as of late.... in pictures

The cows that like to hang outside of our gate. Look at those horns!



Joel. He loved the sound my camera made when I took a picture. So I took the opportunity to get some shots of him actually smiling!



Craft time at Dawn! As you can tell from my leg, I am working real hard by sitting on the balloon chair:)



Our Nile Excursion. I am on the top in front of the girl with the long sleeved shirt on. This is the rapid called "Big Brother." Our boat tipped over and sent most of us on a "long swim" down the river!

My favorite day so far. I found DP in a store. I bought the entire stock. OK, I didn't but now I regret that.

Snuggle time with the Drool Monkey. This boy has my heart in the palm of his hands!

Our neighbor Natalie, one of our Thanksgiving guests! Notice the candles in the background, this was before the power came back on.

We had quite the feast! It doesn't look so good in the picture, but it was delish:)

Us trying to explain what everything on the table is! This was the first time they have tried American food. The Creamed Corn and Stuffing were a hit!

Two of my three roommates, Vera and Heather.

The Nile River and A Dark Thanksgiving

I actually have time to write today because I am home sick from Dawn, the day after Thanksgiving. The power is currently off, so there is no hot water to take a shower, and our fridge is stuffed with leftovers that I am not able to heat up! Welcome to UgandaJ

I must say that rafting the Nile was the coolest experience I have ever had. It was absolutely INCREDIBLE! If you are ever in Uganda, or even close you must do it. I have never rafted before, so I was unsure what to expect. From what I heard from those who had done it before, “prepare to fall out of the raft.” I was really nervous about this because I have seen the movies. Don’t you know that the Nile River is infested with flesh eating piranhas, crocodiles, and one really big anaconda? When we got to enter point on the river our guide explained to us that we would be rafting 4 class 5 waves and then proceeded to explain that most toured rafting trip hardly even go over class 4 waves. YIKES! Needless to say, I almost lost my life countless times. The class 5 waves were so intense, and one even had a 10 ft. drop. Like promised, our boat flipped over a couple of time, and people were thrown off even more times. It felt like a really scary water ride that you don’t have a seatbelt on, and it’s not  a ride, you are really dropping down a waterfall on the Nile River. I did make it out alive, thankfully so! It was so cool being on the Nile River, it was so beautiful. It really did look a lot like the movies (minus the deadly animals). So all in all, the excursion was a huge success.

Although the Nile trip and Thanksgiving were about three weeks apart, I am going to write about both in one blog since I have Thanksgiving fresh on my mind. My roommate Heather, our friend Ashley, and I are the only Americans that we know in Kampala. We were all trying to figure out what we should do for Thanksgiving, because not celebrating it was just not an option! We decided to take on the task of cooking an American dinner for some of our friends here. Well that plan turned into a much bigger ordeal then we thought!

First, we had to try and find ingredients that would make American food with no oven. All we have in a propane stove top. It took us all wee to get down a menu that was feasible to try and make. Our menu was: Roasted Chicken from a roadside shop, Obama Chapate (in place of rolls), mashed Irish potatoes, mashed (white) sweet potatoes with a caramelized pecan crust, stuffing, gravy, creamed corn, and German meatballs.

The day of Tgiving Heather and I left Dawn early to go home and prepare the meal, because we had invited people over around 7:30 that night. We didn’t really know how many people to expect because whether we like it or not, this is Africa and Africa does not run on Dunkin, it runs on African time. This means that even though people said they were coming, it would be surprising if they were less than an hour late, if they even came at all.

