Mukisa

Mukisa means blessing in Lugandan…and that means Mukisa is the perfect name for the place I get to work while I’m here!

I’ve mentioned Mukisa a few times but I’d like to talk about it more…considering I spend four days a week there! I work at Mukisa Tuesday through Friday from 9 to 4. It’s only a ten minute walk from home but Florence leaves at the same time as me so I usually ride with her. We get there just in time for breakfast. Each day there’s bread and butter, porridge, bananas, and tea or coffee. At first I stayed away from the porridge because it looks pretty gross but Marie convinced me to try it and now I have it every day! I only like it if I add sugar though, and recently I discovered that if you put some instant coffee mix in it you get coffee flavored porridge…delicious!! =]

The living room

I can eat breakfast anywhere but I like to have it in the living room. There are always some mothers having breakfast with their kids in the living room and sometimes I’m also joined by the German volunteers. 

I love that each day starts off in such a calm way…everyone is relaxed and greeting each other; “Good morning, how are you? I’m fine thank you, how are you? I’m fine!” I hear that about a hundred times every morning! Breakfast usually lasts until about 9:45, but that means some days 9:30, some days 10! After breakfast is music therapy…one of my favorite parts of the day!

Most of the caretakers (not all of them because some of them have a tailoring class they go to) and all of the children go to the music room. There are three or four drums that the moms, caretakers, or therapists play and then we sing songs! Most of the songs are in Lugandan and the rest are in English. Though I like when they sing English ones so I can join in, I have to admit the Lugandan ones sound so much better!! Music lasts anywhere from twenty to forty five minutes. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays after music I work with the therapists. Tuesdays I’m with either Idah or Farieda, the physiotherapists, and on Wednesdays I’m with either Sulaiti or James, the occupational therapists. I’ve loved the time I’ve spent with the therapists and I feel like I’m learning a lot. I’ve been able to help with lots of passive stretching on the kids who have cp and then different sitting exercises for some others. They use an exercise ball quite a bit to help the kids who aren’t able to hold their head up or sit on their own and I’ve helped with that a few times. I’ve also learned how to use the standing frame. Time in the standing frame allows the child to weight bear which is good for them in a lot of different ways. It can be really difficult to get the kids into the frame since it’s usually pretty uncomfortable for them. It can really break my heart when they scream and cry but I have to know that we’re doing what’s best for them in the long run. One of the most exciting things I’ve been able to do with the therapists is help one of the little boys to walk. He has hydrocephalus and has a lot of trouble walking but he’s definitely learning and getting better!

Therapy lasts until lunch time which is around one. After lunch on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays I help with the autism class. Brita, Marie, and Sophie also help with the class most afternoons and sometimes we’re joined by the teachers; Anne and Grace. Anne and Grace are really fun to work with…they’re those people who complement each other perfectly. Anne is quite sarcastic with a dry sense of humor and Grace is just a sweetheart who loves to laugh! There are four boys in the class; Hamzah, Cedric, Dalton, and Moses. They’re all around the same age and even though there are only four of them they can be quite a handful sometimes!! Something I love is how unique they each are; they all have such different personalities.

Hamzah is a stinker but he is so loveable! He’s very affectionate and is usually pretty easy to please.

Cedric is the quiet one…one of his favorite things to do is just sit and stare at my watch!! I guess he likes to see the numbers changing or something? He also follows directions pretty well which is so helpful!









Dalton also follows directions well but he’s not quiet like Cedric. I think that of all four of them Dalton has the longest attention span...he’s great during story time and he can sit and watch a movie really well (unless it’s raining really hard outside, then he just wants to look out the window!)











Then finally there’s Moses. Ah, what to say about Moses… 

Moses's smile...drool and all!!

Moses is the crazy one! He’s loud and hyper and rarely follows directions. I always tell him he’s lucky he’s cute…and he really is cute!! He’s got an adorable smile and he usually smiles really big right before he tries to run away or throw something or whatever else he does!! Even though he’s hard to work with he really is a great kid and the more time he spends at Mukisa the happier and better behaved he gets.

The rest of my time at Mukisa (Wednesday’s after lunch and Thursday and Friday mornings) are spent in the vocational classroom. There are about six or seven kids who go to vocational class but they aren’t all in there at once. Some go four days a week, others only one. There are three that are there every day and I’ve gotten to know them pretty well. Peter, Jackie, and Sarah.

They’re all around 20 years old and they’re a lot of fun! Peter and Jackie will sit there are talk to each other in Lugandan the whole time. One time I asked Sulaiti what they were saying because he happened to be in the room and he said they were arguing about who was older and more mature. Peter was telling Jackie that he was older and she was saying that he was wrong. How cute is that?! All the volunteers talk about how Jackie and Peter are in love, I don’t know if they really are but they are definitely great friends.

Sarah is really quiet and she’s great at making necklaces. That’s one of the activities for the vocational class. There are quite a few different activities that they can learn to do; making necklaces, bracelets, earrings, table mats, rugs, envelopes, and folders. The things they make are sold to Mukisa so they can earn some money.

While I’m in the class I help in whatever way the kids need. Sometimes they need constant supervision and other times they don’t really need help at all. If I’m not helping them directly there are a few different things I do. So far there’s been a lot of organizing to do in the classroom with all the supplies they have; I’m good at organizing so that’s been fun! Also, when they make necklaces or bracelets I finish them for the kids. They get all the beads on then I’ll tie it if they aren’t able to. After that the ends have to be melted so they don’t come undone. It’s pretty simple work but I really enjoy it and I think the kids do too.

I mentioned lunch briefly…like I said, it’s around one. Lunch consists of a few different things; there’s always rice…always! There are also always beans, they’re quite good! Sometimes there is g-nut sauce; sometimes not…we always get excited when they have it though because it makes everything taste even better! Then there will be one of the following; matoke, sweet potatoes (yellow ones, not orange), Irish potatoes (which I guess are just normal potatoes), or posho. I don’t know how to describe posho, it looks like mashed potatoes but it’s just maize flour and water so there’s not a whole lot of taste to it. It’s not good by itself but with the beans it’s not so bad. Then for a vegetable there will either be cabbage (so good!!), eggplant, or “greens” (still not sure what exactly the greens are). Basically, lunch is simple but always filling and tasty! The volunteers; Marie, Brita, Ellen, Sophie, and I, all eat together. We fill up our plates then go outside to eat. There’s a big sandbox at Mukisa with walls that are just the right height for sitting. I quite enjoy having lunch in the sandbox every day!! It’s been fun getting to know the girls and it’s nice to have a little break. Even though lunch is filling we sometimes get lucky and get other snacks during the day. One of the moms, Mama Marie, will bring little bags of g-nuts and roasted maize (which tastes just like corn nuts back home!!) that she sells for 500 schillings.

This is Marie, her mom is the one who brings in the snacks!

Then once in a while we are able to have mangoes from the tree that’s in the yard, that’s always SUCH a good treat! And if there aren’t g-nuts or mangoes Annette, the cook, always has muffins you can buy for 500 schillings. I will never go hungry at Mukisa!

I feel so blessed to have been placed at Mukisa; it’s a foundation that’s really making a difference in a lot of lives. Please pray for Mukisa…that it continues to grow and reach more and more children. Pray for the staff who give and give and give to make everything run smoothly.

And please pray for me. =] I have been blessed more than I even realize since I’ve been here and I want to be a good steward of those blessings.

All my love,

Molly