Kids, Slums, & Reunions

Hey friends!

Unfortunately I am really sick L I have never had strep throat before (that I can recall), but I imagine that’s what I have. I have felt sick all week, but there is really no point in me going to a clinic here. Even at the best clinic they don’t have the kind of medication readily available that I am used to, and I don’t really see the point in waiting for several hours & paying for a short appointment that will most likely not result in any relief of my symptoms. BUT – my friend Sherry does medical clinics in Uganda and was able to scrounge up some super powerful amoxicillin for me J So, the next 4 days I will take the super drugs until I can visit a clinic in Naperville!! I have ruled out malaria & amoebas (not the right symptoms) but have convinced myself that I have diphtheria (even though I’m immunized) or that I have strep throat that is going to morph into Scarlet Fever. Until I leave Wednesday, my roommate Laura has banned me from WebMD. Rightfully so.

On a brighter note, Friday and yesterday were incredible days! On Friday we visited Katelemwa Rehab Center, which is a bridge between hospitals & home for kids with disabilities & those who have severe medical needs. Most of the people there were physically disabled and had recently had surgery and need care during recovery. Like most of the places we’ve seen, they are swamped with patients and grossly understaffed. It was a bit overwhelming to see because of the intense medical needs and imagining how much attention each individual probably needs to heal and recover properly – and knowing with the small number of staff that it can’t possibly be happening. While there we read Bible stories, sang, & played with play-dough with a group of children. I made friends with a little boy with cerebral palsy. He was so cheerful and sweet. I wish I had been able to get his name. We then washed windows and headed out to the Acholi Quarters (AQ). As I have mentioned before, my friend Tricia started Africa Arise, and organization that supports the people of AQ and attempts to help them resettle back home in northern Uganda.

AQ is an incredible place. I don’t think there are really words to describe it – it’s something you have to see to get the real effect. Even pictures don’t quite do it justice. The people living in AQ are Acholi people (a tribe of people from northern Uganda, mainly the province called Gulu) – who were driven from their homes during a very vicious war. The war is something you have probably (hopefully!) heard of due to the organization Invisible Children. An African man named Joseph Kony created the Lord’s Resistance Army consisting of children that he had abducted from their homes in northern Uganda and southern Sudan. He brainwashed them and forced them to brutally kill and abuse family members and abduct their own siblings and neighbors to join the army. This army consists of thousands of soldiers and is still ravaging east Africa today. Every soldier in the army is a child soldier, except Kony. The Acholi people fled from northern Uganda to neighboring countries, and some found themselves in Kampala, which is in the southern part of Uganda. It’s about a 6 hour drive from Gulu, so you can imagine how long it took them by foot. They found a stone quarry and decided to settle there, so they would have some work. So, the Acholi Quarters began. It is a gigantic slum of thousands and thousands of Acholi people. The only work they have is the stone quarry and making beads. The stone quarry employs anyone who will work (women, children, men – no matter the age). Their day consists of the men walking down the quarry (extremely deep and steep) to break off large boulders in the quarry and haul them back up to the surface. They crack the large stones into smaller stones with a pick. These stones are used for building and purchased from them by the man that owns the quarry. The people typically work from 7am-7pm (sunrise to sunset). One jerry can filled with rocks equals 200 shillings, which is roughly 1 cent. The most anyone can achieve in a full day’s work is about 70 cents – which can get one person one meal for one day – and most people in AQ have families. This is why entire families work at the quarry – so they can all survive. There are a lot of injuries doing this work, as they inevitably hit their hand with the pick or get swollen & infected callouses from not taking breaks. Tricia, the director of Africa Arise, took one man to get his finger amputated because it was so infected from a cut he suffered from a pick. The stone quarry was one of the most alarming things I have seen in Uganda. We continued touring around the slum and meeting, praying, and singing with people. They told us over and over how honoring it was that we were there to visit. It was bizarre to think that our presence could possibly bring any emotion except resentment or frustration – as I tried to put myself in their shoes. I have been to AQ two times before but had never seen it through this lens. I am really proud of Tricia and the work she does in this slum. I am unsure how she has the continued strength to see this amount of poverty daily, to continually hear horrendous stories of war, and know that some of the residents of this slum are now so addicted to living in these conditions that they can’t even fathom returning to their previous home in Gulu. Their mindsets are similar to many of the homeless people we encounter in the US. I know that I personally don’t have the temperament to do that type of work DAILY, but I am so thankful that someone does. Currently, Africa Arise is in desperate need of a car. Tricia, her staff, and some residents of AQ are constantly making trips from Kampala to Gulu by public bus. Without going into a long, crazy story – this just can’t be done any longer – they are losing their minds with their current travel arrangements. If you know of an organization, individual, business, etc. who would be willing to donate funds to support a car for their ministry – please let me know J

But besides the sadness – there is so much JOY in AQ. The kids are kids – they fight over toys, laugh when we attempt to greet them in Acholi with our mzungu accents, and love singing and touching our “long hair”. We had so much fun loving on the kids!! It is incredible that children just have a way about them – no matter what situation they find themselves in. The children in AQ were born in this slum and don’t even know the life their parents and neighbors once lived in Gulu. They are resilient, joyful, and so sweet.

Yesterday I was able to visit the children at New Creation Home – a children’s home for orphans & vulnerable children that I served at the past 2 times I’ve been in Uganda. I haven’t seen them in 3 years and they have gotten so big, and so many of them are new children I haven’t met before. It was a great day (despite how under the weather I felt). There are now 18 children – the youngest is about 8 now, the oldest is 13. The girls put on a fashion show as soon as I got there – it was like an into to so many of the new kids I hadn’t met yet! I remember watching the kids do devotional time before dinner when they would sing and jump around to African drums. NOW – they have a drum set and 2 guitars that the boys play!! It was crazy to see how much they have grown. I always have had such a love for Henry – this meek little boy – and was so shocked to see that he remembered me!! He now plays the guitar and loves football (soccer). The kids are all really athletic and it was so fun to see them playing soccer in their huge yard. They now read the Bible independently rather than sitting and hearing a story from a children’s Bible. It’s just so cool to see them in a new stage of life. They basically run the house – cooking and cleaning everything, doing one another’s laundry, filling jerry cans with water since they had extra time - in case the water turns off (a common problem) – they are just the best kids. Though they are either orphaned or from very tough family/economical/health situations, they are SO BLESSED to be where they are. These children are going to grow up to be extremely productive and successful men & women. It was neat to see the flip side of the situation I am seeing unfold at Rafiki Home – where the kids are still so little, and doing their little kid devotionals and just learning how to clean up after themselves – to seeing the New Creation kids a bit more grown up and independent. I can’t wait to hear stories of the Rafiki kids growing up.

Such a long post!! Off to Watoto North for church – we’re having an African style party this morning! Next week I’ll be back at Soul City on Sunday – crazy how time flies. Love to all of you J