When we got home our power and water was out. This isn’t too shocking, and the two usually turn on after an hour or two. We think we have plenty of time to get other things ready that do not need power or water. Well, we were wrong. Our power was off, and the power company said not to expect it until 7:30 that night! Ummmm, how are we supposed to cook without lights? But, we did what we had to do and we cooked the entire Tgiving dinner in the dark with just a few candles. You should see our kitchen this morning- a complete disaster! While one of us was monopolizing the stove the other had to prepare the food outside because it had more light than what we were getting from our candles. I mashed all the potatoes outside our front door using a glass jar. It was very comical. We had finally come to terms that the whole night would be without power so we set up candles around the flat and lit them. It was actually beautiful. The table was set with food and the living room was dimly lit. And then something crazy happened. PEOPLE CAME! Yes! We have 20 people show up. Our whole Ugandan staff from Dawn was there, some of our neighbors, and our boda driver! We also had some of our German friends show up. It was awesome (even though it was dark, and you couldn’t tell who you were talking toJ ) Heather and I decided that we were going to give everyone the history of Tgiving, and we wanted to go around the room and have everyone share what they were thankful for (a Morgan tradition). Right as Heather started to say that God provided for the Pilgrims the power came on. The house lit up and the humming sounds of the appliances make my heart literally jump! We were so happy, and the rest of the evening was awesome. We heard what everyone was thankful for, shared laughs, hugs, and life stories. It was a night I will never forget. I missed home like crazy, but this T-giving made what I was thankful for that much better.

After being in Uganda for a whole month without reliable power or a shower that is warm the whole time I am thankful not that I have those things at home. I am thankful for the relationships I have at home, my family and friends. I am thankful for the opportunities I have been given like earning a degree. But most of all I am so thankful to God for who He is, and what He has done in my life. He has never once given up on me. I am thankful for my time here and the relationships he is helping to form. I am thankful that I finally understand that it’s not about what I do, but it is about what He has done, is doing, and will do.

Thinking about how to help the Dawn Centre???

I have received a lot of inquiries about how to donate to Special Needs Day Care I am working at in Kampala. I have been working feverishly on creating programs for people at home to get involved with that will aid in making Dawn self sufficient. If you have any further questions or would like to donate please email me at carolinabrooksm@gmail.com. God Bless!
***********************************************************************************************


What is the Dawn Centre, and why should I donate?


The Dawn Special Needs Children’s Centre is the only organization of its kind in Kampala, Uganda. Dawn offers day care and many different types of therapy for physically and mentally disabled children. Because most of the children’s families cannot afford the fees, Dawn in currently caring for them for free. As a result, the Centre cannot support itself on its own. These donation programs will help Dawn increase the great work it is doing for the Kampala communities, allow the Centre to accept more children in need of Dawn’s services, and continue to provide disabled children with the therapy, education, meals, and care they need.

There are two problems that disabled children face in Uganda. For one, the poverty of most families does not allow for specialized education and care. Families view help for their disabled child a low priority behind basic needs for the entire family.


Another issue for children with special needs is that the culture views disabilities as a curse for the parents, an omen representing some type of punishment. Because of this widespread perspective, the children’s needs are highly neglected.


By donating to the Dawn Special Children’s Centre you are aiding with the two biggest problems that face disabled children in Uganda. Children who would not be able to receive the services of Dawn will be granted that, and also the importance of caring and loving for every single child, disabled or not, will resound because of your heart in giving.



*********************************************************************************
Donation Programs:


Sponsor a Child Program

The cost of therapy, day care, and two meals is $10 per day. Most children’s families cannot afford this and do not bring their children back to The Centre. This is one of the biggest problems facing Dawn. The sponsorship of a child would change the child’s life by providing meals that they may not get outside the Centre, as well as much needed therapy and loving care from the Dawn staff. There are many different ways to sponsor a child other than the flat $10 per day. Options include sponsoring a child’s therapy or their day care fees. Please contact Carolina foradditional information as well as an individual profile on each child available for sponsorship.




Adopt-a-Meal Program

Dawn Centre provides two meals a day for each child as well as all of the workers and volunteers. The food is a large expense. To sponsor a meal or even an ingredient would allow the Centre to use income on other very important things for the children.

