Welcome back to Beautiful Uganda!!

Hills of Rwanda

Ladies along the roads of Rwanda

Hitchin a Ride

Busy roadways

Assembly to welcome me

"Humbling ourselves to pray"

"What song would you like to sing?"

"shake it all about"...a.k.a. The Hokey Pokey!

Testing out their new instruments

The delicous Ubushera drink

My favorite place to eat..."Peace's place"

The Chef in the kitchen

Friends I've been missing

So good to see you again!

Jael exhausted after jumping on the neighbors trampoline

Little friends

Martin and the kids

Sweet Jael and I

So many happy friends who love the camera!

My BFF and I....reunited at last!

Hello Friends!

After a loooooooooooooooooong, tiresome journey...I made it safely to Uganda! The trip within the U.S. was quick and easy, MSP to Chicago, about seven minutes to run to the next gate; then, Chicago to New Jersey. On the flight from New Jersey to Brussels I had three seats to myself and was able to lie down and sleep for the majority of the eight hour flight! As if that wasn't good enough, I spent a couple hours in the Brussels airport visiting with a very kind man from Maryland who was also on his way to Uganda. He also has a project in Uganda; he is digging wells in the northern region. Needless to say, we had a great visit and I learned a bunch. When we boarded the flight from Brussels to Kigali, the plane was nearly empty! This time I had four seats to myself! I watched a movie and then I lay down and slept like a baby! It was long, but definitely more comfortable that usual! By the time I arrived in Kigali after two days of travel my ankles had no resemblance to an elephants trunk, which they normally do, no swelling at all with all that laying down! Also much to my surprise the two oversized bags that I had drug along with me also made it….we are off to a good start!

The second I stepped off the plane and descended the steps a smile spread across my face at the smell of the hot tarmac and the cooking fires I could smell in the distance. Aaaaah….Africa, I have missed you! The simple airport, with two small, beat up baggage claim carousels as soon as I step inside the door, the leisurely pace with which the Immigration officer inspects my passport then stamps it and takes my visa payment, all of it is a reminder of the culture change in which I am emerging. I mentally downshift, to a muuuuuch slooooooowwwer gear. African time, here we go.

On the three hour drive to the Ugandan border the next day I watch the school kids running alongside the road, many of them are barefoot. They are laughing and shouting as they make their way home for lunch. The women and the unfortunate kids who aren’t at school are carrying loads on their heads bigger than their own bodies. Men are pushing bicycles that are so laden with goods they are sweating profusely as they push them up the hills. As I wave and smile at the little ones my mind drifts again to the many opportunities we have that these kids will never know. They’ll never have piano lessons or swimming lessons and they’ll never know what it feels like to have a new pair of shoes. This is the only thing they know, hard work and relentless struggle. I’ve spent the past ten months with hot showers, food overflowing from the cupboards, meeting so many of you while eating or drinking delicious red wine, and doing a wide range of activities from ice fishing on the Mississippi, long, silent and peaceful runs with my dog, water skiing, going to a movie or listening to exceptional live music. Then, there are wild things like snow tubing down a hill at completely unsafe speeds and screaming with both fear and delight as the -25 wind chill sends tears down my cold, stinging cheeks. The random opportunity I had just a month ago to go on an incredible all-expense paid cruise in the Caribbean; these are all reminders of how incredibly lucky I am. How blessed I am and how different the life of a Ugandan is.

When I finally made way back to Amazing Grace I find the kids in disbelief when they see me again, I don’t think they actually believed me when I said I would return. The teachers are wearing the same long dresses they were wearing when I left, eating the same meals two times a day of potatoes and beans; everyone is doing the exact same thing that they were doing a year earlier when I left. If they aren't working, they are sitting idle. I find myself feeling a twinge of guilt for all the pleasures I've experienced, but mostly I find myself swelling with appreciation and gratitude and especially an overwhelming desire to share my blessings, as I know so many of you also feel by your generosity and support.

The past two days in Kisoro have been spent visiting, planning and scheming. The plan seems to change hourly, but at least we have a plan! I have been busy distributing the many clothes, books and goodies that I lugged along. The appreciation, clapping, singing and dancing that follows each and every time is both overwhelming and incredibly gratifying. Thank you to all of you who have donated clothes, books, apple butter, money or anything else! I cannot put in plain words how grateful they are.

Friendly reminders to you all; if you’d like to mail a package, send it soon! I'll only be here until mid-May; also remember that shipping is very expensive and your dollar would go farther as a donation. I can buy almost anything here. The exception to that are books! I cannot buy kids story books here.

Amazing Grace Pre and Primary School
Attn: Bonnie Bzdok
P.O. Box 290
Kisoro, Uganda AFRICA

With all my love,

Bonnie

  "Never underestimate the impact you have on the lives of others." - Faith Halverson-Ramos

If you'd like to donate to Resilient Uganda please choose from one of the following:

For a tax deductible donation:

Send a check payable to H.E.L.P. (our partner organization) to:

 H.E.L.P.

