Week 10: Youth Booth

The youth that I get the opportunity to live and work alongside are incredible beings. 

They come from places that I cannot imagine having to live in. 

The grow up too quickly, often times taking care of their family and supporting their younger siblings.

They lose loved ones to0 early in life.

Yet they all overcome these hurdles to pursue their passions and dreams.

One example is this guy.

18-year old Musiime Ivan.

He comes from Nebbi, which is located in the remote West Nile region of the country, but relocated to Kampala to pursue better education and more opportunities. 

He is currently in an adult, continuing education 2-year course at Makerere University that will allow him to complete Secondary school.  His favorite subjects are biology and English as he enjoys the sciences and understands the importance of them.

Ivan’s favorite thing about living in the capital are the people, the city, and the food.

When one is to look at Ivan’s family, it is much more than what many consider to be a traditional family.  He is the second born of five children, with three brothers and one sister.  His dad died when he was still young and believes it was cancer or pneumonia from heavy smoking.  His birth mom, who was HIV+, died when Ivan was two years.  Ivan and his siblings are all HIV-, which means his Mom was successful in taking her ARVs during pregnancy.  The woman he considers his mom, who by blood is his maternal Aunt, is still alive and lives in a village outside of Fort Portal in the West.  This is the woman Ivan looks towards and attributes his upbringing to. 

As Ivan nears the end of his education, we have been working on his goals.  He wants to be a businessman selling fashion clothes and one day would want to design them as well.

Goal mapping!

Like many of the others, he also wants to be a professional dancer.  In order to combine these two careers together, he would sell his fashions at the events where he would be performing and entertaining.

As he reflects back on life he says one of the easiest moments has been meeting different people.  On the opposite end, one of the hardest moments was when he started dancing because he did not know any of the techniques although he was able to overcome this by working hard and putting in a lot of effort.

If he could change one thing about the world it would be some of the children’s lives, for example the orphans, street children, and those who are mistreated at home.  “Some of these ones are young and they do not know what the world is all about.  They do not know where to start from and have no support.  I would want to build an orphanage where I would keep them and give them food and shelter and after that build schools where they would study from.”

Ivan and I have a lot of conversations about his future and one common theme that comes up is education.  I am encouraging him to continue with his studies yet he disapproves the school structure here.

“Tara, up until University you are in class from 6a to 6p.  The way the teachers teach, they are not prepared.  We just memorize.  They need to teach by demonstration and not just lecture.  We would understand and succeed more.”

No argument.

Ivan traveled to Poland and France in 2012 to perform on behalf of In Movement and one of the things he learned from his travels were about the different cultural dances and languages from the other performers.  “The Italians that came from Rome dressed in dresses with a sash.  Have you ever seen Gladiator?  It was like that.”

He wants the youth of the world to know, “If you are having a talent, do not give up.  Show the people so that you can get ideas and advice about how to best achieve your goals.  Also participate in everything because there are more and more opportunities.  Work really hard; work hard for a better future.  Do not give up."

Ivan dances in the dance company Inspirationz, made up of some of our alumni, like Edgar, Frank, and Hamuza. 

Here I Stand was showcased at the End of Year 3 Performance.  At 0:48, he is the tall one on the right hand side in the front.

At 1:06 in Happy Kampala he is the one rocking out in the blue shirt.

At 2:05 in Imagine, Ivan comes in as the hip-hop music starts.  This was the performance that helped raise money for Fred when he needed surgery.

In Case of Emergency…

…do not call the Ugandan Police. 

That’s right.  Do not bother calling because chances are after 22 minutes and 17 seconds no one will pick up. 

Today I experienced just this.

Now Mom and Dad, if you are reading this, you can breathe.  I am okay.  Just shaken up from an inexplicable and isolated event that happened at In Movement today.

Around midday two men showed up on a boda and were just hanging out the place.  Now, we share our space with 32° East, an arts trust fund.  Due to this, there are people always coming and going.  Combine this with In Movement’s new vision to be a drop-in community center and we have new faces around all the time.

They walked around the space, reading about our programs and looking at our long to do lists.  We did not think anything of this as they bought sodas and kept to themselves.  I mean us at In Movement want for the community to view our space as being safe and secure.

Although this is quite the contrary to the mission these guys were on.

It was around 2:50p and my Burt’s Bees, computer, money, and rain jacket were stowed away inside my backpack.  I left it sitting in the garage, also known as my office, with our Program Manager Tush while I went to the bathroom. 

Side note.  I do this all the time.

As I was coming out of the bathroom, I saw Tush packing away some things from her office.  I decided to take the long way back to the garage so I could greet the 32° East staff and also to find out from Betty, the cook, how much I owed her for the piece of carrot cake she baked earlier.

Another side note.  That carrot cake made me forget about all delicious American cuisine for a minute.

