Salama

Me, Lindsay, and some of our adorable children! From left to right of the 4 who are actually in the picture: Kawesa, Joseph/Jon, Paris, and Innocent. Kawesa can see only a tiny tiny bit and that's if he is like right up next to something. Jospeh can see rather well. Paris sees only a little bit also and Innocent has limited sight as well.
Me and Jon-pee pants and all! :)



As some of you may know, but not all of you, I am doing an internship all semester at a place called Salama, which is a school for blind children. It is P1-P7, which is basically 1st-7th grade and the ages vary from like 7-18. Since some of these children have mental disabilities as well as being blind, they are behind and may be 12 but in a P2 class. Also, I think since they are blind, people treat them as if they are disabled when actually they are very talented. There are some older boys at the facility who can see pretty well, but still learn how to read and write in Braille, as well as in English. They are teaching the children English, but it is a slow and steady process. I do believe these children are truly special because they are conquering so many obstacles in life. Being blind in Africa is looked down upon and often seen as being cursed, so many families shun their children from their homes. Salama is a boarding school and offers a God-centered curriculum for these children to learn from.

When I first visited Salama, we got a tour of the compound and met the children. They were so welcoming and so very excited to have visitors that wanted to actually talk with them and learn from them. I have been helping there for over a month now and these children have already drastically altered my life. I know they have helped me just as much as I have helped them. When I asked some of them to teach me Braille, they got so excited, because I don't imagine they get many opportunities to share what they know with others. They teach me Braille and I attempt to teach them English, to the best of my abilities. One of the difficult tasks is conquering not only a language barrier, but a visual barrier as well. There are quite a few children who are completely blind and don't speak English very well. Between their broken English and my broken Luganda, we make quite a funny scene. However, we seem to manage and I enjoy ever moment spent there. It is also hard because a lot of the teachers are blind too and they also don't speak much English. A lot of the time, I am basically in charge of what I do and who I spend my time with while at Salama. It was a challenge at first to be somewhere that didn't have much organization, but now I am using that to my advantage and attempting to turn it into something good. It does allow for me to go to the different classrooms and just observe what they are learning. Me and some of the other girls who help there have also been taking children books and reading to them. They love to hear us read and we could read the same story over 10 times and they wouldn't be sick of it. The book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" has proven to be a crowd pleaser! :) Some of the kids who can see a little bit like to try and look at the crazy pictures on every page. I think reading to them has been one of the best experiences for me, just to see their faces light up even if they don't know every word that I am reading to them. On that same subject, one of the boys who can see pretty well, named Kato, he read one of the books to me and my friend Grace who help there and it was sooooo rewarding! He didn't know a lot of words, but he did his best and we helped him with the rest. I was so proud of him because I know this wasn't an easy task for him.

The story of little Jonny: There is a boy named Jon at Salama who quickly became my favorite! I am not sure how old he is, but he is under 8 and weighs about negative pounds. He looks almost like a cartoon character because he has these 2 HUGE teeth in the front of his mouth and that is about it. He is completely blind and also has some high form of autism(I think). There is def. some type of mental disability there. He can't speak English, but he is great mimicking what you say. His phrase of choice is always "Wasuze Otyanno" and I always say "Bulungi." This tends to be our only conversation for hours on end when I am there. He loves to be tickled and read to. Most of the time he just wants to jump with you and swing. I usually walk with him around the compound since he can't really be in a classroom setting and generally doesn't get much attention. The teachers are very busy with other students and are already under staffed as it is. The one thing Jon is known for is peeing his pants. He generally pees his pants at least 6 times within the 4ish hours I am there a day. That was hard for me to deal with at first, but now I am just used to it I guess. I am weird and love it when babies cry, or when little children pee their pants, because I know they need someone to love and help them and I am excited to be that person! Jon knows it's me whenever I come because he feels for my bracelets and them smells my hands. haha! He is changing my life more than he will ever know and I hope that I am blessing his life a little each day.

A day at Salama can look very different depending what time I do, but for the most part, I help out anywhere I can. I have taught a class-scary! I usually do laundry for a couple of hours each day, I help clean the compound, I teach English, I sit in on classes, I learn Braille, we have about an hour of prayer/worship time, we play games, read books, etc. This past Tuesday, my friend Grace and I stayed the night at Salama for the 1st time. I was a bit nervous because I didn't know what to expect, but I ended up having a blast! We went Tuesday (10/12) at 1:30pm and didn't leave until Wednesday (10/13) at 5:00pm. It was sooo wonderful to see the kids at night and see how outgoing they became. During the school day, they are more reserved and polite. But, at night, they let loose just had so much fun with us! We all got to know each other a lot better and I really enjoyed myself. The next day I was deathly tired, but I stuck with it and had a great rest of the day anyways. This internship is definitely one that will stay with me and has encouraged me to perhaps work with blind children later down the road or even mentally handicapped children. God is opening so many doors and changing my life one day at a time. Just from working at Salama already, I feel like I perhaps have made some difference in at least one child's life.