1041 S County Rd 3

Johnstown CO 80534

 Please include a note (separate from the check) indicating that the funds are for Resilient Uganda and then let me know you need a receipt and the tax i.d. number and I will e-mail it to you!

 For a non-taxable donation:

 Send a check payable to Bonnie Bzdok to:

 Bzdok's

9161 Great River Rd

Little Falls MN 56345

 or

 Visit our website: https://resilientuganda.webs.com and donate through our paypal account.

 Thank you so much, your donation will go directly to improving the lives of Ugandans and building projects of empowerment.

Wacozey Chaney!  (Thank you very much!)

2015 Already!

Just a few of my crazy nieces and nephews!

My mom and Dad and I

Camping on the North Shore with my nieces

At Gooseberry Falls with my nieces

Me in my big, red truck!

Minnesota Fall

Beautiful, paper beads made by Beautiful Ugandan Women

Our Halloween Carnival

Hello Friends!

Here we are, another year coming to an end, another year beginning. Peel back a layer and start anew, start again and what will you do differently, what will you do better? I'm feeling like a detox, an enema and a power surge flushing of the entire body this time of the year is in store for me! Feeling stuffed and blessed!

It's hard to believe I've been home for nine months already! Six of those months were spent driving dump truck for my brother. The dumping season was a good one, it turns out I have a love/hate relationship with the job! I really enjoy touring around the beautiful state of Minnesota all summer, jumping in lakes and walking along trails when I can. My days are spent hauling pea rock, listening to good tunes and b.s.ing with the boys I work with. My nights were spent under starry sky's while sleeping in the box of my dump truck. Occasionally I'd get rained on, which would lead me to sitting up in the cab of my truck and trying to sleep, and then to a hotel room the following night! The fall was spent trying to navigate my way around the Twin Cities while hauling hot mix for making new roads. I was hauling hot mix directly to my brother, who was running the paving machine out on the road, which was fun cause he is my boss, but I don't usually even see him for the majority of the summer. Working in the Cities also allowed me to be my youngest sisters roommate, whether she wanted one or not!! Brooklyn Park was a great place to crash and a dog to walk each night when I got home was a bonus! There were many long days behind the wheel (10-15 hours a day, sometimes more!) plenty of Saturdays and even Sundays that we worked when there are so many things happening and so much summer fun to be had...hello, layoff and hello, winter fun!!

I lost my Father in September. Which, of course, has been extremely difficult and still today it feels like it can't be true, I'm told time is an amazing healer though and I can only pray that is true. On Christmas Day, it was three months since we lost him. I am so thankful it happened when I was here, in the country and I'm also very thankful for the five weeks we had with him in the hospital to get used to the possibility of losing him and to say our good-byes. If nothing else, death reminds us in a big, bold way that this life is temporary and none of us will be here forever.

Raising money and awareness about my friends in Uganda has kept me busy and it has also kept me catching up with so many old friends! 2014 has been a year of amazing old friends and many wonderful new friends too.  Whether it's selling beads in a cafe or a home slideshow and bead party, a community room, a library, a church, a classroom full of eager students with ooodles of questions, a Rotary Club meeting, or a Lions Club meeting with only 5 minutes to speak, I have found so many amazing and really good, good people. I'm so grateful to all of you for opening your homes and hearts to the mission and to my Ugandan friends! I'm returning to Kisoro in February, I'll only be there for three months this time. It's going to be hard leaving my family and especially my mom this time around, which means, I'll have to work hard and fast while I'm there! I've been doing innumerable slideshows and presentations, sharing photos and stories about Uganda and raising awareness of the struggles that life consists of for so many. I've also been selling the beautiful handmade paper beads that Ugandan women make. We were also awarded a $4,000. grant from the Franciscan Sisters in Little Falls!  I'm so grateful and so excited to return and start improving lives, little by little, one at a time. We will continue to focus on supplying water tanks and also on creating jobs through crafting co-ops and whatever else the ladies can come up with! All this, in turn is hopefully working also to educate us of the blessings we are surrounded by and remembering what our true blessings are!

I know what you're all wondering!; Ebola is in West Africa, I am in East Africa, it's like New York and L.A. I feel confident that it has been contained and that it is safe for me to go to Uganda right now. No more risky than walking down the streets of Brooklyn Park!!

Thank you all sincerely for supporting Resilient Uganda and myself in 2014 ~Without love, we have nothing.

Tonight as I listen to the deep gurgling belly of the river as it freezes, I'm thinking about the beating drums that will be soon be my background noise and the children's voices that will greet me when I'm running down the dirt roads of Uganda. All the little faces and arms that are so eager to wrap around my neck. How can it be that that is all they ask for in this world?

Please stay in touch, words from you keep me connected and remind me of the love I am surrounded by. All of you good people I've met through the year who have offered support, prayers, praise and encouragement, you give me the strength and courage to pass it on, I'd love to hear from you!

May 2015 be the year that we are all truly grateful of the many blessings that surround us.

