And then there was The Nile...

I have successfully complete week one here in Uganda. And it has definitely been an experience! On Wednesday we did home visits with HIV+ patients that the Meeting Point support. I am still having difficulty explaining/expressing the things I saw. They live in little shacks, smaller than the average family restroom. Inside the clay walls an dirt floors often house widowed HIV+ women and their MANY children. WE met one woman named Robina. She had a beautiful smile and a wonderful sense of humor. She is currently battling TB on top of her HIV, she is also completely paralyzed from the wast down. She sat on the floor drinking her poscho (sorta like watered down grits) that her eldest daughter had prepared. This is the face of AIDS and her story and the stories and ANY other persons have been flooding my mind over the past week. Thursday our site organizer took us on a "fieldtrip" to Makiso, another Meeting Point site location. There we also did home visits, however this time the homes where in a very LARGE and spread out village. The land and it's people where absolutely beautiful! The trees and flowers were like nothing I had ever seen. Even in this paradise you could not escape the horrible disease. There was one family that brought me to tears both the husband and wife are HIV+ and they have 6 children. The eldest daughter (16, and also has a child) is HIV+. The father now refuses to get any of the other children tested. The stigma of a positive test result is extremely present among the men.

So the lighter side....then there was The Nile! So my group decided to go white water rafting...on The Nile! Yes, baby Moses in a basket, Queen Nefrititi and them, the longest river in the world: NILE! Let's just say it was quite an experience...one that I love but NEVER have to experience again. Quickly here's an over view: trip was 30km long (roughly 18 miles) went over 10 rapids (4 of which were Grade 5), group leader named "Big J" was great, our "punk raft" never flipped over (thank God).

Also, you know how people joke about taking a class in underwater basket weaving (as if it would be an easy "A")....I learned how to basket weave and IT IS NOT EASY! I have much more respect for all hand made crafts.

Peace & Blessings