Joy, Fear, and Concern

Ruth House at the Grand Opening ceremony

Joy

Several weeks ago we held a Grand Opening for The Amazima School. Amazima has been running for over a year, but this was the first year in which there is a class that counts as official Ugandan education. Uganda divides its schools into two -- primary schools with grades P1 through P7 (think kindergarten through 6th grade) and secondary schools with grades S1 through S6 (think 7th through 12th grade). At Amazima, one of the goals is to change the way kids are educated in Uganda. The Ugandan system emphasizes memorization and comprehension, and does not provide for or encourage higher level thinking skills such as application, analysis, evaluation, or synthesis. Amazima teachers are trained to promote and develop the students' higher level thinking skills. As part of this program, the first year students at Amazima, which is a Ugandan secondary school, do not go straight into S1, but instead have a "Transition Year" in which they are taught how to think. The "TY" students do not get any credit for this year of education under the Ugandan school system. As a result, even though last year was actually the first year Amazima opened, it was only opened for the TY students. Those TY students have now moved onto their S1 grade level this year, which does count as an educational year in Uganda. Thus, from Uganda's perspective this is the first year Amazima has been officially open, which explains why the Grand Opening was held this year and not last year. 

A food line at the Grand Opening

The Grand Opening was a big deal. The Amazima Board of Directors travelled from the US to Uganda to attend. Local supporters, guests, and parents were invited. Local and national politicians attended. The event lasted most of a Saturday. There was entertainment, ranging from worship songs, a band from Jinja, traditional African dancers, and a comedy troupe. Amazima officials and politicians gave speeches. Lunch was huge: fried chicken, rice, fresh fruit, salad, beans, cake, sodas. Go through the food line as many times as you want.  All you could eat. A real luxury in Uganda.

The Grand Opening cake

The highlight of the day was the speech to be given by Uganda's Minister of Education. He had a prepared speech, all written out on his notes. Rather than give his speech, though, he took out his notes and tore them up in front of the audience. This is unheard of for a Ugandan politician to do. Instead, he said he was so overwhelmed and overjoyed at what he saw from the school and from the students that he felt his prepared speech was meaningless. He then spent fifteen minutes talking off the cuff on how he saw God at work at Amazima generally and with the students specifically. It was incredible to hear and amazing confirmation that God's light truly is shining at this school.

To get a feel for the Grand Opening, the speech given by Katie Davis Majors, Amazima's founder and visionary, can be found here. Katie's speech

Fear      

The school conducted a blood drive.  This year, they included eligible students, those over age 18.  Ruth House, the name of our "dormitory," had four girls eligible.  Of the four, two girls got up enough nerve to donate, a huge accomplishment as the fear of needles is overwhelming among the students.  Sandra was so proud of them.  The two girls who donated were thrilled. They were also surprised at how painless the experience was.  As a reward, they got cookies and a bottle of soda, which only added to how good they felt about the whole thing. Even Denny, being terrified of needles, who declared he would "never" give blood, felt shamed into giving when he saw how brave the two Ruth House girls were. In Uganda, blood is in great demand.  One pint can save three lives.  Sandra was so proud not only of the Ruth House girls, but of all the students who donated.  Sandra, however, was not so proud of Denny. She thinks he just needs to get over himself and stop acting like a big baby.

In light of the above, two weeks later, all the girls in Ruth House had to be tested for Hepatitis B.  This required drawing blood to determine those who have not been vaccinated for Hep B so they can be vaccinated now.  The testing is necessary because the medical records of the students simply cannot be trusted since they could be incomplete or lost or altered or whatever. The blood drawing took place on International Women’s Day, which was a day off from school.  Denny and Sandra were "off" as well, with respite house parents handling the house for the day.  Denny and Sandra had no formal plans for the day, so Sandra told the girls she would go to the blood draw and pray with those who “feared” getting blood drawn.  In hindsight, Sandra sees this as a wrong choice, never to be repeated.  (As an aside, because Denny is a big baby and he too “fears,” Sandra told him to stay home.)  

The medical team needed help with paperwork, so Sandra volunteered to assist with that.  The Ruth House girls were placed in alphabetical order and the blood draws began.  The second girl in line sat in her chair and started to cry, so Sandra moved from her paperwork to the "fearing" girl's side.  The crying grew louder and more extreme. Sandra tried to comfort her quietly but was having no effect. To get her attention, Sandra gently held the girl's face. Nothing changed. The girl focussed only on her arm and continued to cry, which was quickly becoming a wail.  Sandra commanded the girl to look at Sandra's face and not the arm.  By this time the crying and wailing had become a scream that reverberated throughout the room. All went silent in face of the girl's agonizing horror. Somehow the girl survived and the draw was completed. But from that moment on, the entire room was on edge. Only one other Ruth House girl screamed, but many had tears running down their faces while they sat in silent terror.  Those who did not “fear” comforted those who feared.  The blood draw lasted for nearly three hours. Sandra was exhausted by the time she returned home.  (As an aside, Denny thinks it was a miracle that no one died during the process. He totally sympathizes with the crying/wailing/screaming and was sooo glad that he did not have to participate.)

Concern

Visitation Day, which in nicknamed VD in Uganda (a name that makes us Westerners on campus snicker), is a day that the parents come to campus and spend the day with their kids, and meet the teachers for a parent/teacher conference.  The week before VD, we could see the Ruth House girls' moods change. Anxiety built up for many of them in anticipation of seeing or not seeing a loved one.
It is hard writing this. We remember the look on the students' faces, seeing their parents enter the campus, running to hug and greet them.  Parents also felt the specialness of the day. They dressed in their finest clothes, they wore hats, their hair was done, their faces we filled with smiles and pride, all was a site to behold.  Special events were prepared for the day.  Many of our students are on the teams for worship and for entertainment. Both groups performed for the parents. This was so fun to watch them surprise and delight their parents in this way.

Some photos of students and parents/guardians . . . 

With all the fun, though, there is a big downside. Not all students have a parent or auntie or grandparent who is able to attend.  There is nothing you can say to the student who sees her colleagues smiling, hugging, and laughing with their loved ones, while they sit alone.  Emotions heighten when the goodbyes take place at the end of the day. The joy becomes sadness, the excitement of being together becomes longing for what they are missing. 

Concerns also grow for what is happening back at home. With the parents comes news of how things are going at the village. Too often the news is not encouraging. The sick loved one who does not seem to be getting better. The absence of food. That small portion of land the family used to have that has now been taken away. The mom who had to leave the home because the alcoholic father has become so abusive the mom feels in danger.  We, as a house, are left with all these emotions. We, as a house, need Jesus to put us all back on track. One girl in particular, Barbra, has a jjajja (a grandma) who loves Barbra so much, but cannot walk because her hips are so bad. The jjajja could not come to visitors' day. In addition, no one else in the family will come to support Barbra. So Barbra was left alone on VD. Sandra talked to her. Sandra told Barbra that even though her jjajja could not come, she loves Barbra so so much and so does Jesus. Sandra told her that there are people in America that do not know Jesus, as she does, and who also have no one at home that supports them or loves them. This is the reality of our world, which is separated from God.   Barbra has an incredible faith.  Please pray for her heart that she feels God's comfort.

If you want to hear from Barbra and learn more about her story, she made a "spotlight" video that you can watch here. Barbra's video