   Love, Blessings, Peace and Health to each of you,

Bonnie

                                     "Service Above Self"                     - Rotary's motto

                           "One profits most who serves best."        -Rotary's secondary motto

If you'd like to donate to Resilient Uganda please choose from one of the following:

For a tax deductible donation:

Send a check payable to H.E.L.P. (our partner organization) to:

H.E.L.P.

1041 S County Rd 3

Johnstown CO 80534

Please include a note (separate from the check) indicating that the funds are for Resilient Uganda, then let me know you need a receipt and the tax i.d. number and I will e-mail it to you!

For a non-taxable donation:

Send a check payable to Bonnie Bzdok to:

Bzdok's

9161 Great River Rd

Little Falls MN 56345

or

Visit our website: https://resilientuganda.webs.com and donate through our paypal account.

Thank you so much, your donation will go directly to improving the lives of Ugandans and building projects of empowerment.

                              Wacozey Chaney!  (Thank you very much!)

Home Sweet Home!

Hi Friends, it’s me! 

I’ve switched over to g-mail so that I could ‘bcc’ people and hopefully avoid everyone getting two pages worth of other peoples e-mail addresses! I still have my hotmail account, but will send these group e-mails from resilientuganda@gmail.com

Taking the long way home from Uganda has proven to be quite exhausting, beautiful and overwhelming at times! It has been filled with surprises from reclining lounge chairs for the five hour layover in the Addis Ababa airport to the man in the chair next to me lighting up a cigarette! Also a surprise visit to the ER in Malaysia which turned out to be ring worm on my face, I could think of worse souvenirs to bring home! Another surprise trip to the East side of the Malaysian peninsula and a few lazy days floating in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean, getting a lobster-red sunburn and innumerable delectable meals with the Stanley’s. I found myself experiencing the shock of 90 degree weather, plus humidity, you know when you walk out of the house and instantly the skin prickles as the intense heat sweeps over your body and a shiver runs down your spine.

Roaming the airport in Hong Kong for fourteen hours in the middle of the night, a nice surprise is when I finally see three chairs next to each other that no one has already sprawled out on. A not-so-nice surprise is when I lay down on them, and then I jump up as I realize the chairs are wet! At 3:30 a.m. when I’m strolling the quiet airport terminal to eat more chocolate and use the toilet I find three seats in a row...and they are empty and dry! I sleep like a log during the twilight hours. The flight leaving Hong Kong is delayed by rain, so we sit on board, buckled and ready for take-off for over three hours until the rain relents and we can finally begin the thirteen hour flight. We arrived in San Francisco just moments after my connecting flight to Denver left. So, nearly two full days later when I finally step outside, I step into a snowstorm, wind whirling around us through the parking garage at DIA, then directly onto I-70 where a blizzard is raging and it's a white-out as my Dear friend, Jennifer and I crawl along the interstate and finally onto the smaller, winding road that leads to Winter Park. The peeling skin from sunburn soon turns into a dry and scaly coating that sheds like a snake everywhere I go. The dry mountain air cracks my skin as I find myself whizzing down the mountain and enjoying the phenomenal views. Winter Park has so many runs it's ridiculous, views to die for and with a buddy pass skiing is incredibly affordable!!

It turns out leaving Uganda was physically more difficult than I thought it would be as well! There were wonderful dinners and farewells, complete with going away gifts for myself and even for my parents; it was so sweet and thoughtful. My last night in Kisoro was spent with friends at Promise’s house. I brought the wall calendar from Amazing Grace to leave with them, since I didn’t want to roll it up and carry it home and since a student, Shiba, lives there. I thought they would enjoy hanging the big poster-sized calendar with photos of the Directors, the students and some of the teachers; they enjoyed it more than I could have imagined. I laid it on the table in front of them and for over an hour the discussion was on the photos of the two Directors, which one of them looks more serious, which one looks friendlier, the school itself and who knows what else, it completely captivated them. I had no idea it would be such a source of entertainment. Along with the “first aid kit” that I gave Promise, he had to try on the face mask and a pair of latex gloves, then he wanted to sleep in them because they were so warm!

The next day when Mark and I finally screeched into the Kigali airport just one hour before the flight, I rushed through the security scanner, reached back to hand him my last few Rwandan francs and dashed to the check-in counter. I sensed something wasn’t quite right as soon as the woman told me, “Just wait one minute” as she disappeared with my passport. She returns and explains that she sees my ticket has been purchased but for some reason I'm not on the flight manifest. She asks if I bought the ticket online and then explains that people always have troubles when they buy online. She could get me on this flight, but the connecting flight from Addis Ababa to Kuala Lumpur has been cancelled and the next one is in two days, so I could wait here for two days or in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for two days. I was stranded at the airport without any money and a debit card that doesn't work in this country.

