First Anniversary
It all begins with an idea.
June 16th will mark a year since the world changed for the kids in Uganda who we’ve been supporting. They lost their parents, or their single parent, or their caregiver, and possibly more relatives. As I reflect on this anniversary, a lot of emotions come up for me, personally. I am horrified at what humans are willing to do to each other. I am inspired by Morice and the Nelsons who are endlessly and selflessly serving their community. I am hopeful that these children might have a bright future, even in light of the loss they carry within them.
In the months that I’ve been back after my trip to Uganda, I communicate with Morice almost daily, and I often receive photos and updates about the children. We’re on a schedule of sending 700,000 UGX (around $180) for food every other Sunday after I receive an account of expenses from the previous two weeks. $1 is equal to around 3,700 UGX. These images are examples of what lands in my inbox overnight:
I tried really hard to learn everyone’s name. It helped that I had portraits of everyone with their names typed across the image. When I received this picture, my finger touched each face on my phone’s screen as said them outloud. “Biira Lovin, Kabugho Lovin… no its the other way around… There’s Morian in the dress that Kristin made for her… Esther, Ronald, Joan… of course there’s Rosamond because she’s always around… Musoki Tracy, Bernard…” But I couldn’t find names for a few of them and I couldn’t find faces for others, like sweet Brighton. I inquired from Sharon (our Sister in the black tee) and she responded that when they call orphaned kids to come pose for a photo, they can’t call only for the “Bwera team” because they don’t want other orphans feeling like they aren’t cared about… So Brighton and a few others had gone with Collins that day, and in their place were some new little faces. This is village life.
These are some of the older girls with Morice’s wife and Rosamond’s mom, Collins, Mbambu in front of Collins, and Esther in the red outfit.
Trevor is in the Girl Power tee. I actually didn’t get to meet her since she was visiting a relative during the time I was in Maliba. From what I know about her, she is a very strong young lady, eager to lead the younger ones in a positive way. Mbambu stood out as a helper, ready to assist with any and everything. It was Esther whose pants were missing the day that Nelson pointed out how someone can survive without pants, but not without food.
I feel very tender towards little Esther. She always looks sad in photos, always in her little red outfit. I can see that she has grown in the months since I was with her.
One day Morice sent me this picture- she was left behind at home while the other children went to the field to watch a football match.
I cried for the rest of the day.
Tracy and Morian. These girls both hold a special place in my memory.
Tracy was the one who was so sick that day that she couldn’t feed herself. She fell asleep propped up in a corner with her fingers in a bowl of rice and g-nuts. So I pulled her onto my lap and spoon fed her. She slept all afternoon. The next day she was dancing and playing like normal.
Morian was the one who, during the dance party at the Together Supper, climbed into my lap and snuggled in close. Meanwhile, everyone else was jumping and jiving to the beat of African hip hop.
Morice bought them some blank notebooks for the upcoming school term.
I’m not exactly sure what they were up to here, but Obed apparently thinks the photo opp warrants striking a pose.
Below are portraits of Biira Lovin, Mumbere Obed, Biira Joan, Mukara Ronald.
I find Ronald’s jacket quite adorable. Ronald, with the lazy eye. He’s so cute. When it comes to warm layers like sweatshirts and jackets, they don’t mind the gender. It zips up? It fits.
Morice continues to live every day heart-first. He spends a couple of days a week at the farm in Hima, which is a town about 30 minutes from Maliba along the main road. They own a piece of land, so he has been building a structure and acquiring goats to establish a sustainable program that will help pay school fees for kids. Did you know that government school is not free? It’s actually expensive. There is no piped water to the farm, so he must go there every 2-3 days to water the goats. The cost of piping water to the farm is around $1000. If he can get a water tap at the farm, then he wants to also establish a chicken breeding scheme.
There is a set of buildings in Maliba that they want to renovate into a children’s center. My friend BJ is putting my sketch into a CAD drawing so that at some point, we can redesign it and do a huge fundraiser to make it functional as the official Rwenzori Children’s Support Center.
Precious, who is originally from Bwera and among the group of children who lost her parents nearly a year ago, is thriving at MLISADA in Kampala. Morice was visiting the city a few months back and stopped by to see her.
These children are all doing well. Everyone who contributed to the fundraisers for them is an essential part of their lives, even if they will never know how the food in front of them came to be there. At least they know they are loved, and I believe with Love, much is possible.
Home in Maliba
It all begins with an idea.
It had been 5 years since my last visit. After 25 hours of flights, then a bumpy seven hour drive out west, I arrived to Maliba. Immediately upon arrival I was greeted by some young faces I recognized, but only through pictures. It’s not common for a muzungu to visit a village such as Maliba since it’s quite remote. But there I was, finally home again. Here are some of my favorite moments I spent with the kids.
The attack on June 16, 2023
It all begins with an idea.
This is the date that the Rwenzori Children’s Support Center began, though no one knew it at the time. A rebel group residing in Congo crossed the border into Uganda at night on June 16th and launched a deadly attack on the village of Bwera. A simple Google search of “school attack Uganda” will bring up articles from several international publications. What never reached beyond the borders of Uganda was news of attacks that night on homes and innocent people living their day-to-day lives.
By the time I woke up on June 17th and called Morice to see if his relatives were all ok, he responded with the following image. He was already there in Bwera at his aunt’s house, feeding children who found themselves alone, their parents having been killed or kidnapped.
From that day on, Sisters in Circles supported them through provisions of food, clothing, bedding, until Morice’s aunt fell ill and could no longer take care of eighteen of them. Finally in November into December, they arrived in groups to Maliba Village, to the home of Morice and his wife and their own family.