Member of Parliament

Want to hear a funny story? So way back in January when I started researching for this trip, I read about Alex Ndeezi, the first deaf Member of Parliament in Uganda. He is quoted in multiple articles discussing the dangerous results of not educating the deaf about HIV/AIDS. He compared the lowering HIV/AIDS rates among the general population due to national education programs to the deaf community that remained at risk due to lack of effective communication with health educators. His urgency is part of why I chose Uganda as the site for my summer of research.

Important side note necessary to understand the rest of the story: Mr. Ndeezi is technically the executive director of UNAD, so his picture his on the website, but he is not in the office on a day to day basis.

So last Monday, I e-mailed Mr. Ndeezi to ask if we could have a meeting. On Tuesday, I went to UNAD and was waiting for the staff’s all day meeting to break for lunch. A man walked through the lobby and into one of the offices. It took me a second to place him, but I suspected it was Mr. Ndeezi. So here’s the first funny part (aka Sarah doing something dumb): I didn’t want him to know that I was talking about him so I signed to a woman nearby asking if that was indeed him. But he’s deaf and could not have heard me AND I chose to speak in the language he does know, so he would have understood me if he came back in the room AND the woman is hearing and knows English so I could have asked out loud.

So I went up to him and introduced myself as the researcher who e-mailed him the previous day. He grabbed an interpreter and asked me about my project, work with UNAD, etc. I asked if we could meet and he said he would e-mail me by Friday and we would meet the following Tuesday or Wednesday.

So Friday came and went and so did the days he said we would meet without hearing from him. This afternoon, I was hanging out at UNAD, working on wrapping up my research. Mr. Ndeezi walked into the room and stopped and looked at me. I smiled normally, but he smiled so slowly and gave me the guiltiest look I have ever seen. So we are meeting this next Tuesday at 8:30 am in the UNAD building. I never knew that guilt was such a powerful scheduling tool.

Sarah

Jewelry and an Anglican Church

Hello, here is what I have been up to for the past few days.

Friday (August 22), I spent the day with Renee. In the morning, all of the children from Julianne’s school came over for a play date (I think there are 26 total). I helped supervise the craft project (turning vegetable cans into pen holders). After that, Renee and I spent quite a long time counting jewelry. One of the many things done by Hope Alive is micro-financing small jewelry businesses for two Ugandan women. Once we had a complete inventory, we went to the Hope Alive office to meet with one of the women…and count a few hundred more necklaces. The jewelry is absolutely stunning. Here is a picture of Renee holding one of the many bundles of necklaces.

Here is a picture of Jennifer (known as Mama Cici because her oldest daughter is named Cici, so Renee is known as Mama Julianne) and me wearing some of her jewelry.

Next, Renee and I went to the craft market and picked up pizza for Friday-pizza-movie-night! We watched Arsenic and Old Lace, which is the funniest movie I have ever seen.

Saturday (August 23), was very uneventful. I spent the day uploading and editing pictures and interview videos. Our next-door neighbor, Jack, came over for dinner. Jack is quite…eccentric. But he is really interesting to listen to. He had just returned from an eight day silent Anglican retreat in Nairobi. For one evening, I was not the only token Anglican :)

Speaking of Anglicans, Sam and Alice (from Focus) took John, Cindy, and me to an Anglican Church service this morning(Sunday, August 24). Unfortunately, it was the praise and worship service (no Eucharist), but it still gave me the feel of Anglican churches in Uganda. The sanctuary holds about 800-1000 people, plus there are two overflow tents outside that hold easily that much, if not more. The tents have projectors and screens so people can still see what’s going on in the church. We literally had to push to get seats in the sanctuary.

Jon, Jen, and Megumi came over for lunch after church…and they stayed until dinnertime. It was a really fun afternoon. It’s weird to hear Jon tell a story about his mother being a teacher and serving ice cream once a year as part of a fundraiser and realize that he’s talking about Tate’s in Wheaton. Sadly, I had to say goodbye to them because they are leaving for language training in Masaka at the end of this week. Here is picture of the gang outside the guesthouse next door.

I’m not 100% sure what I am going tomorrow, but I will report back if it is something interesting.

Goodnight.

Sarah

Silent Theatre

Hello,

This is my new roommate.

Yesterday and today have been super productive research days...which is good because I am going home in 2 weeks.

