just another manic monday...

On Monday we went widow visiting again. We visited a different group of ladies this time who live near to where we work at Family Believers Church. The first lady we went to see was called Harriet, she has a daughter who is sponsored through Smile. Harriet is currently living with her sister because she is ill with HIV and TB. We were invited into their house, spoke with them and prayed for them and the children they care for. Please keep this lady in her prayers, she is very unwell and feels that she is a burden on her sister who has to support them both financially.

The second widow we visited was called Teopista and she was so lovely. She was unwell with the flu, but that didn't stop her from welcoming us with a beaming smile. She learnt all our names and cut up a watermelon for us to share. She was sad to hear that it was Sarah’s last day and asked her to stay longer! During our time with Teopista a little girl came over to see us. She took a shine to Kathryn and Jon who taught her how to high-five and let her wear KJ’s England cap.

We continued on and met a lady called Esther. She had a very little house where she lived with her 4 sons. The house had been built for her by a local pastor. Esther sells second hand bed linen to support herself and her children who are mostly in secondary school.

The final widow we went to see was Elizabeth. She has 10 children, of whom all but one have grown up and left home. She also has 5 grandchildren, and looks after a couple of them in her home. She doesn't have a permanent job but one of her daughters sends her financial support. Elizabeth hopes to buy her own house as she struggles with renting.

We stopped off to eat lunch and a lady walked past selling chips. Now chips in Uganda are not the type of chips you are thinking of. They are made from cassava, but are yummy! So me and Susie decided to order some. 20 minutes later we were concerned where our cassava chips had got to, but when the lady came back she produced a whole plate of food! Including English chips! Just one example of many where the language barrier gets you more than you bargained for!

We got back to the house and helped Sarah pack her suitcase! :( Outside it began to get windy, so myself, Jon and Susie went outside to save the washing that was on the line. I walked down to the end of the house and spotted Smile Uganda’s pet rabbit just outside the gate of the compound. “Erm I don’t think she’s meant to be there!” Jon ran to get Shavan and I ran after the rabbit, luckily she ran back inside the compound. The three of us then proceeded to chase the rabbit round the house for a good 10 minutes, with Susie standing there laughing at us with an armful of damp washing. It was a sight to behold. We eventually caught her and put her back in the hutch, no wonder her name is Trouble!

In the evening, we had to say goodbye to a beloved team member. Sarah's month was up and she had to go back to England! Olivia gave her her African name, Kembabazi which means 'graceful'. We will miss her very much (although now our room seems a lot bigger!). Alex drove her to the airport and we all ran down the road shouting "Bye Mzungu!". Emosh. 

Prayer Requests:

-          For rain, we have done a lot of planting, but the plants won’t grow unless it rains! It seems to be raining everywhere else except where the farm is!

-          For health, Kathryn has developed a cold (although she’s trying to tell herself that she hasn't , Anna is recovering from her throat infection but still taking the penicillin so just pray that it all heals completely, Shavan – one of the local volunteers – is ill with suspected malaria so please lift him in your prayers. Also please just pray for the general health of the other team, living in such close proximity – germs spread quickly!

-          For the widows, children and families that we visit and work with.

a quick round up!

I haven’t blogged in a while so I need to catch you all up on what we’ve been up to!

Monday: Monday is widow day, so we got a taxi and then walked a very long way (under the very hot sun!) to the first widow’s house. She was really lovely and welcomed us with open arms despite the fact that we were six very sweaty strangers wandering up to her house! She lived with her daughter and granddaughter. She spoke very highly of the work Smile does and showed us how she makes a living by making bricks. The second widow we visited was called Dorothy and she invited us into her home. Her lounge was pretty small and then she told us that 7 people lived there! Kathryn, Sarah and Susie were given the seal of approval when Dorothy found out that they shared their names with her daughters!

Tuesday: On Tuesdays and Wednesdays we go to Chosen School to assist with teaching and teach one lesson a day (although it doesn't always work out like that!). I had to do an impromptu English lesson for about 20 minutes with my year 6 class because the teacher hadn't turned up yet. After she arrived, I observed their lesson until Susie came to find me. Anna had been left alone in her year 2 class so I went to help her! After lunch, I went to visit Susie’s class, but before the lesson started it started to rain… now in a normal English classroom, this wouldn't be a problem, but the classrooms at Chosen have metal roofs and no glass in the windows. I couldn't even hear Susie sitting next to me, let alone the teacher! The rain turned into a pretty big storm with heavy rain and thunder! The weather calmed down a tad and so me and Susie did a RE revision quiz for them.

