I write this as we travel from Gulu to Entebbe. The drive is several hours long and takes us through miles and miles of bush with a couple of huts scattered here and there. Everywhere along the road though is people walking. Riding bikes. Pushing bikes as they're loaded up like a trailer. Carrying the yellow jerry cans of water you see everywhere. On boda bodas. Cows. Goats. When we cross the Nile river there are always baboons and monkeys along the road there. Every once in a while we pass a town. Shops and stalls selling everything and anything. People gathered under the shade of a tree. On a stoop of a store. At a homestead. And after these...
Tonight was a big celebration!! All week the artisans have been busy finishing my order so I could take it home with me. Tonight they finished and we partied! Around 5pm, their kids started to come in the workshop. Each child came in and would start working with their parent without being asked or complaining. The kids expertly beaded and giggled as the last pieces were completed. Finally it was time! The music was playing and the kids all loved the soda and everyone loved the meat on a stick (goat meat). Then ketty provided a special cake she had ordered - the kids literally licked the plate clean! It's always so impressive to see how everyone shares and there's no...
One of the questions I get asked the most when I travel is what we eat. If you know me well, you know I'm no foodie. I have a kid approved taste for good. I mean I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich at a restaurant in Uganda! I know what I like and stick to it. My husband Mark will try anything. Here he wrote a bit about what we've been eating.... Eleven days in and we've just experienced our first case of GI upset...not too shabby. To be fair, we have tempted fate by sampling several traditional Kenyan and Ugandan dishes, all while our bodies have been attempting to adjust to travelling in four different countries, journeying countless miles,...
Before we came on this trip, we looked into what the greatest needs were for children. Books and school supplies we were told. My girls are avid readers and so decided this is what they would fundraise towards. We decided to collect financial donations instead of bringing items so we could purchase in Africa ensuring we bought exactly what was needed and were supporting African businesses. People were so generous with their donations. From a child's baggie of coins to large donations each one was amazing to receive. Each night at dinner I'd update the girls on what had come in and any goals we had were soon surpassed. On the day we set aside to shop for the books and...
Today is international women's day. And even though I have so much I want to share about our day, I'm feeling a little emotional about being here in Africa with my sister and my two daughters on this day. I think first I want to… need to!.... write about this day. I'm going to tell you an honest truth. People see photos of my girls all the time and feel they know them. But what doesn't show in photos is the fact my girls are shy. They are awkward. They don't love big groups and don't always know what to say or do in new situations or with new people. And so I bring them across the globe to some...