Yesterday, I had two interviews in the morning with deaf individuals who don’t work for UNAD and I had three more this morning. I only had two scheduled, but one guy wanted to be interviewed so he showed up. These interviews have been really helpful; everyone has different opinions on how the deaf should be educated about HIV/AIDS, so it should lead to an interesting paper.

Yesterday afternoon I watched the rehearsal of the Deaf Silent Theatre Company at UNAD. One of the actors and I were chatting during the tea, samosa, and chapata (flatbread) break. My Ugandan Sign Language skills are pretty minimal, but my ability to communicate with people at UNAD has greatly improved. I can’t really explain it…I guess I understand a lot more than I can say. Anyway, at the end of our conversation, he was telling me that I should get my hair braided to surprise everyone in the US and Florence (who has taken me under her wing) starting watching our conversation. She turned to me and asked, “You understand him?” And I said that I did, and the look on her face was the happiest thing in the world. She looked so proud, and I smiled and signed, “I’m learning.” It made me feel wonderful.

Today, after my three interviews, I went to the performance of the Deaf Silent Theatre Company. They performed at some kind of legal fair; people were waiting in tents to talk to lawyers from different organizations. Honestly, I’m not sure what was going on, but they performed about the discrimination against persons with disabilities in the legal system. It was really educational and entertaining. The audience really enjoyed it. I taped most of it, so let me know if you are interested in seeing a little. Below is a picture of a skit based on a true story where a witchdoctor stole a baby from a deaf couple who were forced to sign a statement they didn’t make (no interpreters) and couldn’t read (no education) at the police station.

Tomorrow will be another full day…but I am taking a day off from research. I am finally going to go souvenir shopping at the craft market, which should be fun.

Goodnight.

Sarah

The Nile

Hello,

It has been a busy week, and next week will probably be even busier. Here are some highlights.

Tuesday, August 12 was one of the BEST days I’ve had in Uganda. Maybe in my whole life. I rode a boat on the Nile. I saw where Lake Victoria ends and the Nile begins. This is a lifetime dream come true. We also went to Bujagali Falls, which is absolutely beautiful...but really are more just rapids on the Nile.

I went with a short-term mission team visiting Uganda to work with Hope Alive. They had a couple extra seats so they brought me, Jenny, GJ, and two Ugandans that work for Hope Alive, Lonnah and Robert. We had the best time taking a ridiculous number of pictures. Here is a picture of Lonnah, me, and Jenny in the boat on the Nile. That man in the picture below is pointing to the source of the Nile, where Lake Victoria ends and the Nile begins.

Wednesday, August 13, I returned to the Ntinda School for the Deaf. The deputy to the headmistress (who I interviewed last week) gave me a tour and I took pictures. I am going to send them the pictures when I get home, and they are going to sell them as a fundraiser. I am happy that I can help in some way. I also interviewed a deaf teacher there. She did not seem thrilled to be answering my questions, but it was short and really helpful to me. Here is a picture of the children clapping in a classroom.

Thursday, August 14, I went with Renee and the female members of the short term mission team to a small fabric market. I bought fabric to have two outfits made, which is really the only way to get Ugandan clothes here, all the rest are imported from other continents. For dinner, we went to a really nice Thai restaurant in honor of the short term mission team’s last night in Uganda. Below is a picture of Christian and me swinging at the Thai restaurant.

Friday, August 15, I went into town to order outfits from a tailor. On a recommendation, I went to see Harriet, who is a member of Kampala Baptist Church. She is making me one dress and one outfit (both blouse and skirt). I am really excited. I go back in a week and a half for a fitting.

Saturday, August 16, was a special day at Hope Alive because it was a “Fun Day” (we played games the whole time) and because it was GJ and Jenny’s last Saturday Club before returning home (to the Netherlands and Colorado, respectively). Jenny and I took hundreds of pictures, so a pretty typical day for me. Here is a picture of me and Jenny trying sugarcane for the first time. It is a lot of work to eat.

Today (Sunday, August 17) consisted of a church service at Lugogo Baptist, a walk with Jenny to the Kamwokya market, and a goodbye dinner for GJ at the mall. I will post pictures from the walk in Kamwokya later in the week.

Tomorrow, I am heading to UNAD to watch a rehearsal of the Deaf Silent Theatre Company, and then I am babysitting the Davis kids, so I probably won’t be online until Tuesday.

Goodnight.

Sarah

Photos!

