Schoolterm starts

Abato in action

On the 8^th of September it was finally the day we have been working towards. The third and most important school term of the year started at Abato school. We were curious, excited and couldn’t wait to finally meet the children. But as we had learned in previous experiences things in Uganda work a little differently than what we are used to. That begins with being on time. If some children would have been late, I think I would have understood that, but that most of the children and even some teachers being late is considered normal in Uganda seems off to me. Lots of children don’t even attend school at the first week. Why? I don’t know. I don’t get it. It’s just … weird. Fortunately Moses knows about the issue and I can honestly say that after he addressed the issue in a staff meeting we had, we witness some progress in terms of discipline and being on time when it comes to the staff.

Speaking of the staff: I haven’t had a chance to get in touch with all the teachers at Abato school yet, but I want to mention two of them that have really stood out to me. First there is Mr. Charles, who is a very thorough teacher even by German standards. He prepares lesson plans and has clear aims what the children should be able to do after his lesson. It seems like he is a very good teacher and that children tend to learn a lot from his lessons.
Second of all there is the new baby class teacher. She just started teaching at Abato school so one could say that she is as new as we are to the school. In just a few days, she has made some noticeable changes in baby class. Children seem to enjoy her lessons, learning new things and having fun while they are doing so. The way the teacher communicates with these little children is just loving, kind and warm hearted.

Abato has made some great progress with the school: Sanitation got a lot better, the water tank is a blessing for the kids, there are new doors for the classrooms and a lot of other changes that all affect the learning environment of these little kids. But I have to say that sometimes I think some kids aren’t able to notice these changes because of three strange looking young adults that have suddenly appeared at school. Every five minutes you hear some kid scream “Muzunguuuuuuuuu!”. Yes – we are there, and we are white. Anne, Christina and me are at school, helping the teachers, the janitor, the headmaster or the kids themselves with whatever comes up. From drawing posters to leveling land, from giving hugs to crying children to playing around with a lot of them. We are there and we seem to be the number one attraction for the kids. Some have been shy in the beginning, some have been outgoing from the first second but all of them seem to enjoy having us around. They notice the small details for example that our hair is different from theirs or they just laugh at funny sounding German songs. The love and admiration these kids have for us are incredible and it is just an awesome feeling to help them, play with them, teach them, work for them, or whatever involves them. These children deserve the best they can possibly get, and with the help of Abato foundation we will achieve the best for them. 

Julian

Getting to work

Making the Abato School more beautiful

On our fourth day here in Uganda we began working for the children. We drove to the Abato School early (it’s holidays at the moment – school term starts at the 8^th of September) and started painting the new doors. The school was completely without doors for 6 months but now Moses had the opportunity to acquire doors for the school and our first job was to make them more colorful. So Anne and I both grabbed a brush, some yellow paint and gave these doors a new and more inviting look. We also tidied up the classrooms and got rid of stones or beton pieces that were still in there from the construction works. We used a Ugandan broom to outdust the floor and I can honestly say I would’ve not thought that there was so much dust in these rooms. But with hard work, a good cause in mind and the help of our new little friend Edward, who is twelve years old and super energetic, we got the rooms to sparkle.

Julian

We have arrived

We are in Uganda!
Because of you!

That was one of the first things I had read when I was in Uganda. It is a big ad for some bank but it kind of fits why we are coming to Uganda. We are here because of the Ugandan people, especially because of the Ugandan kids. We want to help the kids in Mpigi. But first things first:

We went to Frankfurt Airport in the late evening of the 21^st of August and checked in with Emirates. Fortunately we hit a sweet spot there because are luggage limit was 60 kg and we had … 59.4 kg. I’d say we did pretty well in terms of packing. Flying from Frankfurt to Dubai went without any problems. We ate, watched movies and slept a lot during this 6 hour flight.

When we left the plane in Dubai we were stunned by the heat. 32 degrees Celsius at 7 a.m. – ridiculous! We went straight to our gate (and by straight I mean it is a 30 minute walk because that airport is freaking huge…) and we knew from the very first moment, that we were at the right place. The other people at the gate were almost exclusively Ugandan. There were like 4 other Muzungus (Luganda for white people), 10 asian looking people and the rest was black and talked loudly with that certain enthusiasm you learn to adore about Ugandans. The second flight also went smoothly but when we arrived at Entebbe we had our first shock. Just two of our four bags arrived with us, the rest went missing. We had to fill out a form and were told to call the airport tomorrow to check if the luggage had appeared. Well we had no other choice than to take things the way they were and head to Mpigi.

