February 22 – Day 8
The resort provides a delicious buffet breakfast so, with
bellies full, the young people soon head to the pool.
 |
| We manage to fill the dining room |
 |
| Sue jokes with some of the girls |
 |
| Anthon enjoys his swim lessons with Bonnie |
We are impressed by how these kids and young adults, some of
whom we have known since they were infants, have grown and matured. They demonstrate a remarkable level of
friendship, love and respect towards each other and the adults around them. They refer to one another as cousins, and it
genuinely feels like a big family reunion.
The notion that the educational, food, and moral supports we have
provided for these kids is materializing in front of us is somewhat
overshadowed by the display of family camaraderie that we have helped to create
for them.
It is heartening to know that the effort and resources being
provided by our organization and donors is being directed to the development
and well-being of such a wonderful group of people.
Many of them take swimming lessons at school, and we note
the considerable water skills some of them have achieved. Rose, the nurse, is self proclaimed “hydrophobic”,
so we are thrilled to see that none of that has rubbed off on Angel and Anton,
who spend much of the day frolicking in the wading pool.
 |
| Sue chats with Hasifa |
 |
| Saleh enjoys some football with the other lads |
The boys make good use of the new soccer ball, playing games
of keep-away on the lawn.
One of our kids, Hasifa, was orphaned as a child as the
result of AIDS and raised mostly by her grandmother. We met her when her grandmother was quite ill
and frail, but the extended family basically abandoned her after grandma died,
and Doris Villa-Keeler provided sponsorship to see her through secondary school
and seamstress courses at college. She has
graduated out of our program and working independently. She is obviously much loved by the other
kids.
 |
| Hasifa |
 |
| With a photo of Doris, her sponsor |
Hassan was also orphaned due to AIDS and was referred to us
by Sarah, another Kulikayo kid, when she realized that he had a scarcity of
food and supplies at school. He was
sponsored by Sue & Alan’s son, Nick, and is now in university studying
cybersecurity. Hassan is a very
personable lad, and a great talker. He
has made a good connection with Jamie.
 |
| Jamie & Hassan |
Shakira, Shaturah, Saleh, Charlotte & Sasha are all
siblings. Sofia, their single mom, could
not manage to provide for them and fortunately they all have sponsors.
 |
| Charlotte, Hasifa, Shaturah |
Shakira is a beautiful and bright young woman who did very
well on her recent final secondary school government exams and hopes to start
nursing school in July. She is sponsored
by Paul and Mary Ellen Konyer.
 |
| Brenda and Aurora with Shakira |
Shaturah, at 17, is in her 4th year of secondary
school (S4) and has always impressed us as being a fiery, strong young
woman. She hopes to become an
electrician.
 |
| Alicia enjoying cuddles from Shaturah |
Saleh is 15 years old and hopes to study medicine. He is in secondary school, year 2 (S2).
 |
| Saleh (with cap) dances with Ashibin & Daniel |
Charlotte, age 13, also wants to study medicine. She is sponsored by the family of Charity
Callaghan, one of our Kulikayo board members.
Sasha, the shy toddler who so loved frilly clothes when we
first met her, is now 10 years old in Primary 4 (P4) and advises she wants to
be a soldier when she grows up.
 |
| Sasha |
Sandra had heart valve surgery as an infant and became a
Kulikayo child when her Mom could no longer afford medication and follow-up
clinic visits to keep her well. She studied
tourism and travel and is now working in her mother’s fruit stand while trying
to find work in her field. We have come
to know her siblings over the years, and Carly has invited Maurice, Marjorie
and Solomon along.
 |
| Sandra |
Faridah, another single mom, also struggled to provide for
Sarah, Moses, and Ashibin (Cutie).
Sarah
is very artistic with a flare for fashion.
She has finished courses in fashion design and now works in a juice shop
in a mall that houses a number of fashion houses.
She lives with Faridah in Kampala and has an
online business selling her clothing.
Alan and Sue helped her with a resume and a portfolio booklet to spur
her dream of working full-time in her passion.
 |
| Sarah |
Moses, at 17 and in S4, has shown incredible skill for his
age at football. If he cannot become a
professional athlete, he would like to study to become a doctor. Carly and Scott are his sponsors.
 |
| Scott and Carly enjoy a discussion with Moses |
Ashibin is 15. A very
quiet lad, we are impressed at how he has shot up in height and changed
physically over the past 5 years. He
also wishes to study medicine. He was
treated for tuberculosis a couple of years ago but recently has been
complaining of low back and neck pain.
Doctors at the TB clinic reassured us that it was not a recurrence of
his infection and he asks Dr. Alan to check him over. There appears to be no significant physical
disorder and our retired MD offers reassurance and a prescription for regular
stretching exercises.
Ibrahim (Abe), a nephew of Jackie’s, is 14 years old and
hopes to one day become a chef!
 |
| Abe |
Olivia, Gloria, Daniel and Jovan witnessed their mother die
days after being attacked by their father.
Olivia, a very personable girl, has graduated out of Kulikayo after
studying cosmetology. Her employer is
promoting her up the ranks in the hospitality industry.
 |
| Olivia |
Gloria, age 18, hopes to become an engineer one day.
She suffers from photophobia and her recent
assessment at an eye clinic did not reveal any underlying pathology.
Jackie is seeking out affordable neutral grey
eyeglasses to help her with that.
 |
| Gloria watches on as Sue takes notes |
 |
| Gloria models her new backpack, a gift from her sponsor |
Daniel, now 16 years old, hopes to study to become a
chemical engineer.
 |
| Daniel |
It is hard to believe that Jovan is now 13 years old. His hope is to study finance and work in the
civil service. Doris Villa-Keeler also
sponsors him.
Tired out from swimming and having consumed popcorn and
sweets, it is time for the dreaded life lessons talks. As an organization, we not only strive to
provide food, shelter, and education – but also to support and educate citizens
of this country who have a strong moral code respect for themselves and others,
and a sense of female empowerment.
Gathering the boys age 12+ in Carly and Scott’s cottage,
they hear messages in this vein, along with discussions of peer pressure and
the importance of having a goal in life and striving for that. These kids have known nurse Rose since their
days at the children’s home, and they seem to take her messages to heart. Jackie, Carly and Alan reinforce those themes
and also provide information on sexual health and STI’s including a
demonstration of proper condom technique.
The boys are not totally mortified and ask a few relevant questions.
 |
| Rose in a quiet moment |
 |
| Angel |
The discussion with the older girls also goes well.
There seems to be an openness to this kind of
information flow which we did not experience several years ago.
Rose has seen a disturbing incidence of
cervical cancer in advanced stages in young women, working in her remote rural
clinic.
This cancer is caused by
infection with human papilloma virus (HPV), which is largely preventable by immunization
ideally in the pre-teen years.
Uganda
has had a program of HPV vaccination in the schools since 2015, but data
indicates the percentage of children receiving the full course of prevention is
much less than ideal.
Jackie and Alan
agree to work out a plan to make sure the Kulikayo girls are covered.
With that behind us, we sit down to another buffet dinner
provided by Keith and his great dining room staff. This is a more traditional Ugandan meal
consisting of matoke (plantain), g-nuts (ground peanut sauce), dodo (collard
greens), delightful beef filet, irish potatoes, pilau masala rice , and sodas. Everyone is treated to a dessert of ice cream.
Again, there is a campfire and dancing to Ugandan
music. The mzungus are undoubtably the
stars of the show 😉
.jpg)
