Morning Meditations

10/26
It has been many days since I have been still enough to let pen and paper absorb my thoughts. It is not as if I'm moving around that much or that I'm that busy. Making the time is my only responsibility, and somehow that is not always easy to do. I just read a morning meditation on joy. I don't know why I don't do this every morning. With each sentence, I squeeze like fresh orange a glass of nourishing words into my empty glass. My senses sharpen and my breath quiets as I read and reread each thought. What can I say about joy? I know who she is and where she lives, but lately we've been missing each other. I have been taking myself too seriously, which is something Joy would never do. I have been worrying about things I know I can't control. This is my form of suffering: self-indulgence. "What about me?" I'm screaming. Then like a mother distracting her child from crying, life shows up and shakes my hand. I'm totally there: feeling the skin, the strength of the handshake, looking into the eyes of acceptance and friendship, and then letting go. I notice myself screaming again. Why do I want more than what life gives me? This is the challenge of enlightenment, to suffering. Today I have made room for Joy. She taps me on the shoulder with a pineapple in her hand and asks me for breakfast. "Thank you," I said.

27/10
I woke up this morning and found that the spirit was already awake in me. Some mornings I can miss it completely, and I go all day without it because sometimes fighting with my energy is easier than accepting it. This morning though as I saw Spirit stretching its arms high into the air breathing into every space of its existence, I smiled and stretched with it. I love meeting the day this way. I sense that Spirit would like to stretch every morning with me. Quietly it whispers, "Come when you want and just as you are."



30/10
GOOOOOOO DAWGS! Mollie and I are devoting the whole day to DAWG awareness. We will have all of Ndejje chanting by the end of the weekend. We are even planning a little trick or treating to help our new friends get their heads around our Halloween traditions. Be safe and have a Wonderful weekend.

Putting Money to Work

The skies are blue today and the clouds look like cartoon sketches of explosion in the distance. Yesterday was a very big day for Global Ties in Uganda. For just about a month now, we have been assessing the needs of our partnering programs here in Ndejje. The school has many, but I think we would all agree that food and water is a good place to begin. The Kamba shop and the its members also have many needs, but there it begins with materials.

As Mollie and I work to address these needs by applying for grants and visiting NGOs to gain support, we see that there is an opportunity for Global Ties to get the ball rolling. While we were living in Florida, we made a very purposeful effort to allot 10% of our paychecks into a savings that we could use as our donations during this trip. Mollie and I did not know what Global Ties represented then. Donations are just half of the story. What happens when the money actually changes hands? Well, this is what Global Ties can represent. With the money that we saved before arriving to Uganda, we have made two contributions through Global Ties. Our first project was the micro finance loan for 20,000 Ush. ($10) that we loaned to two Kamba members. We have seen a financial gain for Kamba members of about $5 over a two week period. The loan has moved on to two new members. Because of its success and a profit projection we created, Global Ties decided to take an additional amount of $150 to add to Kamba's business account(not individuals). That of course was the easy part, and now that we are here, we as Global Ties have the chance to learn side by side with Kamba on how to be successful. We will meet twice a week to discuss all our challenges and all our successes. We are also creating an accounting method with Baunda (the treasurer), and with the very generous donation of a computer from Mollie's family, we can be very organized.

We did not waste any time getting the project started. Yesterday with Sarah, Jacques wife, we gave the money some real value; we bought materials! We were able to buy 20 kitenge fabrics and enough tailoring supplies to get us going. According to the projection we came up with, from this investment Kamba has the potential to realize a significant profit.

p.s.
It seems that our picture uploading device does not want to work anymore. We will get more pictures up as soon as we figure out the problem. Sorry!

Staying Busy

For some reason every time I go to update the blog, I feel like so much time has passed. It has been just two days though. I think it must be because we are always having these new thoughts and ideas about how to really be involved within this community, and even more, how to connect all of you to our new community. I don't want to forget anything.

Because of the nature of this trip, it is our responsibility to turn these thoughts and ideas into action. Most recently we helped the Kamba shop purchase materials for sample products that we were hoping would win them a spot at this years African Union Summit. Out of all the refugees that submitted items, Kamba and just two others were chosen! Jacques will now get a chance to spend all week at the summit discussing the progress and needs of Kamba and Hope Primary School with hundreds of people directly involved in improving the situation of refugees. This was a huge success for some much needed attention and awareness for our community. Additionally, during the second week, Global Ties in Uganda initiated a micro finance project that is also proving to be very successful. The first two members to receive the loans of 20,000Ush($10) have met the two week repayment period, made additional profit for their families, and deposited 10% of the loan amount into Kamba's savings account. We are to have another meeting tonight to discuss the next two members to receive the loans.

As the days pass here in Ndejje, Mollie and I see bigger and better needs to address that encourage us to dig deeper and get more involved. Before we left, we had a nice visit with Reverend Jimmy in Statesboro, who had visited Uganda. He told us that the needs would be great but to not let doubt interfere with our minds because as we are learning here there is no such thing as a small deed. We look forward to sharing our challenges and successes with you all as we progress.

How long did it take?

The answer: Three weeks!

Today we have been here three weeks. And guess what happens on your three week anniversary....guess...you get robbed! Yep, we got taken today!

We were wondering how long it would take before someone pick pocketed us in the overcrowded, bustling city of Kampala, and now we have the answer. Three weeks.

The guy strategically cut Jimbo off and got me in a tight place between lines of parked taxis and no people. Don't worry. He didn't approach me, he just followed behind me, unzipped my bag, and put his sticky fingers on my change purse, but most devastatingly my glasses! Pure talent I guess. I didn't feel one thing, and it only took him about 10 seconds. As soon as he peeled off, Jimbo stopped me as he noticed the bag was unzipped. Definitely a way to make you feel like a real sucker!

The change purse didn't contain any cards or important stuff, just a little over 20,000Ush ($10). The annoying part is that my glasses and glasses case seemed to be interesting to him too. Lucky for me i brought a spare, but as my friend Janna can attest, finding glasses you like is not an easy undertaking. Oh well, it could be a lot worse. We are just grateful that he only took what he did, and have tried to learn our lesson. Be more aware, and don't keep things in the top of the backpack.

As for our new sticky finger friend: I hope he can feast for a week on the profit he made today!