On Tuesday, we particularly struggled with witnessing the teachers using corporal punishment with the children. Some of us had seen or heard it happening, but on Tuesday all of us witnessed it in our own classrooms which was very upsetting. Anna and I both had to take children out of the classroom to calm them down as they were crying too much. Please pray for us as we deal with this situation weekly, for the teachers and of course the children who face it every day.

Wednesday: School again. Anna had woken up with a nasty cold but decided to power on through. Unfortunately when we got to school she was sick, so we rang Alex to come and take her home! Wednesday was exam day, but the whole school had a PE lesson first thing (can you imagine your whole primary school doing PE at the same time!). It was great to watch them as they were cheering each other on and really getting into it. The exams got under way and so Susie, Jon and I attempted to tackle the year 6 maths paper!

On Wednesday evening we made our first cake! It was very much appreciated and I’m sure it won’t be long before we bake another one!

Thursday: We became farmers again! Poorly Anna stayed in bed but the rest of us were up and out early to get to the farm. It was a very very hot day but we got to work planting the beans. I’m pretty sure that our farm days are the hottest days, it makes you really appreciate when the sun goes behind the clouds! Despite piling on the sun cream, I ended up with sunburn on my shoulders, oops! A lovely family who live on the farm cooked us lunch. On the way home, me and Susie thought it would be a good idea to take our hair out, when all the windows were down and we were sitting in the back! All I can say is, Jon called me ‘Aslan’ when he saw what the wind had done to my hair.

Friday: On Friday we made the decision to take Anna to the surgery because she wasn’t feeling any better. I went to accompany Anna and we were seen by a nice English doctor who was full of jokes after he heard that I was from Essex and Anna took malarone haha! We found out that Anna had a bad throat infection. It was weird that when we finished, we had to go downstairs to the cashier to pay for the consultation and drugs. We take the NHS so for granted! The other four had gone to run the children’s clubs at Blessed Word of Life Church and Family Believers Church.

Saturday: We picked up our post! This was very exciting as we had been eager to get to the post office for a while, another thing we take for granted – the postman! It was so lovely to receive some parcels from my Mum and Grandma (the haribos were very popular with the rest of the team!) and I now finally have a pillow!! Hooray! It would be great to receive letters from you guys (parcels are a bit more expensive so just stick to an envelope!). My address is: Grace Claydon, Smile Charity Uganda, PO Box 5895, Kampala, Uganda, East Africa.

After the post office, we went to the market and supermarket to do our weekly shop. When we got back I was able to skype one of my best friends Rebecca which was lovely!

Sunday: Today we went to KBC for the church service. All the public places you go to in Uganda, there are security to search your bags etc, it's a government requirement at the moment as there's a threat of terrorism. However I don't think I'll get used to being body and bag searched before I go into church! I love joining in with the dancing and trying to copy the choir’s moves (much to the other gappers amusement). After church we went out for lunch for Sarah’s farewell meal. It’s really sad that she’s going home on Monday and we can’t quite believe that one month is up already!

Thank you for all your love, prayers, and messages of support. It’s crazy that October is nearly over, 1 month down, 8 to go! Please continue to pray for our health and wellbeing, for homesickness, and for the safety of the team, local volunteers, and the country of Uganda.

how the other half live...

On Thursday we went back to Family Believers Church to run the children's club for the children who live in the surrounding area (I've previously referred to it as the slums). This is one of our favourite places to go as the children are so lovely and excited to see us and we love singing songs and playing games with them.

This week, the children's club had some visitors. A class from an International School came to meet the children and see where they live. We arrived before them, so were playing with the children and going over our planning. I popped outside and saw a line of very smartly dressed children with their two teachers walking towards us. They came into the church and sat down and were incredibly well behaved. 

