Our Final Days in Padibe

I am grateful that Shawn posted regarding our safe arrival, and I must echo our gratitude for a safe trip back and all of the prayers from both the US and Africa that got us here safely.   I, however, must add my long-winded comments about the last few days – there is just so much that can happen in a matter of hours… and days… when on a trip like this.

Leaving Padibe

So, we left Padibe bright and early on Thursday morning.  Shawn and I squeezed into the front of the parish pick-up truck with Fr. Romano, while Tommy, Augustine, and Sr. Rufina climbed in the wide-opened bed.  We said most of our good-byes the day and night before, but I have a strong inexplicable feeling in my gut that I will see all of these people again soon.  I had fun handing out my dresses to the women I had met although most didn’t take the short ones.  I’m guessing those will go to poor children whom they will be ankle-length on. 😉 As we were heading down the dirt road to town, we passed children on their way to school, women with huge jerry cans of water on their heads and babies on their backs heading to dig in the fields, men riding less-than-stable bikes with huge loads of sugar cane strapped to the back for sale, the car stumbled to a halt as we ran out of gas.  So, I’m guessing that the two muzungus, a nun, a priest, and two innocent Padibe parishioners stuck on the side of the road were a sight to see on the a typical Thursday morning commute.  We were in a bit of a rush because our bus left for Gulu at 8:00 am and it was 7:45.  So, in a whirl-wind of about 30 minutes, we took all of our luggage, jumped on a truck to Kitgum (the next biggest city), from there jumped on rent-able motorbikes (with my HUGE roll-away luggage – no idea how the driver fit it in front of him) called Boda-Bodas, caught up with the bus, and jumped on from there.  I felt like I was in a James Bond movie.  Shawn and I were a bit skeptical, but our native friends encouraged us to follow them, so we didn’t have much say.  It was crazy, scary, and fun all wrapped up in a 30 minute adventure.

A typical Ugandan road

The bus ride is an interesting adventure in and of itself.  I have to admit that I got a kick out of the “rest stops” as they just pull over in a field and tell everyone to get out for a “short call” as they say.  After drinking a full cup of coffee and Nalgene bottle of water, I was ready for one but felt so uncomfortable doing so in front of everyone that I snuck off into the depths of the elephant grass and used the “bathroom” that I so fondly learned to use on many trips up north, cut up my legs (no wonder they wear long dresses!) and nearly missed the bus (key word here is “short” I guess).  Shawn, being the goofball he is, thought this was hilarious and took a picture of my blonde hair far off in the field of grass.  Needless to say, this picture will not be posted.

Oche Campion Jesuit School

Brick-building at Oche Campion School

When we arrived in Gulu we went to visit the Jesuit school in Gulu created and run by Fr. Tony (a Jesuit priest who was born and raised in Beaver Dam Wisconsin who has lived in Uganda for 20 years and started this amazing school about 5 years ago) whom I had already met on the way into Padibe.  The school is a wonderful creation that is based on sustainability (the kids have their own garden plots which they use for learning about innovative ways to cultivate crops and, essentially, to feed the kids, the lamps are solar-powered, the classes include tailoring which the school will eventually use to make uniforms, and construction which the teaches the kids how to help construct and build bricks for future use… and so on and so forth).  It is a boarding school that takes high-achieving kids from all areas – rich or poor – and transforms them into intelligent, empowered individuals.

Walking through the student garden plots at Oche

Tommy, our friend and host and also a headmaster at a Padibe school, was so impressed by the school as was I – this school is the most cutting-edge and hopeful school I’ve seen in all of my school visits.  I have never seen Tommy’s eyes so wide as we learned about the high-standard curriculum and all of the philosophies that are the basis of the school’s foundation.  He just kept saying “THIS is a good school” and talked about how he could get his daughter Claudia to apply for next year.  This got Shawn and I thinking about fundraising for scholarships for high-achieving Padibe, Paloga, Madi Kiloc, and Lokung kids who could not afford to attend a school such as this.  This may be where our school project is headed… but we are still brainstorming on this as well.

Oche Campion Classroom

Villa Teresa -  Visiting the Retired Sisters

Our next stop in Gulu was at Villa Teresa – a place where the retired sisters reside in Gulu.  We also had stopped here on our way to Padibe, so I had already met some of the sisters and just immediately fell in love with them – their interest in us, their openness and obviously loving spirits.  I cannot quite explain in words how lovely these women are, particularly Sr. Paolina and Sr. Maria Serena, both retired teachers who we got to know quite well. During their days at  Villa Teresa they make beautiful pictures our of banana leaves (Shawn and I were lucky enough to take some home to sell at our fundraiser – and give as gifts) and sharing their joy with all who visit them.  Sr. Paolina was one Sr. Serena’s teachers in West Nile back in the day which speaks to the fact that a good teacher inspires and creates the development of good people.  They welcomed us with a huge bag of candy they created – a mixture of sesame and sugar cane – as well as hugs and good conversation.

