LaSERIO Uganda: Days 6, 7 and 8

Written by Girlguiding LaSERIO Uganda team

Day 6

In the morning we had a lie in and then we put on our Sunday best and went to church to sing and introduce ourselves to people in the community. We received a very warm welcome from the church. After church we helped with the Sunday school, making crafts and teaching guiding songs. We got lollipop sticks and put flowers on top and lots of the children wanted to stick them to the ceiling. We had lots of fun teaching each other songs and taking lots of photos with the children - they were very happy to see us and we all enjoyed singing with them. In the afternoon we had a drumming and dancing session, where we learned how to play different types of African drum and learnt the dances to three north Ugandan songs. We then had dinner with the foster children that came to join us; we had lots of fun getting to know them and sharing stories. Another full day with lots of fun spent with the children.

Day 7

In the morning we went to sand the house down that we are going to paint during the next few days. The dust went everywhere and even went up our noses, even though we had masks on! It was a lot of fun though. In the afternoon we went to visit a family for our development challenge. The development challenge is where you are given £100 as a group to improve the lives of a family both in the short and long term. One group went to visit a single mother who looks after three children and two of her sister’s children. After many questions we found out she was struggling to pay rent and school fees. The other group went to visit a family which included a husband and wife, their four children, an auntie and a grandmother. After they spoke with the family they found out they had a school fee debt, needed basic supplies and a way to support the father’s brick-building business. When both groups returned they discussed the priorities for the families and how to best use the money. The groups were happy with how much they could purchase for 450,000 Ugandan Shillings, but also had to make tough decisions about what was not possible within the budget.

Day 8

We went to watch the school assembly in the morning and we joined in with the songs and dance moves. Then we were ready for another day of painting and getting the house ready for some colour (primrose yellow was our choice). We had our music on and were singing to pass the time. In the afternoon we were off in the minivan to go to the busy market to buy the supplies for our development challenge. We walked around collecting all the items - our mentor Resty bargaining with the stall holders and arranging deals so we could get the most from our budget. There was lots of debating on clothing and trying to find the right dress for our family’s mother and daughter. We spent most of the afternoon at Gayaza market and when we had all of our shopping list done, Abi had to bring the chicken back on her lap in the van!

In the evening we had dinner and then the Kabubbu Girl Guides came and we learned new games and songs and made friends. We took lots of photos and we sang Taps as a goodbye. We were ready for our beds after a busy day!

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