Different things to Adopt:

Rice for a week- $5

Sugar for a week- $4

Beans for a week- $1

Porridge for a week- $1

Sponsor an entire meal- $10

Sponsor meals for an entire day- $20

Sponsor meals for an entire week- $45


Chicken Coop Program

Dawn is looking to build and maintain a chicken coop on- site. To start, this will cost 2,000,000 shillings, which amounts to $1200. The startup cost includes the chickens and materials to build the coop. The purpose of this program is to:

1) Provide sustainable meals for the children and staff

2) Provide a form constant stream of income for the Centre

3) Teach the children lessons of responsibility



Supplies for Dawn

A donation in support of Supplies for Dawn will help ensure The Centre is able to obtain the following items:


Leap Frog system, with games for 3-10 years

Small Dry Erase Boards

Specialized Chairs

Standing Frame

Toys for Therapy

Resources for Therapists

Children’s DVD’s

Wipes

Cleaning Supplies

Copy Paper

Kitchen Supplies

Beads

Coloring Books

Puzzles



***********************************************************************************************

Contact Carolina Morgan for information about how to donate at

carolinabrooksm@gmail.com
PAYPAL ACCEPTED

building my ark.

Hello EverybodyJ I was thinking I hadn’t really been able to update my blog, so I decided to throw something together real quick. It has been a week since my last post, so I have a lot to tell!

Everyday someone asks me (in different ways) if I am dealing with culture shock. A couple of days ago, I would have said that I wasn’t and that I was adjusting pretty well, thank you very much! But after this weekend I can really say with full confidence that culture shock is a real thing. It is funny because I learned the text book process that is culture shock in a few of my college classes and I thought it was a little far- fetched. Culture shock is not only real, but it is emotionally draining as well! I go from thinking everything about the culture here is wonderful and great to thinking how weird and different it is from my own. This roller coaster of loving and disliking it all at the same time is quite a trip! If what I learned is true, these feelings won’t last forever, so thank goodness for that. 

A quick view of the city while we were lost.

So what induced my culture shock coma? Getting lost. Getting lost in UGANDA.  My roommate and I had received a map of where we were supposed to go for an AIM meeting on Saturday. We called our trusty Boda driver Michael and showed him the map. Of course we have absolutely no idea how to get to this house, but pray that Michael might have a clue. Looking at the map I thought, this looks pretty easy. It was just a few turns here and a few there, no big deal. Nowhere in Uganda is a few turns here, and a few turns there. Most of that is because there are no street signs. Poor Michael had to calm our nerves down while he tried to get us to a place he had never been. After 2 hours on the back of a boda, turning around 4 times, asking 8 different people for directions, and having to hike up the steepest dirt road, we finally made it. If you know me well at all you are thinking what I was. “This is hell on Earth.” (the being lost in a way that I have no control) I was so frustrated and emotional by the time we actually arrived, 2 hours late, that I had a headache and was on the verge of crying at just the simple “hello” from the host of the house.  No wonder AIM told us to prepare to get lost….

                                                  This is Michael. Serioulsy he is our Gaurdian Angel! (the fact that we have only gotten lost a few times is a testament to that!)

Then we got lost going to church. Repeat of the story above. Two days in a row.

Enter Culture Shock.

Ok, Moving on. J This Sunday we went to church at the downtown Calvary Chapel. It was really good! It was Western enough for me to feel comfortable yet had a lot of Ugandan influence that spoke to the mostly national congregation. Worship was great, and when they sang a Hillsong worship song tears just flooded down my face. I think it was because I could sing along and praise God in language I understood, but also because of the frustration of being lost the past few days had really bothered me. As I was singing all I could hear was “You are not lost, you are right where you are supposed to be.”

I spend most of my time at Dawn, or thinking about Dawn. It is a little overwhelming all that they need. Because of the cultural perspective that disabled children are unimportant to society, even the educated staff members are not educated specifically on how to teach and care for these children. Aside from the small resource library they have that consists of a few teaching DVDs and a few books, the teachers and therapist are basically going off better judgment about what to do. The need for a professional Special Education teacher is huge, but just material and research would help the staff so much. Then there are the basic needs of the Centre like wipes and diapers, soap, food, toys, and movies. The list of needs is too big to even put on one page. The overwhelming feelings lead quickly to frustration because my desire to help and my ability to help are two different things. 