After an hour or so of sitting in the airport office like an elephant that everyone was trying to ignore I decide to go and find a place to sleep. I spend the next two days in the Ethiopian airline office and eventually get them to pay for my hotel room and even for delicious meals at the hotel. I am astounded by the fruit drinks in a fancy glass with fresh fruit decorating the rim, by the breakfast buffet of so many delicious foods, pastries and meats piled up that I cannot help but feel gluttonous and like I’m cheating on my Ugandan friends that I know have never seen most of these foods. My first month out of Africa and it dawns on me that I have already experienced many things that most Ugandans never will, including; swimming in the ocean, visiting an aquarium, a canopy walk over the jungle in Malaysia, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, roller skating, swimming in a pool, eating at a buffet, having a pedicure and so many more. I am the luckiest person alive. I am amazed by all the good songs on the radio, how delicious cheese is, how much I’ve missed sandwiches, clean toilets, toilets you can sit on, hot showers and a sink with running water to wash my hands in before a meal. I jump in surprise when an automatic door opens for me and I am so pleasantly surprised every time I find a bar of soap next to the sink. I am the luckiest person alive. I think repeatedly about my friends and the students that I’ve left behind and how great it would be to share all these experiences with them. I take photos for them that they’ll probably never see, but maybe someday I can share all the beauties of this big world with them!

My oldest and dearest friend, Jennifer Basch and I have spent many hours in the past few weeks organizing and establishing Resilient Uganda. After phone calls, meetings and speaking with so many good people, we have agreed to work under an already registered and established non-profit that we really like and feel so blessed that we have connected with these great people. It was through a series of meetings with good people in Estes Park and being passed on to a friend of a friend, which brought us to Pam who runs H.E.L.P. Uganda, also working under the umbrella of H.E.L.P. International. The best part of joining with them is that we don't have to go through the fees nor the time consuming obligation of applying with the IRS for the 501c3 status, which could deny us anyway. Plus H.E.L.P. International is willing to let us continue in Kisoro with our mission and goals still being the project focus! Check them out at: http://www.helpint.org/

                                                                                     

Resilient Uganda’s focus is to create self-sufficiency within villages by meeting the basic needs of access to water and empowering Ugandans with the necessary resources, education and job skills to earn a living.  

If you want to know more about Resilient Uganda check it out on facebook; Resilient Uganda, our website; resilientuganda.webs.com or check out my blog http://bonniebzdok.blogspot.com/. If you are interested in a slideshow and bead party, let me know! I love to share the stories and we are selling beautiful handmade beads from Ugandan women. The colorful beads are made from recycled paper and by buying the beads you are empowering women by enabling them to provide for their families.

Next Stop, Minnesota, where so many good peeps are waiting for me, thanks for your patience and I cannot WAIT to see you all! The dump truck is calling me again, I have an opportunity to make more money in a summer than a Ugandan will make in his lifetime, I think I should take it!

Love, love, love and hope to see you soon!

Bonnie B.

      “Let your light heal the world”   -anonymous

Until Next Time Uganda March 10, 2014

Hello again Friends!

I hope this e-mail finds you warm and healthy! February has been a month filled with helping friends. It has also been hot and dry with a couple hours of heavy downpour about once a week, then a stretch of hot sunny days while we patiently wait for the relief of the rain again.

Thanks again to more of you, my amazingly generous and compassionate friends, family and fans we have recently sent two guys to get their driver’s license, so that they can ideally acquire jobs as truck drivers. When Peter, Paul and I hopped on the big post bus at 5:30 a.m. and it slowly started winding its way up the mountain switchbacks Peter mumbled, “It’s like a moving house!” Only then did I realize that he had never been on a bus before, which of course meant that he’d never been out of Kisoro before, never been to the city before. So, needless to say, we had some “Crocodile Dundee” moments when we reached the big city of Mbarara. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the boys in the supermarket, in awe of how many items there were on the shelves, even though the escalator wasn’t working, it was just as amazing to Peter, the concept of what it does left him shaking his head in disbelief and a big smile across his face. Crossing the street the first time was also amusing, but the best was when we sat down for dinner, not only did we have pork to eat but they also had a television outside with the football game playing…oh city life was fun!

We have also helped pay for a double surgery for sweet, little five year old Tracey. When she was recently vaccinated for Polio, two days later she couldn’t walk. Either the vaccine was bad, or for some reason she reacted badly to it, we’ll never know exactly what happened and of course her parents had no idea what was happening or how to help her. As is the African way her father asked everyone he knew to help him pay for the trip to Kampala and the first surgery so she could walk again. Little did they know it would take breaking her leg and a second surgery, each one costing 600,000 Shillings/ $240. USD.  Impressed as I was by his efforts to “find” the money, we ended up paying 500,000 toward the two surgeries. Julia is walking with a walker now, she arrives home tomorrow and I’ve been invited as “guest of honor” to welcome her home…but isn’t she the guest of honor?! They are a beautiful family and it was so nice to be welcomed into their humble little home by the entire village!

