Private School in Soroti

By Sara

When my parents visited, we got to visit the Christian nursery and primary school that our supervisor and his wife started in Soroti.  It was really nice and we enjoyed seeing all of the students.  A bunch of them sang songs or recited rhymes for us when we came to their classroom.  These are some of the pictures that my parents took.

Here are the youngest students.  We enjoyed seeing the different fruits and animals that they learn about, compared to American children. For example, mangoes, pineapple, and guava. 

These are the animals that you might find at these kids' homes:

In this picture you can also see what people use for cleaning at home: a hoe, a broom (different from the kind used in the US), a slasher (for cutting grass), a panga (machete), etc.

Some of the older kids.  They were very happy!

Clay Oven Party

We recently had a bunch of people over to let them see how the clay oven works.  Some of the people from partner organizations or our community might want to try building one someday since it is cheaply made from local materials.  This gave them an opportunity to see how it works and what you can make in it.

We started out removing the coals from the oven and sweeping the floor clean.

Then, we made pita bread.

A couple pizzas (this was new for some people - Ugandans don't really eat cheese).

Although people arrived little by little, we kept adding guests throughout the day.

Here is a picture of some of the things we made (from left to right): sweet potatoes, pita bread, and regular loaves of bread.  We also baked eggs, bananas, and after everyone left and the oven was cooling off, I made granola.

Everyone left satisfied by enough food and with some leftovers to take home!

Shopping in Uganda

By Sara

While bartering for food, Anthony and I pretty much never take pictures of the market.  But when my parents visited, they had some leisure to take some great pictures of what it looks like to shop in Uganda.  These are pictures from the new market in Mbale and the Arapai weekly market near Soroti.

When we lived in Mbale, the market was very cramped and made of random bits of metal and tarps for the roof, with narrow and muddy paths between vendors.  The government has been building new markets around the country and the one in Mbale was completed late last year.  It is a vast improvement and makes it even more fun to visit (I already like shopping for fresh food).

The market has more than one floor, so here is the view of one of the sections where they sell produce, from above.

We also visited the big, weekly market that takes place near Soroti.  People come from all over the area to sell pretty much everything.  Here are some giant piles of the tiny fish that we feed to our dog:

These are tamarind pods - I use them to make a tart juice and also made jam out of some that I bought here.

And here are some of the meat vendors:

Rainy Season

By Sara:

Here is a set of pictures that shows the progression of growth in our yard from the beginning of the rainy season.  We took each one exactly one week after the one before.