I have been reading a book that highlighted how faithful and obedient Noah was. He spent over 100 years building a boat in a dessert that had not seen any rain before because God told him to.  Noah knew how crazy it sounded that he would need a boat, but he was first obedient to God and then trusted Him that what He said was true.  I feel kind of the same in that I know God has called me to be here. He specifically wants me in Kampala, Uganda working at the Dawn Centre. I don’t know why nor do I feel even remotely qualified to do what needs to be done for Dawn.  I have doubts and frustration in my own abilities, but I do not doubt in what God can do. And that is something to  be very excited for.

 I spend a lot of time trying to find ways to get all of these needs met, and I really need to sit back and prioritize which to tackle first. I will have to take on certain things one at a time. I really feel like there are solutions to all of the problems that face Dawn and that if I spend time in prayer (first) and then really thinking creatively about them I can offer some good help. 

Ann is one of the therapists. She is with L-R Josiah, Fafad, and Esther

After my first full week at Dawn the biggest need was that Dawn is on a downward spiral in the financial department. Enter my first task. It became very apparent that to get the Centre on its feet and able to solve its own dilemmas it needed some outside help.  I spent this weekend and the past few days putting together a sponsorship and donation program for the Centre. I have been getting so much positive feedback from people at home saying they wanted to help Dawn. Here is your chanceJ I will post information about the different ways to help Dawn, and we can solve some of these problems together!  I am very excited about the potential of these programs because I see every day the faces of the children it will help.  If you need any inspiration about giving just email me, and I will gladly send you some pictures and stories of the precious little ones. +

Pool Time! We take the kids outside and play with water and they LOVE it!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This weekend I am going to raft the Nile River. I cannot wait! I am a little nervous, but have heard it's the trip of a lifetime. So if I am not eaten alive by piranhas, I will let you know how it goes:)

I am with you always

Matthew 28:20 Lo, I am with you always
I have now spent a few days in the Dawn Special Needs Centre. It is located in Bukoto, Kampala. Within one day I was absolutely sure that I was where I was supposed to be, but more than that I could see the overwhelming need that the centre. My first couple of days I spent observing, then after that Florence met with me to explain what they wanted me to do while I was here. I will be working with Rhoda, the administrative assistant, organizing their database, and going through their publications, computer files, and hopefully putting some systems in place that will make the centre run more smoothly and easily on a day to day basis. But all of that isn’t as interesting or fun to hear about as the kids, so I am going to tell you about themJ

The day was really good. I fall so much more in love with the kids everyday. I can already tell that leaving them will be really hard. They are all SO precious, and I am doing a lot better with the special needs than I thought I would. I was scared to interact with the really disabled kids because I was nervous I would do something wrong. But now I feel comfortable playing with them and moving them, and I even feel comfortable feeding them. I am not sure if you want to know, but I am going to give you a list of most of the kids so I can talk about them and you have an idea who they are.

ok here we go.

Esther- one of my favorites. She is four and is the size of a two year old, well everything except for her head. She has what they call water head. Her head is twice the size of what it should be. From what I gather, she has too much water in her brain, so recently she had brain surgery to insert a channel that takes the excess water to her urinary tract. Because of that she has to pee (tsu tsu) all the time. She is so cute because she speaks really well, and she uses proper English. She sounds like an on English woman. One of her favorite lines when she is taking a bath is “oh no, I am naked!”

Tutu- he is 8 and a quadriplegic. He cannot walk or sit up on his own. He has such a happy personality and already knows my name. You cant really understand what he says, but you can tell that he recognizes you and knows your name. He is really hard to feed because he has really bad congestions problems and has a hard time holding his head up, so swallowing is quite the task.

Fafhad- he is close to being the cutest. He doesn’t look disabled, and I am not sure exactly what his problem is. He is probably 4 and he cannot stand or walk on his own, his legs and arms do not work very well. I call him the “drool monkey.” The amount of saliva he produces in inhuman. but he is a happy kid, and loves to cuddle.

This is Joel.

