We’re a bit weary this evening.
In 6½ hours we travelled about 100 miles, met
6 disabled children in the project, visited 5 schools (one of which was
closed!), had no toilet breaks (although 2 men managed to sneak off at one
point), no snacks, got stuck in mud once, moved fallen debris off the muddy
path once, got soaked once, dropped 1 bag on a path that had turned into a
river, got mobbed 3 times (‘Muzungu, Muzungu, how are you?’), gave 2 boys a
lift so they could guide us to a house (child in project, parents failed to
tell Moses they’d moved), didn’t get lost.
We drove through a dense forest, up and down steep slippery rutted
tracks, and over beautiful rolling hills on relatively OK roads.
When we arrived back in town, 2 of us rushed
for the loo then the 4 of us had a huge local buffet for a total price of approx.
£10. Phew.
We passed huge rice fields and were perplexed by bright blue
structures dotted around the valley. Moses informed us they were shelters for
bird scarers. We looked more closely and all over the fields spotted raised mud
platforms with rudimentary shelters made from sticks and grass – and occasionally
extra protection from a blue plastic sheet. Children and young people perched
on the platforms ‘chasing away the birds.’ Moses said, ‘These children have no school,
no life.’ It was lashing down with rain. When the sun’s out its blisteringly
hot.
It’s been that kind of day.
For our first school visit, we drove down, then
walked up, a muddy footpath to the entrance, a gap in a barbed wire fence. Children
were clearing grass and weeds and generally tidying the school compound with machetes
and hoes.
They were preparing the school
for a fundraising day in December – we were invited to attend!
Moses told us the disabled child at the school
comes from a family who is ‘not very poor’, so Global Care only pays for
transport. He used to be late for school and didn’t come every day but coming
to school on a boda (motorbike taxi) means he arrives on time every day. He
walks home and is walking much better with the exercise. Apparently ‘not very
poor’ doesn’t mean you have shoes, but unlike many of the other children, he
was wearing school uniform.
On our second visit we met a subdued little boy. Francis*
comes from a very poor family. He lives with his father who Moses described as,
‘A drunkard.’ There’s a huge problem with alcohol abuse in this area, which let’s
face it is associated with poverty. There are 100 children in Francis’s class,
but the school employed a second teacher and split the class – which of course
means the fees will go up. Moses paid Francis’s fees and we talked to his class
teacher. He has a club foot which was operated on when he was younger, and he
walks with a pronounced limp. The teacher told us he plays and interacts with
other children, but, ‘He has a problem...’ She said, ‘He doesn’t have food.’ Francis
told us there’s is often no food at home. The children bring packed lunches to
school. Francis brings lunch 3 days out of 5. He has no shoes and no uniform.
We were thoughtful in the car but cheered up at our next 2
visits, catching up with children we met in February. Abby was given a standing
frame through the project. Her balance has improved since the last time we saw
her. George has Cerebral Palsy and can’t walk far, but he’s only 4 so a bit
young for school. The project gave him a walker and helped with some costs for George
and his father to spend 2 weeks at a rehabilitation hospital. Although his
mobility is steadily improving, we think he’ll need a wheelchair for school, so
we visited the local school. We were delighted at the positive attitude of the
staff to inclusive education. They’ll work with Moses to develop paths and
clear ground and there’s a plan for a GCare funded block of latrines including a
wheelchair accessible stall. We had similar discussions at the last school.
Today got me thinking about poverty. In Uganda we’re used to
seeing children in filthy ragged clothes, shoeless and often not at school. We’re
used to children doing heavy chores, fetching water and firewood, looking after
younger siblings, helping in the garden.
We’ve become complacent. We visited Simon
today. He and his sisters were sheltering from the rain in a tiny smoky hut preparing
vegetables to cook on the fire, while their mother worked in the garden some
distance away.
Simon greeted us then rushed
off to put on a shirt, change into less dirty shorts and wash his face
(partially successful). Simon treated us with respect and honour – he deserves
the same.
The project provides fees,
uniform and scholastic materials, the family lives in obvious poverty.
Its distressing when you hear a child has no
food or see children working as human scarecrows.
Poverty here doesn’t fit our
Western poverty concept – its extreme. We can’t leave these children isolated
and uneducated as well as poor. Disabled children are often last to eat, last
to go to school, last to get medical attention. I love this project – we’ve
seen 17 of the 19 children receiving help, and all those we met before have a
better life. Global Care’s motto is, ‘You can’t do everything, can’t do
nothing, must do something.’ And that’s what the disability project is doing –
something to change 19 lives.
Tomorrow and Friday we pull all the data and information
together, review the children’s care plans and plan and budget for next year.
Its going to be hard work but I can’t wait to get started.
If you want to help this project, go to
Rukungiri Disability Project on the Global Care website.
*children’s names are made up to protect identity.
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