I am dreaming of ham and deviled eggs, stuffing and dumplings fried in butter and onions. Isn’t there something just amazing about the smell of butter and onions in a cast iron skillet? I shamelessly dream of pizza with white sauce, chicken, garlic and broccoli, spinach salad with vinaigrette dressing, pans of my sister’s gooey and delicious, sweet dessert bars. So, I’m having some food fantasies, what can I say? My stomach has always made the major decisions in my life! My warning to you is this; beware, you never know who may show up on your doorstep for Easter dinner!

After much debating, deliberation and hassle with trying to purchase a flight from here, turns out it is next to impossible to do unless you’re in the city and can go into the airline office, I am flying to Malaysia soon, where I’ll spend some quality time with Graciela’s mom and dad at their home in Kuala Lumpur. Debriefing on the past fourteen months, relaxing, possibly drinking some nice red wine and attempting to transition to life on the other side of the globe before continuing the long journey back to North America should keep us quite busy!!

Little arms that wrap around my legs while walking by or a little one running toward me with arms outstretched, as if they are my best friend is what I will soon be dreaming of. I will miss scooping them up hearing their giggles as I spin them around. Even the shouts of “Hello Muzungu” from the bushes no matter where I am, I will soon be longing for those voices when I am running down a country road in Minnesota, just me and my dog in the silence I so desperately desire right now. Oh Uganda, I will be back for your fresh fruit juice, for your forty cent pineapples and fifteen cent avocados. I will return for your leisurely pace of life, the steady strength of your people and the sheer excitement that comes across a locals face when they are greeted in their mother-tongue by a muzungu. Of course, there’s things I won’t miss also, for example as I sit and type this I have to quickly stop and yank down my drawers to find the flea that I can feel tickling my leg as it crawls around biting me! I will pray for my girls, Zamah, Christine, Faith and Esther, who have all now advanced to fourth grade. We have made progress, Christine is reading, but still very far behind. The teacher wanted her to repeat third grade, but she insisted she could do fourth and she is struggling. She and Zamah both live at school now, where they are sure to have food, they spend more time in class speaking English and with their teachers as role models, which is a better influence than they get at home. Zamah is excelling, getting brighter by the minute! Bridget, the sweet little one who can’t speak, she nor her sister came back to school after the Dec./Jan. holiday. I will pray for Bridget and hope her vocabulary is growing. She didn’t use or pick up many signs, but by the teacher repeating the words that were signed over and over again, she started repeating them, like a one-syllable parrot! Wilson is happily settled, dry and warm in his beautiful home, his feet have improved dramatically, the schools are gladly tapping their tanks every single day. We have improved lives, and as our old friend Ronald Reagan said,

               “We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone.”

Indeed we have. My gratitude is endless toward you, my personal support group and the innumerable number of incredible people in my life. The day I was born, I won the lottery. 100% winner. Thank you personally and genuinely for joining me on this epic journey, your faith, support and love have been my strength in so many ways. This Ugandan journey, of course, is not over; in fact I hope it is just beginning. I intend to continue raising funds through schools, through writing, through slideshows and presentations, through speaking to everyone and anyone who wants to hear it. The amazing strength and beauty found here is my model for persevering and for continuing to help those whose lottery was not as fortunate as mine, simple circumstances. I will be back to Resilient Uganda, because I have health, I have opportunity, I have resources and most importantly, because I have you and I have love, lots and lots of love…100% winner! So, it is not good-bye, but until next time Uganda!

With Gratitude and never ending love,

Bonnie B.                                                                                                            

              “The most effective medicine here on earth is LOVE unconditional.”

  “In about the same degree that you are helpful, you will be happy.” –Karl Reiland

                                     “My Religion is Love” –Anthony Douglas Williams

February 7, 2014

Another interesting and educational month has passed; I hope you all stayed warm and healthy! Things in Kisoro are back to normal, we had another “Hurricane Happy” strike. She left us for about two weeks and traveled through Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda around Lake Victoria and back to us in Kisoro for another week of amusement.

She taught a few more classes while she was here and when we went to our friend Paul’s village just before starting her Sexual Health class, a cousin of Paul’s asks, “So, what is the class about?” She tells him, “It’s about sexual health, STD’s and contraception.” His response is, “No, nothing about contraception, my mother isn’t home right now, but she’s a Catholic and she wouldn’t approve of contraception being taught at her home.” So, as I choke on my tongue Happy, hesitantly, but happily agrees not to talk about contraception. I gaze around at the clusters and clusters of hungry kids and am startled by how complicated and contradictory Religion can be. How can we not encourage desperate people to prevent another pregnancy which may be either dangerous to the mother’s health or perilous to the child’s welfare? A woman dying of childbirth is too common in Uganda. The lifetime risk of a woman dying from childbirth is one in thirty-five, that number increasing as the number of births increase, not to mention the quality of life decreasing for each family member as the family grows. The rain comes and we all squeeze into the small house, the little wooden shutters on the one square window in the house are flung open for light and Happy begins her schpeel. Of course, it’s a much shorter class without the contraception information, but thanks to Mukaka (Grandmother) it lasts just as long. Mukaka is so ecstatic about the muzungu’s being there that she just can’t stop talking! She is constantly interrupting Happy, even standing and pointing, cracking herself up at some mysterious joke! Of course, she doesn’t speak English, so she doesn’t understand any of what Happy is saying and she isn’t listening enough to hear it from the interpreter. When Mukaka stands and wants to leave half-way through the class, the cousin tries to stop her. I look at him and ask him, “What are you doing?” He tells me, “She wants to leave, but I told her to wait.” “No, no, no…” I tell him. “Let her go, she is making it very difficult to teach by interrupting!” “Oh!” He says and tells Mukaka she can go and she happily wobbles her way through the dozens of children and few adults there. Happy and I look at each other with the same astonished look we’ve given each other countless times and smile. Of all the things I’ve enjoyed about having Happy here, this is probably my favorite, having someone to share those, “Oh My God!”, or “Can you believe this?!” moments with! That and the hysterical laughter, I miss that too!

