Acholi visit – always a joy

 

I’ve been fortunate to get down to Acholi Quarters twice on this Uganda visit, and both were an absolute joy as always. On my last visit to Uganda I was managing with a broken ankle and (undiagnosed) broken elbow – so the uneven terrain of AQ was just too much, and I had to miss out on the visits. I was bitterly disappointed, and so to be able to have such lovely visits this time was an extra bonus.

To share all the conversations and outcomes in one blog would be too much. Certainly there was enough material to create a number of CRED blogs, which I will do over the coming weeks, but for now I just want to share a flavour of the visits as examples of how God is at work in the community and answering prayers in beautiful ways.

On some previous visits in the past year, I have sat with some of the Acholi women as they have shared their hopes and dreams for setting up small businesses to earn a bit of income in a way that doesn’t include things like breaking up rocks, or collecting plastic bottles from trash heaps. One thought was to set up a soap making business between a small group of them, another pair wanted to make samosas to sell, and another wanted to set up a food stall selling a few different items that together make up the components for a standard meal. Having discussed business plans with the women and been assured that the ideas were sound, and thanks to some generous donations, I was able to hand over the start up capital to enable these women to embark on their new ventures.

On this visit I gained some really good feedback about how they are all doing. The soap makers are selling the bars of soap as fast as they can make them, and they are savvy enough to have two prices – a lower price for sales within the AQ community, and a higher price for sales outside to passers by. The profit that they are making is going into savings, and they are really encouraged by how well things have started. An additional note on this one is that Agnes, who was the driving force behind the venture and who lived on the edge of AQ, had her home bulldozed by city developers just days before they were due to start the soap-making. Not surprisingly she was devastated, as no warning had been given so she had no time to save many belongings. However, the community came together and helped her pick up her life again, and she says that the focus of the soap project really helped her to move forwards. A beautiful example of good coming from a really difficult situation.

The samosas are selling well, and some new women are now involved in the venture after one of the original pair got permanent work in a nearby hotel. So that’s a prayer answered for expansion of the business to support more women. And the food stall is doing good business selling beef (from cows heads and hooves rather than the finer cuts), little silver fish, and cassava. Every day they sell most if not all of their stock, and gain enough profit to be able to put into savings to help with school fees etc. So lots of positives there, and some prayers being answered.

On this visit I also met with two who are hoping to start university very soon – this is huge for this community. Very few get to the end of senior school let alone embark on university, and so the goodwill and community pride emanating around this is palpable. It was lovely to sit and chat with the two about their dreams, as well as get a better understanding of the application process – makes UCAS sound like a dream!!!

Other bits and pieces included meeting a little baby just 3 weeks old who had been given some baby clothes knitted by one of the elderly ladies who I know through the domicillary care work that I do in Thornbury. I was able to send photos back to the knitter of the baby in the outfit, and his young mum – apparently the knitter was thrilled beyond words to actually see the outfit being worn! I suspect I might have more outfits being knitted in the future!

I got to judge a Christmas card competition that the Acholi children took part in, to design a Christmas card that can be used for CRED donors later this year. It was a bit surreal looking at Christmas designs in the heat of an African July day, but it was great to do, and the children were all so excited to be taking part. They added to the joy of the occasion by treating me to a little, impromptu song and dance show – the space was small, the sound system was minimal, but the dancing was great and the enthusiasm and smiles.

I got to sit with my friends there, sharing family news, catching up on community happenings, just being together, even though our homes are so far apart in so many ways. I got to have that lovely experience of walking through the community and knowing where I was going. And of being stopped by people who knew me to say hello and ask how I was. That feeling you get when you realise that you’re not a total 100% outsider anymore!

I came away from Acholi Quarters with my heart full. Full of love for this wonderful community that I am so honoured to be able to call my friends. Full of joy at all the various examples of life seeming to be moving in a more positive direction for some of them after all this time. Full of a sense of thankfulness to God that I am able to be involved in His kingdom work in this community. Full of awe for all that I learn every time that I am with the community, about grace, hope, generosity, resilience, and community spirit. Full of yearning to be able to do more.

I am so aware of the massive gulf between my life and theirs, but I thank God for giving me the opportunity to bridge that gap and demonstrate to the Acholi members in practical ways, that they are not alone, and not forgotten. And I look forward to more such opportunities in the future. 