Joel and Cynthia are very autistic, so they can function physically normal, but have a very hard times in social settings. I would say Cynthia and Josiah (who is the only downs kids) are the hardest kids in the center. For some reason, Joel tugs on my heart strings. He literally does not respond to anything you say.. it’s like it’s a blank wall in his head. But he came up out of no where yesterday and wanted a hug. Then today he fell asleep on me. It was great.

Abdullah is literally as skinny as you see in the commercials for starving children. He is 10 years old, has a disability that make his legs and arms deformed and he cant talk, and he wears the size of a 1 year old. Yes he is ten, and as skinny as a baby. It is the saddest thing I have ever seen. He is severely neglected too. He cannot talk or move for the most part and his family leaves him in a small dark room, where he falls off the bed all the time and they leave him there. He has scars ALL over his body. The government, as well as the culture, does not put any value into the disabled because they think they will never be able to give back to society. In turn the attitude about the disabled is that of shame. So sad.

There are more, but I haven’t gotten to know all of them as well.

In a meeting with Florence today, she was telling me how they cannot support themselves because many of the parents cannot afford to pay what the real rate should be, if they can afford to pay anything at all. If they don’t think of something to generate income and fix the problem, then the center will close. It closing is not an option because it is the ONLY thing of its kind in all of Kampala, which is just crazy. I am going to start brainstorming about ways to generate funds for the center. maybe set up an “adopt a child” thing for people at home. It costs about $10 a day for each kid to get two meals, day care, and the PT and OT, and some times other kinds of therapy. I am sure some way people would be willing to sponsor like 1 week a month, or even 1 kid a month… I don’t know…. ok that was me just thinking out loud.
*********************************************************************
We just got done with dinner. I helped Vera make rice, gnut sauce (which is this disgusting looking brownish/purplish peanut sauce from Uganda, but it tastes good), and beans with some veggies. It was a very Ugandan meal. The food here is not that bad…but not that good at the same time. Today was my day to help the cook, Vanessa, in the kitchen at Dawn. She showed me how to make porridge and we served that and bread/butter for breakfast. Then I made juice from scratch with passion fruit, oranges (they are green here, it is silly they are called oranges), mango, carrots, sugar, and water. It’s really not that good, but it tasted like the way she made yesterday, so I think I did a good job. Then we made potatoes, meat, cabbage, and spaghetti noodles plain. It is a little disturbing to watch her cook the meat. She adds all the bones and fat into the pot, and then you get that on your plate. Then you eat it and you get bits of bone…yuck. Actually, with a lot of the food you get hard particle of dirt or bone.
****************************************************************************************Tomorrow I will have been here a week. Honestly, I feel as if I have been here for much longer. God has blessed me so much in this with my roommates. I really don’t know how I would be handling this all if I was alone, or even with other people. He really knew what he was doing when He sent me hereJ When we get home at night its so comforting to be around them and we have a lot of fun.
Oh, I am also working on organizing ways for people at home to help the Dawn Centre. I am going to get a list of supplies they are in dire need of, and hopefully I can get some stuff sent over here for them. The centre also needs money to build a hen house. One ways that they are going to generate income is by keeping chickens. That will allow the children a great learning experience, provide food, and also income if they decide to sell them. Florence asked me to pray about organizing that. So, all in all, if you are interested in helping out, let me know. J I will keep you updated on final plans for whatever program I set up!
Sending love from half way across the world. Go with God!


Matthew 28:20 Lo, I am with you always

a few pics.....

Here are a few London Pictures. Nothing you have not seen in post cards... I guess you havn't seen this one. It was SO cold on top of the bus!

Proof that I was in London.

Getting a Ugandan pedicure complete with a Coca Cola, a portable foot bath, and a lot of bubbles.

Vera and her "Obama Chapate" wrapper. Chapate is a type of breadlike tortilla, crepe thing. Very good. An Obama Chapate is a different type. They are big fans of the Obama here, so they name all kinds of things after him.

This was at the Cultural Center where we saw all the traditional African dances. Let me tell you, these girls can shake their tail feathers.

Sophia, Heather, and I enjoying the entertainment.