Sunday, August 17, 2008

Walk in Nansana



We are staying in Nansana, basically a suburb of Kampala. We are very fortunate that we have running water and electricity. As Tanya and I walk along the red, dirt road with huge cervices we realize that most everyone is outside (houses are fairly small). There is laughter, crying and talking in the air. People are giving children baths in small plastic basins, ladies are braiding each others hair, children are playing small soccer games in their front lawns, children are carrying huge, yellow plastic jugs of water on their heads or sometimes have 5-6 jugs tied to a bicycle that they are pushing down the road. Although the area would be considered poor by American standards, you can definitely sense a strong bond between the people and a strong sense of community.

All the while the children shout ‘Mazungu’ which means ‘Hello, white person.’ Everyone is very friendly and respond to our greetings of ‘Hello” or “Oliettia”. Tanya stopped to play with some of the children while I talked to a lady who was ready to deliver her child – I think she was walking to help induce labor.

2 comments:

Jared Mackey said...

Tanya & Chady -

Thank you for the reminder of the red dirt roads, laughter of children, and daily recognition of God's provision.

The candles at TNL were lit on Tuesday reminding us of our friends who are away.

Grace and peace.

Bejunni said...

Hehe... very interesting blog about my home town. I like the statement "...you can definitely sense a strong bond between the people and a strong sense of community." Its the reason why i grew up from there.

Oh by the way, the word is "Mzungu" not Mazungu and we use it to refer to people of European descent.

And then "Oliettia" is actually two words, "Oli Otya?" meaning how are you in one of the local languages called Luganda