Good morning you sleepy heads. It's now about 1 am your time and I imagine you are all sound asleep. Today we were supposed to go to the Agricultural show but both Esther and Kylee are not feeling well. I have sent them both back to bed and am hoping by tomorrow they are both feeling better! I have also sent Moses home and told Kyemba we won't be needing him today. I think he is excited to have a day to spend with his family.
I had a meeting with Juliet again today. I took her down to meet with Florence but she was in a meeting so she talked with another of the social workers. What she wants is a place to live; a place to raise her children away from her husband. I kept trying to tell her that I am not in a position to do that for her. Firstly, I have to follow the guidelines of Musana which is to empower women and not give to them. Secondly, she was asking for over $1,000 and I don't have that to give. Even if I did, I wouldn't because it would go against what Musana stands for. But I am not very good at saying no. Just ask my sister. So this was really hard for me, especially when the tears began to fall and she called me Susie! My heart goes out to her. I can't begin to understand what she is going through but she definitely has a mother's heart. It seems that everyone sees us as Americans and that translates to wealth. What they don't understand is that our expenses heavily outweigh theirs. Yesterday we stopped at the Idudi clinic to pick up a nurse and this young woman came up put her hand out and told me she wanted money. This is so sad for me. Because my denying them money has absolutely nothing to do with the amount that I love them. It just isn't fair to make them dependent. As with my own children, they have to forge their future in a way that will enable them to provide for themselves. But saying no is always hard!
I had two separate, but equally good, meetings with Susan and Andrea. Susan and I started discussing the situation with Juliet. She again recommended that she talk to the Social Work department. Both she and Andrea agreed and confirmed that I should NOT give her any money. I already knew this but confirmation is always good. We then spent some time talking about Moses. She has extended an invitation to him to talk to their counselor who specializes in giving direction to the students after graduating from high school and actually set up a time for him to meet with the main speaker at the vocational graduation, but he didn't accept either offer. He did not show up for the meetings. She too has noticed a change in him since Craigg and I spoke with him. We also talked about the secondary students who requested "things" of Denise and both she and Andrea were very concerned about this. This is so out of Musana's beliefs. Susan and I spoke for over an hour and I always am so amazed by her. Not only does she work extra hard, but she loves that way as well. Andrea then came down and we discussed Musana and Riverside's working alongside them. They have a plan in effect to spread the model to five additional communities within the next ten years. Her biggest concern is that the atmosphere and the quality remain the same. She too is amazing. Her heart for the Ugandans is huge. She told me she can't envision a time when Musana stops growing. I bet if she knew then what she knows now she wouldn't have had the courage to take the first step. Susan and I also discussed the interviews with the faculty and students. She is going to make a schedule and get each of them to sign a release form that the video can be used. That is honestly something I hadn't even thought about.
Both Esther and Kylee are feeling better. I've told them to go to bed early as now we are leaving at 9:30 for the Agricultural show. Love you all and can't wait to see you. Steve, give Cooper a scrunch on the head and tell the kids and grandkids that I love them all to the moon and back. And to you Steve, happy early birthday. I love you. Sue
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