My African Promise: For Tiger

It has taken me a long time to post about much of my trip. It has been very difficult to talk about some of the things I've seen because of the weight it has left around my neck. I will continue to post about Africa, but as this is the last official post about my June trip I am ready to talk about Tiger. Tiger is an old man who lives in Keyo IDP camp. After seeing a large group of Americans in the camp, he descended upon us quite forcefully. He began to speak to us in a very angry voice. He said, "You must go back and tell America, tell Obama about my people. I am angry, very angry. Why has the world not seen the suffering of my people, we have suffered for so long!" This continued for some time and all of us watched this beautiful man as he poured his heart out to us. I had no answers for him. So, with tears streaming down my face I promised Tiger that I would tell the people. I promised that I would not forget him. I cannot and will not. I now set out on the next phase of my African journey. I'm not sure where that is leading to. In some ways I feel ready to start a non-profit focusing my energy and attention on needs I saw while there. In other ways I'm too scared to do it. I don't have a clue how to run a business! Either way, I won't forget and I will keep my promise. So, to those I actually converse with. I'm sorry for the amount of time you have to listen to me talk about Africa, but now you know why. I made a promise, one that I intend to keep. If you want to make that promise too, the door is open.

A Tribute To My Son

While in Uganda I was adopted by several wonderful kids. One of them is Joseph. Joseph is a double orphan, both of his parents died when he was young. He is now about 14. The first day I was in Uganda I visited an orphan boarding school. A group of kids were playing soccer with a ball made out of grocery sacks. I asked if I could play and I ended up on Joseph's team. We had this great connection and made some great combination plays. I continued to spend time with him during my stay before the team arrived. It has been hard to even write about this because I'm not sure if anyone can understand how deeply the connection became during my 3 week trip. Leaving him is one of the hardest things I have ever done. On my last day he came to visit me at the hostel with another sweet boy. I told them I would pay for their ride if they could get there. I had a big suprise for Joseph. Joseph loves soccer and his dream was to play on a team. I had arranged for him to be on a Kampala Kids League team and one of their staff was there to meet Joseph and offer him a spot. Joseph was elated and I had my video camera catching it all on tape. The KKL coach asked Joseph if he had cleats and he said no. I was so happy to tell Joseph, on the spot that I had a pair waiting for him in the room. Joseph was so thrilled, but shortly after shared the concern that he would have no transport to get to the practices on Saturdays and Sundays. I had forgotten about that problem during the excitement of planning the suprise. All I had left was $30 USD so I gave that to him to get started. I call Joseph every Sunday morning to ask him how his practices went. Now, he has run out of money and has not been able to go. It breaks my heart when I talk to him to think that for $4.00 a weekend this boy could realize his dream. I am working on getting money to him now and I've pledged to pay for his transport to soccer from now on. I was very sad when I got home and still have difficulty talking about him without getting emotional. He wrote a special letter to Shawn asking him to be his father. Although I don't think Shawn is ready for a commitment like that, he suggested that we get him over here for a long visit. We are now working on that. I miss all of those boys. My motherly heart aches for them. I became attached quickly and deeply and it's hard for me to explain. At times I've felt the weight of the world on my shoulders. I have several kids that I am now supporting, and several others that I've been finding sponsors for. Sometimes I just feel like things are so heavy. That's when I've really felt support from people around me. I've told God that I can't do this alone and he continues to send others to help me bless the lives of the children I met. I don't know what will happen with Joseph, but he has changed my life forever and I love him deeply.

The Team in Our Africa Dresses

Baby Legs and Calle Shirts

I haven't mentioned much soccer, but we did play a lot of games and hosted several clinics. We gave out Baby Legs and Calle shirts as prizes and they were a hit!

Keyo IDP Camp: I thought I'd seen it all.......

While in Gulu we took a large amount of supplies including health and education kits that we assembled to Keyo IDP (Internally Displaced People). Why are these people there? Years ago the government forced the people in northern Uganda to move into these government protected camps. They gave them 48 hours to get things together and promised them protection. It did not work. People were not protected and children were concentrated in one area where the rebels soon began to abduct children from the camps. Children would walk miles and miles alone at night, unaccompanied to larger towns where they would sleep under the verandas of police stations and hospitals because they were more safe in the towns. They would then walk back in the morning and go to school, if they were lucky. Now, the war is over and the people have lived in the camps for so long that they have no where to return to. Squatters have moved onto family lands and while the government claims it is trying to resettle the people, it is happening slowly, too slowly. We were greeted by the camp leaders and were taken on a tour of the camp. I have seen these camps and even visited one last year, but I have never walked through the deep parts and seen the suffering the way I did in Keyo. We came across a very old women, blind from cataracs crawling on all fours in her soiled dress. She had no bed, no running water, no toilet, no chair. Instead, she was alone crawling on the ground. We were so stunned by her suffering and one of the sweet girls in the group immediately lowered herself to the ground and tried to let her know she was there. I also came across as sweet mother whose little baby has a massive growth on his head about the size of a baseball. She was taking to me and mid-sentence the baby picked up her breast and began to nurse. I have never seen so many dried out breasts in my life! Their couldn't have been much milk for any of the children as their mothers were hardly eating themselves. That was heartbreak. After our walk through the camp the whole village gathered together and we made a presentation of the goods. We left everything in a pile on the ground for the elders to sort through. There is a good chance that fights broke out as the air was tense when we left. We quietly left on our bus before anything happened. The people need so much and if you don't have enough for everyone you can actually do more harm then good. I did not see joy in the IDP camp. Everywhere else, amidst the poverty you could still feel the joy, not here. As I am back now, 4 weeks home I am slowly adjusting back to life at home. How do you forget though? At times I feel myself slipping back into my old life. I don't want that life. I can't forget.

Market in Gulu

Church in Gulu

Gulu has missionaries for the very first time. We had such a great experience visiting the branch. There are only a few members and we had two women in Relief Society besides us. After church, a herd of cattle passed through the area! I was able to deliver 10 dresses good friend of mine made to the missionaries. I left them with them to distribute so we didn't cause problems by not having enough.