I’ve moved out of the Reverend’s House and am renting a small room in town. It was time for some space and some privacy, something most Ugandan’s don’t seem to be aware of. Even now as I sit and type this people will freely come up behind me and openly read what I’m writing or they’ll pick up my notebook, open it and start reading! Didn’t even realize quite how unique and coveted privacy is! Many people grow up in a room like mine, a 12x12 square, cement room for a whole family. Often they hang a curtain across the center of it to separate the bed from the sitting room. A family of sometimes five or six people all sleeping together in that space, the neighbors share the same compound, bathing room and toilet. Usually these rooms are built in two long rows facing each other with a gate for security at one end and the small courtyard in between the only “yard” any of them have, which is where they cook and do their washing. The shared toilets and bathing space are a series of four or five small closet-like rooms with either a squat toilet or a drain for bathing. Everyone knows everyone's business! I can hear the neighbor’s music when he wakes up, I can hear his conversations when he has company and I can hear the whole compound arguing on Saturday morning when the electricity bill is due and we all have to pay our share. This has been a whole new experience renting a room in town. At the Reverend’s house when we ran out of water, it hardly affected me; the maids went to fetch water. When the power was out, they would heat my bathing water on the fire and even light candles for me to see! Now, when a water pipe breaks or the water mysteriously stops flowing for three days, it is me carrying my jerri-can to Amazing Grace to fetch water from the tank or bathing with cold water when the power is out. It is a more accurate experience of African Life, and it’s nice to take care of myself. The maids felt more like servants to me and that was the hardest part about living there. That and eating dinner at 10 or 11 p.m., now I can eat at a more reasonable hour and go to bed! It feels good to do things for myself, including washing my clothes, which everyone insists I “can’t manage” but I assure you, I can manage! No matter how much they shake their head and insist I’m doing it wrong, no matter how much they ask about our washing machines and I explain them, I continue washing my clothes in my little basin and they are clean.ish by the time I’m done!

On top of that new adventure I’ve also strangely become the “consultant” for a local hotel/restaurant/bar. This new job of mine has possibly taught me more in the past month than all of the last year has taught me, or at least I’m happy I’ve had the past year of experience in African culture to prepare myself for this! There are so many things that boggle my mind and amaze me, it is difficult for me to take the job very seriously! Beginning with the pay these people get. How can I expect them not to sit around and watch the t.v. all day when they are getting paid less than $2. per day to be here six or seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 11p.m. or maybe even midnight if there are customers? They usually get one day off each week, but many of them live at the hotel so it’s spent here anyway and they certainly don’t have money to go do anything on their day off. The owner of the hotel lives in Kampala and when he hired me, then went back to Kampala one of my first assignments was to fire the majority of the staff, there simply isn’t enough work for all seventeen of them, so he wanted me to weed them down to seven! I waited until the end of the month, paid them all, then sent most of them on their way. It went surprisingly smooth, when he was here he told them he was cutting back the staff and I reminded them throughout the month. The real problem came when the owner came back last week-end, he flew to Kisoro with a group of business men whom he was discussing major renovations and marketing the hotel with. These business men own a very high class hotel in Bwindi forest, where tourists go to see the gorillas. The first night they spent at “Cloud Hotel”, where a room goes for $900 USD per night!!! Bill Gates has reportedly stayed here multiple times, so that’s the time of clientele they are attracting. The second night they spent here, at “Kisoro Tourist Hotel” which attracts a much different type of client! It's a nice enough place but needs some work and some marketing, we have bad comments on Trip Advisor from previous staff and management. I am trying hard to replace them with better comments and working at training the staff on customer service and cleanliness. Despite the fact that the owner says he will come this week-end and fire the remaining staff and start fresh! So, while these high rollers were staying here, helping the owner with ideas and improvements they stayed up until 2 a.m. drinking whiskey and discussing, as you do...when they finally went to bed, one of the two white men went to bed, closed his door, but did not lock it. He woke up in the morning to his laptop, camera, blackberry, backpack, his 3 million Ugandan shillings and his 6 thousand USD stolen! Oooooh….not a good day! After filing a police report they immediately flew back to Kampala. Later that day, after bailing the receptionist out of jail and firing a few more people, we still don’t know who committed the theft but the new manager is threatening to quit because the owner is insisting we fire the one woman who actually works around here. Judith is the server, but she runs the show, she opens the place, and closes the doors at night, and does everything in between. Whether it’s 2 a.m. or 10 p.m. she is always the last man standing and does a great job at it. The irreplaceable must be replaced. Wheeeew, I need a drink just writing about it!

