Uganda...continued

AWANA...

Armed and ready for the day!

We hit the ground running on our first full day in Kamonkoli. Saturday morning we were able to help lead the weekly Awana program. Awana is usually held at the church, but because of a local wedding they switched the location to the primary school just a bit further down the road. 

Kamonkoli Primary School

What a rush of joy it was to walk into a room of more than 600 children singing with excitement and just waiting to hear whatever it was we had to share.  The children were all in one large room sitting jam-packed on wooden benches filling the space.  Many of the older (7-12 year olds) children had younger (1-6 year olds) siblings in their laps or tied to their backs.  As I looked back out the door to the dirt outside I realized something--there were no cars.  These children weren’t dropped off by parents in minivans with car seats and seat belts--these children walked by themselves, alone, in some cases for miles early in the morning to get to Awana that day.  They wanted to be there!

Not all of the children speak English fluently, and  so many of the songs they sang were in local dialects or Luganda. They did know some songs in English, and we were able to lead a few new ones that they quickly picked up on.  Not knowing what we were about to get, we started “Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah!” with the sitting and standing motions, splitting the room in half... apparently they had done this one before, and someone had taught them to use volume!  “Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord!”  It was awesome!

After singing, Cynthia shared the story of the candy cane using a translator.  We had giant candy canes so everyone could see and understand the colors and symbolism of the staff turned upside down making a J for Jesus.  After the story and prayer, some of the older children left and went to a separate room for other lessons and games.  Our men went with those groups and took Christmas Bingo and other games to play.  Remaining in the big room were about 350 of the youngest kids.

Craft supplies don’t readily exist in Africa-- there isn’t a dollar store to pick stuff up, so any chance these children get to do something fun or crafty with some new material they’ve never seen is really exciting for them.  We only had rough numbers to plan for in advance, so with red and white macaroni noodles, plastic necklace yarn and mini candy canes in tow we were able to help these kids whip up candy cane necklaces representing “Jesus Loves Me”.  We had just the right amount of materials to go around.  What a success!

 

While we were going child to child hand taping the candy cane in the shape of a “J” for Jesus, the children were so patient.  There were only 3 of us plus a few of their regular teachers around to lend a hand.  We had almost finished helping each child with their necklace when we started to notice some children sitting in the back had only empty slobbery wrappers left.  Most of these children had never seen a candy cane and at the beginning didn’t realize it was edible sweet peppermint.  Once one child figured this out-- you can imagine how it went!  By the end of Awana I think everyone had enjoyed their candy cane-- but they proudly wore the necklaces for days longer.

After the craft was complete, we headed outside with all 600 of the kids. We split into a few large groups and proceeded to make up games to entertain them for a bit longer. We did a candy cane relay using plastic candy canes hooked together and balanced while running, a ball toss, etc.

After the games, we started singing again.  In a huge circle we led the "Hokey-Pokey" and other silly songs. 

How do you get this many children in a circle?!

"You put your right hand in..."

"You turn yourself around..."

"You put your right foot in..."

"That's what it's all about!"

Before long the circle contracted, and we found ourselves in the center of a press of 600 children all singing and wanting to get as close as they could!

When the time came for us to leave, the children were still hanging around waiting on us.  They walked us back to the gates of the compound where we were staying before saying goodbye and heading home in all directions.  In the few hours we had spent with these children we had fallen in love.  

As we made home visits throughout the week we would often recognize faces and see those macaroni noodles hanging around their necks. They remembered the new songs we had sung together and happily sang them with us again and again.

Alison Wilson