Behind every face is a story

This past week, I spent two days at the National Forum on the State of the Ugandan Child, which took place at one of the fanciest hotels in Uganda with over 1,000 guests invited.  This forum was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its purpose was to bring together beneficiaries and children from all over Uganda to discuss this urgent matter of the state of children in this country.  At times it was truly inspiring, as children were given a platform to speak and ask these people in high level positions what they are doing for children in this country.  It was also at times very bleak as dismal statistics were repeated over and over reminding us how much work must be done to improve the well being of children here.   To hear these statistics and watch an amazing and very real video made by the embassy, copy and paste this link:

https://web.facebook.com/video.php?v=901203323262510

As I sit here writing this blog post, I am shedding tears.  Most of the time I post happy things, as most of my service has been happy and rewarding due to the amazing people ive met.  I have yet to post about some of the negatives, but I have decided today that this is something important for people to know.  Life here isn’t always easy and it surely isn’t easy witnessing some of the awful things I have seen.  It eats away at me inside witnessing and hearing things such as domestic violence, children being beaten or a child crying on my couch telling me how his drunk uncle was shouting horrible things at him and his sister.   So many of these situations and things are out of my control due to culture, society and my own safety which makes it the most challenging part of my service. 

So, this blog post is dedicated to a truly amazing, kind, loving, smart and witty child who I am lucky to call my best friend, Tonny.  Tonny is 12 years old and a bright young child who always has a smile on his face.  I met him when I first moved in as he was helping out in my compound and came up to introduce himself to me.  He then asked me some questions, which I thought were very random, only to find out they were homework questions he was given.  I told him to bring his books over and from that point on its all history! Every day he would come to my house, we would chat and id help him with his homework.  It became our routine.  Our friendship has really grown a lot over the past 6 months.  I expect a visit from him each day, knowing that something is wrong if he misses a day to see me.  Him and his sister Nora are orphans.  They lost their parents in a car accident several years back and are now being cared for by their grandmother.  She is a beautiful, strong and kind woman who I have also become close with.  She is like my grandma here, always welcoming me into their home with a hug and preparing some tea with a snack.  Almost every night she sends Tonny with some food for me even though they themselves don’t have much at all (I swear I think she thinks I don’t know how to cook!).  Her oldest son (tonny and nora’s uncle) also stays with them, but in a small house on the side of the main house.  I am now recently learning and witnessing for myself that unfortunately this man has a serious problem with alcohol (as many men in this country do).  Up until recently, he has stopped beating the children due to the grandma’s push.  Probably most of you don’t know the situation here, but children are treated like second class citizens, and it is the worst for girls.  Beating children is so prevalent that most people don’t see any problem with it and see it as the only way to keep children in line.  I was happy to hear Tonny’s grandma doesn’t beat them, but knowing that their uncle used to kills me inside.  If you were to meet these children, you would see they are the most well-behaved and well-respected children you have probably ever met.   Tonight Tonny came to my house after we spent the day together in town shopping and eating.  He sat down on my couch and kept quiet, which is very unusual for him.  Me being my nosy self, I started questioning him and he eventually began to cry, telling me “Uncle Fred took too much booze and was abusing us”.  I questioned him more asking what he said to them.  He said, “He told us we are stupid and that our mother is dead”.  He began to tell me more, which I had trouble understanding through the tears and upset in his voice.  I immediately told him that they are NOT stupid and sat with him as he continued to cry, trying to hide his face and tears from me.  Never have I seen this child like this.  He told me “if at all I get the chance to leave and go somewhere else, I will.”  It makes me so sad to think that the situation is so bad that he would rather be anywhere else but at his OWN home that belonged to his parents.  This is just ONE child’s story, but unfortunately it mirrors the stories of many children throughout this country who live in even worse situations.  So every time you see a picture I post of children (which is often, lets be real!), behind that beautiful face and bright smile there is a story to be told. 

Since its unlikely any of you will ever meet this amazing boy, here are some photos for you.  He aspires to go to university, become a pilot and one day come and visit California!

Digging and planting our seeds! (carrots, onions, broccoli, zucchini, spinach)

Practicing times tables, the 9's trick :D

Being silly with a chunk of my muzungu hair ;)