Film shoots and Schoolies visitors.

Another week gone by in Uganda! Its now December and the end of the year is near.
I have had a bit more free time this week as some programs are coming to an end. Looking back over the last few months it has been good to see what has been accomplished so far.

YSU has been running the tailoring class with success, its been beautiful to watch these girls really shine.
Drug and Alcohol education classes have been run in one school through out all the year levels there.
Two film making projects are underway and the films are coming out looking very good if I do say so myself.
Devotion and bible study nights every Friday with my group of boys which has been really rewarding.
Having three people working for YSU, getting for themselves a small income that helps them.

I look forward to the years to come, the work is very exciting, and although keeps you busy and at times stressed, it is very rewarding.

Both film groups of youth I have been working with have been filming their videos. One of the groups is creating an artistic looking short film showing the lives of three different students at a school. We have been having a lot of fun together, walking around the local community doing the film shoot, laughing and acting.

                                  

My film group in Njeru have been great to work with. They are a little older and have different ideas for films. Instead of focusing on a script and acting, they have decided they wanted to make a documentary focusing on alcohol abuse in the communities here. On there own time they have been going around different communities and inquiring about different types of people to interview, including local alcohol brewers, ex alcoholics, community leaders and youth who are users.
Last Saturday we spent the afternoon interviewing local brewers. This was an interesting experience, and something I wouldn't of been able to do just on my own without the youths initiating help. The place where the cheap local alcohol is brewed and fermenting is hidden down in a little valley amongst some trees, just in a run down little hut. As alcohol causes a lot of issues here (especially the home brewed stuff) the brewers are usually out of the way and hidden from sight. The place we went to was a small shack with these big tanks, or vats, of fermenting, stinky, raw booze. The stuff they were fermenting comes from sugar cane, and the place was really hot from all the fire, burning and cooking. It also had a strong repugnant smell, the place certainly felt seedy. The brewers had said they would be fine with the group of young people filming them and interviewing them, so we had bought them some sugar as a small gift to say thank you. The main woman brewing didn't want to be interviewed though, as her daughter had married into a pastors family and she was ashamed of being seen. A lot of people who brew alcohol are outcasts and ashamed, but often it is women who brew, because it is the only way for them make money to help their children. It did make me think, if Jesus was here in person today, would he be spending time with the suited up, high esteemed, church folk here ... or perhaps down amongst the stinky dirty compounds of the alcohol brewers with their torn clothing and bloodshot eyes, casted out and hidden away ... or perhaps he would of been with both parties!
It was an interesting experience none the less, and the documentary looks to come out really good!

                                    

Last Friday the young women's tailoring group had a very exciting day as the Schoolies Revolution team came and visited. For those of you who don't know about Schoolies Revolution, it is a HopeBuilders project that takes young Aussie schoolies to third world countries to give them a taste and experience of life with the poorest of the poor. It offers an alternative to what can often be a crazy time of self worship and indulgence (And I cannot judge, I certainly did not get involved with such a selfless thing like Schoolies Revolution during my year 12 break, so I really do have respect for these young school leavers).
Often the schoolies guys are really impacted as they laugh, cry, dance, worship, pray and work alongside the local people here. Schoolies was created by a good friend of mine 'Joely Poppenbeck', who has been a great friend back in the One Hope community at home, so it was awesome to see him again and have a bit of catch up.
Joel had asked me if I could so something with the schoolies, with YSU, so I had arranged for them to come and spend some time with the tailoring group of young women.
I do admit I didn't sleep much that night, and when I did, I even dreamt of the encounter. I guess I was a bit nervous about my first time hosting a team from Australia as they interacted with a YSU project. I was a little nervous at how the tailoring girls would react, as they come from very poor communities, some have been taken advantage of by boys, and some have not had a high education and as a result they can be shy and quiet.

All my nerves vanished as we approached the office and the tailoring girls came striding outside and embraced the schoolies team with big hugs (Agnes had come early to the office to prepare the girls, and when they saw us approaching outside she had encouraged them to all go outside and greet them ... lucky to have her on my team)
After first greetings we all stood in a circle and introduced our names. We then played a few games that had everyone laughing, including some very strange game that Agnes had jumped in and started to facilitate.
Afterwards I formally introduced the schoolies and what they were about to the tailoring group, and then Farook, Agnes and I all explained what we did. It was great to work alongside as a team with Farook and Agnes, and even one of the young girls stood up and explained how much she had been loving the tailoring class.
Afterwards Joely gave a short devotion to everyone. His devotion was perfect for the young woman, as he talked about our value, worth and identity within God. Many of the young girls really lack confidence in themselves, so it was something valuable to them, as well as hearing the Gospel message presented in there as well.
Afterwards the schoolies guys broke up into pairs and spent time praying with all the girls. After praying the laughter started as the young women spent time showing the schoolies their tailoring skills, as well as many people trying on the paper dresses the girls had created, even strutting and posing for the cameras.

The smiles on the faces of the girls was fantastic to see, and especially seeing them get so excited and interacting with the schoolies, as some of them cannot even communicate in very good English.
Afterwards we all got a group photo before saying good bye and leaving.
Later that day I had a chance to see the tailoring women again, they had been talking non stop about the encounter all day and most likely will be talking about it for weeks to come. I have never seen them so full of energy and with such big smiles before. Many of these girls would just not expect visitors to come and spend time with them due to their low position in society, it really was a special day for everyone, and I know I went to bed smiling that night.

It's amazing what joy simple interactions between people can bring, even when there is differences with culture and language. Love has no boundaries and can break through anything.

So another great week here in Uganda.

Enjoy some photos.