musings on my trip to uganda

On this cold, rainy day in Portland, I am sitting in front of the fireplace staring at the flames. At times like this, I can get kind of contemplative.

Over the course of the past few days, there has been a flurry of pictures exchanged between Team 4 members. They include countless images of beautiful, jubilant children.

The children from St. Mary Kevin Orphanage can be seen happily showing off their new teddy bears, t-shirts and ball caps. There they are skipping rope, doing yoga, drawing pictures, splashing in Lake Victoria, sewing, playing volleyball and wrapping their arms around their new American friends.

I am so happy the team members had a memorable journey. Each one, who has gorgeous pictures to remind them of the incredible connections they made, has come home with his/her own personal stories to tell and his/her own new insights. Most past team members have told me that their lives were forever changed by the trip: careers were altered, goals were modified, closets were cleaned out, friends and family took on greater significance, giving became a higher priority, the definition of the words “gratitude” and “resilience” were made more clear and a day didn’t pass without thoughts of the kids they befriended. I can only hope that all the Change the Truth team members, Team 4 included, will be inspired to continue providing help to those in need, and that they will always keep the children of SMK close to their hearts.

It’s all too easy when looking at these happy faces to forget the reality at hand: that at the end of the day, these kids are still orphans. Still kids who don’t have much to call their own. Still kids who eat porridge three times a day. Still kids who wear recycled shorts, shirts and dresses. Still kids who sleep in dark, stench-filled, dirty dormitories. Still kids who wash their own clothes, sweep the floors and help cook the meals. Still kids who don’t have running water and who use latrines. Still kids who often get sick because their well water is unclean. Still kids who have haunted memories. Still kids who have experienced devastating loss way too soon. Still kids who aren’t sure if they will able to go to secondary school when school fees are required.

Still kids who have no family to provide for them. Still kids who tuck themselves into bed each night.

Yes, we’ve done a lot to help them. Since my first visit to the orphanage in 2006, there have been huge improvements. Thanks to Sister Schools, there are new latrines and a covered fire-pit area. Thanks to Libraries of Love, there is a well-stocked library. Thanks to Touch the World, there is a medical clinic. And thanks to Change the Truth, there is a new motor for the maize mill, several rainwater collection tanks, vegetable gardens, an expanded brick-making project, new mattresses, blankets and mosquito nets, a marching band, textbooks and a computer lab. Vocational training rooms have been built, dorms have been painted and a full time social worker now lives on the grounds. More children go to school, and meals are served on a more reliable and consistent schedule (often embellished with nutritious treats from the garden).

I thank each of you who has helped us come this far.

But, as people who visit the orphanage for the first time, point out to me: it is still a sad, harsh environment, one that is filled with desperate children. I see the improvements, and I tend to forget how bad things really are.

This is a picture I made of Boy-Boy very early in the morning on Christmas Day, just after the sun had come up, the roosters had crowed, and he had crawled out of his bunk. For the children at SMK, this day (like all holidays) can be very difficult. Boy-Boy, like so many others, was feeling sad. In the picture, he is wearing the hat I had given him as an early Christmas gift.

The sorrow in his eyes that morning was powerful.

He perked up once he started playing with his friends, when we presented the talent show and big meal and when we distributed the gifts. He finally came to me in tears late in the afternoon after he discovered that someone had taken his new deck of cards. He could hardly contain himself.

Yes, we have helped the kids: Rose, Nahia, Shine, David, Oscar, Kato, Tony, Tina, Claire Faith, Skovia, Brian, Diane, Charity, Nicky, Sheila, Beatrice, Willy, Ivan, Rosette, Vincent, Godfrey, Joanne, Francis, Sharon and the others have a brighter outlook for the future now.

But we can’t forget how difficult their lives still are.

The following is an excerpt from a letter I received from one of our sponsored students, Nelson. In it he expresses his heartfelt gratitude for the assistance we have provided the children at SMK.

“Genuinely, CTT has really changed to our lives from the despondent to the hopeful one and above all it has supported us in all ways, which has been a meteoric rise that has helped shape our life! I say, thanks a lot for the work well done, CTT!! With this ray of hope in relation to our life, we now know that we can also make it like other children all over the world! “ - Nelson

His words make me feel good about how far we have come, but on this particular gloomy day, as I stare at the dancing flames and glance over at my picture of Boy-Boy, I am reminded of how far we have to go.