Moving to a developing country is a dream that God has put in our hearts. We are grateful. It's a mixed blessing! Poverty sucks! In the U.S., we have a buffer with poverty, but as a friend here put it, "Africa throws it all in your face and says, deal with it!" Well said. So, we are adjusting--death to many ideals and trying to live with tension of being treated as a wealthy person here and then, in the U.S., we would be considered "poor" as we are now on full volunteer support.
Also, we share with our friends here, but in so many ways we cannot relate. I often am chatting with Johnson who works with us and we will be laughing and sharing and then he will say things like "Yes, I need to put money down on my daughter's school fees so she can eat lunch this week. I will go early to the village and then come back to work here." Sigh. "Johnson, take the day off and go take care of that family." He comes back, we are sharing and such. "Johnson, how did it go?" "Yes, madame, it went well, but my other son surprised me at school, so I had to divide up the school fees so that now they can both eat lunch the next two weeks. I thought he would be sick all week (he had gone to the hospital the week before), but he struggled and made it over the hill, so he can go to school and not miss." Sigh. I can only listen and try to imagine.
So, this blog is dedicated to Johnson, a God fearing man with amazing children that he manages to send to school and still have joy. This blog is dedicated to the Ugandans who do amazing work in the face of many obstacles, you are my true heroes!
By the way, one of my subconscious ideals was to romanticize "the poor". There are good people here and there are scoundrels. It is just like the U.S.--full of good, amazing people and then, the selfish and the greedy. There are strong people here and then there are people here with many emotional, social problems--they can't deal with the poverty and they are struggling with drugs, alcohol and just a scavenger type mentality. We have that in the U.S., too--even among the wealthy, they can't handle wealth! It's all mixed, isn't it--no matter where you live.
So, on to the water issue. Water is life--you hear that all the time here. I am fast becoming a water advocate--everyone should have access to clean water! At the bottom of this post are a couple of links--one to Compassion International who do amazing work with the poor and then also to World Vision who has a great water program. I have been very thoughtful about legacy. Investing in water and clean water is a GREAT legacy. Investing and partnering with the poor is a GREAT legacy!
We had a short time of struggling with lack of water--we now have a water tank and a couple of back up options. When the city water goes out and it doesn't rain, people have to go to great lengths to get water for cooking, washing--many more uses that I never even used to think about! That's your whole day when there is a shortage or if you do not have good access to water--all you can do is haul water. Ugandans learn this at a young age--even toddlers will be walking around with a one litre container. I am just amazed. We are deeply grateful and have new compassion towards this struggle, so I would just like to share that.
This is a GREAT water filter--very light and very accessible. We brought it with us in our luggage and bought a bucket locally. 30 minutes later, we had a filtering system for a million gallons. I think this would be a great thing for churches and volunteers to bring over to give away, if they travel to a place where clean water is an issue. It's awesome. Click here for more information. Even a small impact is an impact. We all can do something small, at least! I do believe in that with all my heart.
This is our rain water tank--many people have this. The church here has a water program where they go around building this type of tank for needy families--actually theirs looks like Greek pottery--it's impressive, beautiful and functional. Great job, church!
Here is another common sight. We now have this in our back yard--1,000 litre water tank that uses gravity to pump to our kitchen. The house has a small reserve for the back water system--toilet and bath, but we found out it runs out in 2 days (although we learned to stretch it to 4) I cannot express to you how stressful it is to be out of water in the kitchen or for washing clothes. This water tank will fill from our city water pipe, rather than relying on the rain water. The city water can go out when the electricity goes out or we were out for about 4 weeks when a pipe broke during the Christmas holiday.
Basins--this to me, will always remind me of Uganda. Basins are used for everything--washing clothes, people, food, dishes etc. Also, now we keep a reserve of bottled water, too. Clean water is awesome!
Gerry cans. This also for me, is the sign of Uganda. Loads and loads of people carrying Gerry cans all around.
Lock box on the water pipe. Water theft is an issue. This is a common sight around town.
Do you know how much a simple flush of the toilet uses? In the U.S., you can put a heavy weight in the tank and use half the water, but the water pressure is not good enough here. I didn't know what these buildings were when we first moved here. Latrines! Oh, man, do I LOVE latrines--no water use! A great help when your water is out. The kids use them at school. We call them squatty potties. Emma Shae hated them because she had quite a few accidents at school and finally had found a toilet she could use. At the new school, that is not an option. I tried to get her to practice at home, but she refused. Then, second week of school, she had an accident in the class b/c she waited too long--so, she sweetly and humbly came home and asked if we could practice with the squatty potty. Good girl, poor, girl! Mallory and I were the first ones in the family to get into the latrines, but others have followed. Is this too much information or what? This is the behind the scenes...
So, think about pitching in for your brothers and sisters--supporting financially, giving your expertise or being a voice for those who are just trying to make it, is a wonderful legacy to leave from your life. It is said that with wealth comes great responsibility. I had to learn this from the poor themselves. Wow, thanks, guys! Once a friend and I were talking about the issue of serving the poor. She was lamenting a bit, since we were both young moms--our hearts were there, wanting to get past check writing service, but what could we do? She said, "Do you think everyone is supposed to move to poor neighborhoods and struggle, etc?" I didn't know, but I wanted to. I can say now after living here and seeing the fight--yes, do something--small or large, just do something!
These are only two organizations that we are personally familiar with--there are so many good, good organizations doing compassionate work around the globe and in your city, in fact! Check it out!
Click here to learn about child sponsorship from Compassion International
To read more about the water issue, check out World Vision's program.
World Vision - Water, Sanitation, Hygiene
