19
May 2012
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| The fair was held at a parish, and this field was in front of it. |
The fair today went pretty
well. There were SO many people! But, to be honest, the part that I enjoyed
the most was not the teaching. Again, I
got that funny feeling when I was teaching both children and grown adults how
to brush their teeth, wash their hands and build a Tippy Tap. Aside from teaching them how to built a
washing station, we also gave them soap bars (although they quickly ran out),
tooth brushes, and floss. Similarly,
other groups gave other things out, relevant to their presentations: seeds,
cloth to make feminine pads, food, etc.
Our subject was so rudimentary and basic that I felt a little uneasy
teaching it.
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| The day started off with a beautiful, moving mass. The church was all decorated with bright colorful ribbons and flowers and the singing... I have never heard anything like it!! By the end of each son the whole group was tearing up. |
What was interesting however, as
well as sad and in a way reassuring of the fact that my teaching was truly
beneficial, were some of the questions that the audience asked. For
example, one man asked me very earnestly, “Miss, does tooth paste have any
secondary effects that we should be careful about? Can it harm us?” In EVERY group (in the second fair, too!) someone asked how long tooth brushes
last… four months? …One month? … one day?
AND… most surprising of all, they all asked if they could brush their
teeth with salt, soap, and ASHES!
Apparently, there is a myth here (actually there seem to be a great
number of them) that says that it is better to brush your teeth with ashes,
because it cleans them better than tooth paste!
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| Sam and Monica busy teaching about how to start a business |
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| Nora and Sandy gave out seeds during their presentation. We took thousands! and the people were so grateful and happy to receive them! |
On a side note, Fr. Kizito also told us about another myth that says
that malaria pills, the ones prescribed to sick patients, actually cause the
malaria to exacerbate! How do these
people believe such myths? Such lies
that to us seem too clear and irrational… to many here they are the truth! Harder still… how does one convince those who
have lived and believed in those myths for decades that they are false? How does one convince others of something
that to them is just as irrational and erroneous as the myths are to us?
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| Our group and the youth leaders of the Mityana dioceses in front of the church. |
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| After lunch I went for a walk to shoot a little and found this boy who over and over again tried to get onto the bike, finally, after various tries he was able to get up and ride away, leaving just a cloud of dust behind. |
-Magda
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