Last days in Uganda

Busia & Jinja, Uganda

Our last days in Uganda were spent in the south. We stayed in a town called Busia, which sits right on the Kenyan border, and met with several people from different organizations who made time to organize a large meeting with us to educate us on the state of trafficking and vulnerable people in southern Uganda. Obviously, any border town in any country is susceptible to trafficking pressures, but the porous nature of Uganda's borders and their limited resources make it an even greater challenge. (On a side note, one border guard offered to trade Mike for one of his “sisters” while we were visiting the Kenyan border...not sure if he was joking but it was a little discouraging).

The highlight of our Busia visit (and for some, our entire trip) was the afternoon we spent at New Hope Orphanage. It was a time for us to see what some amazing people were doing to raise up and strengthen the most disadvantaged of Uganda's children – those that had been orphaned or abandoned – and would otherwise be doomed to the worst of fates. As our bus pulled in to the orphanage, it was rushed by 100 screaming and smiling children, all eager to welcome us to their home. I wish I could explain to you the scene. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced. Many of our group members describe it as similar to what it must have been like to be “the f-ing Beatles.” I don't know what made these kids so happy to see us (I mean, really, what did we actually have to offer them?), but I do know that it took a good 10 minutes for us to get off the bus, as each one was enveloped by the kids and floated away as soon as we deboarded. As soon as I stepped off, I was hugged and held by at least 3 children continuously (and didn't have a free hand again until we left a couple of hours later). And the only thing I can think that they wanted was affection. They didn't want money or gifts, or anything else that I could determine. They just wanted to hold hands. And hug. And feel someone's arm around them. And connect. Who doesn't need that? I certainly did at that moment.
The children performed a couple of songs and dances (including one in which they sang “Aunt Angel, we are so happy, to see you here, at our orphanage”) that made me want to cry, and then let us play and laugh with them for the afternoon. All the while, I was never without a child holding on to me and making sure I was comfortable. When it was time for us to leave, we were all reluctant. It was so encouraging and refreshing to see children so filled with love and joy. And the truth is that they re-energized us. We needed them more than they needed us. We all felt so blessed and fortunate to get to spend time with them and to be reminded that there is hope for the people of Uganda. It was the perfect last organizational visit for our trip.

The next day, our last day in Uganda, we went white water rafting – on the Nile! I was scared out of my mind most of the time, and due to the multiple injuries incurred in our boat (my injury-contribution was a crack on the head that left us concerned that I may have broken my nose...) our boat was named “Blood on the Nile”. Lovely. 9-hours of boating later, we went over several class-5 rapids, flipped in one of the rapids, and managed to survive relatively unscathed (unless you count the 2 gallons of Nile water that I swallowed – quite possibly resulting in a parasite infection). Still, I'm proud of myself for doing it.