all I see is hope

Now that you understand the general structure of New Hope Uganda, you have to hear all about the people.  The co founders are an American and a Ugandan who had the vision of forming much more than an orphanage.  They wanted to keep Ugandan culture alive and offer hope to those who have been forced over the years to make tough decisions based on their personal situations.  Uganda was in a civil war when the Danger (co founding family) family arrived to Kampala.  There was so much unrest at the time that their children would fall asleep to gunfire at night.  They would hide in the hallway of their home when the fighting outside it got too close. 

More than this, Uganda had a huge AIDS epidemic, to the point where children were caring for their very sick parents until their death.  Children were so hopeless they would pray and try to “catch” the disease so they would not live much longer than their parents.  This adding to the other treatable diseases that were going uncared for in so much of the country gave way to a huge orphan population.  Then the Lord’s Resistance Army rose up, orphaning children as they swept through villages drafting child soldiers who were proving their allegiance and saving their own lives by killing their parents and leaving to follow Joseph Kony the monster who had the vision for this atrocity.  Not to mention devastating poverty and an impoverished mindset that saw so much pain that their hope was for little more than the next few years let alone any future. 

Side note, I am not an expert on these matters, these are relevant issues in this country (although, the civil war has ended, the LRA and AIDS have been drastically decreased due to a governmental lead to exercise them from the population) not because the are happening but because they have happened and what is left are broken lives that need restoration.  Obviously children were the main victims in this battle and obviously children will be in need after their families are stolen from them by the things that can kill, steal and destroy.  Obviously many humanitarians were looking to care for the orphans and their grandmothers that were taking care of so many grand children alone with no income.  I have visited a few orphanages and ministries, in my time here that are looking to help those in need.  Giving food to the hungry, sending poor families children to school, giving orphans a bed in a dormitory or a children’s home, even Adoption domestic and international. The difference at New Hope is the emphasis on fatherhood and family.      

The importance of fatherhood and the instabillity of the lack thereof, is something we feel even in America, not so much as orphans.  We see it all of the time, single mothers raising children with little to no help from the children’s father.  Women juggling work, school, homework, baby sitters, day cares, family help, after school activities, and trying to have a social life,  It is a struggle to raise a family, especially alone.  The issue here in Uganda is that there are plenty of aunties and jaja’s (grandma’s) who would be more than willing to care for these children if they were being supported by and American organization. 

This is not an up bringing that promotes family, rather it teaches children that the presence of a Father is unimportant, that women should be the responsible party for children.  Teaches these “families” that they have no need to strike out on their own to provide for their families, because someone else will foot the bill. This, in turn, robs growing, impressionable minds of the sense of achievement that a job well done can give.  The sense of self-worth that using your given abilities can bring.  The hope that knowing you have value and can share it with those you love holds and the pride of being able to support yourself.  These things are important when you are trying to provide hopeless children with an understanding of their aptitude, power, their hope for a future and sense of self worth.

I think the “New Hope” that this place is trying to bring is the sense of belonging that a family provides.  Giving each child a set of parents that love and care for them.  teach them, discipline them and set the expectations that a child should have in a family, this helps them feel that they belong.  While they are doing this they are also teaching theses children historic Ugandan culture, what a family looks like and how to do things for themselves.  The Long term effects can and have already had immense effects on the heartbeat of the community.  Teaching many of the older “new hope children” (as they are lovingly referred to) to choose well when they marry, the importance of being a faithful spouse, the importance of being an actively involved and intentional parent.  The importance of the family unit and how much their children will learn from them.  This creates lasting marriages, strong families, contributing members of society.  There are already signs of the successful sustainability of this place in the families and ministries that have been born from New Hope. 

The problem with living in Uganda at New Hope is that you don’t see the suffering that is typically depicted in “Africa” the Africa that we see in the US.  There are no children starving and begging, there are no orphans, no hopeless children digging through the trash for food.  There are no malnourished bellies protruding from tattered t-shirts.  No sickly untreated illness, no mistreatment, No lines waiting for the only meal everyone will eat that week. 

All I see is hope; all I see are healthy (even strong) children.  People who are constantly offering each other help.  Children laughing, washing their dishes, playing on the playground, goofing off while they wait to fill their water jugs.  Playing Futbol, walking to the garden together, doing homework in the family group.  Sitting in groups talking under the mango tree. Plaiting each other’s hair, cooking the chip orders for the week, tending the pigs. All I see here I hope. 

So many people greet me all day “Hello Auntie Rachael, how are you”.  I ask them how school is going, if they are feeling better, where they are heading, where they have been.  They ask me about the relevant present issues in my life.  This week it was a stomach bug they consoled me about and they all welcomed me back from a weekend in Jinja.  Maybe 40 people in the last three days have welcomed me back from my trip.  The families here are so close and caring, It’s difficult to remember that there is suffering here. 

So I have gotten to really enjoy Ugandan Culture, an abundance of it.  I am not being swindled for a boda ride, I am not being a mistrusted, mzungu.  I am not worrying about being robbed or mistreated.  I am not fearful or caught up in the tragic surroundings.  I am surrounded by the results of a ministry that has “done it right” and has proven it through their sustained longevity. 

Write more soon,  I hope this is giving a more understandable picture of the place I live and the important strides they are making toward Uganda’s bright future.