team 3: meet carol

"Several times a week now when I arrive home from work, I find bags left at my door. Bags containing tee shirts, bags containing shoes and sneakers, bags containing crayons and art supplies. And I smile. Over the last several months as our visit to SMK grows closer and I’ve mentioned my plans to visit St. Mary Kevin again to friends and acquaintances, there have been instantaneous requests to help. I am constantly amazed by the generosity and genuine interest in the children I speak about and that I love and care about across the world. This will be my 4th visit to Uganda and the children at SMK. I can’t wait to see their faces, their smiles and how much they’ve grown in the year since our last visit.

As I think about each visit I have made, all have been different. Our first mission in December, 2007 when I had no idea what to expect or what I’d find. That visit truly changed my life. I was touched by the love and warmth that radiated from every single child and I was moved by the unimaginable experiences that they have endured during their short lives. Gloria’s descriptions had now become real to me. Upon return home, Change the Truth and its mission became an important part of my own life and my desire to help those in need.

In August, 2008 I stopped for a few days in Kampala on my way to meet my family in Tanzania. It didn’t feel at all foreign. I was returning to a place and to people who I cared about deeply. I went with Rosemary and Joan, who are the backbone of SMK, to the bank to get money from the account into which funds from CTT are deposited. I went to the marketplace to buy food for the children. Beans and flour. We haggled over price and made arrangements for transport. I witnessed the difficulties in seeking affordable food in that marketplace as compared to what we all do so routinely walking into our local grocery stores. It again reinforced my connection to the children and my desire to help.

My visit last December was shorter but I was thrilled at the goal. This time we were assisting in creating longer term projects-the garden, the band, the medical help. The reports we’ve gotten throughout the year have reflected our success but more importantly, the success of the children at SMK.

So, what am I thinking about this next visit, only weeks away? I can’t wait to see the children, how much they’ve grown in the last year. I look forward to working in the garden, to assisting Eddie with longer term financial planning and to reading with the children. Improving our ability to communicate. During our visit last year I spent time reading to them and they took glee in my struggle to pronounce the Lugandan words they were teaching me. The laughter—seeing those smiles and hearing their laughter. Creating those memories for them and for us. That is what I look forward to."