Failing to see 2
on Um Zayd wa Atheer (Uganda), 08/Sep/2009 18:17, 34 days ago
Stephen, my co-worker on the Miirya Project, sometimes for all his charm, lacks political correctness. He freely talks about the crippled, the retarded or simply the mad. We've spoken about those with disabilities, learning disabilities and those with mental health problems. Stephen finds those terms too vague, too soft and do not portray what he wants to say. He fails to see the subtleties. He persists, I glower, he half smiles and nothing appears to change.Unfortunately he also makes some very sexist remarks too. Here he knows he is on more dangerous ground but the thoughts and the words still slip out. He enjoys saying that he cannot be bothered to remember womens' names. Does he deliberately confuse who is who? There are over 100 Village Volunteers and I have made a point of remembering the name every single one. It makes them feel special. Meanwhile Stephen confuses most of the women so that Flora becomes Jennifer, Aisha becomes Sefina and Josephine becomes Florence. We all get irritated but Stephen reamins unperturbed.And so it was last Thursday morning as John, Stephen and I prepared our day's work in the office. Stephen was looking towards the window and said Sarah was coming. No heads turned. In fact, he meant that Sylvia was coming, Sylvia who 3 weeks ago was virtually blind. She was walking into the office, up two steps,unescorted. It was an unbelievable moment. I rushed to greet her but the 2 men were speechless. Runyuro greetings are very formal but on this occasion they were not needed. Nothing could express our mutual joy. Sylvia stared at us and we stared at her. The silence broke into laughter.Sylvia will go back to the Mengo Hospital, Kampala next month for a check up. Although so far she does not have perfect vision there has been a great improvement and Sylvia has seen her daughter. She has given me her photograph to remind me of what she saw after the operation. On days when I wonder if my presence in Uganda has been worthwhile I will try to remember Sylvia as she walked into the Community Office. No picture can be more rewarding. I am so thankful to John and Stephen for their help and encouragement. I am forgiving of their weaknesses and I know that despite our differences in choice of vocabulary they care as I do.