Stella washing her clothes!

Stella washes her clothes to prepare for school. Everything here takes so much time, especially washing all of your clothes by hand. She couldn't believe that in the U.S. we have a machine that not only washes, but also dries clothes!

Picking Mangos

Take a look at this video! Girls from the Total Impact house show us how they pick mangos right from the front yard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuvcoNn0oeA

Juliet Flosses for the First Time

Below is a photo of Juliet from the Total Impact house flossing for the first time! I don't really consider myself a high-maintenance person, but showing the girls at the Total Impact house everything I do to get ready for bed at night including flossing, washing my face, and taking out my contact lenses makes me realize that not everyone in the world is aware of or shares these luxuries. It was so funny seeing their reactions when I showed them how I take out my contact lenses. They had never seen anything like and couldn't believe that such a technology existed. They also were so surprised that I was able to put my finger in my eyes. They kept asking if it hurt and didn't believe me when I insisted that it didn't!

Pauline from Bwaise

I just wanted to share with you a post written by 16-year-old Pauline, one of the girls in the Purse of Hope house in Bwaise. The girls were given journals to take notes on everything new that they saw on their trip to Kampala. Each one of them meticulously wrote everything new they saw at the super market, at the zoo...this is what Pauline wrote:

A Wonderful Tour Which I Had Never Had:

It was on the 6th of May our sisters from Gulu visited us. We were so happy on that day. We had never seen them with our eyes.

The next day we had a wonderful tour which enabled us to see great things. We visited Garden City, Nakumati super market - which was so big that we couldn't manage to walk around the whole super market. We also visited Uchumi super market where I saw orange fish which I had never seen and never knew existed. I also managed to see the tallest building in Kampala! I was so happy because I had never seen it before.

We also managed to visit the zoo in that we saw many animals, snakes, and birds, including crocodiles, zebra, a lion and lioness, big monkeys, hippos, and I also saw big snakes and birds - like crested crane, ostrich, and many others.

What an amazing weekend in Kampala! We arrived on Friday with eight of the girls from Gulu. At first girls were a bit shy, but quickly warmed up to each through dancing - a huge part of African culture - and get-to-know you games led by Robinah. On Saturday, we took the girls to a shopping mall, to the zoo and to see Lake Victoria. For most of these girls it was their first time doing any of these things. It was incredible experiencing it through their eyes. The most hilarious part was watching some of them get on an escalator for the first time. I remember as a kid being so scared stepping on an escalator. I didn't even realize until some of them stepped on and clutched onto the railing that it was their very first time!

I love how these ladies are so grateful for little things - like going to a nice restaurant, trying ice cream, or riding an escalator. We so easily take things like this for granted.

Check out the You Tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=corHkuf5Xlk