For knap en uge siden kom jeg hjem fra Uganda. Det var nogle intense 10 dage. Alt for kort tid. Og samtidig lige præcis nok. Jeg fik både arbejdet, set venner, ventet (!), filosoferet over stort og småt, grint, grædt, smilt og bare været lige der, hvor jeg var nu var.
It’s almost a week since I returned from Uganda. It was 10 intense days. Too little time. Yet just enough time. I worked, spent time with friends, waited (!), thought about a million things, laughed, cried and smiled. And well, tried to be present where I was.
Et af de vigtigste møder, var med James Kimbowa, som hjælper os på vej med diverse registreringer, og med at navigere i den jungle af regler og korruption, der desværre stadig er en realitet i Uganda. I øvrigt et typisk billede af Joel og jeg. Vi kan skændes så ingen tør være i nærheden, og være fjollede som to små skolebørn – heraf billedet..
One of the most important meetings during my stay was with James Kimbowa. He is helping us with various organizational things, and helps us navigate in the jungle of rules and corruption – the last unfortunately still being a thing in Uganda. It’s btw a typical picture of Joel and me. We can argue and fight so that no one dare to be around, and we can laugh and be silly like children – hence the picture..
Ventetid. Og eftertænksomhed. Følte mig noget mere tidspresset og stresset denne gang. Ikke særlig godt i kombination med “afrikansk tid” og TIA. Jeg blev nemt frustreret, vred og ked af det. Og samtidig enormt skamfuld. Det er svært at forklare. Alle dem jeg kender, og arbejder sammen med, lever nogle hårde liv, hvor fattigdom, sygdom, enormt meget ansvar, uforudsigelighed og utryghed er en fast del af hverdagen. Og så kommer jeg og kræver dit og dat fordi jeg nu kun er der i ti dage. Men verden drejer ikke rundt om mig. Heldigvis. Så selvom tiden var knap måtte jeg af og til bide frustrationerne i mig, og huske på det noget anderledes liv, som de fleste lever. Det fordrer ydmyghed, tålmodighed og stor gensidig forståelse at arbejde under sådanne vilkår.
Waiting time. And thoughtfulness. Felt more stressed and a big time-pressure this time around. Doesn’t go well with “African time” and TIA. I was easily frustrated, angry and sad. And at the same time full of shame for feeling that way. It’s hard to explain. All the people I know and work with in Uganda live hard lives, where poverty, sickness, tremendous responsibility, unpredictability and insecurity are part of everyday life. And then I come, “demanding” time and meetings, and no delays and “please, I’m just here for 10 days!”. But thank God the world doesn’t spin around me. So even though time was scarce, I had to try and keep my frustrations to myself now and then, and bear in mind how different everything is there. It requires humility, patience and great mutual understanding to work under such conditions.
Nåede at besøge Kitiibwa og Sarah, hvis bryllup jeg var med til i December. Sarah er gravid og skal føde til oktober. Hun har desværre en hård graviditet og skal forholde sig i ro. Det er deres første barn. Drengen på billedet er Joels.
Got the time to visit Kitiibwa and Sarah. I attended their wedding in December. Sarah is pregnant and is giving birth in October. Her pregnancy is hard on her, and she has stopped working and must stay home and take it easy. It’s their first child. The boy in the picture is Joel’s.
Skolen var lukket da jeg var i Uganda, men jeg fik alligevel set Frank. Hentede ham hjemme og vi tilbragte en dejlig eftermiddag sammen. / The school was closed while I was in Uganda, but I still managed to see Frank. I picked him up at his home and we got to spend a great afternoon together.
Trampolin er et hit! / Frank loved the trampoline!
Arbejde, arbejde og arbejde. Altid. Men denne gang holdt Joel og jeg en eftermiddag fri sammen med hans børn og “min” Frank. Sjovt, rart og afslappet. / Work, work, work! Always. But this time Joel and I took off an afternoon together with his kids and “my” Frank. Fun times, indeed.
Semuto. Selvfølgelig. Et af mine yndlingssteder i Uganda. Der sker så helt vildt meget deroppe i øjeblikket. Samtidig er det et af de allerbedste steder at finde stilhed og “indre ro”. / Semuto. Of course. One of my favourite places in Uganda. So much is happening there at the moment. At the same time it’s one of the best places to find silence and “inner peace”.
Et glimt af vores nye skole. Der kommer en video fra byggeriet en af de kommende dage. / A glimpse of our new school. I’ll post a video from the building soon.
De smukkeste solnedgange findes uden tvivl i Uganda. Denne gang regnede det en hel del og der var derfor også ret skyet. Men en aften i Semuto var jeg alligevel heldig at få et glimt af paradis.. / The most beautiful sunsets are without a doubt in Uganda. This time it was raining a lot and hence it was mostly cloudy. But one night in Semuto I was lucky and got a glimpse of paradise..
