On Sunday I was picked up from the guesthouse by Karen and Greg, employees of AIM. Cat was with them, I was SO excited to finally meet her! She's from Northern Ireland and is graduating from Queen Margaret's University this summer. She studied physiotherapy and Mukisa was her final placement. Everyone here studies physiotherapy, when I say I'm studying physical therapy they look at me like they've never heard of it before!! I'm not really sure what the differences are except that Cat only had to go through four years of school and the Ugandan Physiotherapists only had three while I have seven including four years of undergrad.
We went to University Community Fellowship Church (UCF) after having gone to a nice little cafe called Cafe Pap for "pre-church coffee". Though I had fresh mango juice instead of coffee...with the heat here coffee just never sounds good to me. When we sat down I was completely shocked to see that a few rows in front of us was the Spring Arbor cross cultural group!! I had really been hoping to cross paths with them while they were in Kampala so this was perfect. A few of them noticed me during the service..actually it was pretty funny when they did because they always looked so surprised to see me but it was during a church service so they couldn't really do anything about it. As soon as the service was over we were all able to visit though! It turns out Karen and Professor Varland know some of the same AIM people so they talked for a long time while I was able to talk to some of the people I know from school. We went to lunch at Cafe Javas after church then Karen and Greg dropped Cat and I off at Florence's house. It was strange to see them drive away, I had mixed emotions. I had a little time to see the house (pictures will come, I promise!!) and put my suitcases in our room then Cat and I headed down the road to do some shopping. Breakfast and lunch are provided at work but I'm responsible for dinner. I bought some rice, yogurt, and fresh fruit. I LOVE being able to buy fruit from the markets, it's a fun atmosphere and the fruit is really inexpensive. Once we dropped our stuff off we walked to Mukisa; it's about a ten minute walk from home. I fell in love as soon as I saw it! The main building has a small kitchen, a sitting room, bathroom, therapy room, classroom, office, and music therapy room.. There's another smaller building with a craft shop (the mother's learn to make crafts and are able to sell them to Mukisa to earn an income) an office for the Physiotherapists, and a vocational classroom. There is a small shed and another small building where a tailoring class takes place for the mothers. As much as I loved it I was so anxious to see it with all the children and mother's there!
We went to bed early Sunday (I have been SO exhausted!) and had to get up at 6:30. Don't worry though, I only have to get up that early once a week! Every Monday I'll be working at Dawn from 8 to 5. It's a daycare and therapy center for children with special needs. It's pretty far from home so we either ride with Florence if she's going or get a boda there. I found Dawn to be very overwhelming but also very rewarding. Monday there were about 15 to 20 children there with different things such as cerebral palsy, autism, down syndrome, and hydrocephalus. Some need more attention than others but basically you don't sit down all day!
Tuesdays through Fridays I'll be at Mukisa. It's the same type of children but the mothers come with them. They are able to attend the therapy sessions so they can learn how to help their children and how to build relationships with them. After therapy they can go to the vocational or tailoring class or work on crafts to sell. They also help clean the buildings, do cooking, and watch after their children. The atmosphere at Mukisa is opposite that at Dawn; it's very calm and structured. I'll work there from nine to 4:30 each day.
So far I've been shadowing Cat as she does therapy with the children. I'm hoping to shadow the other therapists as well to see what they do. I feel like I've already learned a lot; the therapy they do with these children is a lot of stuff I haven't learned about in classes yet.
The mission of Mukisa is to support and empower families who have children with special needs. They want the families to know that their children are special and can be loved like any other child. It's a really beautiful thing they\re doing and I feel so blessed to be a part of it.
I really do have so much more to say but I'm about out of time...I don't have internet at home so I'm at the internet cafe. It's between Mukisa and home, which is handy, but it costs each time so I don't know how often I'll update.
I suppose for now I'll just say that I already have stories to share...one involves falling off a boda. It was scary, but I'm fine! Actually, now that it's over I have a hard time not laughing when I tell the story!
I love you all, thank you for the prayers! I need them every day, whether to get over little illnesses or survive a boda ride during rush hour!! Pray for the children I get to work with too, and their families. They are beautiful children who have more joy than I could have imagined! =]
All my love, from Kampala,
Molly
