Back to Uganda, and a very special day with very special people

Today I flew back to Uganda and had the joy of once again being greeted by Natalie at the airport. Then, after a quick drive to the nearby ‘Sunset motel,’ I was able to witness the sweet reunion of Rozzie and Natalie, after 6 months of being apart; and of course Tim and Natalie (but I have to confess it was the Natalie – Rozzie reunion that was most moving!).

So, we are together again, and under African skies – what a perfect combination! Thank you Lord plus plus plus!

The other special people that have played a part in making this day so beautiful are firstly John and Sophie Njendahayo, our hosts for the week, and who are hosting Natalie for her time in Uganda. John and Sophie also host all the CRED and 360 teams that I bring out here, and so coming here for me is like coming to my African home – always a great delight.

John is also the Uganda half of Link International, the newest CRED partner (at the moment!!), and it is through him that I have been able to introduce teams to various projects in and around Kampala that he has initiated. John is an wonderful mix of entrepreneur, inventor, man of faith, and humble servant-heart, and spending time with him is a privilege and inspiration every time; I love seeing how the young people respond to his story, his life, his way of being and his contribution to the world -  it impacts them every time

I’ll tell you tomorrow about the sustainability projects that John has initiated, but today we went to visit the Acholi community – the other group of very special people involved in today.

The Acholi people were displaced from their tribal homelands in northern Uganda during the reign of terror led by Joseph Kony and the Lords Resistance Army. Since then they have been living in an informal settlement within Kampala, with their main form of income being work found in the stone quarries on either side of the settlement. The quarries are fairly narrow, and very steep sided, and I hate to think how many injuries must be sustained as people clamber up and down, getting the rocks that they then sit and hit with a hammer until the pieces of rock are like small pebbles suitable for use in the construction business. Unskilled, thankless work, that brings in just a pittance of an income, and as a result many live in poverty and about 40% of the children can’t afford to go to school

It is in this community that Natalie has been doing some very basic literacy lessons to the children, and although one of the main obstacles has been that the children have no concept of how to behave in a classroom setting, it was clear today just how much she is appreciated by the community.

The Acholi ladies were clearly delighted to finally meet the whole Harrison family, and the fact that Simon, CRED director and visiting Uganda for the first time this weekend as well, was also there, just topped it off!

We all got a wonderful welcome, with singing and dancing from the ladies and then the children, and it was a very special time., including the ladies presenting Natalie with a thank-you gift.

One of the ways that the Acholi ladies are increasingly earning an alternative income is through making paper bead jewellery. Long thin triangles of paper wound tightly round a needle transform into beautiful beads that, once threaded and varnished, make some really lovely pieces of jewellery.

The market for these items is partly through local markets, but also through all the international teams that are introduced to these products via John. Over the years, interest in the beads has grown, and people buy some, then order more, and then other teams come, and then they do repeat orders……Today I heard that the demand has now reached a level whereby some of the ladies can afford to stop working in the quarries, and concentrate on bead-making as their source of income. What wonderful news – no more back-breaking, heartless work. But instead work that can be done at home, that requires skill and creativity, is rewarding, and empowering.  Brilliant!

Life is still far from easy and straightforward for these people – they still live lives that we would consider to be incredibly lacking; but hearing how much progress has been made, partly through the input of CRED teams and the money they have spent when coming here, was the icing on the cake to a very special day.