 

 

Life-changing Water for Aysha - an NNF project in Uganda

 

One of the projects that John Nj runs from the Nkuru college campus in rural Mityana is the Uwero water project which pipes clean water to families around the community.

The college has ownership of a piece of land that has a natural spring in it. This spring services the water needs of the college, plus nursery and primary schools, cafeteria, hairdressing salon, and accommodation blocks, all of which are on campus.

But there is water left, and so over the past few years John and his students have gradually been laying pipes to take the water to families for whom clean water is not easily available. The families have to make some small contribution to the infrastructure (mainly purchasing the water meter), and they pay for the number of units that they use. But the difference it makes to those families is huge.

An example of this change was seen today when I visited Aysha, mother of 4 young children, who has recently had a water meter and tap installed. Aysha told me that before she had the tap, she had to walk about 30 minutes each way to get a jerrican of water, and that was from a water hole that was also frequented by the cows and the goats. So the water was invariably dirty, and even though she boiled it and strained it, the children were often suffering with water-borne illnesses.

Since she got the tap, the water is so clean that none of the children have been sick at all. Obviously this is great from a health perspective, but in a country with no NHS, there is a big cost-saving implication as well.

Talking of cost, if Aysha wanted to get clean water before, she would have to pay a boda (motorbike) driver to go to the nearest well to buy water from there, and altogether that would work out at 1,000 Uganda shillings per jerrican (about 25p), Now, based on the unit price of the water at her tap, she can fill a jerrycan for 200 shillings – so a massive saving for someone already living in rural poverty.

Aysha also spoke of the benefits of having more time at home as a result of not walking to get water: ‘I have more time to tend to my coffee crop, which means I have a bigger harvest to take to market. And I have more time to do the other chores that are needed, plus time to be with my children. This tap has changed my life in so many ways. I thank God every day for it.’

Some recipients of the piped water (especially the elderly folk) just rejoice in the fact that they don’t have to walk long distances to get water. Others use it to improve irrigation for their cash crops, or to ensure that the chickens are better hydrated resulting in a higher price at market. Families where the girl child had to go and get water now have girls who benefit from more time to do homework, and not having to put themselves in the vulnerable position of collecting water in remote rural areas. Some homes even sell some of their water to neighbours, again at a much reduced cost.

Aysha is one of 76 homes who have received piped water with tap and meter from the college spring. Working on an average of 6 people per home, that is 456 people whose lives have been transformed for the better. Well done John and team!

 

ILA-Uganda – transforming lives, one by one

 

One of the locations where ILA-Uganda carries out its trauma counselling and community development programs is in Palabek – a district in northern Uganda that has a refugee settlement situated in it as well as the local communities. The refugee population is from South Sudan, who clearly have a lot of trauma in their life experiences, but the local population will also have had its fair share of trauma as a result of the conflict with the Lords Resistance Army that ravaged the area between 1980 and 2006. Therefore, ILA is involved in delivering its ‘Empower’ trauma counselling programme in both the host community and the displaced community.

But whenever possible ILA goes further than the Empower programme and seeks other opportunities to carry out community development activities. Recently CRED was able to give ILA some funds to enable them to give vocational bursaries to four young people from the Palabek communities.  And whilst I was in Gulu at the ILA offices I had the privilege of meeting those young people  - here are their stories.

Emily is 24 and is a refugee from South Sudan. Her education was cut short at primary 5, although I didn’t catch the reason for that – it could have been the war, but there are also many girls from her country who aren’t allowed to complete their studies because early marriage and caring for younger siblings is considered the role of the girl. Emily came to Palabek camp with her grandmother and her two young children although her grandmother has since passed on. For many girls of her age, life in the camp has little hope – you get your food parcels, you have your small home, and beyond that there is little to do. So alcohol starts to feature, plus unplanned pregnancies with men who can’t provide any support. Some girls get into relationships with men in the hopes that the guy can provide an income, and when they find he can’t, the relationship ends and another one starts. Life feels futile and hopeless.

Emily wanted more than this, and the ILA team had noticed her positive engagement with their programmes and her willingness to get involved. So they offered her an opportunity to take up one of the vocational bursaries, and she jumped at it. The course that she chose was that of tailoring, and when I met she said how much she was looking forward to being able to put her new skills into practice, and earn some money to help provide her children with a better life than they have at the moment. She was so full of gratitude and thanks for the input from ILA – not just the vocational bursary, but also all the counselling and guidance that has resulted in her feeling more empowered, and in a much better state of mental well-being than she might otherwise have been.

