The last two days we have again struggled with internet but other than communicating with Darin and my kids, the longer I am away the less I feel the need to be connected. Warning: this post will be long and less eloquent as I will try to share the last two days.
Another day of heading down the hill on Thursday to connect with Marjorie. First thing in the morning a young man we had met the day before was sitting in her office. Barozi Peter’s mother died when he was three years old, his father died when he was 8. Because they were not getting medical care at the time he shared that he does not know how they died. His grandmother has been caring for him but now he is out of money to attend school. He has been offered a scholarship to one of the government boarding schools but had no option to get enough money attend. For 600,000 shillings a year Peter can continue his education. This is less than $200 a year. Our American dollar goes SO far here and can change the lives of these people.
It is nearly impossible to go a day without hearing another story of a child who has lost a parent, has had to drop out of school and is hungry. As Marjorie is already serving 105 OVC kids with the money we send I chose to give him the money for his first semester and commit to the next two years. Peter said he can begin school on Monday. I know I can’t help everyone but sometimes God places people in our paths at just a time when He wants us to help.
The endless stream of people who are asking KIDA for help is overwhelming.
Everywhere we go we find that there is not enough. Not enough food. Not enough money. Not enough. Many children do not eat before school and do not bring lunch so their only meal is dinner. They walk to school for a 7:30 am start and walk home at 5pm. Yet still the line the roads with smiles and waves and greetings to us.
More school visits brought so much gratitude from the young people we are able to support. Each one of them bows and thanks us when introducing themselves. They share their plans and always nurse, doctor, teacher, lawyer spill from their soft-spoken words. They love studying biology and physics.
After visiting more schools in Ft. Portal we stopped at a local market. Ft. Portal is a bustling city with markets and motorcycles everywhere. Andrew’s market carries many things that we carry at our local stores and I walk out with Ugandan honey (a staple with the homemade bread at our meals) and Ugandan tea. We continued to a large dirt square with many shops on the perimeter. I am getting quite adept at bargaining for things which is expected in the marketplace. I will arrive home with yards of stunning fabric that runs about $3/meter. We also bought orange and gray fabric for the three children (Adolf, Stella and Anna) I mentioned yesterday so we could get uniforms made for them for school.
Each evening we sit around the dinner table. Oftentimes Ezra joins us after a full day of work and shares stories with us. We are learning of the history of KIDA as well as the history of Uganda. Sipping hot tea we relax and process our day over the dinner table. Many times, Debbie brings her guitar. Often some of their children join us. Ezra and Marjorie are always so tired. The work never ends.
As we head down the path to our homes John is always waiting for us to make sure we can see our way to our rooms. He turns out the path lights as soon as we are safely in our rooms. John is an older man who serves as a bit of a security guard but also tends to Ezra’s cows in the daytime. He has been living with HIV for many years. His English is limited but he is always there guarding and working. His presence has become a peaceful calm each evening.
Another dawn on Friday. I mosey behind the house to see the groups of monkey that gather there. I wonder if I would ever tire of watching them swing from tree to tree with their majestic long red tails dangling.
After breakfast we started our morning by visiting the counseling program at KIDA. As it seems to be continuously the waiting room is crowded. This department has seen over 800 clients since their beginnings in 2012. Mary, one of the two counselors, and Olive walked us through the counseling and testing process for those who want to get tested for HIV. There are 420 active cases of HIV positive people who come monthly to get their vitals tested and to get their drugs. They shared that they are testing a new process for those who have been coming consistently for one year whereby they train one person from a group of 6 in the same area to pick up the drugs for the others. This person must be literate and everyone must come down 2 times a year for a checkup. By December they hope to have the results of this project. This department also works with rape victims and victims of domestic violence.
We continued by visiting the hair dressing school. Twelve young women cramped in a small room learning how to braid and weave, so they can make a living for their families. The teacher and students were surprised that my hair was not a weave :)
We continued our morning by being invited to attend one of the KCHIP meetings. The details of the program are too many to share but generally it is a group of people who pool their money for health insurance, loans and savings. It was fascinating to watch the detail with which the calculate the money. This program is annual and they vote on the executives for the group each year. They can borrow money from the group based on the most pressing needs. Today they gave 150k shillings to the guard who had all his furniture stolen and had nothing to even sleep on. Lively discussion ensues as to how to spend some of their money.
At the end of the year they pass out the savings. Many took turns sharing with us what they were able to do with the money they recieved. As Robert translated we learned that Sirus, a 92 year old man who is living HIV + was able to buy a goat. Some were able to pay for their children’s education, one modernized his banana plantation and one was able to pay back a loan. They expressed such thankfulness for us supporting KIDA. One older HIV + gentleman said he would not be here if it were not for all that is being done. The gratitude that is shared with us multiple times every day continues to be so humbling.
As the sun shone brightly on the Ugandan afternoon we had time to help where we could. Virginia taught English to 40 of the vocational students. Hangman was a favorite game as they slowly warmed to the process. The first boy chose the word “hungry’ for his hangman word.
Debbie and I helped in the stock room as boxes upon boxes arrived today and cramped the small storage area. Olive meticulously tracks the items by hand. Each morning she cleans the shelves of dust and checks the temperature and humidity in the room. If it is too hot, she opens a window. If too cold, she turns on the lights. The process for ordering is always a balance of needs and wants. She uses a VEN process (vital, essential, necessary) to determine where the priorities need to go. Today they were not able to get something they needed for the anesthesia machine due to funds. Olive left for a funeral so Debbie and I helped Lydia, a new staff person, unpack all the boxes, check for expiration dates and ensure that everything was where it should be.
My bed feels safe and warm each evening and I can’t help but think of the hungry children who sleep on dirt floors. I internally fuss over internet and electricity and which shirt is clean for tomorrow and realize, once again, I have been given so much.