Collaborating with Ugandan women to advocate for child sex slaves, rape victims and former child soldiers. Working to restore their broken lives and empowering them to live with hope.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
My New Acholi Friends
Hello my friends. I am happily settled into my hotel in Kampala, Uganda –a city of three million people. I just finished my second day of work at the Acholi Quarter—working with Acholi women & girls regarding domestic & sexual violence. Having just only arrived here, I felt challenged trying to be culturally appropriate and relevant at the same time. But these amazingly strong and open women made my job easy. By the end of the day I was literally showered with beaded necklaces, adornments and hugs. My mind continues to spin on how I can continue to help rape victims in Uganda. If I had to pick a highlight of the entire experience, it would probably be the fun I had learning to dance Acholi traditional dances and some Acholi words. I endlessly entertained the folks with my continued efforts at pronunciation. My friend and dance mentor, Ester, is pictured above in the first and third photos. We became fast friends and were both sad to say goodbye to each other.
The city of Kampala is more developed than I had imagined. When I lived in Liberia in 1989, it was pretty run-down--a lot of rubble and mostly dirt roads. And that was before the war! This place has a financial center, fancy high-rise hotels and roundabouts that make maneuvering traffic mind-boggling. The smog is intense and the traffic beats out any other city I have ever visited as the worst—hands down. I saw a family of five on a small motorcycle yesterday weaving in and out of traffic with the mom and girls sitting side-addle.
What I do love about Kampala and Uganda more generally is how fantastically green and lush it is. In stark contrast to the more desert like Senegal, Uganda is in bloom. Thanks to heavy rain at times, exotic flowers and bushes invade every space. And just like Georgia, the dirt is red. I am at home.
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Cool love your blog mom it's very interesting sounds like your haing fun see you soon mom
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