Hurricane Patricia

After multiple preliminary relief trips down south to the villages that were devastated by Hurricane Patricia, the community of Sayulita as a whole has decided that we will "adopt" one of the most affected villages specifically, to serve and help to rebuild. 

The name of the village is Arroyo Seco. There are roughly 400 people, 150 of them are children. Almost every singe home has at the very least lost their entire roof, most of them lost close to everything. 

Currently the village is eating two meals a day out of a communal kitchen, so we will be making sure that everyone is fed, and that food supplies are always available to them.

To facilitate the community in regaining what was lost in the hurricane, they will need everything from roofs, mattresses, appliances, clothing, and building equipment. It is definitely a big project, but one of the most incredible things about these people is their positivity,strength, and ability to find true joy and gratitude in the most tragic of situations. 

Please join Sayulita in our efforts to serve the people of Arroyo Seco in any way you can. Every little bit is a huge help!!! 

On The Bright Side...

Hi everyone, Tom here again on blog assignment.  I know that the tone of the past couple posts has been pretty heavy, so fortunately I have some of the lighter side of our work to share today.  As we are nearing the end of our time here in Uganda, these positive experiences and progress are what makes all of the obstacles and heartache worth it.  

This past week, Lindsey, Isabella (our third amigo and the one that reminds Lindsey and me that patience is something we need to constantly work on) and I went to Gulu.  Gulu is in northern Uganda and was hit incredibly hard by internal fighting especially with the Lord's Resistance Army.  I wont go into detail surrounding that in the interest of a "happy blog", but everyone in that area has lost family and loved ones and the scars are still very fresh.  Interestingly enough however, the people in Gulu are without a doubt the nicest and most welcoming that I have come across in Uganda.  

Anyways, the day before we left, we were in Kisenyi feeding the boys and we happened to start talking to one 13 year old named Francis.  Francis told us that he was from Gulu, but left 3 years ago to find his mother who he was told went to Kampala.  Francis never found his mother and had been living on the street for the past 3 years.  I can't imagine looking for someone for 3 years in every face that passed on the street.  In the course of the conversation, Francis told us that he was tired of living on the street and just wanted to go home.  We hear a lot of things from the boys in the slum about things that they want to do and many times there isn't much effort or action behind it.  So, we told Francis that the bus to Gulu left at 6am and that we would take him if he showed up.  Sure enough, Francis made it on the bus and we got to take him home to his family.  For the cost of a $6 bus ticket and a $1 roadside lunch, we were able to get a kid off the street and back to his village.  Sometimes helping is just about being in the right place at the right time and being open to the opportunity.  

Our stowaway to Gulu









When we made it back to Kampala we decided to take the kids to the beach.  Lake Victoria is about an hour away, so we loaded 29 kids into a taxi clown car style and off we went.  The scene upon arrival was right out of the pool scene from Caddyshack (Caddies welcome 1:00-1:15) These kids tore into that lake like they owned it and for once, we got to see them act like kids.  Seeing them deal with so much on a daily basis, they never have that excited, innocence in their eyes that we are used to seeing in children.  They were laughing, smiling, playing (even nicely with each other amazingly) and for a few hours they seemed to forget their day to day struggles.  We fed them peanut butter & jelly sandwiches that we brought and they were blown away by those.  Even the Ugandan adults that we work with had never seen a PB&J which just goes to show that you never know what's going to be a hit.  On the bus ride home they all sang songs which (although really loud) was incredibly heartwarming.  Everyone had a really great day; us most of all. 

Finally, thanks to all of you who donated, we are going to be able to fix Hamza's leg!! He doesn't know this yet, but we are taking him to the hospital tomorrow and we are all SUPER excited around here.  He's a really amazing kid who deserves to get better so we couldn't be more appreciative of all of you back at home. 

 Full taxi to the beach!

Due to some pretty serious parasites, us Americans do not swim in the water.  But it certainly looked fun.

 

 Slide

 Neil came to the beach.

The boys.  The one in the back is Topher.  He is one of the Ugandans that help us run the programs and he is GREAT.  We have a crew of about 5 guys that we trust completely are very dedicated to helping these kids.  All of them came from Kisenyi or similar places so they really are invested in making things better.  