Anna described it as a 'paradox' and I think she was right, the contrast between the two sets of children, at first, was crazy. Lots of the children from Family Believers are often dressed in hand-me-downs and a handful of them don't wear shoes. The international school children, however, all had pristine white shirts and shiny black shoes. I'm sure this was an eye-opening experience for the children themselves, let alone for us witnessing it.

 The children were then taken on a tour of the slum and went inside some of the homes. Lots of the Family Believers children came with us too, it's unlikely that you'll be able to walk round there without having a child on each limb!!

We all came together again in the church and Moses and Anna led some songs, and I did a game. By this point all the children had integrated themselves and they all joined in with the same enthusiasm. I was reminded that half of these children have had a very different upbringing to the other half, but they're all still children who need love and attention and laughter and support. We all got into a circle, and at that point it didn't matter who came from where or who had what, everyone joined hands and sang "He's got the whole world in his hands".

He's got the whole world in his hands, the children from the international school, the children from the slum, the teachers, the gappers, the smile volunteers, He's holding each and every one of us.

Angela and John

On Monday morning we said a sad farewell to Angela and John, aka Uganda Mummy and Daddy.

We first met them at our Oak Hall training week in September, where they attempted to squeeze 5 years of teacher training into 1 day. They were a real help and made us feel a bit more prepared for the huge challenges ahead!

Angela and John flew out to Uganda on the same day as us but on a different flight, so we welcomed them with open arms when they drove through the gates of the Smile Centre.

It has been invaluable to have them here for our first two weeks. They have been incredibly supportive and encouraging, especially in the schools when we were worried about how teaching was going! They were not just here for teacher training though, they have helped us to settle in to life here and it was just so nice to have someone here who shared our English perspective on things!

We were really sad to see them go (hiding their passports was seriously considered) but we so much appreciate the time you did spend here. Thank you for giving up your time to be here with us and please keep in touch!

Lots and lots of love from the Gappers,

Anna, Grace, Jon, Kathryn, Sarah and Susie xxxxxx 

down on the farm...

Today Teacher Grace became Farmer Grace! 

Smile Uganda was given some land to grow vegetables and food on for the widows they sponsor.

Even though it was a Saturday morning, we were up at 6 and out early to make the most of the day. When we arrived, we filled our apron pockets with seeds and got to work. 

We were planting beans first of all and found that the best technique was to go in pairs, with one making a hole and the other dropping in the seed and covering it over. (Old school farming). I have a new found respect for farmers!

The field was huuuuge and we had no idea how we were going to finish planting in just one day.  

I decided to join Brian in farming barefoot, too much mud and soil was sticking to my shoes making them very heavy! As you can imagine, my feet got very mucky...

 We're all a bit sun burnt and covered in dirt, but we really enjoyed ourselves today. To know that the food we are growing is going to those in need makes it really worthwhile and keeps us going. I'm sure we'll sleep very well tonight and we'll be back to the farm on Monday...

Prayer requests:
- Thankfully, the homesickness is starting to ease, but please continue to pray for the whole team and our families back home.
- For a good night's sleep!
- For the water supply at the Smile house, we're not sure what the problem is!

Thank you, 
Love Grace xxxx

Teacher Grace

Today was our first day at school! We left at 7am and drove about an hour and a half to Goshem School (along some very bumpy roads!).

We walked round the school and sat with Angela and John as they prepared to do teacher training. Just before the 11 o’clock break time the eight of us were taken to each individual class. In every class, we were greeted with “Welcome our visitors, we are class [primary 1], we are Goshem school, you are welcome here, feel at home.” We then introduced ourselves; I am Teacher Grace. Pastor Samuel then asked which one of us would like to take this class for the rest of the day. Susie took Baby Class (but luckily her teacher stayed in there with her), I had Primary 1, Anna had Primary 2, Sarah had Primary 3, Kathryn had primary 4 and Jon had Primary 5/6.

During break time we prayed and repeated many times “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. We were all a bit nervous because it was our first time teaching and we were on our own! The bell rang and we all went off into our classrooms to meet our children! We taught from 11-1 and then 2-3 (although it was meant to be 2-4.)

