Before we left we were asked to write something for the blog
about why were going on the Uganda mission trip. At that time we weren’t able
to put our thoughts into words. We had very little time and too much that
needed to be done before we were to leave, so writing has waited until now.
We felt that we were being called to go, but we weren’t sure
why. Now I know why. The letters from our kids in Uganda are not very informative
as too what their lives are like. They are more like form letters and leave many
questions unanswered. Their letters don’t let us get to know them like they are
family members, and we desired to know them and their families better. There
was only one way to get to know them, go as we were being called.
We sponsor 4 children in Uganda, 3 in Kachungwa and 1 who
attends Alex and Faith’s church in Luzira. I want to tell you about them and
what we experienced.
Starting with those
in Kachungwa:
Apolo, he is in primary school
level 6 and has now finished his final exams. He lives on a little knoll about
200 meters from the church. His home is in a traditional family circle cluster,
it is made of sticks and mud with a sheet metal roof. The first view I had of
it was like I have seen in a movie. I
was awe struck! It was such a beautiful setting. Down in a little draw on the
other side of the knoll was some tall grass with his family’s goats happily
eating. We went into his home where they had woven straw mats on the floor and they
had us sit on one of the benches they had. All of the family members that were
there came to us one at a time and shook our hands, the girls all bowed or
kneeled in front of us, it was a very humbling thing to sit there and receive
this honor from them. His father died several years ago. They are so very
grateful for our sponsoring Apolo because they don’t have a cash income to pay
for his schooling. They live off of the land. Apolo’s standing at his school is
near the top of his class, he has a dream of becoming a doctor. We hope that he
is able to archive his goal. Some of the Christmas and birthday gift money we
have sent to him he has used to buy goats, and other items of need.
The
goats provide meat and milk, and when his herd becomes big enough he will be
able to sell a few for a little cash income. This picture is a part of his
extended family.
Peninah is the youngest
of the 4 we sponsor. She is in kindergarten. We have recently learned that 2 of
her older siblings are sponsored by the Harvey’s. Christian Lycan with us sponsored a family
business for them several years ago. Now we have seen the results of sponsoring
the family business it allowed her father to go back and finish high school.
The business money was used to purchase 4 acres of land, pay some community
members to help clear the brush that was on most of it and plant multiple
inter-planted crops of Irish potatoes, “ground nuts,” a form of peanut, and
casaba. The potatoes have now been harvested with part of them feeding the
family, part has been used for the 2nd crop that has been planted
this year and most of the potatoes were sold. The money from the potatoes was
enough for her father to buy more land from his brother. Her father is known to
many of us as Pastor Paul, a volunteer pastor at Kachungwa’s out-reach church
at Milembe. The ground nuts have been harvested and were stored in their home
ready to sell, and the casaba will be harvested in a few more months. The
business is self sustaining and growing. It not only supports their family but
helps others in the community as well.
Our 4th child is located in Luzira which is on the outskirts of Kampala her name is Linda. Her name is the only one that we can pronounce correctly, the other 3 are pronounced with a Uganda pronunciation with an accent on the first syllable.
Linda, is 13 years old
and is a very bright and talented young lady, she attends Alex and Faiths
church and has lunch at their house on some Sundays. Her parents have both died
and she lives with step or is it step-step parents in one of the slum areas
outside of Kampala. Her step mother recently had a baby of her own and had been
away from home for a long time to take care of her own mother at a village that
is a long distance away. Linda is in
grade P5 at Murchsion Bay primary school and is dreaming of becoming a doctor.
From what I saw at church I would call her a socialite. Without our sponsorship
she would not be in school and I’m not sure where she would be living. Faith took
us to Linda’s home, before getting there we purchased some rice, beans, sugar,
salt and soap as a gift, as we did for the other families. When we arrived at
Linda’s home no one was there, she didn’t know we were coming we waited awhile
and talked to one of her friends, as we were leaving we met her as she came
down the path carrying a neighbors baby. We left there to go to Alex’s revival
meeting together. We observed that 10 meters from where she lived was an African
version of a “Bar” and 30 meters up the path was another one. We also noticed
that several of the men that hung out around there showed a little bit too much
interest in her she just ignored them, but we don’t like it!!! It’s little
wonder why she doesn’t stay there a lot of the time. Later in the afternoon at
the revival we got word that her step mother had arrived at the church which
was a few blocks away. We walked with Linda to the church and walked back together
to the revival with her mother, we had a chance to talk and take some pictures,
and she stayed for around an hour before catching a “Taxi” for the 2 mile trip
to home. About an hour later Linda showed a “book” that she had made with an
old piece of newspaper for a cover. Isaac Williams and I looked at it in wonder
and awe. When we got toward the back of book she put her hand over the page
that we had started to look at, so we closed it up and handed it back to her
and thanked her for letting us see it. Later she gave it to Geri, who thought
it was just a piece of newspaper and folded it in half to look at later. When I
found out that she hadn’t opened it and read it I showed Geri what was in it.
You will get a chance to read it for yourself in an attached PDF file. I
encourage you to do so! Grab your tissues first. Part way through the book you
will notice where we started to sponsor her. You will notice a change. What she
writes about in the start of the book is what she sees around her all the time.
After we returned
home Alex sent us a message saying that that day that we spent with her was
probably the best day of her life. We haven’t stopped thinking about the kids
and families there, and how we have had such an effect on their lives and
others around them. By going to Uganda we now have a personal knowledge of
these people; they are very much like family now. They are no longer just a
picture of one of their children, we are family. We have contacted Faith and
with Linda’s help they are going to help us pick another child to help.
Before leaving home we were told about some of our sponsors
that haven’t received a letter in over a year. I talked to the folks at ARM
while we were there about this. The answer is: During the rainy seasons the
roads are not passable because of the mud. Sometimes they don’t have contact
with the community for several months at a time because of the distance, roads
and conditions. Some of the families are considered mobile that is they will
move away for several months and then they will move back. When ARM finds out
that a family has been gone for 3 months then they will try to find out where they
went for the next 3 months. Letters are written 3 to 4 times a year and with
one of these mobile families it is possible to go a year without getting a
letter. At the present from the time a
letter is written to when we receive it 4 months may have lapsed. ARM is aware
of this problem and is trying to make changes to the processes. If you are in
the situation of not receiving a letter for this long of a time, please don’t
just stop sponsoring the child, go to Renee and ask her to contact ARM to find
out why. I think the number of children that are supported is around 8000, it’s
a big job for just a few people to track.
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