As usual, life has been pretty crazy for us. When I say crazy I mean crazy in the best way possible.
Our week started with spending Easter Day rafting the Nile. It was a great way to spend the day working together, paddling through class 5 rapids. Once again we were lucky enough to have our friend Drew come and enjoy the day with us. It was a full raft, with a total of 10 of us in the morning. However, after a lively rapid, the Nile emptied us all from the raft into the river. Those were some of the most confusing and thrilling seconds of the trip thus far.
From rafting we began our week volunteering with Soft Power Education. Soft Power oversees work in more than 45 schools in the area. Like Edirisa, they do work with disabled children. They have a clinic open for children to come to and receive education in the mornings. We were fortunate enough to have the chance to visit the clinic. On the day’s we went there were few children in attendance. We still were able to work with the kids that were there on their shapes, numbers and colors. We also did some physical therapy with a boy who has cerebral palsy. We also were able to work with Nursery school children and run seminars on what a disability is. We had to clarify that special needs are not cause by witchcraft, demons or evil spirits. It was cool to see how the children responded to the program and I would be interested to see how this sort of program works with children in primary school or even older. After spending a day with each of those projects we started our last painting project of the trip! We primed and painted the outside of two buildings. Though my painting T-shirt makes it clear that I am not a neat painter, I am proud of all the random splotches that cover it.
During this week we have been living with the incredible Mama Flow. She is such an amazing lady who has a smile and laugh that could make anyone feel at home. On top of that she is an amazing cook. She even has me eating vegetables, and liking it! I cannot believe I just said that.
After a few days more days with Soft Power next week, we will be off on our free travel for a few days of volunteering with the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary!
We miss everyone back home (dogs included) and we can’t wait to fill you in on our new adventures.
~Kyle Houlihan