Honest Engine

I know they say never to say never but…

Never doubt the honesty and true acts of kindness from others.

Never.

Today completed day two of our Youth Leadership Summit and our overarching theme was self-awareness and teamwork.  It was a success as we accomplished goal setting and vision statements, activities that explore how we work with others, and facilitation skills that will enable the participants to begin leading their own sessions.  The day ended with tea, pineapple, and everyone’s favorite… Fried bread. 

As some of the participants left, I decided to stick around til dusk to wait for my youth to finish up with dance class. 

Now let me paint a picture for you… To get back to our homes we have to walk on Ggaba Road.  A very busy, congested, two-lane street where matatus, cars, buses, bikes, bodas, and chickens rarely stay in their designated lane.

As my kids and I are maneuvering the headlights of passing bodas, I realize that one of my girls, Sharon, was not around.  My mind immediately went to the thought that she had been struck by a passing vehicle.

Needless to say, she was about 15 feet behind looking at someone’s mobile, commonly known as a cell phone.  The rest of us go back and she begins to explain that she saw it lying on the ground and was determined to find its owner.

I understand that this may not be a big deal to some of you but I was a proud mama.  Here was my girl taking the initiative to find the owner when she could have easily picked it, pocketed it, and had a phone.

A free phone. 

A working phone. 

A color screen Nokia with snake phone!

Instead she was figuring out how to get it back to its owner.  The number had no airtime credit, which allows one to make calls to other numbers and she, along with my other youth, were committed to putting their shillings together to buy more.  I decided to let them use my credit to figure out whom it belonged to.

Everyone we called was unaware of the phone and since we didn’t have the number it made it that much more difficult.  We decided to put the investigation on hold until the morning.

Then Sharon’s shoe broke and while we waited for it to be fixed by a local shoe vendor, a number called the abandoned mobile.  It happened to be the owner and my girls took initiative to explain that it was in safe hands and that he could pick it up tomorrow at In Movement at midday.

I was able to speak to Mr. Ssebo and he seemed very appreciative for the honest nature of my youth and that there are people in this world who don’t just pocket lost items.

As I watched these girls take the lead and help out someone that they didn’t have any connection to, I realized that this is only the beginning to their potential as positive community members and role models.

As I watched Sharon do a selfless act and then witness her shoe break, I realized that karma works in unexplainable ways.

Well, Sharon wasn’t even worried about that.

Week 9: Youth Booth

This week in the youth booth is Miss Tumukunde Phionah.

Every week I get the chance to visit with this bright young teenager during dance classes and she always has the biggest smile on her face.  She is filled with so much positivity and confidence that I know she will continue to shine.

She is a 14-year old, S2 student, all-star dancer, In Movement alumni, and a girl with a mission.

She wants to be a surgeon.

She wants to be different from those in her family as they all have arts related careers and she wishes to pursue the sciences.  She loves the creativity that In Movement has opened her eyes to, like dance, drama, music, and visual arts but long term wants to work in medicine.

When she was in primary school, she studied with Edgar and I am beginning to think that their primary school prepped them to appreciate the sciences, as they both want to be doctors. 

Coincidence? 

Phionah was born and raised in Uganda’s capital city but her family’s ancestry comes from the country of 1,000 hills - Rwanda.

If she had to choose only one meal to eat for the rest of her life she would choose rice and beans.

The greatest lesson she took away from In Movement has been to have a positive sense of self-confidence and esteem.

What excites Phionah for the future is the possibility to change everything around her and make it different.  “Like planting trees.  Uganda is not green enough and every now and them they go and cut down those trees and it makes me feel, ‘eh!’”

The happiest moment of her life was when she discovered In Movement existed because it helped her discover her talents.

The hardest moment of her life was when she lost her grandmother to old age in 2013.

If she had a million shillings she would establish an organization to help other people discover their talents.

She wishes to travel to the United States someday so she could meet the friends that she has made here in Uganda.

What she wants the youth around the world to know is that, “You too can do the impossible.”

Salsa and Silent Disco

Back home in the States there were always opportunities to go to various arts events, whether it was our hometown’s Downtown Art and Wine Festival or sporadic gatherings in downtown Sausalito, it seemed that there was always something that could fill my weekend plans.

