Saturday, February 13, 2010

FEBRUARY 15th

Hi loved ones
What can I say? Where do I begin? The ride up to the camp was on a small dirt road in the forest. We passed tiny groups of poeple who were at their shops (huts and homes) Like a bike shop, electronics, food
Now- Picture a hut with letters on it and a bunch of men fixing things or hanging out...red dirt everywhere. All kinds of vegetation and trees up the mountain. Even some beautiful meadows. Cows and goats tied up here and there. Kids running out to wave at the bus, dirty faces, torn dirty clothes and homes made of stick and mud and then some nicer ones about the size of a bedroom with brick and even windows and door. The camp sits on top of the mtn and looks out to lake louise. Much like looking out at the san juans. BEAUTIFUL...right now the couple is developing relationships with the villages and cleaning up te land for some building. They hope to use this as a camp that men/sons, mothers/daughters and families can come and rest, learn about God and do retreat like things. The first group is arriving next week for a small retreat. Tents are all they have. One outhouse much like you would find on a backpacking trip.

Now...I dont know if I have the words to describe my walk down to a small fishing village last night. By village I mean...Huts made of scraps of wood like you would throw together if you were stuck in the forest. It is on the beach. Ladies were drying smelt. Children Ran naked, filth everywhere, women laying around and men watching us closely. These people are on the property that was just bought and need to move. They really have nothing. The men have wooden fishing boats and its overwhelming. I cant describe the poverty, kids ran up with shy faces, huge smiles and one little boy reached up and grabbed me for a hug. I was with a gal who had candy so the kids were happy. One father got very angry. So today we are organizing for 3 days of medical clinics in 2 villages much like I just described. We are hoping these people will see that our hearts are open, not a threat.
Ok thats all for now.
No access here I am being priviledged to share.
They people are tyring to build encourage healthy Godly families. the men now are pretty harsh and controlling. Very little teaching of how to be a loving father to their children or loving husband.
More later
we have it so good
I love you,
S



FEBRUARY 13th
Goodmorning from Entebbe
It is very warm and sticky- Lots of gnats in bed with me this a.m....not much sleep had-
So far it reminds me of Mexico but cleaner. People have friendly. The first friends name is
FAROOK...just like King Farook!
I will send more when I get on with the purpose.
We leave this a.m. for the medical outreach.
Love to All
S

8 comments:

  1. I miss you i love you your the best nonee! love mikayla

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  2. Wow....you are actually there! No longer just imagining what it might be like! I hope you take it all in, feel it, take in the imagines, listen to all of the sounds, expereince the tastes and smells. Know that your sisters are traveling with you in spirit. (With guilt I write this from the comfort of my home without gnats and having had a good night sleep). God's blessings follow you always and everwhere. Sally

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  3. BooHoo GNATS! Wait until you spend the night with bedbugs or wake up with a scorpion!! Can't wait to hear about the safari, can you post a picture or two. If you don't see any live game send us a picture of an elephant doo or something :)

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  4. Hi Loved Ones
    What can I say? Where do I begin? The ride up to the camp was on a small dirt road in the forest. We passed tiny groups of people who were
    at their shops(huts and homes) Like a bike shop, electronics,food
    Now- picture a hut with letters on it and a bunch of men fixing things or hanging out...Red dirt everywhere. All kinds of vegetation and trees up the mountain. Even some beautiful meadows. Cows & goats tied up here and there..Kids running out to wave at the bus, Dirty faces, torn dirty clothes and homes made of stick and mud and then some nicer ones about the size of a bedroom with brick and even windows and door.
    The camp sits on top of the mtn and looks out to Lake Louise. Much like looking out at San Juans. BEAUTIFUL...
    Right now the couple is developing relationships with the villages and cleaning up the land for some building. They hope to use this as a camp that men/sons, mothers/daughters and families can come and rest, learn about God and do retreat like things. The first group is arriving next week for a small retreat. Tents are all they have. One 0uthouse much like one you would find on a backpacking trip.

