Update on what I'm up to

So I thought I’d post a little more about what’s been occupying my week days. Here’s a look at my usual schedule. I’m enjoying it so far!

Typical Day
I usually leave home around 8:00am for the 25-30 minute walk/ride into Buddukiro. The weeks vary a little, but usually on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays I’ll go direct to Masaka, and on Tuesdays and Fridays I’ll start off at the Nyendo Center and head to Masaka after lunch. Before arriving at the center, I often start with outreach, which basically means walking up and down the streets to pass by the corners where the boys gather and encourage them to come to the centers.

The two sites are really different. Whereas the Nyendo boys are younger, very regular attenders, and somehow a little more innocent, the Masaka boys tend to be a little older, and their streets somehow seem a little more rough. In Nyendo, I usually give an English lesson once a week, or come up with some activity for the music/drama time on Fridays. In Masaka, I usually play badminton or soccer, or give a little informal computer lesson to the kids, and do ‘office’ work the rest of the time.

I eat lunch with the other Buddukiro staff at one of the little restaurants that we’ve contracted to also feed the boys once per day- usually at “Mama Eddy’s.” Sometimes I head out mid afternoon to the internet café if I need to do some research online. I usually have some activity or another going on right after work, and then head home to Jennipher’s by 7:00 or 7:30. After that it’s tea, play with Mukiibi, bath, dinner, bed!

Mini Project
I mentioned in a previous post that we had been doing a needs assessment in Ssenyange. Last week I turned in the proposal for the ‘mini project’ we came up with to FSD. I’m calling it the “Ssenyange orphans and other vulnerable children community action network project,” or Ssenyange OVC C.A.N. If this gets funded, it will begin to take up a lot of my time with things like materials development, training, and follow up visits.

I’ve pasted the exec summary in another entry because I’m in the post deadline phase of feeling too sick of the thing to write any more about it, but you’ll get the gist. I’m excited about it because I think if we could get the groups set up and functioning (including the savings and loaning function), they have the potential to make an impact in the lives of the kids in those households, and to help the caregivers sustain and advocate for themselves over the long term. Also, working on the ‘prevention’ side is something Buddukiro’s been wanting to get into as part of their new strategic direction, so this has the potential to move them where they want to go as an organization. We’ll find out later this week if it gets funded or not, so keep your fingers crossed!

Other Possibilities
I’ve been praying about what else I should get involved in during my non Buddukiro time- like how to get involved at church, in my community, after my time at Buddukiro is up at the end of January, etc. One interesting possibility is helping my friend Fred, who has a vision to start a Christian computer/resource complex in Masaka with a pastor friend of his. I’ve been able to use some of my MBA knowledge and materials to help them begin thinking about the business plan. Fun! Another idea I have is that my church would like to get something started working with orphans. Not sure yet what I could help with there, but it caught my attention…