THE ORANGE GIFTING... UGANDA BOOK PORTION

Another true portion of the book.  Exactly true.

 

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Filled with frustration, Cary left the office with her back pack and a pile of extra notebooks in a satchel she dug from the used-clothes stack in the office.  When she reached the street corner she saw David with his bike.  She let out a "whew" and headed to him.  “David, can you take me?  I can't carry all the books to the compound."

“Yes, Madame.  Good to help you.”  He put the back pack and satchel on the front of the bike and Cary sat on the back, fairly comfortably as she had done it more than once now.  She no longer was worried about people thinking how funny it was to watch an older-looking white woman side-saddled on the back of a bike.

Suddenly, while riding past some vendors sitting not far from the IDP camp they would ride through, she tapped David and asked him to stop.  “I want some oranges from this lady.” 

Cary hopped off the bike, grabbed some shillings out of her backpack, and turned to the woman who had the oranges in a black plastic bag at her feet.  “Madame, I would like ten of your oranges.”
  
When the lady looked at her, she realized the English hadn’t been workable.  She called David over.  “Will you ask her for ten of the oranges?  You work out the cost.  Obviously, I don’t have much money on me.”  David “teso”’d her, their language, and Cary could tell he was bartering the cost.  He finally turned and said, “She will take 1,000//.” Cary nodded and handed her the money.  She knew the cost was a bit high, but she also knew the woman needed every shilling she could earn and Cary also knew that it was assumed that because she was white she was rich.  As much as she tried to fight that mentality sometimes, she couldn’t other times, and this was one of them.  She took the oranges that the woman put into another bag and climbed back onto the bike. 

When David rode past the IDP camp, Cary started tossing the oranges to the people standing near the pathway.  They started laughing and cheering and jumping to catch the fruit.  Cary saw a pregnant lady standing near the path under a tree, and she tapped David and had him stop, and took an orange over to her.  The mom broke into a huge smile and gripped Cary’s hand tightly.  Cary grinned and winked and headed back to the bike.

Everyone waved at her as David started riding the path again.  When Cary reached the compound she could hardly believe how happy she was now, after being so stressed and sad when she left the office.  David was, also, obviously very pleased, as he gave her a big smile and wouldn’t accept a tip when she paid him for the ride.  “I will watch and see if you ever need a ride, Madame.  I so like to take you.”