Our journey from the Entebbe Airport to the village of Marare was long and full of jet lag, but filled in many of the blanks for me. I cannot say I understand Uganda completely, but the drive gave me much more appreciation for the complexity of living here. We are truly in someone else's world.
36 hours from our first step into the airport at Entebbe, our bus stops outside the school in Marare. Sarah says it has changed, but I don't see it. I see the red dirt where hundreds of feet play all the time. I see a few chickens content to dodge kids in the school yard, and a garden of beans peeking out from behind the school. I see a chain link fence strung between red steel stakes, a cordon around the community's bright future.
The village leaders beam proudly from the school entrance, and the women and children run to greet us. Summer vacation is still wrapping up, so we are ushered inside the school auditorium. Introductions commence, and it takes all of my senses to remind me that this is real. Maybe it's the jet lag, but everything seems surreal. Soon I have a new name, democratically chosen by the crowd of people sitting at the desks. I'm proudly told attendance numbers and shown innumerable physical improvements over the past 4 years. And then we drive off for lunch.
After lunch is when the real fun kicks in. The community netball team has been waiting to play with us. We use a volleyball and try to learn the rules as fast a possible. Sarah already seems to know them, but I am hopeless. One liter of sweat later we switch to volleyball. No net, but a lot of enthusiasm. We run less but laugh more. There is so much talent here that no game will ever be exempt from this field. This is Marare.
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