The Three Mzungus: Deaf children leading a choir and Thanksgiving at Jambo!

At the end of term (next week) our integrated choir has a performance to the parents and various 'esteemed guests'. Moreen and I have been preparing the choir for this performance all year and are so pleased with their results. Granted they don't sing like the Jackson 5 but at least they look as though they enjoy singing and a tune is vaguely recognisable. The things that I have loved about leading this choir most are seeing Moreen take the lead and come into her own as a choir leader and a precious moment last week when the children were asked if they wanted to come and lead the group in a rapping improvisation that we had been playing with in our warm-ups. It has got to the point where this warm-up has become part of the performance program! But more than that: the deaf children have been taking turns at leading the choir and the children follow them as seriously (and with as much fun) as with the hearing children! I was so proud to see Moreen revelling in being the leader of the choir and the deaf children growing in their confidence as they realised that 40 hearing children were following their every move! I also love how the children (hearing and deaf together) are enjoying signing their songs and learning more and more how to communicate with each other across the hearing/non-hearing barrier.

The hearing children love to sign too.

The choir prepares to begin rehearsals.

Moreen in her element leading the choir.

In a second part of my blog this week I'm going to tell you that Jambo cafe had its first 'function' today and it went so well. It looked as though only two people would come for the Thanksgiving dinner we wanted to prepare for our resident Americans. However, a last minute American regular came and remembered that it was indeed Thanksgiving day and joined the celebrations along with his Ugandan mate. A three course meal was prepared all afternoon and would cost a whopping great big £10 (most average single course meals in nice restaurants can be bought for around £3). The started was tomato soup and bread roll, followed by African chicken stew, peas in soup (a Ugandan specialty), roast sweet and Irish potatoes, pumpkin puree and of course 'stuffing'. This feast was rounded off with homemade fresh pumpkin pie with ice-cream. The diners had a great fill, shared what they were thankful for (which, thankfully, included Jambo café!) and had a great time together despite not being with their families on this special day. Alice and Eliza worked from 7.30am up until beyond 7.30pm every day this week so I believe they deserved every shilling of the profit today's function will have brought them. It's still a busy week ahead, though, with a birthday cake made today, a double-tier graduation cake due on Saturday, a large anniversary cake due on Sunday and a triple-tier graduation cake due for Acholi Quarter's Skill Centre on Tuesday! But at least they will get paid handsomely this week.

The group tucks in to their main course.