Sitting on the cement ledge in front of KCRC, we waited for the car to get fixed for our house visits. Cleophas was teaching Hassan, Salik and I about the translation of a few phrases in Runyankole. We scribbled down the English next to Cleophas's script, and found ourselves repeating the phrases to everyone we saw. Elipha (aka Senior G - kickass driver) pulled the truck up and we're ready to go. We passed through the town council packed with vendors, Boda Bodas (motorbikes) and children running about in soccer jerseys. Lost in this maze of unfamiliarity, our eyes bounced from face to face, shop to shop, until we were on a dirt road going up the side of the lush hills we once gazed in awe from a the distance. There was no road Elipha could tackle, regardless of the number of potholes, steepness of the hill... straight up G status.
Children jumped and shouted with excitement as we passed them. Women stared with curiosity and apprehension of the unknown. Soon after we waved with the greeting "Agandi" a beam of white appeared across their mouth, and wrinkles touched the corners of their eyes as we were graced with the smile of such beautiful people.
These smiles were only a glimpse of the sense of community among the people of Busheyni. Visiting houses upon houses in the villages, we were welcomed into the lives of such inspiring people. Merely telling the stories of these people wouldn't give their lives justice, for they are the heroes of inspiration. Battling HIV/AIDS, these people still have the courage to fight the battles of their life. But these people do not view their lives as struggles, as they continue to give to the community they live in, regardless of how little they have. One woman with HIV had the such a heart to take in 8 orphans, even though her life to some would seem less ideal. This is the true sense of community. Of love for each other. No matter how little one has, there is always more to give.
-- Melony
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We met the children and their families that would actually benefit from the nutrition program. It was the most raw and powerful experience of my life. To walk up the rolling hills of Bushenyi and through forests of banana trees on small dirt paths littered with pot holes to come up on a little mud and straw house (the size of most peoples living rooms) in which 8 people live and survive solely on what they grow and have this HIV positive woman while holding her baby literally say "Thank you for saving our lives" was so humbling and inspiring I can't even describe. That thank you was not just her talking to us either because right before that she was told that me, Hassan, and Melony are here representing our entire GlobeMed chapter at UMKC so she was thanking everyone who helped out and gave their time and energy to come to meetings and events. Epic day.
--Salik
p.s. we almost hit a full grown African elephant with our little Toyota mini-van/station wagon hybrid driving out of the safari park. TIA
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Ah, words can not describe these experiences. Pictures and videos can get close, but there is simply nothing like being here. The breathtaking beauty of this place, the warmth of the people, the climate, interactions, etc. I don't even know where to begin explaining this weekend. Saturday we went out into the field and actually met the families that the nutrition program will impact. I started writing about the first visit, but I just deleted it because I realized I could write endlessly with details about the experience. Instead, I'll generalize. Every village we visited there were kids peering through banana trees confused as to what we were doing there. As soon as we said "Agandi," they would smile and laugh. Interviewing/talking to the families was an very moving experience. We heard their stories and tried to learn as much as possible about their lives. It is incredible how hard they work to provide food and education for their children all while dealing with HIV and poverty. It was also touching to see how the whole community strives to survive together. We also don't realize how many people there are that are not affected, yet are affected by AIDS. For example, there are HIV negative children who are orphaned because of AIDS. These children are then adopted by grandparents or even neighbors with no blood relation. It was nice to see that our nutrition program will make things slightly better by providing these families actually, the whole communities, with the education and training necessary for the gardens giving them a stable source of food. It was also powerful to see how welcoming and open these families were to us. The best part of the day was as we were leaving one of the families, they shouted "muraire!" which means "stay!"
Sunday we went on a Safari. Although we missed the boat ride, we still had an incredible experience. Almost being attacked by elephants was probably one of the scariest experiences ever.
P.S. It was also wonderful to see the smiles on the kids that ate chocolate for the first time in their life. There are just so many things we take for granted. Kids universally love cameras and seeing their pictures. It's not good to drive at night near the game park because you may hit an elephant or water buffaloes that randomly roam on the road. Make sure your car is always full of gasoline when driving in East Africa - you don't want to end up stuck on the side of the road at night. People here are really confused when they see brown people with American accents. They expect us to be businessmen, but when we say we are students from America they just look confused sometimes. I don't want to leave.
--Hassan
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