The past week has been pretty busy and exhausting, but looking back, it seems like most of our time was spent doing a lot of random stuff that isn’t really blog-worthy, so hopefully this isn’t too boring!
Dave and Josey left on Tuesday, which was sad, but we’ve bounced back and have been doing lots of projects to keep ourselves busy:-) The last few days, we’ve been working to organize a big art project with some of the Suubi women’s kids. We borrowed some big frames and brushes from a painter in town, bought a bunch of old sheets and paint, and Stevi and Dillon made canvases for the kids to paint on. The idea behind this project is that Stevi and Dillon will take the paintings back home and sell them as a fund-raiser for Light Gives Heat. There were 17 kids painting, and some of the things they came up with were great! We asked them to paint their home, family, school, or favorite place in Africa. Most ended up painting a house, a few people, some trees, and other random stuff like that. This boy named Joel did my favorite…it’s what the picture is of (the Suubi house and Uganda). It was definitely a great way to spend an afternoon!
We spent yesterday (Saturday) morning with Claire, a Suubi member. She works the night shift at Amani Baby Cottage, and then has to come home, cook for her kids, and clean, so she doesn’t really ever get to sleep. We helped her wash clothes and do dishes…I like to think that we helped a little, but people here are so efficient at doing things that sometimes I feel like I’m just making it harder for them by trying to help! I definitely now have a huge appreciation for washers and dryers, though! I’m going to be excited about doing laundry when I get home just because it’s going to seem so easy compared to what people have to do here! As a group of 4 white people, we attract a lot of attention when we visit the villages, so there was a crowd of 20-ish kids gathered around the front of Claire’s house for the first half hour we were there (Rachel and Stevi are actually washing clothes somewhere in the middle of the crowd of kids in the picture). You’d think that they would have better things to do than stand around and watch us try and wash clothes, but apparently they were entertained!
On Friday, Rachel and I were introduced to a woman named Sylvia and her family. Her husband died of AIDS about a year ago, and she’s been having a really hard time since then. She’s the first Ugandan I’ve met that hasn’t been overly happy to meet me (not that I’m really that great, but people here are usually just very welcoming and happy to meet new people). She was really nice and very polite, but she just seemed really sad. Given all the horrible things the people here have been through, I would think that everyone would be more like Sylvia, but that’s not the case (for whatever reason). Her mom runs a “restaurant” in a small village, which is their only source of income, and she has a 6 year-old son and a 3 year-old daughter who she’s struggling to support. Her son is in school right now, but given the circumstances, I doubt he’ll be able to continue going to school for much longer. The cost for the kids to go to school is a lot for her, but it’s hardly anything according to American standards, so Rachel and I are going back this week to talk to her about sponsoring her kids so they can both go to school. My hope is that we can help her kids to get through school, and hopefully by sponsoring them, we can relieve a lot of pressure from Sylvia so she can get back on her feet!
3 comments:
Not boring at all. It is interesting always to learn about other cultures. Wouldn't it be nice if those of us who have so much would stop complaining about how hard life is and appreciate even small things the way the Suubi people you have met do.
Court,
YOUR INCREDIBLE!!!
Really, the way you are loving people, although I know it may not seem like much some days, is a beautiful picture of how we are to love with no strings attached.
I know that most days you are probably pretty tired, dirty and not feeling like you are doing all that much in the grand scheme of things, but thats the only way things ever get done, or people get loved... by normal people like you and I who have chosen to live intentionally outward in love. Thanks for sharing your life with the beautiful people in Uganda and us in America.
Reading about things like this could never be considered boring!!We are all so grateful for the caring and love that you are extending to your newly-made friends. You might not know it right now, but you ARE making a difference in their lives just by being who you are and by reaching out to them. You are amazing!!!
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