This evening just as I was saying goodbye to Esther to leave the Quarter for the day, Winnie, Esther’s youngest child, appeared in the doorway wailing with a face drowning in tears. Her left hand was outstretched and was red with blood. Esther hesitated and looked at me. What am I supposed […]

Just a few quotes from Ayoo Jennifer:
“It seems that when you were a child your parents used to beat you.” Confused, I ask her why. She replies, “Because you just look stubborn!” I laugh. Even here in the Quarter, I can’t hide my stubbornness!
Later on, it’s scorchingly hot. As I’m […]

I arrive in the Quarter before the sun debuts. I walk uphill through the Quarter where the sun will soon rise. Along the way, I pass the little shack of a salon where three men are crammed in, playing cards beneath a single bulb. I pause to watch my first Christmas Day […]

There’s still so many people I haven’t had time to greet since I’ve arrived. This afternoon I went to visit Ocan Night. I greeted her and her children. She told me about the events that have passed since I was last in the Quarter. Nighty’s cellphone rang and while she spoke […]

Esther’s neighbor, Akwii, who I’ve known since I first came to the Quarter, quietly enters Esther’s home and kneels before me. She speaks to me briefly in her Teso tribal language. And then just as quietly, she leaves.
Later Esther explained to me that she needed help. She used to earn a meager […]