Christmas in Bufukhula

I made it back to Bufukhula last weekend. Moses and Andrew invited me to come to the village for the CDP children's Christmas Party. This is a party to celebrate the children, the teachers and the parents and for the children to have a nice meal and receive a Christmas present. The plan was originally to take the bus (a first for me). I had a taxi arranged for 5:30 in the morning to take me to the bus park. The bus left at 6am (hopefully!) and should arrive in Mbale be 10am. I was very excited and nervous about the bus trip, I even had the office pray about it during devotions. (We often pray for people who are travelling) But alas, Luke the CDP Manager had one of his supporters in town and wanted to show her CDP in action. So he arranged a private hire and the three of us headed off to Mbale. It was such a funny trip. We started late cause the driver was late. Then he got lost on the way. You start on the highway that goes to Kenya, but in Inganga you turn off and take the road to Mbale. I was sitting in the front but chatting with Karen (Luke's supporter) in the back and wasn't paying attention to the road. When I turned around I realized something wasn't right. You see the road was terrible; pot holes galore. The road to Mbale is absolutely perfect once you make the turn off the main highway. I said something once, but the driver didn't respond. So after a minute or so I said something again. This time we stopped and found out that, yes, we missed the turn. But there was a short cut between the two highways. Well, it wasn't a shortcut but it sure was fun.

We arrived in Mbale an hour later than I would have had I taken the bus. But then we had to check into the hotel and drop a Fourth passenger off at the bus depot in Mbale so he could go back to his CDP center in Soroti. By the time we reached Bufukhula we were really late. They didn't start the program until we arrived at noon, although it was supposed to start at 9am. Luke, Karen and I sat at the head table with the other guests of honour. There was the LC1 (local leader), the Head Master of Bufukhula Primary School (Bob!) the Head Mistress of Makhai Primary School, the School Inspector and us. One of the fathers, a Muslim who has begun attending church, was the MC. The children began with songs welcoming the visitors. There were scripture readings, poetry and plays by the children. Of course there were speeches, by the LC1, the School Inspector, the Head Master, the Head of the PTA, the Head of the SMC Committee??, Luke, Karen, Myself and finally by the guest of honour the Head Mistress of Makhai Primary School. In between speeches and children's performances was Christmas music played by the hired DJ! Finally it was lunch, three hours later. The guests and leaders had lunch in the same room that was our lunch room last year while the children lined up and spread out for their feast. After lunch we all headed over to the soccer field to watch the Primary School Boys vs. the Secondary School Boys. It was great to see the two teams wearing the uniforms donated by Cap Church. The players take so much pride in themselves.

The children were to receive mosquito nets as their Christmas present. However, there was much debate over whether or not they were going to arrive in time on Saturday to distribute to the children. Thankfully my friend Vincent in Kampala was working overtime to ensure that the nets arrived. And they did. It was so comical watching the children stream off the soccer pitch and rush to the Head Masters office as the taxi arrived with the nets. It still amazes me at how organized the children become when they are asked. They were all removed from the vicinity while the nets were counted and while we opened the packages (to prevent them from being resold). They got into their class groups and were brought in class by class to receive their net. It was so organized. Each child had to stamp their thumb print next to their name to acknowledge that they received their net.

I had such a wonderful experience with my three sponsor children at the party. As I was sitting at the head table I kept scanning the children to see if I could spot Dianah, Ivan or Ben. After a few scans I found Dianah. She was sitting in the second row right in front of me. Her friends figured out that I had found her and kept poking her and telling her that I was looking for her. I waved at her and caught her eye a couple of times; she was so embarrassed. Later Ben was sent up to greet me; it is always so good to see him. He's the only one of the three who seems comfortable around me, but I suspect that is because he was my only sponsor child last year and he is used to having me around. But later, the children were dancing to the music the DJ was playing. The song is Calypso and as I have learned since I came to Uganda, it is a very popular song here. I joined in with the children, and Dianah was right there next to me dancing and smiling. It was so awesome! When it came time to receive the mosquito net, Dianah came to me to thank me, bending down and bowing in that humbling way the children greet you in Bufukhula. I took her outside and made sure I got a picture with her and her net; I also had pictures taken with Ben and Ivan. I can't fully express how it felt to be there as there celebrating with the children. It brings tears to my eyes even as I type this blog.

The next day we went on a home visit to Dianah's before we attended Sunday services at Bufukhula Church of Uganda. It was so great to visit her home. It was a surprise visit so her mother was not there as she was off getting water.(these are done so the family does not prepare something for the guest that presents a burden to the family). Dianah's father indicated that he knew me very well from my visits and was so thank full. He also expressed a desire to have me back so he could entertain me in Ugandan custom. I promised him that this was only a short visit, but that as I am living in Uganda for three years I would have many chances to spend more time with him and his family. I also met Dianah's grandmother and sister. Their home is small, only three rooms. But they have several cows which indicates a small amount of wealth for the family. For those reading this blog who have been on home visits in Bufukhula, this was the farthest home visited so far. You have to take the back road that leads to Makhai, get off the main road then walk through fields to find their homestead. It was very comical as it was obvious the distance we were travelling was going to make us late for church and there was every reason to suspect that Dianah and her family might not be there. Ah Africa!!!!

After the home visit we rushed back to the village as we were late for church. Of course it didn't start on time and went much longer than we were told. Apparantly 4 hour services are the norm and not just reserved for when their are guests (We had Andrew instruct the community that they were not to do anything different because we were there). Unfortunatlely we had to leave before church was over so we could get back to Kampala at a reasonable time.

It was such an extraordinary weekend for me. I love being in Bufukhula. I feel so at home there. It is nice to get the attention, but more than that I feel like I am accepted, just not as a visitor but as a member of the community like the FH staff. I had a wonderful conversation with my friend John Mukhooli and he kept asking when am I going to be back. I desire to spend as much time as possible in Bufukhula. Now that I know how to catch the bus, and a cheap place to sleep in Mbale, it is my desire to visit at least once a month. My next trip to Bufukhula will be in January when Elaine comes to visit. I am counting down the sleeps, not just for Elaine coming but also for my return home to Bufukhula.