Cultural Experience: A Field Trip to Mbale

Gathering around the circle where the ceremony took place. 

The young men escorting the boy to the circle.

The boy in the middle of the circle getting circumcised.

This past weekend we went on a field trip with our Africa Traditional Religions class. We traveled a few hours to Mbale, which is in the East part of Uganda, early Saturday morning. We went to attend a cultural circumcision ceremony.  We took a bus and a van. We were driving up Mount Elgon (where the Bugisu people live). This is where the actually ceremony would take place. It had rained so much that vehicles could not drive because it was too muddy. We hiked for over an hour through the mud. Once we arrived, we were met with excitement. This ceremony among the Bugisu people, is when a boy becomes a man. It is a ceremony for all to attend, it is such a huge turning point in a young male’s life. Circumcision in the Bugisu world is not an option, in order for a boy to become a man he must be circumcised.
The boy was brought up in a parade of young men waving sticks, beating the sticks together, and dancing. The father and surgeon were in the middle along with the boy. After the ceremony the boy was a man. This ritual is taken so seriously that once a boy is circumcised if he is called a boy, he may be so offended that he would kill the person who had insulted him. After the ceremony, we made the trek back to the vehicles and spent the night in Mbale. We traveled back to campus Early Sunday morning.

Salama, The School for the Blind

Here are the two school buildings (behind this picture is the cafeteria). The left building has five classrooms (P1-5, which is grades 1-5) and the right building has two classrooms (P6-7) and the office.

The students eating in the cafeteria.

A few students and I posing for the camera.

The students love reading, a few gathered to look at the book Giraffes Can't Dance.

The students performing at a conference in Kampala (last weekend). The Bible Society hosted a conference to raise awareness and money for blind students. There were two other schools there besides Salama; each performed a few songs during the conference.

The school motto is: Where all things are possible with God. I am doing my junior social work internship at Salama. I have fallen in love with all of the students! I have been able to observe in various areas within the school and also after school hours. I go three days a week. The students all have impaired vision, which varies from complete blindness to minor vision impairment. It is a boarding school with just over fifty students. They have students from ages six to eighteen, along with grades P1-P7 (which is first through seventh grade). Even though I am supposed to be teaching and helping the students, I think they have already taught me more than I could ever teach them. They have taught me that if you truly believe in God, that He is the Creator and He sent His son Jesus as the Savior of this world, nothing is impossible. For example, as I was talking to a few students they were expressing to me their dreams. One wants to be a lawyer, the other a doctor, and the last one a teacher, and they will not let anything stop them! They love to teach me braille too! They are so inquisitive about the United States also. They ask so many good questions! Like I said, I have fallen in love with these students. I look forward to going to hang out with them each week.  Life is not easy for them, the staff and students, but they continue to trust in God and give Him the glory when He fulfills their needs. It is amazing and I thank God for the opportunity to be able to do my social work internship at Salama.