Bududa School near Mt. Elgon, Eastern Uganda

 

 

This week we had the opportunity to travel from Kampala to Eastern Uganda to the little mountain villages near the Kenya Border on the slopes of Mt. Elgon near Mbale.  We traveled with the Hannans (the Humanitarian couple) and two women from the Church, Olivia and Annette,( I couldn't spell their last names) who teach girls ages 10-16 about maturation and hygiene.  These girls get no training from their parents on these topics and about 25% end up pregnant between ages 15-19.  Because the people in these mountain villages are very poor, they cannot buy disposable sanitary supplies for the girls to use, so this humanitarian project involves supplying sewing machines, terry cloth fabric, flannel, and cotton fabric so the girls can be taught to sew reusable/ washable sanitary pads, a pad holder with Velcro for their panties, and a bag with two pockets:  one pocket for a clean pad and one pocket for the soiled pad.  The head masters in the schools often request this project as the girls stay home from school when having their period and so missing a week every month puts them behind and many drop out of school.  The hope is that this project can help eliminate them having to miss school.  It is a worthwhile and needed project but getting into this village was very difficult as the roads were almost impassable.  This is a village that was almost destroyed by a mudslide in 2010.  The people have dealt with slides and weather related events for many years but love living here because the land is so fertile they can virtually grow anything  and really do not need a lot of support from outside sources.  Because it is a very poor area, most of these girls have very little and will probably never leave. 

Anyway, I was so impressed with the students we met.  They were very welcoming and I have taken a lot of pictures that will tell a lot more than anything I can say, so enjoy.

 

 

 The road was rough and hard on the trucks.  It was washed out in a couple of places as we made our way in.

 

We followed the Hannans and you can see the road goes on forever.  It was about 40km from Mbale, the closest town of any size.

Matooke ( green bananas they steam) are a staple and these men push these bikes loaded with 200-300 lbs. of bananas from the village in to Mbale.  They make maybe the equivalent of $2.00.    

Beautiful country with banana trees and gardens, and fields of produce near the villages.

When we arrived at the school the kindergarten sang us a song of welcome.  They came racing out to the edge of the school property and were all smiles as they sang.

 

 

I just love the kids and they love their picture to be taken as long as you show them the picture.

 

The school

The school with the mountains in the background.

Elder Hannan walking with the girls to the classroom.

The kindergarten kids were not in uniforms, but the primary and secondary school kids always wear uniforms.

 

 

This was a small room with 312 girls and teachers.  It started to get extremely hot in this room and the girls were jammed in tight.

 

Elder and Sister Hannan are from Palmyra, NY and have a very busy mission doing a lot for this country.

Five different schools attended this Handover and each school had a different uniform.

  

 

This is Annette, one of out trainers.  This school had prayer and the national anthem to start the program so they are a little behind liberal America.  

Olivia demonstrating to the school officials and students how to make the pads.

More demonstrations.  Following the Handover, Olivia and Annette remained in the area so they can travel to the various schools, make sure the machines are set up, and give instructions to the girls, their mothers, and the teachers on how to sew the pads and bags to carry them in.  Since there is no electricity in this area, the machines are all treadle machines.  

I could have taken this little girl home.  She was so cute.

 

 

Beautiful girls

 

 

This perky girl had mischief in her eyes.  

 

I just could not pass this girl up.  What a natural beauty.  Do you think I miss my grand daughters? 

 I do.

 

One of the older girls

 

 

I just thought this girl had a mature way about her and I love the girls in the background.

 

This girl was so sweet to me as I passed, I just had to take her picture.  It is a rule in the schools that boys and girls shave their heads, so you never see a student with long hair.

 

I was pulling a face, trying to get these girls to smile.  I just love this picture.

 

This picture could tell several stories...either the family has no childcare for this baby so the sister has to take her/him to school, but more likely, this is her baby and she had no choice in the matter.  

 

The girls watching us unload the trucks.

 

Lots of girls

 

 

The village of Bududa

 

The storm clouds gathered as we left the village; Sue grabbed this shot.

 

I am not sure if this is a joke or not.  This very well could be a place for people to spend the night.  The poor stay in places less spectacular than the Hilton.