Never did I think that this same thing would be available to me in Uganda.

Well remember Batalo Battles?  Seems like Kampala is stepping it up and always has something going on, from art galleries and dance performances to music concerts and small poetry slams.

This past weekend was Bayimba, a festival at the National Theatre that brought together musicians, poets, dancers, artists, and vendors to showcase their work.  There were workshops on the importance of art in society. 

Mark was down from Kitgum for a meeting at the office so we decided to venture into the unknown for a mere 2,000UGX, 0.80USD.

I was taken aback by the beautiful sculptures made out of everyday items… We are talking the thousands of plastic bottles and bags littering the streets were turned into fashion ware and 3-D models of everyday objects.

I was taken aback by the unique designs and creativity.

I was taken aback by the stage of performers, accompanied by two large screens filled with videos and Twitter posts with the hash tag #Bayimba2014.

As Mark and I explored we stumbled upon a silent disco and salsa dancing.

For those who may be unaware, as I was until I participated, a silent disco is where you enter into a space and given a pair of headphones where you can alternate between different channels of music.  You put on your headphones and dance.  Everyone has their own set so you can’t hear what others are listening to.  You take off your headphones and it is somehow silent, as people are often singing to the songs. 

So entertaining and so fun!

I was far too intimated to enter into the salsa space, as the dancers were legitimate.  I decided to practice outside with Frank as my teacher.  Needless to say, I have some work to do or I can simply blame it on my choice of shoes - Chacos.

Walking around the space I kept running into familiar faces and it made me appreciate Kampala and all its uniqueness. 

It made me appreciate the community I can now call my family. 

It made me appreciate the work that these individuals do and the positive change it brings to society.

Edgar selling his scarves at Bayimba!

Step Up

Truth: My closest friends in Uganda have an average age of 13.4 years.

Truth: The second youngest country in the world is Uganda, with a median age of 15.5 years.

 Truth: There are not a lot of available and supportive organizations for this demographic to go to in order to gain substantial support for their future. 

Truth: In Movement is one of the few places that offer such services although with funding issues, those programs has since ceased.  

Truth: Not for long!

A couple of months ago I was able to apply for a small youth grant to organize a 5-week Youth Leadership Summit with some of our In Movement alumni and youth from our partner schools and Breakdance Project Uganda.  The idea is to work with 20 young people on various leadership topics, such as public speaking, creative thinking, teamwork, communication, decision-making, and facilitation using the arts; such as music, dance, drama, and creative writing.

Yesterday was day one.

We decorated notebooks, did name games, went over our goals and community agreements, and ended with a song and snacks.

Throughout the coming weeks we will build on the existing skills that these youth have to the point that they can be the facilitators.  The organizational development of In Movement has the potential to change, transitioning to a volunteer run program.  Due to this, we need our youth to climb their way to the top of the summit, take the lead, and be the future of both In Movement and of Uganda.  We are going to break down what they know by having them teach one another and share their experiences.   

As quoted by Rene Daumal, "You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again.  So why bother in the first place?  Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above.  One climbs, one sees.  One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen.  There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up.  When one can no longer see, one can at least still know."

Last Call

Many hours pass where I contemplate what I want from America and how to fit it inside a USPS box… Starbuck’s VIA, hand sanitizer, and running shoes among others.

Well people the sad day has come that I have to announce for a final mail call.

Packages have been making it from California in about 2-weeks but I am worried as the holiday season approaches that this could potentially delay its arrival. 

So with that being said…

If you have something lined up and ready to go, feel free to send it.

If you don’t, no worries.

If you have been thinking about it for the past 28 months, just make a promise that we hang out when I return home.

If you send one and I happen to have left Uganda I know that my In Movement youth will be happy campers! 

Now let me take a moment to extend a huge thank you to those who have sent everything from postcards and cards to letters and packages across oceans and continents for me.  It has meant the world!

While I have appreciated the items I would constantly bother for, like coffee, often times the things you might have sent simply to fill space have been the things that have been most useful for my emotional and mental well being. 

Like comic strips and Christmas decorations.

I recognize the time and money it took for you to organize these things and for that I will forever be in debt to you.

From the bottom of my heart…

Muchisimas gracias.

Apwoyo.

Merci. 

Спасибо (Spasibo).

Thank you.