Hello,

Here are the pictures from the past week or so. We drove over the equator on the trip to Masaka!
I think this is a really interesting sign. It is in Luganda (I think), but an English version is in Kampala that says "Would you let this man be with your daughter? Then why are you with his? Cross-generational sex stops here." I learned from a seminar I attended last spring that this is a serious issue in East Africa that contributes to the spread of AIDS.
This is a roadside stand selling fruit and baskets on the road to Masaka.
These are kids on a field trip to the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe playing with one of the monkeys that run loose.
This is the national bird of Uganda, the Crested Crane.
A couple of students visiting the wildlife center.
Children came up to me to shake my hand all the time. In the picture, you can only see some of the group gathered around me.
This is a picture of the group I went to Entebbe with standing in front of Lake Victoria. John and Cindy (who I live with) are on the left, and I am between Alice and Sam, who are their friends from Focus.
I hope you enjoyed these pictures. It took more than an hour to upload them! I miss everyone at home, but I am over halfway done! I am getting used to being here though, and everyday is a bit easier.

Sarah

The end of a busy week

Hello!

Oh, how I have missed the internet! I am back from Masaka and the repairman fixed the internet this week. So I feel more connected to the US…I now know that People magazine paid $14 million for the first picture of Angelina and Brad’s twins, that Paris Hilton is running for president, and that Selena is dating one of the Jonas brothers. But I can’t get the Chicago Tribune or New York Times to load.

Saturday (August 2), I went to Hope Alive! for a good part of the day. I don’t think that I did anything noteworthy for the rest of the day…

Sunday (August 3), I went to UNAD at 1:30 to begin the trip to Masaka. We drove 2 or 3 hours in the UNAD bus. Lots of people on the side of the road stopped to watch us go by. There are stands along they way where they sell everything from bananas to natural loofahs to drums. If you pull over, they all run over to the car. They are quite aggressive. They all went straight to me and yelled “muzungo,” “auntie,” and “mommy” to try to get my attention (mommy?). They even opened my window. One boy asked me to “photo him.” Once we got to Masaka we started the search for a cheap and clean hotel (I learned that you generally get one or the other). I basically panicked because Florence got a room for two, but there were three of us including the interpreter. So I started to sign to her and she told me to stop…I realized that we were going to have three people in a double room. So she was being secretive, but she didn’t realize that I thought I was left to fend for myself. We went to the hotel where the conference was being held and had dinner, which consisted of the standard Ugandan dishes that I had at every meal for the next two days, including breakfast. I don’t eat the meat in Uganda, but the people who served the food (as you walked along the buffet) said that I did in fact want meat and put in on my plate anyway. It is considered to be the food brought out for special guests, but I would rather have the beans any day.

Monday (August 4), the day began bright and early. I learned that this conference was part conference, part training session. Participants were local service providers (relating to HIV/AIDS) and representatives of the Masaska branches of the DPOs (Disabled Persons Organizations). Each organization from Kampala gave a presentation about why those with their particular disability were at risk for HIV and how to communicate with them. Florence’s presentation was unbelievably helpful; I videotaped it and she is going to give me her notes.

I moved around a lot before the presentations began because they kept changing the orientation of the projector and I wanted to have a good view for videotaping. I ended up sitting with Helen and Agnes in the back, but I had a table to put my tiny tripod on. Agnes is the head of the National Association of the Deafblind in Uganda; she has been blind for most or all of her life, but became deaf about 10 years ago due to cerebral malaria. She has some hearing with a hearing aid, but has an interpreter-guide, like Helen, accompany her on trips like this. Helen’s main jobs seemed to be getting her food and telling other people to be quiet so Agnes could hear the presenter. Helen and I became fast friends. We sat it the back and made faces at each other when the presenters said dumb things or when people rambled on for too long. It was really great to have someone thinking the same thing and finding the same things funny as me because I often feel like no one here thinks like me. All we had to do was look at each other and we would start cracking up, but then have to be quiet so Agnes could hear. Helen is currently working on her masters in clinical psych, which is an interest we have in common. I am going to try to interview her for my research because I would like the perspective of an interpreter.

Tuesday (August 5) was basically the same as Monday. I took lots of pictures out the window on the ride home. I even got a picture of the sign when we crossed the equator!

Wednesday (August 6)…I went to the Ntinda School for the Deaf where I interviewed the deputy to the headmaster (assistant principal). I am planning on going back next week with a camera, so I will tell more about the school then.

