a different way of working...

So, now that I am here for a year, my time here has taken a VERY different form.  Usually, in the summers, the time is a few weeks, super-intense, and very temporal...meaning we eat out everynight, we live in temporary places, etc.  Adjusting to real-life here is taking some time.  It means I must learn to cook, to clean, where to get things here, and how to manage my time when it is no longer jam-packed teaching action every second.  Now, it is alot of keeping up with emails, researching grants and networking possibilities, and thinking through future plans for my program. 

It is the less-sexy side of what we do.  Sure, it's cool that I am in Africa...but, when the day-to-day activities involve sitting at a computer most of the day, there is not alot to talk about...or at least that YOU'D want to hear about.   But, that will be my challenge...to keep you riveted to our stories and our work and our women...because life is full of the non-sexy too....in fact, that is what MOST of life is....the non-sexy.

Stay with us over the next few weeks, as we have some cool things coming your way...and we need you even more when it is not sexy and glamorous!!!

Back in Uganda....and MARRIED!

This is my new family.  Grace, is my husband.  Edith is my boisterous 11-yr old daughter, and Timothy is my surprisingly sly 11-yr old son.  Just to eliminate confusion (kind of), Edith and Tim are not biologically related, but they've grown up together since age 2, when Grace and his late-wife (Edith's biological parents) took Tim into their home.  Edith introduces Timothy as her "twin". ha!

So, to jump right into things, since that is how I do things, apparently...ha!, the basic story is that I left Uganda at the end of August with a ring on my finger, and a plan.  I visited my family to get them on board with my marriage to a man they hadn't met, and to get their help in planning a cross-cultural wedding.  I then returned to NYC to move out of my apartment in 2 weeks, move in with a neighbor, start working, and prepare for life, work, and a wedding in Uganda.  The fall seemed at times to fly by as I worked 12-14 hour days, but also seemed to crawl as I was away from my man.  Torture.

Thankfully, talks about me working for Fount had already started and Michelle and I realized that I either could work part-time in NY for 4-5months, or about 8-9months full-time in Uganda.  So, with some of my time being spent fundraising and grant writing, I should be able to help find the funding to keep me here a year.  It became clear that my personal goals were lining up with the ideas and goals I had developed during the summer with my teams.  We had finally found a pattern that was much more efficient and productive, and I was/am anxious to fully develop it.

So, I came back to Uganda in December, and spent the first few weeks planning the wedding, attempting to move into our home, and preparing for my family's time here.  It was a crazy, but fulfilling time.  My family came in the week before the wedding, and then went on safari while we went on our honeymoon.  It was an amazing time, and you can read more details on my personal blog, which is in the works...TBA. 

We returned from our honeymoon, and jumped right into leading a team of 6 from the US, who came to work for Fount.  They led a skills camp for some of our disabled students....sports, jewelry and embroidery, and photography seminars.  It was a fun, but exhausting 6 days!!!

Once they left, we finally began to fully move into our apartment as a new family, but quickly began to prepare for Edith and Timothy to return to their boarding schools.  They left, and I have been working on getting my groove work-wise ever since!

I think I can be honest and say that this much change in such a short amount of time is taking quite an adjustment.   You can read more details of this process on my other blog, but this one will remain exclusively committed to talking about Fount's Vocation work.

I am excited to be able to spend a full year here in Uganda.  I have large goals for my time here and look forward to seeing them accomplished one at a time....and, that is what you'll hear about as you follow along. Welcome back...thanks for reading!

Teacher Training 1, July 14-16

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week were spent in our office space on Main Street in Jinja. We invited 5 HODASSU teachers and Sarah from MOHM to attend an 8-day course. We ended up with 9 HODASSU teachers and Sarah attending....and, this is after me turning down 3 other requests from strangers to join our class...ha!! Even though our classroom is behind a store and could not be more hidden, they still seem to find us.

After much frustration and hounding of the man we bought the sewing machines from, 3 shiny new machines came with tables. We set them up with minimal stress, and over several days gathered the materials we would need for our first classes.

One of the biggest needs for our groups is quality control and a refining of skills. All of these students have a strong basic knowledge of the machine and basic construction of garments. But, their sewing is often sloppy, or just quickly done. So, in pursuit of setting their work apart, we are having them complete a man's shirt from start to finish, with each step being focused on in detail.

We had them create a bag during the first day, as another way to assess their skill levels...how they grasped the concepts and instructions....how familiar they were with the machine...how confident they are. It sounds simple, but this was a new thing for us to do, and it proved EXTREMELY valuable. Taking that time made all the difference in grouping our women and focusing on what they need.

Emma and Sarah moved directly into the shirt, learning to pattern from an existing shirt, and how to change details into new styles.

The rest of the women were so pumped and motivated by completing their initial bags so quickly.

Thursday and Friday were spent teaching them to also pattern shirts from existing shirts, pretending a customer came in to ask them to copy their own. It has been tedious, but extremely valuable to go through each step of the process. we have started cutting the shirts out and by the end of the week will have 8 shirts created. Our 6 hour long classes leave us all wiped out, as we are not only dealing with heat and a small space, but also with figuring things out on the fly....focusing individual attention on each student's needs, including a deaf woman named Victoria whom we must write out all instructions to.

English class

One new thing for Sewing Hope this trip has been an english class, taught by Judy. We have capitalized on her ESL training and have started pretty much every day with an English/Lusoga class. It has been really fun to hear the women speak our language and, especially, to learn theirs. It has also been a very easy ice-breaker and bonding time for us to get to know the new groups of women. I just thought that this was a really great and quite representative picture of Judy during one of her classes.