Pictures, pictures, pictures...

Merry Christmas Lanyero!!

Dear Lanyero (Acholi name for bright, always smiling),
...Because I do not have the money with which to buy a fancy present and because you are always at my side, I thought I would post a fancy message on our blog to someone who has become an extension of me in the last five months.
Kaitlyn, I just want to say thank you, for lack of finding better words to describe the gratitude I have for your presence. If it weren't for you, I never would have had the courage to come on this trip. I never would have had the energy to get up on some, or rather many days. You provided me H-E-L-P while white water rafting, you gave me strength and comfort on our harrowing drive to Pader, you challenged me to push harder when we were working in the harshest of conditions in the North, you rubbed my back when I couldn't feel my legs (its really not as serious as it sounds!) in Pader, you continued to make me laugh hysterically in the dark confines of our "room" aka cell in Pader, you had the patience to persevere through our two hour long assessments when I couldn't stand to ask someone one more time what their houses look like (its a grass hut dammit!!!), you slept on a papyrus mat by my bed while I moaned for three hours thinking I was going to be sick, you endured my heat and hunger-enduced bad moods, and you kept me thoroughly entertained these last few nights with your amazing knowledge of Christmas songs. You have continued to surprise me with your energy, wit, charm, spirit, confidence, courage, inner and outer beauty and ability to be the most multi-dimensional person I know. You can drink until 6am, interview war-affected children with the warmth and compassion of the Dalai Lama, dance larakaraka with the full approval of the Acholis, describe with the most accurate and eloquent of words the friends we have met and the experiences we have had, you can say the Pledge of Allegiance in Japanese, you know more about world history than anyone I know (except maybe my Dad, which you remind me of constantly), you love to read books, especially Gone with the Wind, but at the same time love watching stupid, funny movies with the exception of Nigerian movies!
Well, I could go on but mostly I just want to say thank you again. We only knew eachother for a short time before we came on this trip and it honestly could have been such a disaster but infact it was the best time of my life. I would have wished for no one else by my side for these last five months.
Merry Christmas to my best friend, my pseudo-sister, and my (white) African Queen (we are gonna make that song a hit when we get home!!) ...
I love you! Love, Christina "Aneno"

And for the words that I could not find, here are some more to say thank you for your friendship ...
"Thus nature has no love for solitude, and always leans, as it were, on some support; and the sweetest support is found in the most intimate friendship."
- Cicero

"What is a friend? A single soul in two bodies."
- Aristotle

"Strangers are exciting, their mystery never ends. But, there's nothing like looking at your own history in the faces of your friends." - Ani DiFranco

Home Stretch

Greetings...
This past Friday we finished our last day of field research in Gulu!! It is a huge sense of relief and also accomplishment but our work is not nearly done. We are now taking on the arduous task of compiling our assessments and praying that we don't get writer's block in the process. Although, finding somewhere quiet and conducive to writing is proving to be very difficult in Uganda. (We are now working at the gigantic US embassy - under tight and constrictive surveillance!)
Upon our arrival in Gulu we were curious about what the town would offer for us, especially after our Pader experience. Gulu is the epicenter of NGO work done in the North. We have never seen so many NGOs in such a compact, congested area. The town is bustling with businesses, restaurants, guest houses and discos. It is nice to see that even in the middle of a war zone the town is thriving and we think it will only get more developed as the hostilities wane.
Our first week in Gulu was spent banging out yet more assessments, which started to take close to two hours as we began asking more in-depth follow-up questions. We visited both World Vision and GUSCO, the two reception centers in Gulu, interviewing the recently returned youth there. We also linked up with Charles'(a friend of ours from AU) brother, Simon who works for CCF (Children's Counselling Fund) and who took us around to the area IDPCs where we conducted more assessments with the vulnerable children there. The second week we were in Gulu we were lucky enough to go on some field visits with NGOs. The highlights of the week were travelling with GUSCO on a reunification and visiting one of the night commuter shelters. The reunification allowed us to see a cleansing ritual performed on a boy who was just that day reunited with his family after months in the bush. The cleansing ritual is performed in order to rid the boy and family of any evil spirits that may be haunting them. It was incredibly touching and ceremonious. There were many tears shed as the family and their boy saw each other for the first time in months. We have the event on camera and video and look forward to sharing it. The night commuter shelter, where about 300 children between the ages of 5 and 18 years, trek to every evening to avoid the possible night abductions by the LRA. The children sang and danced for us for three hours! Their energy level and spirited souls were awe-inspiring.

