Tonight we are all Acholis

This weekend was our staff party. Amy, another intern hosted the party, funded by her grandmother who wanted to host “a celebration for the Ugandan people”. The party started off with my choir performing as people arrived. It was a pretty cool situation- about 25 of my favorite choir members together singing in front of my coworkers, myself standing in the center of the Choir. It was a great 30 minute performance, and a lot of my co-workers got up to sing with them. It was a tremendous moment. Later that evening, we were dancing out side when rain started falling. The majority of people moved under cover, but many of us braved the elements and danced in the rain, getting completely soaked. Many of the American staff were also there, and gradually as we danced like crazy, the pool next to the dance floor became more and more tempting. The pool, at the Acholi Inn is the only pool in Gulu, and it is rare that anyone swims because they charge the price of two (maybe three) typical dinners to swim there. All of a sudden, one person gets pushed in and the domino effect begins, as people start jumping in, fully dressed. Wearing a collared shirt, slacks and leather shoes, I couldn’t help but jump in wholeheartedly. In general, Ugandans can’t swim, so it was only the American staff in the water, swimming with semi-formal wear on, until...our most respected leader, the person that made the whole Organization happen, (a woman who has been officially nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize) Jolie Okot, Invisible Children’s Country Director, ran along the side of the pool, in a full formal dress, and jumped in! She swam to the side, got out, threw her head back in laughter, and then jumped right back in. It was truly inspiring and hilarious. She always claims that at staff parties, no one has titles- we are all Acholis!