    NOW...I don't know if I have the words to describe my walk down to a small fishing village last night. By village I mean...Huts made out of scraps of wood like you would throw together ifyou were stuck in the forest. It is on the beach. Ladies were drying smelt. Children ran naked, filth everywhere, women laying around and men watching us closely. These people are on the property that was just bought and need to move. They realllllly have nothing. The men have wooden fishing boats and it was overwhelming. I can't describe the poverty,
    Kids ran up with shy faces, huge smiles and one little boy reached up and grabbed me for a hug. I was with a gal who had some candy so the kids were happy. One father got very angry.
    So today we are organizing for 3 days of medical clinics in 2 villages much like I just described. We are hoping these people will see that our hearts are open not a threat.
    Ok..thats all for now.
    No access here I am being priviledged to share.

    The people are trying to build encourage healthy Godly families. The men now are pretty harsh and controlling. Very little teaching of how to be a loving father to their children or loving husband.
    More later

    We have it so good,.
    I love you
    S

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hope you are enjoying your time...be SAFE! We are missing you at work...take lots of pics. Lots of Love to you- The Lab girls

    ReplyDelete
  6. That sort of suffering and lack of resources makes my heart hurt. Makes it so clear that power should be shared with all. So glad you are there Mom, those people and children need to feel the wonderful love you have to give! Keep the updates coming :) love ya lots
    - Rob

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  7. Is this where you are????

    In Busia, Uganda, a dusty, gritty, border town of 50,000, the main drag is lined with hotels that cater to truckers. At many of these, more than lodging is provided. The HIV infection rate is significantly higher here than elsewhere in Uganda.

    This is where, in 2002, a former children’s social worker named Ken Mulago opened an orphanage. Dubbed New Hope, it quickly met and surpassed its capacity, doubling up its charges in their narrow bunks. There were children of commercial sex workers, children abandoned or abused by their parents, and children whose parents— sick with HIV or addicted to drugs or drink—were simply unable to care for them.

    In 2007, Christopher Higgins ’10 arrived to find New Hope on the precipice. Mulago was able to keep the children fed, clothed, and in school, but just barely. He didn’t take a salary; in bad months, his wife or another relative would bail out the orphanage.

    Higgins, a social-studies concentrator and ROTC cadet in Winthrop House, came for what he thought was a one-time visit. (Seduced by friends’ gap-year stories, he’d decided to take a year off from Harvard to travel.) He found New Hope by stumbling on its website; it was, he says, “a leap of faith.” For Mulago, it was the answer to a prayer. “I don’t want to be pessimistic,” he says, “but I think we would have closed if he had not come. The situation was so bad, so bad, so bad.”

    Despite the challenges, Higgins found himself charmed by the children and impressed with the way Mulago ran the orphanage, how he taught the children to care for each other and pitch in with chores. Though Higgins continued his trip, spending the first half of 2008 traveling mostly overland from Indonesia to Turkey, his heart was in Busia. In between writing grant proposals, soliciting donations, building a new website, and recruiting volunteers (contacting friends and family from Internet cafés across Asia), Higgins pondered how to set up the orphanage so it wouldn’t require external support to stay afloat.

    In the two years since, he has returned twice and worked with Mulago and the other three orphanage staffers, along with American volunteers (he has recruited more than 20, including several Harvard students), to implement projects that include opening an Internet café (which earns money and serves as a computer school for the orphans); buying a pickup truck that neighbors can rent for a fee; constructing buildings on the orphanage grounds to house pigs and chickens, bred for food and for sale; and planting a sweet-potato crop that, by itself, should fetch a price equal to New Hope’s annual operating costs. In fact, the orphanage expects to have enough income to cover university tuition for its inhabitants as they reach the enrollment age.

    New Hope has left reciprocal impressions on Higgins. He plans a senior thesis on trade and foreign-policy links between China and Africa. He picked up some practical skills—figuring out how to buy a load of pigs in Kampala, to take just one example. And there is his relationship with Mulago, whom he calls “incredibly humble, generous, and inspirational”—a friendship based on deep respect for what one man, armed with passion and principles, prepared to work hard, can accomplish.

    Visit the New Hope website
    Read the Friends of New Hope blog

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  8. Hey Sue- It's good to hear from you. I couldn't get a picture of me to post, so I'm using a pic of our newest "granddog", Webster. We're in love with him, but we have no plans to have a dog for now. What an adventure you're having. You're seeing a part of humanity that few can imagine, much less ever hope to experience. God goes before you (he's everywhere-I even remember learning that when I was still a catholic!!!) Lean on Him for courage, compassion and strength. He is your only source at times like this. I'm praying that you will all remain healthy and continue to serve as Jesus would.

    Much love, JB

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