Jessie and Lynsey
We’re staying in the Atura community with Calvin, his wife Sarah, and their three kids: Rachael, Abel, and Amos. Calvin is the chairperson of one of the piggery sites, so each morning we get to leave for work with our host dad! The two of us, along with Winnie, our GHN(U) worker, have our own little cozy hut right next to where the goats live. They often wake us up early in the morning when they play and crash into the door and sides of our hut. We also have two dogs, several chicken, ducks, and cows roaming around our home. Every night, we sit around the fire with our family for dinner and listen to Calvin’s favorite music. We had to learn how to eat everything with our hands, which we’ve both come to actually enjoy. After dinner, Sarah always makes us tea infused with lemon grass from their garden. Something new we’ve tried has been showering outside with a bucket. All it took was one shower for us to realize we loved it – our shower has stone floors, walls made of corn stalks, and the stars for a ceiling. Our family has constantly been introducing us to their lifestyle, from visiting the trading center down the road for roasted maize, to showing us their family photos from past celebrations. We’ve loved experiencing their lives, and we’ve especially loved getting to know them so well.
Olivia and Bradley
We are currently living within the Aber community with our amazing host family; our host parents, Scovia and Chris and their three children. We are accompanied by our GHN (U) worker, Jimmy, who stays with us every night. Each morning we wake up to the sound of the roosters and chickens, the sniffling of our black and white pig, named John, around our hut, and our goat. The homestead is nestled in between a banana grove and corn field, encompassed by aloe plants, jack fruit trees and one extraordinarily tall marisa palm tree. When we have some down time, you can find us sitting by the fire drinking lemongrass infused tea, or playing with the youngest of our host brothers, Cosmas. We thoroughly enjoy coming home after a long days work and showering under the moon light in our outdoor shower consisting of a crushed brick floor, dried corn stalk walls and a tall banana tree for extra privacy. Our host dad Chris often takes us on walks around his village to go visit his family members or to go find some baby animals to play with such as baby pigs and puppies. During our time in Aber, we have become so close to our family and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them, and having them get to know us. We never imagined that we would love living in our hut so much, but now we don’t want to leave!
Kelsey and Allie
For the past week, we have spent the night in a hut with a local family in Aber sub-county in the Oyam district. Many people live in huts throughout Uganda. They are usually round with walls made out of sand dried in the sun and grass roofs with a wooden frame. (I share my hut with three others, two of my fellow SU Nourish members and a GHN(U) worker. Amazingly, we managed to fit four twin-sized beds inside.)
This experience has really allowed us to connect with the community in a new way that we wouldn’t have experienced residing solely in the guest house. By experiencing how they live every day and the challenges they face, we have gained so much respect for their perseverance. Everyday our 14 year old host daughter, Maureen, wakes up at 4am to fetch water from the local well. Many women carry jugs of water on their heads or attach them to their bicycles. We have tried to lift those water jugs over our head, and we can honestly say it was extremely difficult. Next, Maureen and her 9 year old sister, Rebecca, let loose their family’s goats and chickens, so they can roam free during the day. Then, they get ready for school from 8am until 5pm, but many have to travel far distances.
When we arrive home from work, Maureen and Rebecca greet us with grins from ear to ear and a big hug. Their friends usually come over, and we jump rope with them using a rope woven from grass or play other games. These are some of the happiest and most creative children we have ever met. Our night usually ends sitting around a fire under the stars eating a home cooked meal from local ingredients and drinking soothing tea. Our favorite meals so far have been cabbage or eggplant with rice and lemongrass tea.
We have been taken care of so well by our family, but of course, there have been some things we needed to adjust to. Although we have used latrines many times here already, now, we must use it every time. Going in the middle of the night can be a little scary, but we manage and are grateful for the opportunity to create so many memories many people never have the chance to make. There are these crazy bugs that we call “ninja cricket spiders” that are always in there. We call them that because they have the body of grasshopper but long legs like a spider, and they jump really fast. We’ve also had to adjust to bathing outside. We use a little stall made out of bricks where we have a bucket of water with which to wash.
Honestly, we have never appreciated our easy access to clean, running water in the U.S. more than now. We are so lucky to have a safe water system that reaches everyone. We don’t have to walk or bike miles to get water; it is there with a simple turn of a nob. It seems especially hard for us because we cannot drink the water for fear of getting sick. The people here are used to the water but may still become ill due to bacteria or parasites.
This life would take some getting used to, but we are proud to say that we were able to adapt and live like the locals. We know the community really appreciates it, and they greet us whenever they see us. We have been told that the community often only sees foreigners in passing, so they value our efforts and dedication to them and understanding their lives and culture.