Uganda Read This!: An Egg-cellent Easter

The second goal of the Peace Corps states, “To promote a better understanding of the American people on the part of the peoples served.” Simply put this means to share American culture with those that we live amongst.

What better way to do this than through a traditional American Easter?!

Easter is quite possibly my favorite holiday. Waking up to a basket left behind by the Easter Bunny filled with chocolate covered marshmallows and a hard-boiled egg dyed in my favorite color is a simple reminder of family traditions. This year I didn’t wake up to an Easter Tree tied with gifts or a hunt that included plastic eggs filled with money. Better yet I decided to share some traditions with the awesome children who stay at House of Love along with Clair and Emily, two other PCV’s who wanted to help out.

House of Love (HOL) is an orphanage located about an hour west of me that a fellow PCV is placed at. Many of the children at HOL participated in National Camp GLOW and National Camp BUILD, so upon arriving I saw many familiar faces. Irene, the administrator of HOL, welcomed us with a traditional Ugandan meal but unfortunately we had ate prior to arriving. She insisted we eat but our stomachs could not take any more. We decided that taking a glass of soda would suffice. As we sipped our Fanta out of fancy wine glasses, the children started to enter and greet us with the traditional kneeling. When I saw my camper from GLOW, Maureen, there was no kneeling… Only opened arms that welcomed a hug.

Maureen and I

Once all the children had arrived, we had them decorate their Easter baskets. AKA brown paper bags. While they colored away Clair, Emily and I decided to play the role of the Easter Bunny and hid the eggs over the facility. Once we finished we returned to the children to find them eagerly waiting. Emily decided to share the story of the Easter Bunny, which the children found amusing and interesting. Oh America and your crazy traditions of having a bunny lay eggs.

Ugandan Easter Baskets

We instructed the children that they were allowed to find one egg. The younger children headed out first with the biggest of smiles and searched high and low for eggs. After they each had one we allowed the older group of kids to search for the remaining eggs. I had never seen so many smiles and laughs among a group of children. Many snaps (pictures) were taken with their treasure.

Fatuma with her egg

Little Faith

Michael with his dyed egg

The younger children after they found their eggs. Their smiles couldn't get any bigger!

The older kids

A-freakin-dorable

Once everyone had their eggs it was time to dye them. Now the eggshells here are brown in color so we did not know how they would turn out. Thanks to Pinterest we found some alternative ways to dye the eggs, including cracking the shell so the whites of the egg get colored. See picture.

Thank you Pinterest!

As we began to clean up we heard music. Music only means one thing… Dance. Clair, Emily, and I headed out back and the children were anxiously waiting for us to begin the party. After working up a sweat with some sweet dance moves the children sang for us and did some short dramas (skits). This is a common way to show thanks for guests then they come and visit.

Dancing the day away

The goodbye song sung to us prior to our departure

Leaving HOL was bittersweet as the children lined the gate, waving their hands goodbye. I know this will not be the last of my visits to HOL as I have already planned with Irene another visit to do a health and Re-Usable Menstrual Pads (RUMPS) workshop in May. Whenever I visit HOL I feel rejuvenated and I am reassured that the work I am doing is somehow worthwhile.

After HOL Clair, Emily and I headed to The Cave. The Cave is a rustic campsite and resort located in the next town. You can learn more here by liking the Facebook page that we worked on: The Cave. David, the owner, welcomed us with warm towels to clean ourselves with and glasses of fresh passion fruit/pineapple/orange juice. He then showed us our room, which he did not make us pay for as we were going to teach them how to make brownies that night. A very hospitable gesture.

Our banda was the one just beyond the table and umbrella

Just over that hill is another crater lake that makes the two of them twins

We walked around the property, which sits on the edge of a crater lake. We ventured into the cultural museum, which gives guests an idea of how many Ugandans used to live and how some still do. We walked down to the cave, for which the property is named. We sat in the dark and listened to stories the cave’s history, including how it was once used in offering local sacrifices, cleansing ones misfortunes, and used as a hiding space during Idi Amin’s regime. Water runs through the cave, which is thought to come from the wetlands around the area.

After the hike, we sat and watched a local dance group perform some traditional dances with some warm gin and tonics. Jim then showed up and we moved down to the campfire while we waited for dinner. David came to tell us that dinner was ready, which included fresh vegetables from his garden, parsley potatoes, and a choice of chicken or fish marinated in fresh herbs. This was quite possibly one of the best meals I have had in Uganda. Warning though. The fish comes whole. No fillets here.

We spent the evening hours playing pool with the locals and teaching the staff how to bake brownies in a dutch oven. David shared his story about how he came about obtaining the land for The Cave and what his hopes are for the future. It is an inspiring story and he is definitely in my top five of favorite Ugandans.