As I am walking to get my 1,000 Shillings I hear Oscar, our Facilities Manager, yelling, “Thief!  Thief!”  Then in what seemed to be a flash I see two guys running out of the gate with a boda turned over on its side.  I then see blood streaming down from Oscar’s left hand.

The crime scene

It took me a minute to put everything together but I realized that those guys were not at In Movement using our space as a safe escape but rather a place to plot how to take our stuff.

Oscar explained that they were trying to take Tush’s laptop, which was laying out on one of the tables in the garage.  He told me to check my bag in case they took anything but everything was snug inside in its place.

One of the men apparently started the boda while the other one took the computer in his hands.  They began driving away but Oscar came to the rescue and pushed the boda over, causing them to loose balance and fall.  The laptop remained lying on the grass while the two fled the scene, leaving their beloved mode of transport behind.

Idiots.

Once we could account for everyone’s safety, Tush and I called the police, which was essentially an automated voice saying, “Welcome to Uganda Police.  Please hold.”  After 10 minutes of this nonsense, Tush and I decided to go to the police station to file a report.  This was after the car got stuck in a drainage ditch and we were required to sign a guest book.

Oh Uganda.

We finally made it inside, with the message still playing.  After making a scene about this emergency 999 number no longer functioning, we were able to speak with the officer, who eventually lead us to the detectives who eventually came to In Movement to take statements and pictures of the “simple robbery” crime scene.

You want to know what the officer’s response to my question about informing the public about this new emergency number. 

Of course you do.

“Madame.  It is on a need to know basis.”

We took the officers back to In Movement to take statements and take pictures of the scene.  I am betting that the camera the detectives used once belonged to a teenager, as it was purple and sparkly.  Probably stolen from Owino Market.

Tush inquired what the future would hold and whether or not we would be informed.  One of the detectives explained that they would take the boda back and communicate to us when any advancement was made on the investigation. 

My guess is that they will wait at the station with the boda until someone inquires about its presence.  They will then most likely take a hefty bribe from the individual to get the boda back since nothing was actually taken. 

Not surprised.

In the end, everyone at 32° East and In Movement was okay, including the Toshiba laptop.  We were just shaken up that a space that we have opened up to so many could be seized in an instant.

This won’t stop In Movement from opening its gate to the community and the youth. 

This is the work we do.

This is the space we work to create.

But watch out thieves, we will not tolerate that. 

Dare to Care

Is it just me or do you too find that it is easier to help others than help ourselves, causing us to neglect our most basic needs?

For years I have been this person… Making sure that those around me are being taken care of.  One example, I was a Resident Advisor for four years.

I spent nights awake to ensure that they made it back safe and often times found myself in conversations regarding their past.  Amidst studying for organic chemistry, I spent countless hours planning for programs and helping my residents pick out classes for the following semester. 

Then I made the big move to Uganda where I have invested a lot of my time into having conversations with the youth and other community members.  This is where I felt most viable in my work. 

These are the moments where I have heard some of the most inspirational and uplifting stories.

These are the moments where I have heard some of the most heartbreaking and gut-wrenching stories. 

These are the moments where I have opened my heart and quite frankly have experienced a lot of personal growth and development.

These are the moments that have the most emotional toll on myself.

Since moving to Kampala for my extension, I have found these stories plentiful.  

Along with these stories come plenty of accompanying programs to help strengthen the self-esteem and well being of these individuals, which means I am busy. 

Everyday.

Typically I am at In Movement Monday through Friday, developing program materials, finalizing upcoming camps, and working on social media updates.  Saturday I spend all day at the organization, coordinating the Youth Leadership Summit, partnering with some of the Breakdance Project Uganda members for photography and visual art classes, and soon to be supporting our day art camps for paying youth.  Come Sunday, I usually show up at around midday to visit with some of my youth and if the caffeine from my morning coffee has kicked in, will partake in dance class.

I have quickly realized that this leaves minimal Tara time.

Oh hey there self-care.  You are most welcome.

It is so important people… To take a day to reenergize.  Whether one does this through working out with Shaun T, binge watching Hawaii Five-O, making hummus, or doing all three, it is a huge component of keeping our emotional state in check.

I love the youth.  I love my youth.  I love their stories and willingness to be open. 

I love that they call me, even when it is 33 times in an hour, just to say goodnight.  I am excited for their future and to see them be the change of their country. 

But I also need to recognize that I need my time to digest everything and make sure I get proper closure as this experience is quickly winding down.

Which is exactly what I did yesterday.

I spent the day at home.  I  worked out with Shaun T.  I watched three episodes of Hawaii Five-O.  I finished eating the hummus I made. 

It was glorious. 

Do the same.

Dare to care.

Something to remember thanks to Tony Gaskins, “Everybody needs you but you need you first.  Don’t help everyone else and neglect yourself.  Love your neighbor as you love yourself, not instead of yourself.”