Rose and Paul's Orphanage and Hope Orphanage

Today was awesome. We left the hotel this morning at 7am. We have experienced urban poverty, but haven't seen village life. We have visited well-funded orphan homes, but haven't been able to see what an orphan home is like that isn't sponsored that is in the middle of nowhere.

So.... we took them to an orphan home that belongs to Jackie's friends Rose and Paul. It was about a 45 minute drive on a horrible road where people rarely see white people. The kids were all dancing while waiting for us. Last year Jackie's group had built a bunch of gardens at this school and Rose and Paul had implemented the square foot gardening techniques that Jackie and HELP International had taught them. This home had 26 kids, and no sponsors. They can't afford the trasnportation or the costs of receiving medical care. Some of the kids are HIV positive, and it is a real struggle for them to put the children in schools. They were SOOOO esxcited ot see us. We went into their gardens and helped pick beans, fetched water with the children at the well, and played with the children. As a team, we decided we wanted to donate $585 of our project funds to this orphan home. They were SOOOO sooo grateful. I loved watching our girls be able to give so much wiht the hard earned money they raised through all the tedious fundraising we did. Such a great feeling. Money goes a long way in Uganda. It will impact this home for the entire next year. Also, the kids make handmade paper beaded necklaces. The girls decided to buy every single necklace and that was a huge support to the home. The thing that I notice everywhere I go in Uganda, that is, amidst the poverty there is always joy. You find it in Rose and Paul's home for orphans, in the slums and even in the homes for the disabled. They have something that I feel as a western culture we haven't quite figured out. I often get people saying, "That is so great that you are making a difference, serving, etc etc etc.", but the interesting thing is, I get sooooo much more from these people than I have ever given to them. The lessons learned and the priveledge of sharing time with thme is much greater than anything I have ever done for them.

We then headed to the town of Lugazi. We went to an orphan home called Hope orphan home. THis home has about 49 kids, including two albino girls that were abandoned in Northern Uganda. They were considered cursed so they were alone and shunned in the North until this home in the south took them in. It was so sad because their skin cannot handle the sun and they were burned all over . We helped them with various chores, and they fed us chapati (like a cafe rio style tortilla) and beans, which we ate with our hands. We also presented this orphan home wiht about $425.

So far, some of the things we have spent project funds for are: sponsoring a little girl we met the first day for a years worth of school, helping a little baby get medical treatment including a feeding tube at the babies home, and after today, donating a significant amount to two orphan homes. What a great use of our money. We have about $4,000 left, and it is fun to discuss what we want to do next.

We then headed to Lugazi town for a soccer match.... we were all BEAT, and weren't really ready for what was waiting for us: a team all uniformed up with a stadium full of people. We arrived late, but quickly got ready to play, and this team put up a pretty good fight. We had more people at this game than any of our high school games. TONS of people. It was really fun.

We then drove back to Kampala, packed up for our trip tomorrow for Northern Uganda. We leave at 6am, and will be going to Murchison Falls for a boat ride safari and then the next day on a game drive safari. Then we travel to Gulu, and have our three night sleepover at Laroo boarding school for formerly abducted children.