Colours abound in Kampala!
Often, Kampala's weather accentuates them...
1. Living Rainbow of Colours!
On Friday, Joel's class helped with the Kindergarten "Colour Run". The children became a living rainbow, doused with paint of many colours during their fun obstacle course. The sun came out and the colours shone bright on children's hair, clothes and skin! :-)
2. The Colour of Mud!
On Saturday, it was that time of year again, when Kampala's education centre for refugees held its annual 7km Obstacle Race.
"Refuge and Hope", where Liz volunteers 2 days a week as a teacher, hosts this run every May. (See previous blog posts: May 2017 and 2018: Running for Refugees)
We signed up as a family to run together as one team in the RUNNING FOR LIFE event.
Unfortunately, all the excitement of the colour run the day before caught up with Joel- he ended up with a slight fever on Saturday morning, so he would not run. Andrew volunteered to look after him and also bowed out of the race.
We woke up early (but not very bright!) at an unnatural 5:45am to prepare for the race. After a snatched breakfast, we drove across town with 3 friends.
Since Andrew and Joel were not running, Ben and I had to find a new team to join. We ended up on a team with Ben's school P.E. teacher. This was a little intimidating for me, as I am not very fit at the moment! However, we had 3 children and 3 ladies on our team, so we ended up being evenly spaced in terms of fitness.
Esther, meanwhile, ran with 2 of her best friends, one of their mums and 2 ladies we know from MAF and EMI (Engineering Ministries International).
Once again, the "Race for Life" was great fun!
Like Joel's colour run, this race was full of colour- but mostly muddy brown rather than rainbow colours!! What helped to enhance the warm chocolate colour of the mud that we slid and ran through was the pouring rain during the booming thunder storms!
The inclement weather did not stop the race. After all, we were running to raise money for and to try and understand a little of the frustrations of being a refugee. Refugees would be forced to run from danger in good or bad weather.
So we continued despite the rain. Actually, this made the race a comfortable temperature to run in!
Here is some proof of our participation and of the lovely colour of the mud!
The Victory Pose for Ben and Liz's team at the finish:
WELL DONE kids!
Ben was keen to greet his pristine younger brother with a warm hug at the end of the race!
Below are our refugee papers and identity passes. These were issued along the way and frequently checked by the "police". The papers needed to be stamped at checkpoints. At times we were sent back along the course to find a checkpoint we had missed before they would allow us to proceed!
It was another memorable experience and tiny glimpse into the world of injustice and powerlessness that too many people face. Let us continue to pray for and reach out to those who face the stark reality...
3. Colours of the Spotlight
Esther recently starred in 2 minor roles in the school's annual musical production, "A Year With Frog and Toad".
After many after-school hours of practice and rehearsals, the students involoved in the production put on a simply MARVELLOUS Friday and Saturday night show!
In the inky black of Kampala's evening, the stage was wonderfully colourful and the actors/ actresses did a great job on their cleverly created set.
A scene where Esther, as a mole, is seen on the background helping herself to one of toad's cookies...
A scene where Esther is playing "Young Frog"- and even sings a solo, which made us very proud parents! The orchestra was live, so the music was an extra-special bonus of the show.
The fabulous crew at the end of Saturday's performance: WELL DONE, all!!!