For those of you that are concerned I’m never coming home…no such luck! In March I will renew my visa one last time for another three months, which means I should be home just in time for a nice Minnesota summer!

Nothing but love,

Bonnie B.

                   "Life is nothing more than a stream of experiences

                                 - the more widely and deeply you swim in it, the richer your life will be."

                                                                                                   ~Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Happy 2014 Jan. 8, 2014

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I hope your Christmas was amazing and that your New Year brings you more peace than ever! Christmas Day was spent with my family and with my friends Vinnie, an Australian that I met in Kampala and Haley, my friend from AK who spent the month of December with me in Kisoro. We had a beautiful lunch at the German couples home, who live next door to us. It was a feast of plenty including meatballs and sugar cookies. Haley and I had several baking extravaganzas throughout the month; we introduced many lucky Ugandans to sugar cookies fresh from the oven and banana bread, both were very warmly received!

I feel so blessed to have the month of December filled with so many friends. I had a brief visit from Karin and Brita at the beginning of the month, it was so great to catch up with familiar faces and hear about their African experiences! They left me with a bulging bag of goodies and clothes to distribute along with many smiles and good stories. The very same day that they arrived, my friend Denyse, whom I also met in Kampala, but is Rwandan returned to Kampala after a week-end visit. So much goodness…when it rains, it pours! Haley and I toured Kisoro by foot and by motorcycle, we ran a marathon, taught sexual health classes, enjoyed lazy days at the lake, gave swimming lessons, baked, attended weddings, visited the pygmy's, took so many gorgeous photographs with her camera, went hunting for witch doctors and with Haley around there’s constantly sporadic dance parties, we were busy girls and had an incredible month!

Santa brought me "Happy", since they don't have the “L” sound in their alphabet, it comes out as an "R" and Haley, was being called "Harry". Although I thought that was a nice name for her, for some reason she didn't care for it and we quickly turned her into "Happy" which is a common name here and suits her beyond perfectly. The first class she taught was at my friend’s home, with about twelve young, African men in attendance. She taught everything from basic wound cleaning, hand washing, the importance of boiling your drinking water, splinting a broken bone, immobilizing the neck and transporting someone with a spinal injury. The syllabus was thorough and she even talked about nutritional information, the importance of eating colorful vegetables and adding variety to their diet, stressing carrots, avocados and their leafy green, spinach-like veggie of doe-doe. Everyone sat intently listening, along with the group of men, my female friends Denyse and Hope, the housekeeper, were a great addition to the group. At the end of the class, we decided to add some information on Sexual Health, STD’s, and the transmission of HIV. After the six hour class, when Happy asked for a final time if anyone had questions, we spent another two hours answering questions strictly about sexual health. It was obvious to us, where their interest was and what the most useful information to them was. From then on, the class turned into a Sexual Health class, there were nine classes in total, most of them in villages and we could have continued to teach, if only Happy decided to stay longer! Having Happy for a teacher and given the subject matter in which she spoke, makes for some very content students at the end of each class! She is bumbling ball of positive energy and laughter.

For most of the villages, we notified the sub county chief of the village and requested them to “mobilize people” for the classes, sometimes we showed up to a group of eager villagers sitting on benches outside of a church and other times we showed up to a surprised chief who quickly made excuses and sent someone to notify the villagers of the class while we sat and waited. When we arrived in the village of Kabaya, where we built the house for the old man, they were all surprised to see us, but Happy stood up in the trading center and began her dialogue about STD’s, condoms and HIV. The village men gathered and before I knew it there were over one hundred men standing there listening. I shuddered for her and couldn’t imagine how she had the courage to stand up there and talk about gonorrhea, chlamydia and genital herpes. The villagers were all interested in the information she was sharing and most had no idea that any other STD’s, besides AIDS existed. At the end of the class

one old man asked, “How do I properly wash out the condom before using it with another woman?” Or, one woman asked, “So…if I have all of these diseases, that means I have HIV?” The lack of knowledge on the subject was astounding and the desire to know more was equally amazing. Imagine not having access to this information or not visiting a gynecologist regularly, or ever. Imagine never visiting a Doctor for a check-up, or to just ask questions, imagine not having the internet or the library to research symptoms you may be having. They were thrilled to have someone to ask their questions to, and it didn’t stop at sexual health questions! Happy had to repeatedly tell them that she wasn’t a Doctor; she was a teacher of First Aid and Health and then she’d answer the questions the best she could, usually followed by, “and then see a Doctor”. We put an ad on the radio to advertise the classes in the remote villages; we hired a woman translator so that the women would feel comfortable asking their questions as well. The culture here does not allow women to speak openly and freely about many things. We were told that if the women asked questions about sex or condom use that their husbands may think they were cheating on them. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, it’s many of the men that cheat on their wives and spread the HIV virus, or they have more than one wife and the wives have no say in the matter.

