Day with MOHM

7/13

So although I made a deal with the gym “opener” to open it for me at 7:30 the next three weeks, surprise surprise...guess who didn’t show up.  My morning was filled with great conversation with Carly, African tea, and enough pineapple for the rest of my life. We then headed to the office to go out to MOHM.  This is a women’s organization that plans activities with each other and supports the women. The women were SO great to work with.  With smiles as wide as the world, they came to greet us and take all of our materials.  One thing about Ugandans, they want to help you with EVERYTHING.  It’s very thoughtful but sometimes can be a bit of a nuisance.  (Side story, Jamie bought a bike that doesn’t work because the chain keeps falling off.  Every time this happens on the road, anyone and everyone around tries to help him fix it despite the fact that he explains he’s taking it to the mechanic.  He has talked to at least 70 people who tried to help him....and that’s not exaggerating!)  Anyway, so we made dress forms for our class today. The women were very hands on and really enjoyed the project.  MOHM meets at an orphanage every Tuesday so we got to hang out with the kids too.  So cute! I wanted to take this little boy home with me; I swear if he could fit into my pocket, I would’ve!  My heart has melted... The women cooked us this great lunch: rice and beans with kasava, beef, and this mashed banana thing that is not tasty but I only take a bit.  Portion size here is insane.  They load their plates up with mounds of food all the time and then most of the time they don’t finish it.  So for all those plates that I didn’t finish when my uncle told me “you know there are children starving in Africa,” yeah they’re not eating until their plates are clean either... so there! :)  The women also put on a small dance performance for us which was awesome.  I danced with the ladies and they were yelling, laughing, pointing at me and my hips that were shakin’ like a polaroid picture.  Although I swear those women have extra joints in their hips...  When we returned we got the office a bit more set up and then headed to Barraza for some Indian food and debriefing.  The internet is still down since UTL (the biggest internet provider) was down because of the bombing.  It should. I’m told, be up and running tomorrow.  Thank goodness! I need some source of attachment to the world! :)

               

The cutie pa-tutie...

Jigga wha'?  They're trusting an octopus to predict the outcome of the game?!

The orphanage bedrooms

The money for a well was just donated so they were building it.

Me demonstrating how to make the dress form

Three complete dress forms!! Small, medium and large. P.s. Breastfeeding ain't no thang here...this pic is quite typical of what I see on a daily basis!

Me attempting to shake it!