Discovering PB&J

Hamza.

WARNING: PICTURES IN THIS POST ARE GRAPHIC.

I met Hamza for the first time my second day down in Kisenyi last time. He was 17, had the biggest smile ever attached to the sweetest raspy giggle I have ever heard. He also had just been hit by a taxi a month prior and had a completely exposed shin bone. 

I took him to the clinic back then, had him on weekly antibiotic shots as well as wound cleanings...but the severity of the injury paired with the conditions he was living in made it impossible for the leg to heal.

Fast forward to my arrival 5 weeks ago I found Hamza cute and smiley as ever...with an infection taking over the whole bottom half of his leg. He told me that he went to Mulago, the government run free hospital, and they told him they wanted to amputate the leg from the knee down. Needless to say he is terrified now. 

We took him to a real hospital today, consulted with a real orthopedic surgeon, and had ex-rays taken. Hamsa has a very serious bone infection. The infection has caused the actual bone to bow. He needs to have the internal canal of the bone drained out and then dosed with antibiotics, which is a 10 day in patient procedure. 

 This is Hamza the first day we met 2 years ago.

This is what his leg looked like then.

Today on our way to the hospital.

His leg today.

Hamza is tired of the situation of his leg, and even more tired of living on the streets. He asked if we could take him home to his family in the village after his leg is healed. He wants to go home which is amazing news. 

We consulted with 2 different doctors and the best price between the two was 6 million Ugandan shillings, which is about $1,800. If Hamza is speakin' to ya, please help him out. 

 

deep in the mix.

So the last couple of weeks have been pretty heavy down in Kisenyi. The sickness is far more intense than it was last time, ALL of the kids are sick or wounded or struggling with their health in some serious way. The typhoid/malaria combo seems to be the most prevalent, it looks like almost half of the 60-80 kids we see every week are infected with both. 

When I first got back here I was hesitant to dive back into the medical needs, being that we are here for such a shorter amount of time, and I am very clear from last time on how intense it can get...and also it can be incredibly financially draining. But of course I found myself back in that clinic with 2 benches full of kids needing to see the doctor. I have a really hard time saying yes to some and no to others...what makes one child's malaria/typhoid infection more important to treat than another? When a 12 year old boy has been walking around with a hand that has been broken for over 5 days, or has an abscess covering the entire side of his face ...you say no I can't help you? 

Last week a 16 year old girl named Nalubega (of course) with her 8 month old baby girl named Angel came to the program. She whispered in my ear that she needs help while pointing to her private parts. She lives on the street with that baby, prostitutes at night, is so malnourished that she isn't producing any breast milk and her and her baby are starving. That is all before we go to the clinic to deal with an out of control herpes outbreak. 

Although the boys are a devastating situation, they are tough and their toughness makes me tough. The girls are too much for my heart to handle. Just typing this makes me cry. It's too overwhelming to wrap your brain around, you know?

So anyways, I am working on finding an organization that will take in Nalubega and Angel together, so mother and daughter do not have to be separated. The last thing Uganda needs is another orphan. We are also bussing all the boys to a clinic to be tested for HIV the end of next week, so please lots of prayers and positive thoughts our way for that one.

(Sorry for the heavy post y'all, I will get back into joy and positivity asap :)) 

If you want to help with the program...

We feed somewhere between 60 and 80 boys a day and give them clean water to drink. Each lunch costs $60 total.

The malaria/typhoid duo treatment is a 9 day run and costs about $25 a person.

 football days :)

 

Welcome To The Jungle

 Hi folks, Tom Smith here.  (Guest blogger, Africa rookie, and new fiance to our fearless leader) I wanted to write a bit about what I have seen since arriving in Uganda a few days ago; in regards to the country and people in general as well as the work Lindsey is doing. 

When Lindsey suggested that I come along on this adventure a few months ago, I considered it to be a "no brainer".  I love seeing new places, meeting new people and the chance to spend this time with her seemed like a perfect way to spend the summer.  Within my first 12 hours of being here, I wasn't sure if I had made a terrible decision or not.  Kampala is unlike any place that I have ever been.  The intensity cannot be described with words or in pictures and being with Lindsey, there is no easing into the situation.  It is overwhelming at first to say the least.  However, now that I have gotten my feet under me, I am quickly falling in love with this place and couldn't be happier with my decision to come along for the ride.

