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We got up this morning and did our laundry- African style. This mean a bucket of soapy water for scrubby clothes and a bucket of clean rinse water, and they hanging them out on the line to dry. It actually wasn’t too bad!
Later, Sarah and I parted from the rest of the group as Jordan took us into town to meet up with Joshua. From the Shell station, he found us a taxi that would take us to Entebbe to see the new school.
The African Children’s Choir has a school in Kampala for all the former Choir kids, but unfortunately there is not enough room for all of them anymore. So ACC bought 15 acres or so on Lake Victoria to build a brand new compound, complete with dormitories, schoolrooms, a large kitchen and lots of room to play.
It is currently in construction, so we went out to see it. The taxis here run sort of like busses, on routes. Which means they stop a lot. At times, during our 45-minute ride to Entebbe, it seemed we stopped every 30 seconds, and mostly just drove on the shoulder rather than on the road. Once we found our stop, we got a few boda bodas to take us to the school.
The dirt road out to the school is complete with speed bumps all over the place and some washboard areas. It made me think of a story a friend told about his road growing up: the bodas would go so fast down it that the kids would go out and dig ditches and then bodas would come along and go flying.
The campus is amazing! Steve, the American project supervisor, showed us around the whole thing. I am impressed with the skill and accuracy of the work being done, even without very many power tools. The walls are made from brick, and the wall that is longer than a football field is perfectly straight- using only plumb lines and string. The woodwork on the window frames is equally impressive. Everything is done by hand, except the planing, and we saw one electric drill. The wood is a mixture of pine for the trusses, and mugovu for most of everything else. Mugovu is a beautiful hardwood from here somewhere. Everything is recycled so there is no waste. Anything left over is reused somewhere else. There are long pieces of wood leftover that are then planed into 1.5”x1.5” posts and used for bathroom stall doors. The pine trusses are treated with used engine oil to protect against termites. To cover then, a drop ceiling is added, which again is pretty cool when you think of the fact it was all done on ladders.
Each schoolroom has 3 large windows on each side for natural ventilation and is a pretty good size. The trusses are left exposed at places in order to show the students how the building was put together. The dorms have rooms and bathrooms for the 400 children that will be living there. There is natural ventilation in every building and lots of windows and mosquito nets.
We made a comment to our Canadian friends about the amazing quality of work and one of them suggested that it was taught by the American. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The superior excellence is one that comes with the workers here- all African. They are far pickier than any American would be, and they work harder and do it all by hand. As I said, the accuracy is amazing!
On an adjacent property, there were 5 round mud huts very close together. We asked what they were for and were told that it is a resort of sorts for Westerners. When the come to Africa, they want to say they slept in a round hut, but then there is a building with flushing toilets and showers and everything for them to use. I guess it’s the rich man’s version of roughing it.
When we were done at the school, we took our bodas back to catch a taxi back to town. This one didn’t have to stop as often, thankfully. Josh led us to the bus depot to book our tickets to Kigali, and then found us a taxi that would take us to boda bodas to get to Barbara’s house. We were some of the first to arrive, so we had a lot of time to catch up with new old friends and meet people we hadn’t met before.
As I’ve said before, the hospitality here is amazing. We arrived a little early, due to our shortened time in town, and before the bodas were even paid, Eva smiled and said, “You are welcome!” We greeted and offered to help, which they always turn down. When you come to dinner at someone’s house, you are never expected to bring anything or repay in anyway, and they won’t let you help. You are a guest, so you should just relax and catch up with friends. Eventually, Fatima let me stir the pork though.
One of the new people I met tonight wasn’t really new to me. Her name is Anna, and she was in Choir 13, which is the one that came to my church in 1996. Anna stayed at our house. It was fun to see her, with us both as adults. She is finishing her studies in midwifery and doing well. I was hoping to meet one of the girls we hosted while I was here. Hopefully next week I’ll get a picture with her.
There was a bridal shower for Jordan and Prossy, which was supposed to be a surprise, but who knows if it lasted. The house was full with maybe 25 Africans and the 12 of us mzungus, so it was quite the place to be. Food is a given, and it was once again overflowing. Pop in glass bottles and chapati and rice… yum. The whole house was full of laughter and conversation.
After a while, they had us all sit in the living room because they had a surprise for us. Harriet accidentally translated and spoiled the surprise, but it was great nonetheless. The Young Africans were going to sing for us. Let me tell you- it was amazing! Some of the songs I knew from tour, but the uncles’ voices sure added some depth to them. Before the encore, they all introduced themselves and told us which Choir they were from. We wanted them to say “When I grow up…” like they did in concerts, but they told us other random things about them. It was quite the evening, and I would have been happy to have them sing for the rest of the night.
Some of the things they said made them blush or made others blush. In Luganda, oftentimes the “r” and the “l” are switched, so they started joking that they were brushing instead of blushing. Later, some of the guys carried Morris towards the bathroom for some “flushing.”
Choirs 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14,17, 19 were represented, I think, and probably some more that I can’t remember. The last song was written by someone from Choir 1, and introduced by someone, Jessica, from the same Choir. It is called “Conquerors” I think, though I’ve never heard it before. She had a great preface to the song. Jessica explained that though the Choir couldn’t give them everything, it gave them Jesus. If it wasn’t for the Choir, they wouldn’t all be there together, and wouldn’t be where they are in life. But the most important thing it did for them was show them the love of Christ.
When the singing was over, we dressed 2 ladies up in toilet paper wedding gowns and played a few other games.
After a while, we called it a night, and headed back to the house for bed.
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