Kisaakye and some birthdays!

Last week we went to a village called Kayunga to work with Kisaakye Rehabilitation Centre. One of the Smile volunteers, Charles, also works with this charity that helps disabled children.

Monday - Travelling

On Monday we all piled into the car, surrounded ourselves with luggage and aid and headed off to the village. The journey was only about two hours and we were welcomed by lots of children who had come to see what was going on. We stayed in the centre which has no electricity or running water. In the girls' room we came up with genius techniques of hanging our mosquito nets up involving string, a pair of knickers and a light on a rope.

hanging up our nets

We went down to the bore hole to collect water and yes, the jerry cans were just as heavy as we'd remembered! Anna and Kathryn volunteered to be our chefs on the first night and we had rice and vegetables for dinner. Once it got dark, there was only so much we could do by candlelight so we ended up getting quite a few early nights over the week!

Tuesday - Mt Zion School

We arrived at the school in the morning and were shown round all the classes. Mt Zion school accepts both deaf and hearing children as well as children with disabilities such as muscular dystrophy and epilepsy. Susie and I ended up in the nursery section, Susie in Baby Class and me in Top Class. That morning I helped to teach a numeracy lesson on counting. I drew some triangles on the board and asked the children what they saw, to which they responded 'samosas'!
Before lunch we gave out aid. The school had noted the children who had been coming to school bare foot so firstly we went round and gave out shoes! I loved doing this and the children were so grateful. Then afterwards we gave out school equipment to all of the children like pens, pencils and toys to the younger ones. The children were so excited by this and it was lots of fun! We also gave out some tshirts to all the teachers who had been so welcoming to us.

Presenting aid to Mt Zion's Headteacher

Giving shoes to a girl in P1

The teachers with their new tshirts

Shoes for a girl in Baby Class

Wednesday - Home visits and Susie's birthday!

On Wednesday morning we went with Emma, a volunteer at Kisaakye Rehabilitation, to go and visit some children in their homes. The first boy we went to see was 12 year old Kato who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy. We found him lying on a mattress in a small, dark house. He was hungry as his mother had gone to work in the fields and could not feed him until the afternoon when she returned. Sadly, Kato had picked up the habit of biting his hand when he got hungry which has caused paralysis in his hand. Emma found some cassava and the girls helped to sit him up and feed him. I gave him a tshirt that I had been sent in the post and we prayed for him and left a nutrition pack. The home visits that Kisaakye Rehab carry out are so vital to ensure that the children are being properly cared for.

Anna and Kathryn helping to feed Kato

Secondly, we went to visit a five year old boy named Abdul. He also has cerebral palsy and two weeks ago, spent some time in hospital. In hospital, they put a feeding tube down his throat but this has caused some damage. Now he is home, he cannot eat without being sick immediately afterwards and has survived the past two weeks on just milk. He was so very tiny and every breath seemed to take all the energy in his body. It was heartbreaking to hear how the mother and grandmother have been struggling to care for him and can't take him to hospital again as it's just too expensive.

Emma and Abdul

We asked Emma how much the hospital fees would be for Abdul and he said around 40,000 Ugandan shillings, or £10. We all fell silent as we tried to comprehend the injustice we were witnessing. £10 could save this little boy from starving and yet in the UK we could spend that without thinking twice. We offered support to the family and are waiting to hear how Abdul is doing. Please keep him in your prayers. 

We then went to visit a one year old boy named Aamedi with hydrocephalus. Emma was teaching his parents how to hold him and support his head and neck and I was able to hold him for a short time. We prayed for God's provision for this family as Aamedi's parents try to find the money to take him to hospital so a tube can be fitted that will drain the fluid in from head. 

Aamedi

Aamedi's cute little smile after we gave him a new hat! (and his father)

The work that Kisaakye Rehabilitation does in this community is amazing and so vital to these children's lives. It's not always possible for these families to bring their children to the centre and so by visiting their homes they can still check up on the children and advise their parents on how to care for them with their various disabilities.

After a morning of work, we had some time off to celebrate Susie's 19th birthday! We got bodas down to Kalagala Falls which appeared out of nowhere are were so beautiful! We sat and ate lunch next to them and made sure Susie's got her traditional birthday soaking!

However when it was time to leave, we got caught in a rain storm, so Susie wasn't the only one soaked through! We walked for about 40 minutes back to the main road, followed at various points by groups of giggling children!

When we got back to the house we had dinner followed by 'birthday pineapple' for Susie! She did the honours by cutting it up - with a penknife I might add!

Birthday Pineapple

Thursday - Drop-in Clinic

Every Thursday Kisaakye Rehabilitation opens it's doors to children and young people who are suffering with a disability. The first girl we worked with had paralysis in her left hand due, caused by contracting malaria. They were encouraging her to use her hand and fingers by moving marbles and beans into pots.

I ended up working with a boy named Stuart who has cerebral palsy. They did some stretches with him before putting him into a frame that made him stand up straight. He kept his head to one side, so our job was to make lots of interesting sounds and movements to encourage him to turn his head and look at us! 

Stuart and his mother

Putting shoes on Stuart's feet so he could stand in the frame

Trying to encourage Stuart to turn his head

Friday - Mt Zion School

Our last day was spent back at school. Me and Susie swapped classes so I was in Baby Class where I drew out 40 odd cups in the children's books for them to colour in! The children in baby class are very young and were particularly intrigued by these funny looking white people!

"number one!"

At lunch time, the Top Class teacher asked if she could do my hair...

In the afternoon, the school had their elections for head prefects. When the new head boy and girl were announced, the children went crazy! They were dancing and jumping and cheering and hugging, it was so lovely to watch. It had been rainining earlier on in the day and all the activity led to lots of very muddy toes!

Mud!

Celebrating the new head boy

We all really enjoyed our week in Kayunga and it was nice to spend some time living away from all the technologies and luxuries we are used to. Collecting water from the bore hole is a daily reality for many people and I don't think I will ever take my kitchen tap for granted ever again! If you would like to find out more about the work of Kisaakye Rehabilition, this is their facebook page... www.facebook.com/kisaakye.rehabilitation

As you may or may not know, I celebrated my 19th birthday on Sunday 23rd. We went off to church in the morning and then got a boda boda home as a treat! Susie and I had then organised a joint birthday BBQ so we had some people from church round as well as some of Smile's volunteers. We had a really great afternoon and a mix between a Ugandan and British barbeque! We've made some amazing friends out here and it was so lovely to spend some time celebrating with them. (and in case you're wondering - yes they did get me soaked!)

Thank you to everyone back home who sent me post or messages, I really value your love and support.

God Bless x