Additionally, we went on field visits with AVSI (an Italian NGO), Save the Children, War Child Holland and a follow-up visit with GUSCO. It gave us a ground-up perspective on the psychosocial work being attempted by these various NGOs. We were finally able to witness some of the practical components of the programs we have heard so much about.
We've gained a better understanding of how organizations function (or don't function) within complex emergencies. Again, ambushes, killings and abductions continued to erupt all around us, creating a great deal of fear among the NGOs travelling for field visits, as well as for the Acholi people living their daily lives. The cyclical nature of this conflict has become all too apparent to us, where come Christmas time the LRA wants peace, but the government is not prepared to negotiate and the inverse of this is true at other times of the year. We spoke with many people who honestly believe this conflict is nowhere near a peaceful conclusion, even though LRA forces seem to be weakening and the ambushes aren't as frequent as they were several years ago.
Our second week there we were also able to enjoy all the comforts of a real home - a bed, shower, bathroom, kitchen, dining room, living room and even a little pooter scooter kitten!! Andrew, a recent graduate of AU's SIS who is working on landmine sensitization for AVSI, was nice enough to put us up for free at his very nice house AND cooked delicious meals for us!! After travelling for four months nothing felt better than to relax on his front porch, listening to music and drinking margaritas after a long day in the field. Although at the same time, it added to the surreal feeling that is everpresent in Gulu; that despite the ongoing conflict luxuries are still available to those priviledged few.
We are now back at the old familiar Blue Mango in Kampala hanging out with our friends, counting down the days that we have to spend with them. The weather is getting hotter and hotter, making it all the more shocking to see Christmas trees up and lights draped over the palm trees. We plan on spending Christmas at the Blue Mango with some friends, leaving on December 27th for Nairobi, flying out on the 29th, and finally home on the 30th.
There is a bittersweet feeling for both of us as we are preparing to leave this country and our friends behind, though we will be ready to ring in the New Year when we return and we look forward to sharing all of our stories and pictures with anyone that is ready to endure it!
Thank you again for everyone that provided both emotional and financial support for this trip, we could not have done it without you!
Wishing everyone happy and safe holidays. You are all in our thoughts.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! With love,
Christina and Kaitlyn

On the road again...

Greetings all ...

We are in Lira as of yesterday. We spent today at Rachele Reception Center interviewing some of the recently returned children there. On Monday we will travel to Gulu. We plan on staying in Gulu for two weeks speaking with the children at the reception centers as well as making visits to the camps to interview the vulnerable children living there. Already we feel such relief and happiness to be back in the North and doing something, anything that brings us closer to learning about the lives of these friendly, generous, beautiful people. We love Kampala and Entebbe but it is difficult to be in Uganda, so close to the conflict, yet not doing anything constructive with the people who are affected on a daily basis.
Uganda has started spreading their holiday cheer, just this morning while we were getting dressed we heard "Feliz Nevidad" blarring from one of the stereos below. It is so odd to be hearing Christmas music when it is 100 degrees outside.
We will try to post from Gulu, until then, good luck to all who are finishing up their semesters and happy holidays to all as well!

Love, Christina and Kaitlyn
PS Thanks to all that wished Kaitlyn a happy birthday, it really made the day that much more special. You will all be happy to know that Kaitlyn received a surprise visit from Michael Jackson at her birthday party in Kampala and we have pictures to prove it! He really is the one-gloved wonder! It was a birthday she will never forget!!!

Hello All, More pictures ... they are coming slowly but surely. The first picture is of Kaitlyn and I at one of the primary schools in Pader with our newly formed peace group. The next picture is how we got water in Pader - pumping it from a hole and then filling the 20Liter jerry cans. We had to buy the 20L - for about 25cents and it would last us a day or so, depending on if we showered or not. The dancing picture is from Independence Day - back in early October - we have some video footage of that too - unbelievable!! The drawings were done by a young boy that was abducted, 14 years old. The other picture is of us in Pajule which is a small IDPC town right outside of Pader Town Council. We went there to interview some traditional chiefs when we ran into this curious looking fella just chilling on the side of the road.
We are leaving tomorrow for a three day trek to see some of the most impressive waterfalls in Africa, as well as some chimpanzees and other Uganda wildlife. On Thursday we have arranged to celebrate an American Thanksgiving with some of our other American and Canadian friends that are here, so we will also be enjoying turkey and pumpkin pie!
FYI - Kaityn's birthday is a week from Monday - November 28th - so send lots of e-love!! :-)
Miss and love you all!
Christina and Kaitlyn

One more try ...

Hello again,

Sorry for some of the duplicate posts and pictures, we've been having a rough time with internet, so just bear with us ...
The top picture is of us at CCF reception center - all the kids with us are recently returned child soldiers, the middle picture is of Kaitlyn and I at Victoria's house on my birthday - that was supposed to be a different picture but I just relinquish all control to this computer and it does as it wishes. The final pictures are of some grass huts (obviously) that line the main road leading into Pader Town Council. As we get more blog savvy we might even be able to load a handful of different pictures ... don't hold your breath tho!
Thanks for your patience,
christina and kaitlyn

Pictures and latest news from Uganda...

Greetings everyone,

Thank you to all those that called or emailed for my birthday, we had a blast celebrating at a bbq with some friends we have made here - as well as some friends from DC!

For those of you who don't know .... Kampala has been the site of some pretty interesting riots over the last few days ... take a look at this BBC article ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4435490.stm
Last Friday the riots were centered around fee increases at Makere University where four students were shot and killed as well as another riot that took place in front of the parliament building. We walked through a couple of clouds of tear gas but nothing too serious. Yesterday Presidential hopeful Dr. Besigye was arrested on some trumped up charges from years ago that sent the city up in chaos with massive looting, marching and general political upheaval. We were in Entebbe at the time and heard it all unfold via radio. We will be in Kampala on Thursday and will get a first-hand account of what's going on there.

Our work with Victoria has been stimulating, although we are eager to get back up North. We leave around December 4th for Gulu.

We tried to upload some pictures so let us know if the pictures come through, if not, we will try again ...

Love to everyone!!