I read through this blog many times before actually setting foot in Uganda and although what she has written in the past is very moving and powerful, it does not capture what it is like to be here.  To do that would be impossible as this place has an energy to it that cannot be described.  It is (somewhat) structured chaos.  At the center of all of the chaos is the Kisenyi slum.  

My second day here we took a tour of the slum and I quickly learned why I was informed by Lindsey that I would not be wearing flip flops.  (quick side note for those of you that don't know me - I live full time in Mexico and feel pretty comfortable in the developing world) Nothing that I have experienced in my life could have prepared me for the situation there.  The first two things that you notice when you enter Kisenyi are the amount of people and the amount of garbage.  It had recently rained so everything was muddy, which didn't seem to slow the place down one bit.  At first it seems like complete insanity.  People selling things, people begging, people robbing people, people cooking things on the street, people sleeping in the street, people going to the bathroom in the street, people EVERYWHERE.  I was warned before entering that if you hesitate for a second, you will get overwhelmed by it all and that couldn't be more true.  After some time there though, you start to notice a pace and a vibe that I really loved. 

So, now to the important stuff.  We met with the boys outside the slum community house and these kids really are incredible.  I've spent a couple days with them now feeding and doing some very basic medical stuff and I still can't fully grasp their living situation.  It's kind of impossible to totally wrap your mind around even when you see it first hand.  They are all covered in dirt, most don't have any shoes, and every one of them has some sort of injury or sickness.  However, the minute that they show up, it is clear that they love and respect Lindsey.  The most incredible part of that is the respect.  Women in Uganda are not like Lindsey.  She handles business in that slum better than any man I know could (myself included).  She has gotten both the boys and the adult men that we are working with to fall in line and she clearly will not be taken advantage of.  This is crucial as even the people that we are working with here will try to take whatever they can from you you any chance they get.

This situation that she has created here is impressive to say the least.  She is doing some real good in the lives of some kids that aren't loved by anyone.  

Going forward, we are going to continue the feeding and medical program in Kisenyi and we have a local field reserved one day a week for soccer with the boys.  Next week we are organizing HIV testing for all of the boys which will certainly be an intense situation.  Whatever else develops will remain to be seen.  Every day takes on a life of its own and the opportunities for service are limitless. 

Thanks for letting me share.  Next post will be back to your regularly scheduled programming.

BACK!!

There are no words to describe how amazing it is to be back in this place...so I will just jump into what's happenin'. 

Today was our first day back in Kisenyi. We met up with Martin and headed straight for the Community Hall where all the kids were already gathered for a weekly medical outreach. Kampala has had a pretty serious typhoid outbreak, so that's a major situation going through the slum. 

Last time I was here there was a boy named Hamsa that I ended up spending quite a bit of time with. He had been hit by a boda boda and his shin bone was broken straight through. It heeled backwards protruding out of his skin. We had him on weekly antibiotic shots and the doctor was cleaning out the wound daily. I saw him today and it seems the infection has gotten completely out of control and they will have to remove the bottom half of his leg. Lots of prayers his way for sure.

I found my sweet John Joshua as soon as we turned the corner into the slum, and well, I cried like a goon of course. I have thought about that kid every single day since I left. My heart is so full of love for him it's crazy. He has also been down and out with malaria and typhoid, so his health is not great but he is scrappy and funny and beautiful as ever. 

They didn't have the funds to provide food for the boys so we of course said we would happily take care of it. I was able to get it from the same mama that I used to every week, which made me really happy. We fed over 70 kids today...and committed to continuing providing for the medical and food every Monday. 

Martin and I will also be teaming up on Saturdays again to run the same program but also have a good game of football and some education rolled in...Isabella is a pretty incredible artist so she will be giving the boys some art lessons as well. 

If you are interested in getting involved you can contact my sister Shannon at: ShannonPenniall@hotmail.com.