The Kalanzi family was very warm and welcoming and we met a lot of people on our first day. Because besides Moses, Kirabo and Arthur there were also five nephews (?) of Moses and Kirabo with them in the house. Moses showed us our rooms, we had dinner, and then we went to bed- Exhausted but happy to be in Uganda.

On day 2 we were shown around, met some kids and went to the school the first time, everything was really interesting and we had an amazing talk with Moses about Abato, and what his plans are for us. He wants us to support him in every aspect of Abato especially the external communication and other administrative tasks.

Our luggage has also been found and we went to Entebbe one more time to pick it up on day 3. Our real work with the Abato Foundation would start on day 4 of our trip.

Julian
                                                                                                                                                                       Deutsche Version

Now leaving Germany

Uganda here we come

This is it. The day we've been waiting for, for the past 9 months. All the preperations are made, we said goodbye to our friends and families and in just a few hours we are getting to Frankfurt International Airport and take our airplane to Uganda.

I have to say I could not be more thrilled right now. Of course there's a weird 'we don't know what's coming' touch to it as well and Anne and I are as nervous as we are excited I am still 100 percent positive about this. We are going to Uganda. We are going to Mpigi. And we are finally going to Abato. I especially can't wait to talk to Moses and Kirabo in person, we have chatted so much this year that it almost feels like I have known them for a long time.

Moses is going to pick us up at Entebbe (Ugandas Airport). I wonder how it will be, will he recognize us? We will recognize him? Will he hold one of those signs? I don't know. But I cannot wait to find out.

As you might imagine this is a super busy last day for us: Getting all the documents together (backs have been packed since Tuesday), hugging everyone goodbye, making sure we didn't forget any of the important stuff (you always forget something - but you have to make sure it is not the important stuff ;) ) We have also been featured in a local newspaper today. They are doing a series on us, our trip and our volunteership for Abato and yes my mum bought not two, not three but four copies of the newspaper. 

Our parents and siblings of course are the ones most worried and also the toughest to say goodbye too. Anne and I have both never spent so much time apart from our families and this will make it as harsh for us as for them. They all know how much we love them, so no need for expressing it here, right guys?

To finish this I just want to say: Next time you read something from Anne or me, it is going to come straight out of Uganda. Amazing pictures, experiences and stories and about to be written down here. Stay tuned everyone, talk to you soon.

p.s. I am so glad Anne is doing this with me - she is simply the most awesome person I have ever met. Can't wait to experience such an incredible new world together with her.


Julian
                                                                                                                                                                       Deutsche Version

Immunisations

A marathon of needles

To be honest I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to needles. I have always been afraid of needles including immunisations. Before I get one I have to focus, concentrate, don't let the fear get the best of me. You can probably imagine what it was like for me to hear about all the immunisations that are recommended for a trip to Uganda. Eventhough I know that my fear is irrational and that an immunisation doesn't hurt or something I got a little shaky before I got my first out of ten immunisations. 

In the end everything went better than expected: Turns out my 90's me was indeed afraid and couldn't stand needles but my 2014 version doesn't really mind anymore. I mean it wasn't fun but it wasn't terrible either. It's nice to overcome a fear and realising it.  

But there is still one thing, that isn't that nice. It's a specific german thing I guess because here we all have health insurance that usually covers our medical bills. Well usually but not this time. Immunisations for a trip are not in the basic package and so I have to pay for them myself which is a cruel amount of money. Nevertheless staying healthy is important and I think it is money well spent.


Julian
                                                                                                                                                                           Deutsche Version

You'll see...

Children's glasses for Uganda

I remember the first time I put on my glasses. Suddenly the world looked different - way more beautiful. I loved my glasses, my mum couldn't believe it when I told her I wanted to wear them all the time, I even insisted on sleeping with my glasses on.

We want to make sure that kids in Mpigi can get glasses if they need some, so we started a little project: Children's glasses for Uganda (German: Kinderbrillen für Uganda). Julian and I visited opticians in my hometown and asked them to accept donations of old children's glasses in their stores. Everyone we asked agreed to do so and eventhough were not sure what will actually come out of this, we're looking forward to receiving the glasses.

Anne

English Version

Fundraising for beginners

it's the little things ...

"Where's the money going to exactly? What happens with the money? Who knows if it'll really arrive where I want it to?" A lot of people would like to donate to charity but are insecure about whether the money will really arrive where it is supposed to. What people give to Julian and me will go directly to the children at Abato.

To collect some money my dad and I put together a handmade savings box, which my mum placed at the reception of her office. To inform the people about the Abato Foundation I also designed a flyer. We hope that our savings box will be filled until August so that we can bring the savings directly to Abato.


Anne

Deutsche Version