When I applied to go on the World Race, one of the countries I was most excited about was Uganda. This dates back 4 years when the daughter of some Campus Crusade for Christ staff friends went to Uganda to do a summer mission trip. I contemplated staffing the trip before deciding against it. .
Instead, after hearing her stories of the summer and realizing how much I had, I decided to sponsor a child through Compassion in Uganda. I chose a little girl, Maurine, who is about the same age as my niece Ellie in order to have an idea of her development. It was a bit like adding an extra niece.
For four years, I have had the privilege of sending and receiving letters. My parents scanned and sent the letter that she sent this Christmas. In it, she said her one wish was to meet me.
Our 2nd to last day in Uganda, I had the opportunity to make that wish come true. It was a bit touch-and-go as Becca who was approved to go on the visit with me picked up malaria the week before. Sunday she was at the hospital being diagnosed and hardly able to get out of bed and by Thursday she was willing to get on an African bus with me for an 8 hour bus trip to the northwest corner of Uganda. To give you an idea, we were less than 5 miles from the border of Congo and under 30 miles from the border with South Sudan. Becca is a trooper and my hero as that bus felt like it was 120 degrees and we sweated the entire trip. We were afraid of having to figure out where and how to go to the bathroom so we chose dehydration the whole trip.
We look good. You can see how brown my shirt was from the dust
blowing in the windows.
The ice cold glass of water we had when we arrived at our hotel that evening might have been the best of my entire life.
This is an area that has been ravished by war and poverty is rampant. There are 4 Compassion centers in Arua and the center where Maurine goes serves 266 children.
We arrived in Arua Thursday night and spent the night in a hotel. It was by far the nicest place I have stayed in during my 8 months as it had a fan, my own bed, a shower, and a television that may have only had 1 station, but we did not care. It was a little slice of paradise for a night.
The next morning they picked us up and took us the the Child Development Center. We learned that I was the first Compassion sponsor to ever visit their child at the center. It was humbling and they were super cute formally welcoming us and serving us breakfast. Oly problem, we had gorged ourselves at the free all you can eat breakfast at the hotel. Let's just say I was forced to consume my 5th hard boiled egg and a yam the size of a very large hand. I don't even like yams. We were cracking up, but they were so cute we couldn't refuse.
We then went to the house where Maurine lives. It is a 10×10 room. The bathroom and washing facilities were outside and belong to the community. Maurine came running out to meet me in this gorgeous white dress.
Her older brother was also in a 3 piece suit, he was 10 and her younger sister, 2, was in a beautiful white dress. Maurine's mom is raising all 3 children on her own by selling small fish out of a basket in the markets. We had seen people like this on our bus trip to Arua and it gave me a new perspective on the hardships she faces as she tried to raise her family.
The family outside the home.
We proceeded to sit around and "talk" for about 3 hours. It was challenging as Maurine was definitely very excited and overwhelmed. Her English skills were limited, but we drew pictures, sang songs, and I showed her pictures of my family and life in the United States. We had a really amazing visit.
Maurine's pictures of Becca, Maurine and I. I'm the giant in the middle.
I was so encouraged to be able to meet her and pray for she and her family. During the visit, I learned that Maurine's favorite foods are chicken and pineapple. It was fun to return to the center with the family for lunch (We still weren't hungry yet) to find chicken and pineapple as part of the meal. We hung out for a bit longer before finally taking the family home and then we spent a little time in Arua before catching a night bus back to Uganda as our flight to Thailand was the next evening.
It was an amazing experience. If you have the means, I would strongly recommend sponsoring a child. It was amazing to realize the impact I am able to have on a family and on a child with about $1 a day. While we were visiting, I learned a great deal about Ugandan education. It is mandatory that it is free for all children, but the government does not allocate resources to make this successful. As an example, Maurine's 2nd grade class has over 100 students for a single teacher. As part of my money, she is provided with tutors and special assistance in order to help her learn outside the classroom environment as a classroom of over 100 is not ideal for actual learning taking place. I was shocked to learn that I am not just helping Maurine eat, but maybe giving her hope for a better life someday that she would not have without the tutoring she is receiving.
If you already sponsor a child, figure out a way to go meet them. The trip is so worth it for you and the child. I will never forget the day I was able to spend with Maurine and look forward to returning to Uganda again someday when Maurine is a bit older so we can have more conversations.
I'll jump back off my soapbox now. Until next time…..
