Joy in the Little Things

My apologies for the missed blog post yesterday! After a long series of flights, we finally arrived at the Ugandan airport around 11 PM. I stepped out of the Entebbe airport and inhaled the fresh Ugandan air. There we met Mark, Ekissa’s COO, and Eddie, our driver. At night, the hills of Entebbe are absolutely beautiful, covered in soft lights and people mingling in front of storefronts. The Entebbe highway resembles those in the US. As I have been told, the infrastructure has developed quite a bit since ekissa’s last trip to Uganda. We arrived at the house and quickly got ready for bed… after ice cold showers!

Our first day included getting acclimated to Ekissa’s land, including the school, demonstration farm, church, and the new children’s home. The drive to the land during the day was exponentially different from the drive during the night. A symphony of motorcycles, cars, and busy chatter filled the streets.  

The school looks incredible, especially with the smiling faces inside. I was amazed at the efficiency and sustainability of all the projects that I had seen in pictures for years. We distributed soccer balls to the kids, whose faces resembled those on Christmas morning.

For Edith and Derrick, the highlight of their day was finally meeting their two older brothers, Usher and Eddie, ages 16 and 13 respectively. Derrick and Eddie really hit it off, as they both have similar personalities and mannerisms.

Today, we took all 75 kids from both the school and the children’s home to the zoo in Entebbe on a large charter bus. Our total tally including the teachers and school staff was 102. For the children of the school, it was their first time seeing a bus and even riding in a vehicle. Moreover, a visit to the zoo was an opportunity of a lifetime for both the kids and the teachers. It tickled me and reminded me of ability that the most minute of things has in providing joy, but only if we look hard enough.