Back on the (SWB) grind

After a lengthy wait, I’ve returned from a three-week hiatus in the UK and Europe, with some great friends.  My time was spent meeting some really great people, seeing old and new sites, and making some lasting memories with the people I know best. Upon my return, I spent two nights in a guesthouse with Travis, a fellow SWB intern, while some students resided in our compound. The first of those two days were spent in the hospital, due to a bacteria nestled in my lymph nodes for three weeks. Following many tests, meetings with multiple doctors, and some antibiotics, I no longer resembled the twin of Sloth, from The Goonies.

Once I was back to full health, it was time to get back to work, assuming my full responsibility, and then some. While my other roommate, Nick, was still exploring new territory, the daily docket was a bit busier than usual; on top of the usual routine, we also took on the task of making changes to the daily programs, while making a strong effort to attract more kids.

Since the kids have returned to school, our daily numbers have been quite low, which is undeniably not ideal. In an effort to not only lure in more kids, one of our new year’s resolutions has been to become more diverse, in a way that will allow SWB to represent more African nations. Having recently met a Somalia-born Super League player, named Yusuf, I wanted to plan a meeting where he could introduce me to more Somalia-born refugees; late last week, we were able to have our meeting.

I was able to meet Yusuf at his home, in Kansanga, which took roughly fifteen minutes on a boda boda. He introduced me to some of his family members, drank some very delicious tea, and got into a serious discussion involving Somalia and Western media.

The discussion was sparked from talking about the area where the Somali pirates reside, which happens to be the same place his cousin is from. His cousin claimed that the area was actually not as bad as the media had been portraying it. Yusuf, who hails from southwestern Somalia, admitted to having not visited to that part of the country. Yusuf and I agreed that the media definitely plays quite the influential role, in portraying the way the rest of the world perceives that pirate-infested area. Having no disagreements, we wondered why the media seems so keen on persistent negative portrayal of such claimed ‘violent’ areas? What constitutes a good media outlet?

We came to the conclusion that immense amounts of people assume the media’s convincing reports to be true, if we are not seeing the evidence with our own eyes. The media exists to spread the news to a vast group of society, interested in something that they are unable to witness and account firsthand. The media is obliged to not falsify what exactly is being reported, and to hold the favoritism as well.

The two of us did not come to a rapid conclusion, or even a conclusion for that matter; we had recalled the actual purpose for the meeting. So, we decided to pick up our belongings and head out into the neighborhood. Having met earlier in the day, we might have been more successful, but I had the privilege to meet a few Somali kids – telling them about the mission of SWB and our goal to expand our daily participants.

Following a brief introduction, dusk was upon us, and it was time for me to return to Nsambya – I informed the kids how excited that I met them, and said my goodbyes. Yusuf and I agreed another meeting would be in store for the coming weeks, and I would make a stronger effort to help him gather more kids for SWB programming.