Barlonyo and a Paper Mache Workshop

This week has had a few unique events to mention. As previously stated Esther and I visited the Barlonyo site (former Internally Displaced Person Camp that is now returned to be a village). That was Wednesday. The difference between the place where so many were massacred was night and day from the summer of 2007 when I was there last. Upon arrival there were women selling fried dough and men selling grilled maize. There was music and three guys were walking down the street dancing laughing when they realized I was video taping them. The place was much less crowded and people were moving around doing activities or work in a relaxed way. The land had crops and was sprinkled with port-a-potties a relic left from NGOs sent to help. The massacre happend in 2004 and by 2007 the plastic structures were not there. Better late to help then never - I guess.

There are 8 Children of Hope caregivers there that have crops funded by the Income Generating Activities portion of the organization. They had assistance with seeds and an ox plow that they share. Most have planted simsim which harvests a seed used to thicken sauces and is something they can easily sell here. One woman explained that she first planted cassava, but the floods wiped out her whole crop and she has started over with simsim. There was another woman who complained that the government took part of her land to bury the dead bodies of the camp leaving her with less area to farm. Most of the caregivers we met there were not the beneficiaries parents. One was an uncle, a woman just said the child she was caring for was a blood relative and still another was a woman who never gave birth to her own children (very uncommon here) but cared for many and introduced us to two of the youngest orphans in her 'family'.

We went over to see some puppies and the owners told us they named the parent dogs Woman and Go Hang Yourself. I don't really have anything else to say about that, but though it was worth mentioning.

Chris Degeer is a Canadian about my age that I met in Uganda last time I was here. His family has a philanthropic fund called Fellowship of Man and they are funding 10 of the 12 C.O.H. in boarding school (all school fees paid) with C.O.H. following up with them on the ground and orchestrating the IGA. We have already met with the kids. They are all at Hill Side Primary which is one of the first groups we met with when I reached here.

We made good use of our rented boda morocycle (Esther's is having major issues) visiting a household that is starting beekeeping as an IGA and a school far out that has just recently reopened that 2 C.O.H. kids are studying. The girl there talked with Esther after we introduced the drawing project and took their photos. Her parents have recently divorced after her father severely abused her mother and her mother took his eye out in revenge. Divorce is uncommon here and the law states that in that case the father gets the children. There are some women in parliament that are fighting to reverse that becasue men here do not care for children. She is staying with her mom now, but her father is working to get custody and wants all of his kids to drop out of school - she is the only one who hasn't yet. Her mom is sweeping people's houses for little change to get by which leaves her as the oldest girl of 7 kids to care for the infant sibling. She wants to be an electrical engineer. These stories are everywhere. I give Esther so much credit for taking on such a project. 163 children and countless caregivers, family and community members that are all tied together.

The artist I was living with in Namulanda Zeevic came this weekend to give a paper mache workshop for the caregivers. I am not sure if I mentioned this in some of my first posts, but he is in his 4th of 12 months in Uganda and he has been all over the world working with disenfranchised groups of people from HIV/AIDs + people in the U.S. and Israel to lepers in India. He is currently teaching at NIIAD with the young students who come from very poor families, at a men's prison, at a woman's prison, and with a women's group in a slum area of Kampala. He wants to eventually have every one making gallery quality work and selling it in high end tourist shops as well as online. I am really excited to connect him the the Children of Hope. He is planning to do another workshop next month with them.

49 caregivers showed up with enthusiasm and made pencil holders and masks from disposed materials - newspapers, cardboard, plastic bottles, etc. He talked at the beginning about the global environmental crisis and the need to reuse materials. He mentioned both the fact that burning plastic released chemicals that are cancerous and the fact that recycled art is more marketable. There were people everywhere, messy and working. This is an art that is easy to practice and not found in the tourist market here. I am working on some other prototypes of products for them to make once I am gone incorporating the paper beads they make, the paper mache, and fabric scraps collected for free in the sewing area of the market.

The fabrics are vibrant printed on stiff cotton blend material. They take any noun and turn it into a design. There are patterns with chickens, with electric irons, cell phones, and Jesus. It is one design element that seems fabricated here. It is not the forged iron gates that replicate the west or the plush furniture sold on the side of the road. I am going to pay Esther/ the C.O.H. some money to collect more for me later to use for my own work.

We accomplished many things this week, but we haven't gotten to many schools. That will be the task for this week.

Lucky is growing fast and Tiger is still a crazy puppy.