Here’s a few stories from our experience…

Susie in Baby Class: Susie’s class had 60 four and five year olds! She decided to teach them phonics with some flash cards that she had made. They did some singing and Susie tried to teach them Old Macdonald, although it ended up being “and on that farm he had a cow, with a mo mo here and a mo mo there” and Susie repeating “moo”. None of Susie’s children spoke English which made it obviously very difficult but she did a good job! They played musical statues which turned into, as Susie described “a mosh pit”.

Myself in Primary 1: I began with teaching them the 5 senses. I drew eyes on the blackboard to represent ‘look’. Then I drew a nose, and they all laughed, clearly a mutual agreement that art is not my strong point. After we had finished, I told them they could colour in their pictures and they ran to get colouring pencils from the front. At this point I realised that two of the boys had tied themselves together with rope and giggled like crazy every time one of them had to get up, forcing the other one to follow. One of the little girls in my class had her younger brother with her, who cried every time she left him, I felt really sorry for her as it cannot be easy to learn as well as look after a 2 year old! The language barrier was definitely a challenge which made it harder to maintain classroom control but I survived! At the end of lunchtime I looked at Angela and said, “please don’t make me go back in there!” but the afternoon went better and at 3 o’clock the whole school went on the field to practise dancing and singing – a welcome relief!

Here is my classroom, as you can see, it is very basic. Goshem is in a rural village and they have very little access to facilities. My classroom had a blackboard, a tiny piece of chalk and some desks. There was barely enough room for all the children in the class to sit and write in their books and they often all copy from one textbook. Also there is a photo of one of the children's books after I had taught them animals!

Anna in Primary 2: Anna was teaching her class “to” “from” “go” “at” and was writing sentences with gaps in for the children to fill with the right word. She wrote “I ____ from England” and asked what word would fit the gap. All the children responded “from” and couldn’t work out what was wrong with “I from from England”. Anna also had to confiscate a tree branch off someone in her class.

Sarah in Primary 3: We all discovered that the Ugandan children repeat everything you say. Sarah had a particularly funny experience when she counted up to 100 and back with all the children (including actions!) and when they had finished, she like sighed, like “uhh”, with the relief that they had finished, and they all copied her! It’s so hard to explain in words but when Sarah told us we cried with laughter!

Kathryn in Primary 4: At the beginning of Kathryn’s lesson, she went round her class and asked their names and favourite colours. In response, some children responded that their favourite animal was God. She then went round and asked for their favourite colours, and as you might have guessed, their favourite colours were God too! However from what we have heard Kathryn seems to be a very good teacher!

Jon in Primary 5/6: Jon was pushed in the deep end with teaching the mixed year 5 and 6 class, none other than algebra! The rest of us haven’t done maths in a few years so Jon best suited that situation! Jon’s method of classroom control was to make them all stand and sing the national anthem whenever they got too noisy!

Although it was very hard work, we’ve all managed to laugh at our experiences and have definitely learnt from them! We can now prepare more efficiently for tomorrow when we go back! Please pray for us tomorrow as we head back to Goshem, pray that we can inspire and engage the children and effectively teach them. Pray for confidence and that the children will be willing to learn.

(Also for a good night’s sleep because it’s a long day!)

Thank you so much,

Lots of love, Grace xxxx

our first weekend

This morning we went shopping! Normally only two of us would do this job but we all went today so we'd know what to do! Half of the shopping is bought in the supermarket, and half in the market. Then you have to try and carry all the shopping in the taxi back haha!

When we got back to the centre, we decided to do our first batch of washing - Ugandan style of course! (Actually writing this has reminded me that we need to go and get it off the line!) We surprisingly enjoyed it but ask me in a few weeks time and the novelty might have worn off!

On our way in and out of the Smile house we had noticed some children down the road who would often wave at us, so this afternoon we decided to go down and see them. They were very very excited and came running up to us and into our arms! We got some bubbles out which were very popular and many of them just wanted some cuddles and attention. We attempted to sing with them and discovered that they know "twinkle twinkle little star". We spoke to some girls who told us that they were 2 of 10 children!

We have been missing home this first week, but being out with the children and just spending time in the community reminds us why we're here.

 Please keep praying for good health and homesickness! Also that we quickly get into a routine and can settle into life here.

what happens when you give Ugandan children your camera...