June 6, 2012

June 6, 2012    Ok, I'm gonna try and catch y'all up.  Sorry it's been a little while, since the teams been here we haven't really been able to get the Internet up bc there are too many people trying to use it!  It's definitely been an eventful couple of days with the team here, which has been good but exhausting.  Sarah and I got to take Monday morning off, which was so nice because we went to the pool in town with our friend Kristin.  In the evenings we've been doing what's called an open air crusade.  Basically it consists of live music with dancing and the preacher here from Florida with the team preaches a short message.  It's definitely been a new and fun experience.      Tomorrow morning Sarah, Katherine, Bosco, a family with the team, and I will be heading up north for safari.  We'll be there from Thursday until Saturday.  Katherine said we could go out for 2 or even 3 land safaris (if we have time) and 1 water safari.  Saturday afternoon we'll leave and head to Entebbe to drop off the team at the airport.  Saturday night the rest of us will stay the night in Kampala and head back to Kamonkoli on Sunday.      Now to the real stuff.  Last time I was here in 2009 I became very fond of a little girl (unsponsored at the time) named Eva.  When I came back this time I was so excited to see her again and find that she's sponsored now.  She's 8 years old and goes to the primary school that i teach at, which is exciting for me because I get to see her everyday!  Monday evening she came to the crusade with a black eye and a swollen jaw.  Katherine asked her about what happened and she told her that she had been beaten by her grandmother who takes care of her.  Now, I've also been told Eva is a very stubborn child and may have fought with her title sister, BUT there is still no excuse for that type of beating... At least not in America.  Pastor Charles took a look at her and told us to take her to the dentist to get looked at.  Sunday morning when she came into church it was 5 times more swollen than the day before, so Bosco and I took her straight into town to the dentist.  The dentist took a look at it and decided the tooth had been knocked loose and was infected, which explained the severe swelling.  He said he would have to pull the tooth in order for the infection and swelling to go away.  Now, I absolutely hate the dentist, so when I heard that I got scared but decided I wanted to play the "motherly" role in the situation and give her a sense of safety and security.  I stood right next to her holding her hand and stroking her arm calmly telling her it's ok.  The dentist proceeded to pull out this huge needle to numb her gums with.  Now, in America we get numbed with a topical numbing cream before the needle, but not in Africa.  So this little 8-year old girl is sitting in this chair screaming as the dentist puts the needle in her gums and I'm rubbing her arm and trying to soothe her while Bosco has his hands on her shoulders trying to comfort her.  I have never in my life seen a child in that much pain.  It was heart wrenching for me to watch and listen to, but I knew if I lost it it would make it even worse for her.  The dentist had to inject her twice with the needle and she screamed and cried the whole time.  While he was waiting for the numbing to take effect she just sat there crying and I was holding her the best I could n that chair trying to comfort her.  Finally, she calmed down but only until he pulled out this huge tool to pull the tooth with.  She started crying again and was gripping my hand and as soon as he got hold of that tooth and pulled she screamed a scream that sounded like someone was being severely tortured.  I lost it, just started crying.  Luckily, my face was behind her and she didn't see me and I gathered myself before she saw me.  After the tooth was pulled she just cried.  Now to preface what I'm about to say I need to tell you that Eva isn't a very affectionate child.  A lot of the children here love to be held and babied, but not really Eva.  I assume that it's a result of a lack of love in her home life, which has probably hardened her, which breaks my heart because she really is a sweet girl.  So anyways, after her tooth is pulled we go get in the car and I pulled her up in my lap and just held her (probably more for my comfort than hers) and she slowly stopped crying and laid her head on my chest.  We just sat there quietly the whole way back to the village.  I decided to take the responsibility of giving her her medicine for the next 4 days because I didn't wanna try and rely on her grandmother to be responsible for it.  So everyday for the past 3 days I've had the opportunity to bond more with her and she is almost completely recovered! The swelling is gone and her beautiful smile is back!  If you wanna see Eva I have a picture of her on my Facebook.  I wish I could adopt her, I would do it in a heartbeat if I could. I know I love that child.    So that's just one of the many many stories of children in this village and another eye opener of the differences in cultures.      A side note for everyone, there is a brand new clinic right in the village on the compound where we live that was fully funded by a doctor from Huntington, west virginia! How cool is that?!  Anyways that's all for now, safari tomorrow! Miss and love you all :)