Thursday (August 7), we (Cindy, John, and their friends from Focus, Sam and Alice) drove to Entebbe, which is south of Kampala and is on Lake Victoria. First, we went to the Uganda Wildlife Education Center, which is basically a zoo for African animals saved from poachers. It was one of the highlights of this trip so far. I was able to see African animals in Africa! Someday I will get to go on a safari and see them in their natural habitat, but this was almost as good. Plus, there were TONS of children there on fieldtrip, and they are really fun to interact with. Whole groups of kids would run up to me yelling “Muzungo” and they would all touch my arms and hands. Some wanted their pictures taken. Monkeys were running lose and it was fun to watch them interacting with the children too. I got stung by a safari ant and had to pull the stinger out of the fabric of my pants. Next we went to Uganda Botanical Gardens. John and Cindy are both very into plants and birds, so they especially enjoyed it. And I enjoyed taking a couple hundred more pictures.

Friday (August 8) I decided that I was going to have a lazy day and stay in my pajamas until after lunch. By the time it was about noon, there had been multiple rounds of visitors. So I guess I won’t be doing that again. I went with Renee and two of the kids (Hannah and Abby) to Garden City (the mall), where we shopped and went to I Love New York Kitchen. I went back to their house and had Julie read me her “homework book.” Then it was pizza and movie night! We watched the Incredibles and then Dark Knight. Brian bought the copy of the video outside the supermarket…it was a recording someone made sitting in the movie theater. So when I could see what was going on, it seemed like a good movie.

Saturday (August 9) I spent the majority of the day uploading and editing pictures. In the evening, we had dinner with Winston, who goes to Kampala Baptist Church with Cindy and John. He is 73 years old and was born in Africa and has spent most of his life here. He has the best stories I have ever heard. His grandfather started what is now the biggest missionary school/center in Kenya (maybe in all of Africa?) with the help of his buddy President Roosevelt. Winston lived in the room I am staying in when Idi Amin took over, and he told us about putting the mattress on the floor and listening to the rockets overhead.

Sunday (August 10), I went to church at Lugogo Baptist. From there I went with Renee and the girls that are mentors for Hope Alive to an Italian Restaurant. And then we went back to the house for a gathering of the “young workers” from Lugogo. These are the people that have graduated from university and are starting their careers. I ended up feeding children and putting them to bed while the guests listened to a lecture on the importance of being smart about finances. I am exhausted because there are 5 kids, but I think I got the better end of the deal.

So now I am unbelievably exhausted and am going to go to sleep. I still have not recovered from the 12 hour day of walking on Thursday. Tomorrow I am writing new drafts of interview questions, so I am sure that I will procrastinate by posting photos from this past week.

Goodnight.

Sarah

P.S. Sorry this is so long! I didn’t realize it as I was writing it!

Progress!

Today was another very encouraging day. I went to UNAD in the morning and asked Deborah (who was the very first person to respond to my e-mails back in January) if she could help me set up interviews. I was overwhelmed at the prospect of finding willing participants, finding an interpreter, and getting all three of us at the same place at the same time (which might have necessitated hiring a driver, which would have been person number four). So right then and there, Deborah and other staff members brainstormed a list of people, a guy whose name I don’t know is asking all of them and creating a timetable, and Miriam offered to be my interpreter. So a huge stressor is relieved and I can concentrate of coming up with interview questions and interviewing people at related NGOs.

I am going to Masaka on Sunday for a conference on HIV/AIDS education for disabled people. We are traveling there (2 or 3 hours away, I’ve been told) with the very large bus usually used by UNAD’s Silent Theatre Group. I asked Miriam if I was going to be the only hearing person on the bus and she gave me a really funny look. She told me that Florence was going to be the only deaf person on the bus and the other people were all from yesterday’s meeting (members of other DPOs, Disabled Persons Organizations). As much as I like meeting new people, it’s also great to be around people I already know and who know me.

Tonight was American movie and pizza night and Brian and Renee’s house. We watched Batman Begins. Have I mentioned that I live near an arena where concerts are held on the weekends? It is a number of blocks away but this music is so loud (now, at midnight) that I think the singer is in my room. It would never been this loud if I was blasting my own music in my room. Thank goodness for earphones and audio books.

I will post today’s pictures tomorrow; I am too tired to upload them now. Goodnight.

Sarah