However, despite these wretched conditions, as you may have guessed, it's hard to find a kid without a smile on his face. They already call me 'baba' (dad).

In addition to teaching Math, English, and Science, we are trying to fill in the gaps that seem to be bogging down the school system. Simple things like adhering to a strict schedule, recognizing that six English classes a week and eleven Arts and Crafts classes a week seems a little unbalanced, trying to establish consistent funding for specific activities, etc..

It really has been heart wrenching to see these kids. Some of them just aren't old enough to understand the extent of their disadvantage, but it's clear to us. They are behind in education, in addition to lacking the stability of a family. As a baby fell asleep in Kiley's arms a few nights ago, I heard her saying, "I bet you never had a mother to hold you like this." We are loving these kids as much as possible because it feels like that is so easy to give them, and at the most basic level, that is what they need. We are only here for a month and a half, so it's hard to tell - will loving a kid for six weeks and then leaving him make a difference in his life? We hope so.

Because 80 is a much more manageable number than 2,500, it will be much easier to handle donations than when I was in Rwanda. Kids will need simple things: pencils, notebooks, rulers, crayons. Babies will need onesies and clean clothing. We may even be able to set up a direct sponsorship program if anyone is interested. We are working out the details with my parents, so keep checking back for updates.

We have great email access here, so I hope to post about once a week. As in Rwanda, it is great to hear from anyone back home who has the time to write. Thanks for reading, back on next week.