Weekly life

Another week goes by in Uganda and I have been busy as usual.
I have been continuing to run different programs in the community, at the moment I am running two film making programs with a mixed group of guys and girls.
This program has been really interesting as we have been looking at local issues in the community. One of the group has decided they want to make a documentary focussing on alcohol and drug abuse here in Uganda.
There is a local alcohol brew here called wairagi which is basically bootleg moonshine. Its made from sugar canes rejects or fermented bananas and is a very powerful drink. There has been huge amounts of social problems as a result of the addiction to wairagi, and most people in the communities here would know of someone who has been affected by it.
A few years ago the world health organisation even did a report on alcohol consumption around the world and labelled Uganda as the number one country for alcohol consumption per capita.
That is a pretty big thing if you think about it ... and mixed with extreme poverty, can cause some devastating effects.
The group of young guys and girls I am working with here are really passionate about making a documentary that can be played in schools. They have even begun researching people they can interview, including community workers, alcohol brewers, young people who are drinking and elderly people who have overcome alcohol addiction. I actually see this little documentary becoming a very interesting project, and the passion and interest the young group are showing in initiating the film is great to see.
Young people here really have talent and ideas, they just need the resources to bring it out.

                             
                          Some boys get together to practise using the video cameras


On the topic of drugs and alcohol, I had an interesting incident happen in one of my drug and alcohol education classes on Monday. I teach one hour lessons at a local school here on Mondays and I have been going through the different year levels. The senior ones and senior twos have been great ... now that I have reached the senior three's though, things are a little tough haha.
This is the year level that the headmaster said need it the most, they are really the most rowdy, and it doesn't help that there are about 60 of them in one class ... you imagine what that would be like to teach.
In my classes on Mondays, before I run my program on drugs and alcohol, I always make it very very clear that no one is to judge others or start calling out classmates name. Of course some of the boys couldn't contain themselves, pointing to class mates and saying they take drugs. When this behaviour happens I instantly become very stern with these people and make it clear it won't be tolerated. But about 15 minutes into the program two boys started punching on near the back of the circle (I get everyone to come in and make a circle when I teach). I managed to jump in and pull them apart, and luckily it wasn't too serious. One of them was quite upset, because the other was provoking him about his drug use. After talking with the boy who was upset and having him cool down, and asking him if he still wanted to join us in the program, we managed to get back into it and finish everything relatively unhurt haha.

Even though this class is very rowdy, the students are still very interested in the program and have so many questions to ask ... they basically have had no education on alcohol and drugs, and are very ignorant around the facts. All the students ask me to please come back as they really enjoy the program, even once it is finished. Living in the community here I see a lot of the students in the villages around here, so they are always keen to stop me and have a conversation. Many times I get personal questions asked to me, and quite often they are phrased as "so I have a friend of mine ..." haha I am sure I have heard those kind of questions before.
Many of the students who see me here call me pastor .. which is funny .. because I am not a pastor, some even saying they thought I was about 35 .. maybe it's time to shave.

Everything is running smooth otherwise, it's been great fun to invest into the young people here. I still run a devotion group every Friday night with a group of boys, and we really look into the deep topics of life. These Friday nights have actually been a growing experience for me. I notice as they ask me to focus on a topic for the coming night, I spend some time in the week researching and preparing for the Friday night class. Often I will end up learning something myself.

I have been having some good lessons in organisation as well after having some interesting hiccups with the tailoring group. Small things like students taking home the office pens and not bringing them back, or people inviting friends into the class all need to be addressed. The class has also been getting messier and messier with the girls just throwing their material offcuts on the floor. We never really laid down some guidelines and ground rules, so Agnes has been helping me in suggesting I write up policies for students, for teachers and for the class in general. We held a meeting with the class on Friday and Farook explained all the new rules (including cleaning rosters) and we had the list laminated and placed on the wall.
All a learning experience and it has become apparent that guidelines, policies and expectations are so important, even for something that doesn't seem like a big project.
It has been great to have Farook and Agnes by my side with this stuff. Agnes has a very practical, logical mind and can help me with organisational stuff, and Farook is great at delivering and communicating rules and guidelines to the young people we are working with.

Damele, one of the tailoring class girls

 

I am looking at starting up two new groups for teenage boys, mainly focussing on agriculture and brick making as small business ventures, as well as incorporating social issues education within the projects.

I am enjoying life here very much, and there is certainly a very big sense of home. I love all the lessons in patience and humility that God is always teaching me as well. When living in a community like this, there are constant demands, requests and unexpected visits .. you can really begin to see how inpatient and selfish you actually are. When you set of on something like this you can have this passion and vision of sacrifice and suffering and helping the poor and being like Jesus. But I know since being here for the last 3 months, I have noticed how much selfishness I can actually have in my heart, I am certainly not a Mother Theresa haha. The constant demands, and things going wrong really help me in growing in patience and grace, and to hopefully become more like Jesus. It's not like I am blowing up or getting angry over here, more that I notice that many times I need to take a breath and pray for grace. This mission is just as much about my own sanctification it seems, as it is about loving and helping others in need here.

In saying that, I love it here so much. And I love this way of living so much. I wouldn't trade in all the little problems for anything ... It's all apart of the mission, and after a long hard day, it really is satisfying to be going through this for my God. It puts everything in perspective for me. As I once heard bible teacher Tim Keller say:
"Aim for holiness, and you will get happiness thrown in as well. Aim for happiness, and you will most likely end up with neither"

God bless