Three Meetings and a Funeral

I am sitting in the shade at our guest house with my cup of African (spiced, milky) tea, after a long day of meetings. I was greeted this morning by the offer of a school table, having blogged yesterday about the lack of surfaces in our room – one person is reading my blog apart from my mother… There are morning prayers at the start of the day, and I’m beginning to think someone’s trying to tell me something.  Today’s message was about humility!

We started today planning our programme, and catching up with Hannah, who has been helping out at the Ark disability centre.  Our timing for a Soroti visit is not perfect. Firstly, Hannah has been called to Kampala to complete immigration formalities. When they call, you go. Hannah and her husband Aaron work for US charity, Water for All, which partners with Global Care in Soroti. Hannah’s background means that she has been able to support the team at the Ark with practical and administrative ideas. The most impressive of these visually, is a walking frame, designed by Hannah, built with local materials, using the skills of the GC tailoring workshop, and the welding facility at Water for All.  It was great to see it in use – children we haven’t seen standing on their own before, now able to move freely in an upright position.  

Our second clash is with a Hepatitis B vaccination programme. Deaths due to Hep B have been increasing locally, so the team have arranged for all the sponsored and Ark children to be vaccinated (it’s not free).  This will take place on Thursday and Friday, then on Saturday we’ll visit the school for the deaf, so sponsored children there don’t miss out.

Today we looked at how to evaluate the impact of the programmes here.  It is exciting to hear the staff talking about their aims for vulnerable children in Soroti. There’s a real desire to see households lifted out of extreme poverty, and for children to gain education and skills for self-sustainability.  The team's heart is to build self-esteem, raise expectations of families and children themselves, and counteract negative attitudes towards those who are poor or disabled.  They want to empower sponsored children to believe that like others before them, they can be leaders, doctors, lawyers, teachers and managers.  Inspiring stuff!

We haven’t had much time to visit the Ark today, but we managed to greet the children and staff. They loved some of the sensory toys I took, although not everyone appreciated the fluorescent flashing hairy rubber caterpillars.  We had a great time discussing long-term plans and ideas for the Ark. Once again I was impressed and humbled by the love and care of the staff for children with severe physical, sensory and intellectual disability.  There are many challenges working with this group of children, but the team want to tackle them, and ensure that children are not isolated or neglected at home.

Some of you have been a tremendous support and encouragement to us, so here’s a quick update:

S had her operation last Monday and the fractured bone has been plated at a hospital in Mbale. It will be another week before the biopsy results come back.  Thank you so much again to those who donated for her surgery. There will be aftercare and rehab to follow, and probably more treatment – so watch out, more fundraising will take place.    

      Thanks for the clothes. Most of these were given out in Rukungiri after seeing such terrible need.

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•        Thanks for the sensory toys – I can’t wait to have a proper session with them later in the week.

Thanks for the footballs and Frisbees – mostly given to schools already, but I have a few left for here and Kampala

Thanks for the quilts made for the babies at Amecet. This was our worst timing. As they are near the guest house, we called in on the way home.  Unfortunately, a baby died today. It is a common occurrence at Amecet so they told us we could go in and see the manager.  Imagine our horror when the girl taking us in said, ‘Please, you can come in’, and we found ourselves in the baby’s room, the grieving mother at the side of the cot. The tiny baby coffin was on the floor waiting for the body.  We arranged to go back another day…

That’s the reality of life here – and we know we are going to have to face it. It’s great to see our friends, and spend a day listening to them planning and evaluating, being encouraged by their dedication and love, excited by the way they work together supporting and appreciating each other. But the reason for it all is the extreme poverty and vulnerability of children with no hope. We have to understand where they have come from, to understand why GC is so effective in changing lives.