Back to the Future 2

It started when I packed my hat. The hat I've worn for Global Care trips for the last 17 years. I began reminiscing about that first trip in 2008. Gosh Uganda has changed, and Soroti in particular, the location of trip number one.

In 2008 we visited camps for Internally Displaced People. I remember walking round a camp holding hands with a gaggle of little girls, shocked by the poverty & lack of sanitation, tumble-down dwellings & pools of filthy drinking water. We talked to people with dull eyes & fatigued expressions who recounted the horror of living under the LRA insurrection. We heard horrific stories of hiding from gunmen, being caught in cross fire, the abduction of children forced to be child soldiers. It was tough stuff. I cried every day. It was too much. Too hard, too horrific.

Then we were taken to see the work of Global Care. We visited schools feeding their community through agriculture on land bought by GC. We visited families & met sponsored children whose lives were turned around by being able to go to school. We heard successful professionals explain how they were supporting their whole extended family... thanks to being taken onto the sponsorship programme. 

We were bowled over by the local & UK teams, and by their love for the broken & destitute (photo from Dec. 24). Challenged by their motivation and determination to reach out to the most vulnerable people, and their work to break the cycle of poverty for families living on the edge if survival. We witnessed examples of improved sanitation, new fresh water supplies, and education & healthcare to those for whom it was completely out of reach. 

David commented last year that I'm still wearing the same hat. It was christened, 'The hat of tears', in memory of my endless pathetic sobbing. It should really be 'The hat of hope.' David admitted he showed us the worst situations first, then when he'd broken us, he revealed Global Care's life changing interventions bringing hope & expectation for vulnerable families. 

That early trip changed us. It made us see that up to that point, we'd been passive supporters and observers. We'd happily fork out for monthly sponsorship, but without understanding. We had no active participation, no championing the work of Global Care. We went to Uganda thinking we were pretty good on the giving front, brave to go on a trip. We came home humbled & passionate, knowing it's not about us. Positive outcomes depend on the hard work & commitment of those local teams. But goodness... Global Care makes such a difference. 

Uganda changed.. More about Soroti later in the week.  Unimaginable poverty is still here, & the rich/poor divide ever increases, but infrastructure is modern in towns. Our hotel provided us with familiar conference facilities & the electrics look pretty safe (not the bare wires in the bathroom we used to see). Global Care changed too. Now in addition to sponsorship & schools partnerships, there are vocational courses, community projects, disability initiatives, and an understanding that projects need to be sustainable. Children & families should be thriving - independent of outside help & self-sufficient. Projects here are led by local Ugandan managers & teams, support communities in a locally relevant way, & are increasingly community led. 

I'm so excited to meet up with the Ugandan teams again, our friends. What an inspiring & humble group. The kind of people you want to spend time with. They build us up. David & Moses have spent 17 years showing me the effectiveness of proper listening (I'm a slow learner). They listen first & speak with authority & vision, whether it's advocating for a child, or planning a new project. And their faith in God inspires me every time... 

Today we're preparing for our presentations & workshops. Anticipation has overcome anxiety.. although I feel ill equipped to face the mighty men & women of the board. The ones I know fit into my potential for hero worship category. Wow! What a force for good & for God. 

It's going to be good. I just hope David doesn't come armed with more 'crying' stories!