Sam is also a refugee from South Sudan, and also age 24. He completed his secondary education to senior 4 level at the school in Palabek, but there was no facility for him to go further and study to senior 6 level which had been his dream. Like Emily, the opportunities for young people in the camp are few, and soon Sam found himself to be a father. He and the mother are now married, and they have a second child. Sam dreams of being able to put his children through school and to achieve levels of education that he couldn’t manage. But poverty is everywhere, and it is hard to make ends meet.

Again, ILA saw something special in Sam when they met him – an inner drive to make something of himself if he could just get that first helping hand. The bursary that was offered has enabled Sam to go to college and train to be a hairdresser. He chose this vocation because it is mobile, has lots of potential, and crosses all the boundaries of age, class, and ethnicity with regard to clientele. Sam is so excited to start his business. He has already formed his business plan in his head, identified the ideal spot to set up his salon, and is raring to go. When I asked which type of hair styling he prefers, he said ‘plaiting, but maybe also shaving – I don’t mind really, I love it all!’

Unlike Emily and Sam, Faith is from the host community in Palabek. Age 26 she dropped out of school after completing her primary education and now has two children age 6 and 9 years. She shared how the standard sort of life for teenage girls in her community was to finish school at primary level with no hope of progressing on to further education, and then lose themselves in alcohol abuse, discos, unplanned pregnancies with guys who couldn’t provide any support, before returning home to live with the parents in order to try and raise the children. She said that some of her peers would get jobs as home helps to try and earn some money, and others got involved in home brewing, to service the busy trade in alcohol consumption. Like Emily and Sam, the lack of hope for anything in the future was palpable.

But now things are looking up for Faith thanks to being recipient number three of the ILA bursaries. She also chose to do a tailoring course, and is excited to have a skill that means she can use her hands in a positive way to give her children a better future. She expressed her gratefulness to ILA for all the support that they have given her, and also to God for identifying her to ILA that they chose her in the first place.

Ben was the fourth of the bursary recipients, and like Faith he comes from the host community. He is 25, and has a child but sadly has no contact with the child after his wife left him. Ben made it to senior 2 before poverty got in the way of further education, and after that he started to go the same way as many of his peers: alcohol, drug abuse, suicidal thoughts. Some of his peers have ended up in prison after engaging in petty crime, others have died at the hands of mob-justice. He says none of them had any plans, none thought about the future – if they woke to a new day they got through it, and that was how life was.

But thanks to ILA, the Empower programme, and then the bursary, Ben has turned his life around, and he desperately wants to help others do the same. He chose to do hair styling, and when I asked him why he said ‘everyone has hair – everyone needs a hair stylist! It’s a never-ending role that there will always be a demand for.’ His favourite part of the work is shaving, but he’s happy to do the full range of hair styling if it brings him in more clients. 

Having met with the four young people, and listened as they shared their stories, they then showed me with great delight the start-up packs of equipment that they happened to be given on the day of my visit to mark the completion of their course.

Faith and Emily both received a treadle sewing machine, table, stool, bolts of material, threads, machine oil, zips, buttons, a mirror and two chairs for clients. Ben and Sam both received an electric clipper set, hair straighteners, shampoo, a portable hair washing sink, chairs, solar panel and battery so that they can use the electric items, hair extensions and braids, and other hairstyling paraphernalia that I didn’t quite recognise! They really are set up with all that they need to get started, and it was lovely to see the joy on their faces as they looked through all of the equipment that is now theirs.

It was such an honour to be able to sit with the four and hear them talk about their lives. To listen as they spoke about the dark and hopeless places that they had come from, and the turnaround that had come their way through the bursaries was a beautiful and inspiring time. It was a reminder of how transforming lives doesn’t need to be huge and impacting for many at a time, but can be one person at a time – for those whose lives are changed it is just as valuable an input.

I think Ben summed it up for them all when he said ‘I am so grateful to God for giving me this opportunity – it has changed my life. I urgently request for there to be more opportunities if at all possible so that others who were in the same bad place as me can have a new chance at living’.

If you would like to get involved in changing a life – just let me know!