There is Salt in the Sea?

You’ve got to love a product that lasts 10 years of rough treatment at the hands of 100s of children. The ‘Wightman Mark 1’ parachute was out today – its definitely on the way out, but even with a frayed edge and several patches it provided fun and merriment for about 100 small children this afternoon.

Its our last weekend in Uganda, barring strikes at Brussels airport we’ll be home on Thursday. Yesterday (Saturday) morning we had a workshop with 4 of the staff, looking at work they’ve done on Vocational Skills Training.  We’ll gloss over that fact that we started over an hour late – village business required someone to sort out a family issue first thing in the morning.  Starting late gave me opportunity to try my hand at hoeing (absolutely hopeless – the Ugandans fell about laughing).

Schools here are very academically focussed, children aren’t taught many practical subjects. Global Care uses several different models for skills training as an alternative to O’ Levels, and we’d planned a brainstorm (sorry if that’s un-pc, it’s the word Fred used!) to look at potential options for a new Vocational Skills Training (VTS) programme in Soroti.  In Uganda there’s no government support if you’re out of work – on any level.  If you leave school with O’ Levels you’re unlikely to get even an office job, and most of our children can’t afford to study for A’ Levels never mind further education.  Gaining a skill means you should have a better chance of earning some money – from a paid job to setting up a small tailoring business at your home in the village.  Most people in this area are agricultural day labourers, hoping for work in someone’s field and going hungry on days when there’s no work.  We’ve met plenty of young people with O’ Levels working in the fields.  There are some apprenticeships available, but at the minute the business owners can’t guarantee a job. And how many of us knew at 16 exactly what we wanted to do as a lifelong career? If you go on a VTS that’s probably your last chance at formal ‘education.’

We had a good discussion and came up with some recommendations. David is writing that report, so we came back to the hotel to catch up with other work.  By the time we were ready for supper we’d worked on a policy and a project plan for Rukungiri, written a review report on the Disability Support Group, finished the Playscheme report ready for discussion on Monday, Tom had watched some footy, and I was exhausted!

It was difficult getting out of bed this morning, but we’d arranged to meet Fred at 8.30am at Deliverance church for the morning service – I forced myself to dress in smart clothes and be ready for a lift to church.  When we arrived it had already started. There was no power and the worship leader was belting out choruses to the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar – and occasionally drums. To our surprise we knew the songs.  Before long I could feel the tension dissolving.  The electricity came back on, and with the singers miked up and accompanied by a keyboard, the whole room was filled with sound. Songs moved from English to local Ateso and Kiswahili.  People began to dance and jump and generally Praise God. Going to Deliverance church is quite cathartic! I don’t know if its God or the people, but in that simple brick room with white walls and a tin roof my exhaustion and fatigue lifted, I stopped feeling sorry for myself and came out energised and refreshed. The speaker talked about Noah, I want to be in the ‘Ark’, in the place God wants me and doing what He wants me to do.  I needed reminding.

This afternoon we were invited to Michael (who works for Global Care) and his wife Veronica’s house.  We were treated to a feast – visitors are always made incredibly welcome. Veronica produced goat stew, chicken stew, fish, cassava, rice, potatoes, chapatis, avocado and passion fruit and water melon.  Local food served with generosity and humility.  We (including Charles) can talk with Michael for hours, but outside we could hear children gathering.  10½ years ago, I handed Michael a play parachute for children at Global Care (a gift from friends). Today we joined in as Michael played with the same parachute with an ever-increasing crowd of children. The games are adapted and invented to suit the place and the children, and before long there was a mass of shrieking, laughing children, all skilfully coordinated by ‘Uncle Michael’.  We left hot, tired and happy.

We spent some time today trying to explain ‘the sea’ to Charles and Michael! They’ve never seen the sea and couldn’t imagine how the water comes to the beach. They were astonished at the idea of swimming in the sea. We showed them photos of the Zanzibar, County Durham and Yorkshire coasts. Its easy to forget how lucky we are to be able to travel, to experience different countries and cultures.  

It’s easy to forget that for many people, the concept of every house having running water and electricity seems an impossible dream.  We all make assumptions about other countries and can’t begin to imagine what life is like for people in other continents if we haven’t visited or experienced it first-hand.  Today I felt completely at home in church, with Michael’s family, and playing parachute games with children.  But my life is literally a world apart and I’ll be going home to comfort, food variety, hot showers, reliable power, easy transport and reliable roads, free healthcare, swimming… The list is endless. I am truly grateful for my life, the tricky part is using it well and fighting against injustice, poverty and corruption… wherever we find it.