If you’ve ever seen black-and-white video footage of Patton’s army as he pushed the young men at his disposal to the breaking point from one battle field to the next, that is what many of the children of Uganda mirror in my mind’s eye. If a human, any human, could know strife, hunger, sleep deprivation, worry, and stress (perhaps stress above all) they might look the same as any other person under those conditions.
Ugandan kids can smile as they march from one grave to the next; such lovely spirited youth they are. The second of my two days with Kamye we visited a school for 175 children, 60 of whom are orphans from one cause or other; so often from AIDS. The school has five teachers, a single roofed structure about the size of a one car garage, and three skeletal, open air structures with benches, chairs and a chalk board. If I didn’t mention something, it’s because it isn’t there to mention.
There is not a single toilet, or washroom, no housing for the staff, no housing for the kids; just five dedicated people in a really tough situation doing what they can to help kids without a past try and build a future. Jesus said “wherever two or more are gathered in my name, there I am also.” We need to make sure these kids have “Jesus,” on their lips and Jesus in their hearts as they grow into adulthood, and it’s going to take more than five tenacious teachers.
Dear reader, I in no way want to imply that this trip was in anyway a hardship for me. I had the best of everything at all times as I would, being a man of some meager means in the States; which places me fiscally somewhere at the top of the Ugandan financial elite. The care I was shown was absolute, paramount, the best. If any of you has a heart to help the ones who are hurting, I have a plan, and would love to hear from you. In any case, I will be writing about it here. Love,
Joshua
Josh-
What a beautiful blog entry. I look forward to hearing all about your trip and ideas how to help when you get to NYC.
Love,
Stacey