fred part two

Yesterday when we arrived at SMK the kids on Freddy’s team had already begun to paint. Again they amazed me with their self-starting approach to hard work. Gloria, Mel, Lynne and I had thought it would be a bonding experience for the older boys who were the core of my work team if we bought them t-shirts. Mel printed on them “Freddy’s team” – the kids were thrilled, and I believe they sensed a feeling of accomplishment and recognition.

Lynne had suggested to Gloria that we should help teach the children about keeping the campus clean. Gloria endorsed the plan and got the go ahead from Rosemary. We bought large trash cans, and I took it upon myself to first enlist the smaller boys to march around with me picking up trash and placing it in our ”new trash buckets” with the understanding that “we live here and we need to keep our house clean.” I then enlisted a group of girls also employing the same motto and we began to clean up the area around the dorms. As we marched and worked the girls began to sing and dance. Again these wonderful children bought tears to my eyes by the way they responded to connections to their “HOME” and the pride of having an impact on it.

We also bought a volleyball net and ball so the kids can enjoy another kind of physical activity after we have left. This is where I was taught my greatest lesson of the day. After a great deal of rain and a great deal of work the kids decided to find a place to set up the volleyball court. They found a place where there was a tree to anchor one side - then they dug a hole and placed a large pole and anchored it so it would remain upright for the other side. Then a 12 or 13-year-old boy whose name I don’t know climbed the tree and chopped down the branches of the tree that interfered with the volleyball net. The lesson is that these children have a significant practical knowledge of so many things and through Rosemary and CTT they are learning life skills for living in Uganda. It reminded me of an old saying: “Give a man a fish he eats for a day; teach him to fish he eats for a lifetime.”