Ente, ente, embuzi

The past two weeks have been great! Our involvement in the other four primary schools in Ndejje has resulted in an increased number of attendees at our soccer practices on Saturday, as well as the number of kids who stop by the youth center after school. It is finally starting to feel like a legitimate after school program and there is a core group of kids who consistently show up at the youth center daily. During our intern training session in Berkeley prior to leaving for our different SWB sites, we read a quote which basically said that kids will smile and have fun, regardless of whether or not we are present in their lives. So, I have really struggled with wondering whether or not we are actually making a difference here. These past two weeks though have solidified my belief that SWB's presence really is making a difference in this community though and in the lives of the kids whom we are interacting with. The kids love spending time with us at the youth center or on the pitch because it is really the only escape they get from working hard at school or working hard at home doing chores.

The more time I spend around the kids, the more I find myself smiling and laughing. We have to be creative when we participate in sports days at other schools, because we have a lot of kids to entertain and often not enough space for them to all play soccer at once. So we usually split up the groups and have half of them playing soccer and half of them play another game and then switch. One game which they love is duck, duck, goose, although I changed the name of it to ente, ente, embuzi (cow, cow, goat in Luganda). They get quite a kick out of going around the circle saying cow, cow, cow, goat, and they laugh even harder when I am doing it, probably because they think it is hilarious to hear mzungus speaking Luganda.

Usually we only work with the older kids who are in P3 and above because they actually understand English. However, at HOPE school we also have sports day with the younger kids every other week as well. Last Thursday it was my turn to do sports day with the little ones, and what a day it was. As we were walking from the school to the pitch, I literally had six kids hanging off my arms, all trying to hold my hands at once. Once we got to the field, none of the really little ones even wanted to play football, so I had to come up with an alternative way to entertain them. We started singing the head, shoulders, knees, and toes song and would keep repeating it faster and faster and the girls loved it! Who knew that you could entertain a group of 8 year old girls with that game for a good twenty minutes?!

On Saturday we had our best training session yet. There was also a group of university students visiting from Holland who wanted to check out the SWB program, so they came out to Ndejje to observe. They thought it was so cool the program we have going here, and it was fun for the kids to get to meet some new people and get to show off their soccer skills! After the training session, we took everyone back to the youth center, and the Netherlands group wanted to interview us on film. Adam, Heather, and I, along with two of our players, Deborah and Esther, sat and answered questions about the SWB program in Ndejje. One question that was directed at Esther was, "Why do you enjoy playing football and being involved in SWB?" Esther placed her hands on Heather and me and responded, "I really like being around them because they are girls who are good at soccer and help me to get better. I really want to be like them." And at that point I started crying (kind of embarrassing) because it really solidified what I believe our purpose is here and the kind of impact I hope we are having on the kids. It is rare for girls to have a strong female role model to look up to in this culture, so it is comforting to know that Heather and I can fulfill that need and that the girls we are working with actually appreciate it.

So, I love all of these kids so much, and they really do make my time here so amazing. I still have a long time until I leave for good in June, but every time I think about saying goodbye to these kids I start to get choked up. Good thing I still have a ways to go! I am tempted to just pack all of them up in my suitcase upon my return to the states! A key to happiness is involvement in meaningful work, and that is how I feel about my work here. I was so blessed growing up to have adults like my parents, coaches, teachers, friends' parents, etc. who made me feel valuable and special and encouraged me. Many of the kids here don't have adults like that in their lives, and they just light up whenever we spend time with them or tell them they are good at something. I am grateful for all of the people who told me that I was worthwhile, and I am so excited to be able to do the same for these kids, and hopefully the time we spend with them and the words of encouragement will make a lasting impression on them as well.