So this weekend, a bunch of our team was going to Sipi Falls and although I was very tempted to go back we decided to do something else! I remembered that Wilson had mentioned taking us to some places in Kampala and so we called him up and he was excited to take us exploring! For those of you that don't know, Kampala is the capital of Uganda and although I prefer the smaller areas, I wanted to experience Kampala sometime before I left as well! It was very different that Lugazi that's for sure but still not very much like home! He took us to the National Theater, the Parliament building, and to Garden City which is one of the only Malls in Uganda. It was weird to be in an actual city again! He took us to Garden city for lunch and we were so suprised to see. . . yes a food court! ha ha but it didn't take us long to realize that it was still very different from the average food court. Instead of going up to the place you want to eat and ordering, you sit down and every food place shoves a menu at you and tells you to order! It was so funny because after we ordered we asked Godfrey (another member of TYOM) what he ordered and he said chuckling, "I don't know, I just picked something!"
After lunch, we headed over to the Ugandan zoo! It was the most interesting zoo I have been to because although there were animals that were in a semi-fenced in cage thing there were some that just went freely in and out like these little monkeys! I'm kind of ashamed to admit, but we had some cookies and bananas and so we put them in our hands and the little monkeys would just reach up and grab them! So fun! However the wild life that wasn't so fun to see were these ginormous and I mean GINORMOUS spiders!!! I have never seen spiders like that ever and I hope I never do again! They were everywhere! At one point we were walking under this tree and we looked up to see a huge spider web covered in tons giant spiders. . . . gross! Then we went to the beach of Lake Victoria and it was beautiful!
Although we had an awesome time seeing and experience more of Uganda, my favorite part of the day was riding in the taxi! We were all just talking with Wilson and Godfrey and learning more about them! We had so much fun laughing and talking with them and we even got Godfrey to tell us all about Wilson's secret love life! It's quite interesting because apparently in Uganda it is really bad if you parents know that you are dating anyone unless you are engaged. . . . so everything is a secret! I was talking with Wilson about random things and it came up that he said if he could go anywhere in the world he would go to the USA. Now I hear this all the time and sometimes I get frustrated because all the people here have such idealistic views of the US. They think it is perfect and everyone is happy etc. But he began explaining that it was because of all the help he has recieved from the people there and how he believed that now he could fulfill those dreams that he has. He really wants to continue to expand TYOM and their goal is to get to the point where we have an HIV/AIDS free generation. He said that he just needed to save a lot and mabye someday he could make it! I just began thinking about that and I realized that although it was really expensive to get here and that I worked so hard to get the money, it is near impossible for someone here to raise enough to make that same trip. It was just one of those moments where I wonder how things are fair?
On a lighter note on the way home, I was talking to Godfrey and he is absolutely hilarious! We found out that he loved singing and so he started singing us some of his favorite gospel songs. I love how here in Uganda people are never afraid to sing for you. It isn't even half heartedly. They always do their absolute best and get their whole selves into it! Then he asked us to sing some songs for him and we just had a little musical ride home! It was so fun I was so sad to pull up to our gate and call it a night!
We asked Godfrey if we could come with him to church on Sunday and so he said he would come pick us up in the morning! Now everyone who complains about 9:00 church, just be glad you don't have to go at 6:30 am!! I couldn't believe a church started that early! But sure enough we showed up and there were people there singing their hearts out! It was an awesome experience to be there with them!
There's the weekend in a nutshell! This past week I have just been thinking about some things that I have learned so far being here and learning from the friends we have made. There have been three things that really stood out to me.
1. You don't need alot to make a big difference. When Wilson started TYOM he didn't have any money. He just realized that their was a problem in that many teenagers were getting HIV/AIDS and so he decided to do something about it. He had no money, just a desire to make a difference! Now he is still in college with no job but his organization has grown and they even have an office now. They have reached out to thousands of kids throughout Uganda and have definitely made an impact on their lives. If he can do that, it just makes me wonder what we can do with all the resources we have?
2. Being idealistic is not always a bad thing. Many times we will be working with people in the community or partner organizations and they will tell us their ideas for the future or ways they would like us to assist them. They sometimes set aside different problems that could happen and just see all the potential benefits that could happen. Unfortunately, I am sometimes that person who sees all the potential wrong things that could happen. But I started thinking, where would we be in the world if it wasn't for people who put aside all the bad things that could happen and saw how much good could come? Those are the people that really make a difference. So I have decided to try and shift my mind set a bit.
3. It's ok to live off of faith. I have seen this so much here! You will talk with people and they will say, "This is what I am going to do, I'm just waiting for God to help me!" I know I mentioned already about the story of the Ssanyou school, but that school along with many others and TYOM all began that way and have successful that way as well!