More Cowbell-Pabo Day 4

More Cowbell

As our Thursday came to a close, there were dark clouds looming over the horizon. The breeze picked up and it started to get COLD. I mean, I had goosebumps. The thing about Africa, they don’t have seasons like we do. They have wet season and dry season…other than that the temperature stays pretty consistent. Until a storm comes. Anyways, when it rains here, it pours. This was going to be no exception. We already heard the thunder and saw the lightening. Pablo asked if I thought we could beat the rain. I said I was willing to try, but after we felt the wet breeze, we sat on the school porch and decided to wait it out. Twenty minutes later, the teachers, Pablo, and I were still trying to decide if we could beat this rain…after all, it had not rained yet…but those clouds were certainly closer. We were going to do it, but if we were going to beat this storm we needed to move FAST. We ran to our bikes and hopped on. Sidenote: trying to keep your knees covered while riding in a skirt during a monsoon=not fun. So we are riding and we got pretty far, when pellets started coming down. These rain drops were huge. Then I hear, “MOOO!…MOOO!….MOOO!….MOOO!” It was a flipping COW running after us! So a student teacher from Pabo, Pablo, and I ride faster to lose the cow and the rain…we decided to take refuge in the primary school that was there, so we turned in and stood under the roof with many children also taking refuge from the rain. Since these were small children who had never really seen a white person before, they kept pointing. “Munu! Munu!” Then they would laugh when we waved. Finally, the group came up to us to get handshakes. Then…That cow came charging right into the school yard. “MOOOOO!…MOOOO!” It was freaking out and running in circles. Finally it ran out of the school yard the opposite direction of the ranch which it came from. As the rain subsided, we were preparing to leave when… “MOOO!…MOOO!” The cow ran back down the road towards the ranch.

Later on, Charles (the head of the English department at Pabo) came over to give us a tour. There was not much to tour as Pabo is quite small. However, what we saw, pictures or words cannot quite describe. First of all, Pabo was the biggest IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camp in Northern Uganda at the height of the war. It housed 70,000 displaced persons at one point. Now, Pabo is trying to turn itself from a displacement camp to a village. You can still see the consequences of war stamped on the streets and the faces of some of the people. Many huts from the camp were torn down, but many remained because people never left. Some people had their whole family die during the war and had nowhere else to go, and others, in the 23 years, simply grew up in the camp and did not know any other way of living. Charles told us that the camps did not offer much safety. That the middle of the camp was safest because the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army…or Rebel Army) would attack the outskirts for people and food. People would often not sleep in their own huts because they would flock to the middle for safety.

As we were walking, there were children that were obviously the head of the household. There was a girl who looked to be about five years old carrying a one year old on her hip. Another girl looked to be about eight who was also taking care of a toddler.

Beyond the horizon of this painful history was the most beautiful landscape…and more importantly, in the midst of all of this were children playing and smiling. Older people greeting us with a handshake and a grin. Inviting us to sit with them and talk. It really made me think about conversations that I had with people and even feelings that I personally have had in the past. That feeling where people won’t return a hello, or will do something that makes you lose faith in humanity. However, these people have seen more evil than I will ever encounter. They have all the reason in the world to not trust others…yet, they find refuge in their community. They greet a stranger with a smile and an invitation into their lives. The resilience is incredible. I will never find a reason to lose faith after this experience.

I have seen so many beautiful things during this trip, but I think that is the most beautiful of all.

Cheers,

Jenni