The sisters of Villa Teresa and me

Shawn and I interviewed them this visit as they both had such amazing stories to tell (and we want to create a paper-based “Padibe Facebook” account for people in THW parish) that we only caught parts of on our first visit.  So we enjoyed our candies around the table as they told us of their years in the teaching profession and all that they had learned and experienced.  Sr. Serena talked about how all of the “stubborn” children whom all the other teachers couldn’t reach had responded to her simply because she showed them love instead of fear.  She continued to say how all everyone really needs is love and that we are all one people, all around the world, all searching for the same thing.  As you can imagine, I was deeply moved by this women who was speaking as a testimony to all that I believe about kids and teaching.  Thank goodness Shawn was taking notes because I couldn’t stop crying.  Sr. Paolina talked about how she learned how to teach without using shaming techniques, teaching kids to tell the truth instead of scaring them into lying which also resonated with me.  She also told us about the students who had come back to thank her for her role in their development as people and how she never knew how much her career could influence people.  It was so inspiring for me to hear these teachers talk about these things that I know are true in my heart from the other side of the world.  It made my heart so happy to know them and think about all the good they have done from across the world.  I am so glad to know that there are good people everywhere – it gives me such hope for the world.

Lacor Seminary School

Lacor Seminary School Grounds

We ended our night in Gulu at Lacor Seminary with the priests there.  Fr. Eric, who I had also met on the way in, had a wonderful meal prepared and Ugandan beer waiting for us.  It was so nice to sit on the porch and decompress after two long weeks, working through all that we had seen and experienced with him.  This place really develops leaders in the Catholic community as, literally, every priest that we have met has been intelligent, focused on the re-development of these struggling communities, and over-all heart-driven.  It also has haunting bullet holes all over the walls as during the time of the rebel army, the LRA raided this place and stole 40 young boys for torture and child-soldiering.  Deacon David was here at that time and talked about how he helped some of the boys crawl up into the ceiling to hide from the rebels.  He was telling us also how the army men would dress as civilians, get information as to where and how to get into the place from the locals, plan their attack, and just take, destroy, and kill.  It is terrible unbelievable but the bullet holes and memories of the priests and students are proof that evil is real and has impacted the people here.  But again, the people here are positive, welcoming, loving and the epitome of survivors.  It has inspired me immensely.

Fr. Eric, Shawn and I

Kibale Forest National Park

The rest of our last days were spent in the Kibale National Park where most all of the wildlife resides.  Bob Okello, from the Gulu Archdiocese and friend of ours, picked us up in his Land Cruiser (we needed it!) and we headed into the park. Interestingly enough, the country is so populated that there is not a lot of wide-opened space (other than the wide array of land owned by the villagers) that I imagined would exist in Africa.  So, the animals native to Africa – giraffes, water buffalo, crocodile, hippopotamus, elephant, etc. – have to be protected in this area (also, many have been killed off due to poachers).  The animals are all wild and the people don’t interfere with getting them food or controlling the environment, so it truly did feel like the “savannah” I had always pictured (and all of the animals and landscape very much resemble the setting of my favorite Disney movie, The Lion King :)).  We started with a boat ride that took us down the Nile in which we were able to see TONS of hippos (Africa’s most dangerous animal – who knew?!) and a pretty amazing waterfall that is created by a small chasm that the Nile pushes through with great force.

Momma and baby Hippo!

Then we found our lodge and settled in for the night.  I have to admit that my first warm shower and British-style accommodations were very pleasant after a long stint in the rustic north.  The next morning, we got up at 5:00 am to head out for a “Game Ride” where a park ranger comes into the car and helps us to find the animals that we want to see.  Our first “find” (and the reason we left so early, as they are skittish) was the lions who are few in this park.  The first we saw only has three legs as the poachers caught it in the trap and the rangers literally had to amputate the leg to let it free – poor baby!  The ranger explained how the lion’s brother would do the hunting and then lead him to the food.  It’s amazing to me how nature just works together like this in order to persevere.

Our first lion sighting! (Poor baby is missing a paw...)

We then moved on throughout the savannah and saw many more African animals.  Shawn persisted that we see this part of Uganda and I am so glad that he arranged this for me to see.  It was inspiring to see the continuity and order of nature in an exotic environment such as this.  I would love to post all of the pictures of our animal sightings, but it will take up a lot of room.  Check out my facebook account for more on this.

The rest wraps up quite quickly from here.  We had our last supper with the Little Sisters in Kampala which was wonderful – they cooked, sang, and showered us with gifts of African clothing before we left.  Bob Okello was such a help in getting us a shower in a Kampala hotel before taking us to the airport.

In our last car ride together, I couldn’t help but get emotional about all that I had seen and felt in the last two weeks.  I can honestly say that every day I was there, despite the challenges, I was happy.  What’s most notable is that I didn’t have access to internet, my cell phone, a mirror for that matter, and I was so so so unbelievably happy.  I didn’t have time to over-think anything, to mull over the past, to worry about the future, or attempt to control the present.  I just woke up every day and lived like it meant something.  As I sat in the car, I tried to imagine ways that I could simplify my American life back at home so that this happiness that comes from within, from surrender, from presence, could be a part of my every day life.  Being back in my apartment and seeing all of the junk that I have that I do not need is quite an experience, to be honest, so I have a lot to process in the next few days.

Overall, I am so immensely grateful for the alteration of my vision and perspective, for the friendships I have made, for the lessons that I have learned about teaching, humanity, and what it means to be alive, that I am again, moved to tears.  Most importantly, I’ve learned that it is a good good life, despite all of the bad things that can happen and the evil that sometimes shows itself, if I just let it be and don’t tamper with it too much.  God is so very good.

Shawn and I on the bank of the Nile