Beautiful Budondo, Bulunji! ("I am fine" in Luganda)

Hello once again from Nairobi! This week was pretty incredible.

Pia and I, along with Bernard Mukisa and his children Denis and Dia, left for Uganda on an overnight bus last Sunday night, and arrived in Budondo in the early morning. It took me about ten seconds to fall in love with Budondo. Everything is green and lush, and everyone is as friendly and welcoming as you could possibly imagine. I stayed with Mukisa's family at their house, where they have a large field with papaya trees, mango trees, jackfruit trees, coffee plants, a LOT of sugar cane (they sell this), and much more, and chickens and pigs wandering around it all. I was overwhelmed with the family's hospitality at every turn. Joining us was Liesl, a Stanford student who came to Budondo on a school trip last year and says it changed her life, so she felt she had to come back.

By day we played theatre games, reviewing some of what we learned last week but also learning how the Atuwa Troupe has used theatre since 2000. Occasionally they would let us help cut up fruit or wash dishes, but mostly they prepared all the food - matooke (boiled green bananas), roasted groundnuts, beans, potatoes - I was very well fed. By night we sat with lanterns under a sky covered with stars, sipping tea made from lemongrass and discussing Mukisa's dreams for Budondo's future.

Mukisa is among the most inspiring people I've ever met. After having studied drama in the then-Soviet Union, he felt responsible for using his education for the betterment of his home village, Budondo. Along with his wife Topista, their seven children, and many other community members he considers family, they started the Atuwa Troupe to educate and raise awareness about social issues through theatre. They always incorporate local folk songs and traditional dance to keep audiences engaged (expect videos!).

But the Atuwa Troupe is just the beginning of what will become known as the Budondo Intercultural Center. Mukisa is planning on building his property into an "alternative village" accessible to the community, running entirely on alternative energy, and including a Women's Reproductive Health Center, a library, an amphitheatre, a theatre training center, room for workshops on everything from entrepreneurship to organic farming, and much more. He wants to host international volunteers to contribute knowledge and ideas for all of these projects, and he hopes it can all be in place in the next five years. Who wants to go back with me? :)

Friday morning we left Budondo to spend the weekend in Kampala. We stayed with Mukisa's brother Sam, a doctor who lives in the Northern outskirts of town. We got to see a play at a theatre called Theatre La Bonita, which was actually more of a multimedia performance, and nothing like what I expected. We also got to explore town a little, visit Dia's university, and tour a Baha'i temple (there is only one on each continent). I also ran into my friend Stella, who was a teaching partner in Tanzania with me last year, and recognized from a distance on a crowded street the skirt I was wearing that she had helped me design last year - how small is this world?! I hadn't even known she was in Uganda, and it was so good to catch up with her.

We left last night and arrived in Nairobi this morning, refreshed and ready to get back to work here. Kenya's election was by nearly all accounts a success, fair and peaceful. I will probably have more stories after reconnecting with more people here.

Much love!