Mahadi lives at school with his grandma, whom he is very close too and 3 of his older brothers, Michael- 8, Junior- 10 and Haruna- 13. While spending two nights at the school I had the opportunity to spend more time with all three boys. And within that 48 hours I fell in love with them as well.
Michael is a sweet, quiet boy, with eyelashes women would kill for. He's at that age where he wants to be dotted on but he's almost "too big". One afternoon I was reading books to the kids and my lap was surprisingly empty and I said to Michael "do you want to sit on my lap?" His eyes said yes, but his head shook no, knowing that he was passed the age of sitting on laps. Instead he cozied up to my side and we read Mother Goose stories. I called Michael my body guard, I always had my bag on my shoulder and he would insist on carrying it for me, always close to my side and protectively carrying my bag. He rarely strayed far away from me during the 48 hours I was at the school. Michael is often barefoot, with a perpetual runny nose...one day while I was in town I bought 10 hankies and passed them out to the kids who I deemed to have the worst of the runny noses...somehow Michael ended up with two which he then promptly turned into bandit scarves and superman capes, but also used when needed. Michael loved using my camera and found great joy in taking photos some of my best shots, he took.
Junior is smart and when I asked him what his favorite subject was his answer was science, this did not come as a surprise to me. Junior read well and while quiet has a bigger personality than sweet Michael. Junior was often found runny around in a shirt with more holes then thread and typically had worn shorts on as well and was often barefoot. Both nights I stayed with Emmy she made me dinner and Mahadi of course joined me. The first night before I could figure out what was happening she had shooed Michael out the door. So the second night I made sure that Junior and Michael were in Emmy's house and could eat dinner with us. As I was doling out the potatoes, rice, chicken and cabbage, I decided to give Michael and Junior the two pieces of chicken as Mahadi had been eating chicken all week and I knew he'd be eating it again. But of course trying to explain that to a 5 year old wasn't working out for me, so Mahadi got pissed. As I was trying to whisper in Mahadi's ear my reasoning Junior says in Lugandan to Mahadi which was then translated to me in English "I wish I had a mommy like yours". My heart broke.
Haruna is 13 and is quiet and for the past 3 years I always thought he was mischievous , but really he's quite shy and he is a promising soccer player. I didn't spend a lot of time with Haruna, mostly because he's bigger and seemed to always be off playing or doing something. One night I heard singing coming from the church and I went in to see what was happening and I learned that Haruna is in the choir. He caught me watching him and he broke out into the biggest, happiest smile, proud that I was watching him. Josephine's husband, Jonathan, works for an organization called Field of Dreams which was founded by a man who frequently attends Sweet Sleep mission trips. Field of Dreams has created soccer programs at all four school's Sweet Sleep has given beds too. I made sure to show Jonathan a photo of Haruna and then leave money behind to ensure that Haruna receives a pair of soccer shoes, shorts and shirts, so he can continue to play soccer.
Junior and Michael were full of questions-
When was I leaving the school?
Was Mahadi coming with me?
When was I bringing Mahadi back?
When was I going back to America? Was I taking Mahadi with me?
I would explain what was happening multiple times throughout those 48 hours. I told both Michael and Junior, next time I come back to Uganda, you guys are going to come with me, but I can't do it this time. That's a promise I intend to keep....but I'll need a bigger place and a few more dollars in my pocket and potentially a few friends in tow...however those three boys have really good manners and I have no fear that they would misbehave.
The Friday when Mahadi and I left school, Mahadi's biological mom had shown up to pick up the boys and take them back to the village while school is closed. Haruna said to me, I'd rather stay here with Jja-jja. Mahadi's mom had asked if we could give she and the four boys (Michael, Junior, Haruna and one of her 6 month old twins a lift into town). Once we got to the taxi stand they were getting out at I hugged each boy and I said, I love you. Keep studying. Continue to have good manners and I'll see you soon. I no longer had one boy, but four.