One Saturday morning we took a small, wooden canoe across Lake Mutanda, to a small island with about one hundred people living on it. Justine, the interpreter was with us and after hiking up the hill to the small church at the top, we sat in the blazing sun for over an hour while the people were “mobilized”. Eventually the entire population of the island was there, with no health clinic on the island these people were thrilled to ask about their varicose veins, about the skin rashes they have and many questions about HIV contraction, such as; when I go to the dentist can I get HIV? When I get my head shaved and share the razor with other people can I get HIV? Of course these are legitimate questions but still astounding that they don’t know the answers to them by now! Nor do many of them know how to properly use a condom, so after the first class, we went out and bought ourselves the biggest African carrot we could find and demonstrated how to put on, to remove and even how to dispose of a condom properly. Of course, not everyone appreciated this information, but we decided it was worth offending a few to stop the spread of diseases and possibly unwanted pregnancies in an already overpopulated and impoverished nation. Most people were very interested and were both astonished and entertained by it. After the class on Mutanda Island, we all slowly made our way back down to the boat through banana plantations while chewing on fresh sugar cane, we climbed into the boat and as Justine sat rigidly in front of us I asked her if she’s ever been in a boat before, she shook her head no. I asked her if she liked it and she said she was “fearing”. Of course there’s not a single life jacket in the boat and out of the seven of us, chances are good that it’s just Happy and I that know how to swim. Just after Happy and I briefly discuss that we’d have to choose which one we would save if the boat tipped, her phone rings. It is Justine’s husband, wondering when she’ll be home. Two days later it was Christmas, we started the day by delivering fresh banana bread to some families of the students I teach. Then, we celebrated at the German’s home; Happy, my Aussie friend Vinnie and I all enjoyed the feast and many silly games. It was a lovely day, filled with friends and laughter. Two days after Christmas we sent Justine a text, asking her if she could translate the next day for our final class. She told us she couldn’t, that she had a friend who was very sick in the hospital. The next day, after class, we were told that Justine’s husband had died of HIV. The “friend” in the hospital was her husband; she never told us he was sick, never told us he had HIV. Of course, that also means that Justine is probably HIV positive as well and possibly their three year old son, hopefully she took the drugs while she was pregnant with him to avoid him contracting the virus. A world of secrets, deception and delusions, the next day at the burial the Reverend tells us, “he was taken too soon, but that is life.” Everyone seems to be resigned to the terrible fates that Africa dishes out, no one questions it and no one has the courage or confidence to fight for change. It’s like they think they don’t deserve any better, they don’t have the right to a better life.

The hunt for a witch Doctor was in part to help us understand how people could actually believe in them and the superstitions in which they are bound. We drove through villages and pushed the motorcycles up hills through mud, we walked through the slick, rutted and muddy parts. We found men claiming to be witch doctors, but who couldn’t cure whites, we found a woman with so many animals and children in her compound there’s no way possible that she could know how many of either were there. We sat in the hut of an old man who claimed to cure people and when we started asking too many questions he started pushing us for marriage! He was willing to give ten cows for Happy; I was willing to give her, although we’d had much better offers (as many as 700 cows were offered for her!)  When I stood and left the hut the “doctor” whacked me on the leg with an iron hook he was waving around trying to intimidate us. Now poor Happy was stuck under the woman next to her, who was preventing her from leaving, he continued waving a metal rod around as if he was going to beat her with it! I found it all rather entertaining, not seeing how anyone could take this seriously. Eventually our friends went in and saved Happy from marrying the old man and we were escorted out of the home by dozens of the man’s children. In the end, the answer is desperation, when you are desperate for a cure, when you are desperate to believe that someone can change your situation, you will even bring to the man dressed in robes sitting in a round hut resembling a King’s dwelling your last cow, or the last of your food, the last of your money. You will try anything to change your fate and maybe, just maybe it does change, and of course you'll believe it was because of the powers of the witch doctor that it changed.

May your life be filled with “Happy” and may you always have the desire and the right to a healthy and bright future.  May you appreciate your right to ask questions, to push harder, to solicit what you deserve, to answer for yourself and may you always desire more, personally, for yourself and most especially may you always feel loved and respected. May 2014 be the year that you make your dreams come true…because you can.

With Love and Gratitude,

Bonnie B.

        “We are all visitors to this time, this place.  We are just passing through.

Our PURPOSE here is to learn, to grow, to love…. And then we RETURN HOME.”

                                                                -Australian Aboriginal Proverb

"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and   affection."                                                                           ~ Buddha