Well I guess you know by now I couldn't get both e-mails on one post,
I am sending you the second e-mail I received from my Sister. It
really hits home what a sad state these poor people are in.
There is also the page from her daily journal that she keeps that you
should find very thought provoking.
Here is what I received...


Jiggs

You are right, internet time is difficult to find and when one finds
it - the only one here in Same - there are only three computers and
they are very slow. You just happen to catch me on the two days I am
in town getting prepared for Monday's workshop we are giving
somewhere a distance from here which means this is the last email I
will have access to until next weekend.

Wow! that is exciting that your friends have offered to help with
some books - I have attached my latest diary that talks about the two
schools we visited yesterday. You are more than welcome to share it
with your friends. Diana and I are working with an NGO here whom we
trust and is willing to help us. The name of the man we are working
with is Father Satonga. We will be able to provide income tax
receipts for Canada not sure about the States - will have to check on
that. The books the students need can be purchased here for
approximately $4.00 each. Diana has worked with Father Satonga before
and he has offered to ensure any funds we are able to raise will go
towards whatever we decide is most important. At the moment, we would
like to see that there are no more than two children to a book - a
book for each child seems impossible. Diana has brought some funds
she raised before coming here and we are using some of that to make
up teacher resource packages and provide books for some of the
schools. The the need is sooooo great. It brings tear to my eyes
when I think of all we have and how little they have. I feel silly
right now sitting here in the internet cafe with tears in my eyes :-)

We want to talk to Rotary and other organizations when we get home
because we believe we can help at the grassroots level. Often large
NGOs provide lumps somes of money and no one knows where it is spent.
We can direct where we want it to go and be sure it will reach the
children who are in the greatest need. It is difficult to describe
the situation we have found here but would love to share it with you
when I get home in April. We are here for a couple of more weeks
giving workshops and then we are heading to Burundi where it is
supposed to be even worse if that is possible. I have lots of
pictures I can share with you and your friends when we get home.

Enough for now, my time is running out on this computer and I want to
email Lloyd and Kim.

So happy for you that you are finally going to get your wheelchair -
Christmas in March :-). In your own way, you are giving back the
same way I am. You are helping those who have PPS to deal with their
situation. I believe it is important to talk about difficult
situations - it makes it much easier to deal with things when you
know others are going through the same thing. Coping strategies can
be discussed and tossed out there for them to think about. Keep up
the good work. I too am proud of you.

Thanks also for understanding what these kids are going through and
wanting to help - one can't help but be touched by these beautiful
children who could succeed if only they were given a fair chance.

I am sorry but I have to run as computer time is almost gone.

hugs and lots of love for now
take care and please keep in touch
All my love norma


Friday evening February 29
Well, we managed to visit two primary schools this morning. The
students were all very excited to have visitors and the teachers saw
it as an opportunity to take a break from teaching. The first class
we visited was Standard V where there were 108 students who were
sharing ten text books. The children sit in groups of ten or more to
enable them to share the limited resources available to them – it is
really difficult to see how they can succeed with so little. The
second class had only fifty students and five books – ten children to
a book! It was interesting to watch them all crowd around a book
when they were asked to respond from material written in the book.
They were all eager to answer; many hands shot up immediately wanting
to provide the answer. It was difficult to watch; some of these
children are bright students and given the opportunity, who knows
what they could achieve.
From there one of the teachers took me on a tour of the different
class rooms which were in different stand alone mud brick buildings
set around a small courtyard. The doors and windows have no
coverings and the classrooms themselves were void of any colour or
decoration – four gray walls and at the front a rectangular section
of the wall was coated with black paint to function as a blackboard.
The classes all had more than fifty children sharing a limited number
of books.
At the back of the compound there was a small one room mud brick
building where an old woman was preparing lunch for the children.
Inside this room, she had three enormous pots (approximately three
feet across and two feet high, to help you get a visual image)
sitting over wooden log fires. The pots were all full to the brim
with a bubbling mixture of brown beans. I asked where they got the
money for the food – was it provided by the government?? I was told
no, they had to try to get money from parents who themselves had no
money. Apparently, the government has asked that all primary schools
provide a lunch for the children, but they don't provide any funds.
For some students it is the only substantial meal they get for the
day and at that it is marginal – sometimes beans and sometimes maize
(corn). As we left the cooking area, we passed a small pile of
wood. The teacher, Maria Joseph, told me they had to go long
distances to collect wood to prepare the food and I can understand;
the area is hard packed clay, very dry with little vegetation. As
for water to cook the beans and maize, it arrives in dirty yellow
plastic jerry cans loaded onto a push cart–from how far way, I am not
sure - I will have to check on that.
From the schools, we went to the internet to see if we would have
better
luck than yesterday. We were successful, but it took me two hours to
open and send a very limited number of emails. Diana and I have
decided that the long walk home from the internet is therapeutic; it
helps to get rid of the frustrations that have been built up trying
to open and close windows on the computer.
While we were at the internet, two school inspectors came by for a
chat. We went to the only restaurant in town and chatted about the
problems facing teachers, students, and others who are attempting to
make an impossible situation better
We are now waiting for dinner - orders must be place thirty minutes
before dinner so here we sit in an open area, me with a beer and
Diana across from me reading the day's news. Our waiter will be
coming out shortly to let us know all is ready and I don't have a lot
to add so I will close for the day. We have a lot of work to do
tonight on putting together a package that needs to be photocopied
for Monday.
Hope all is well at home.
Hugs and lots of love to all
norma


Well people as you can see, things are very desperate and bleak for
the people who try to eak out a living in such primitive surroundings.
I also felt rather silly sitting here last night reading my Sisters e-
mails with tears in my eyes. How very sad this is.
Oh and by the way, Lloyd is Norma's husband,my Brother-in Law, and
Kim is Norma's daughter which I guess means she is my niece...lol
When she spoke of me helping all of you, my friends, cope with this
PPS, I think she misunderstood when I wrote about our group. I need
to let her know when she gets home, that it is all of you that helped
me come to grips with this awful situation again, not the other way
around.
As for helping to get books to these children who are so eager to
learn, I want you to know that this is something you must decide for
yourselves if you feel it is something you would like to do.
I only mentioned this as Julie and Skye said they would like to do
something to help put books into these childrens hands.
Please do not feel that you are under any obligation to participate
in this venture, as some may feel we should not be doing this, and
others may not have the resources to do be able to help.
Personally, I am going to be chatting with several businesess here
that I think may help, and I will try and get our local Coles Books
to donate whatever they can in the way of books. Perhaps they may
only go as far as giving a discount on the books, but every little
bit helps.
I am posting this as an article that you may find interesting, and as
a way to show how much worse our situations could be. This is in no
way meant to try and hit anyone up for any funds, but is something I
felt may be of interest to our group.
Your comments about this post would be very interesting, and I really
do look forward to reading them on our Bulletin Board.
Sending you big Hugs from Chilly Alberta today
Jack