On the Saturday before I left Gulu, my roommates and I went on some home visits with Justin, one of our mentors. Home visits are always an interesting experience. I enjoy seeing where our students live and what their homes are like. It is also nice to meet their parents or guardians as well as various other family members or neighbors who come to join in the visit. Each visit is a unique experience.
One thing I was looking forward to about this venture was that we were going to walk the entire way. Most Ugandans view foreigners as too weak to do much walking or work. We play into this when we drive our cars everywhere and use modern conveniences to get work accomplished (i.e. washing machine, not having to go fetch water, etc.). I do agree that the average ten year old here is probably stronger than me, due to all the lifting and fetching they do each day, but I also get tired of not being allowed to carry heavy objects and of not being thought capable of walking a long distance, always being asked, “Are you tired?” after only about 15 minutes. So, I was glad that Justin was going to take us deep into the village on foot.
We left the Feeding Centre at the Gulu site a few minutes before 3pm, making our way through the remaining homes located in the old IDP camp. We then crossed the highway, walked through the school yard of Koro Abili Primary School, and began trekking down a village path.
Further and further we walked, periodically turning right or left, following the winding path. For long stretches we were just surrounded by tall grasses, meadows, rolling hills, and trees. As we got closer to places where people stayed, we’d come across areas that had been tilled and planted, with crops like cassava, sorghum, groundnuts, and others growing. People call these fields their gardens, and during this time of year they are busy clearing and working the ground each morning and evening. Work is measured in sticks. A man takes a stick, roughly 6 feet tall, and lays it end over end a specific number of times (usually between 30 and 40). This is the length of the piece of ground he will work that day. The width is normally one stick’s worth. People get up early in the morning, before the sun is up, when the temperature is cool, and work anywhere from 2-4 hours, depending on how fast they are, cultivating the land. These crops will provide food, seed, flour, and a little income for the villagers. The soil is fertile and crops grow well. Much land remains uncultivated, and Justin commented to me more than once about how much more land could be used to grow crops if the people had the education, resources, and tools to begin developing it.
Along the way, we would pass groups of people or we would hear them on other paths. They were all quite surprised and delighted to see so many bazungu (white people) out in the village. We got many enthusiastic greetings and handshakes.
We reached the first house we were visiting about an hour after we started walking. Three of our students lived in a small collection of huts with their mother and some other relatives. Their home was placed in such a beautiful and peaceful setting. A huge tree in the middle of the land provided much needed shade and was the place where everyone gathered. We didn’t know this, but Justin had informed them of our visit, and so they had prepared something special for us – a meal. This sweet mom had made us beans, posho, cassava, and even chicken (which is only reserved for special occasions) to honor us for our work with Hope Alive! and thank us for the impact Hope Alive! was having on her children. She kept piling more and more food on our plates, wanting us to enjoy as much as possible, until we were so full we could not take another bite! Communication between us all was pretty limited, as we couldn’t speak much Acholi and she couldn’t speak much English, but with our few words, smiles, and some translation, everything was said that needed to be said.
After this first home, we walked another 45 minutes to reach the next. As we entered into the compound there was a flurry of activity as chairs were gathered and set up for us. We greeted all the aunties, sisters, nephews, cousins, and friends who had come to enjoy the visit. At this house we were given a very important gift – a chicken – to take with us. It was a small, white one, and we were given instructions to take it back to Kampala and feed it, and when it grew fat, we could eat it! The generosity and sacrifice of these people never ceases to amaze me. Out of the little they have, they give and share to show their appreciation and thanks.
It was rather ironic that when they brought us the chicken, they happened to give it directly to Kacie, who is a vegetarian! She promptly passed it over to me, and I got to carry it around the rest of the day. I named her Sal and we bonded. :)
At the next home, we saw two students. They stay with their grandparents who are very old. Their grandfather is not able to walk anymore. The grandmother, we discovered, goes to the church Kacie and I had been attending while in Gulu. She declared straight away that she knew our faces and she was so excited we had come to her home! While there, the grandparents expressed their concerns about the future – how the garden was ready, but they had no money to buy seed, how they were getting so old and they don’t know what will happen to the kids when they die. We didn’t have all the answers for them, but we were able to pray with them and hopefully give some encouragement.
The final home we visited happened to be the home of Justin’s brother and his wife. Justin’s niece is in Hope Alive!. The highlight of this visit was about 20 piglets running around the compound. They were only a couple of weeks old and were adorable! Here again we didn’t leave empty handed. Justin’s brother gifted us with a bag of sim sim (sesame seeds).
From there we began the journey back to the Feeding Centre (about a 40 minute walk). By this time, we had walked about 10k and it was beginning to get dark. I was tired, but it was a good kind of tired. I had gotten to experience a taste of what life was like for these people every day. Each day these students must walk 45 minutes to an hour just to get to school, and when it rains, I’m sure it takes much longer. They must walk a distance just to fetch water. They work the land. They build their lives out in the village. It’s a beautiful area to live, but remote. There is no easy access to medical care. It takes time and a lot of hard work just to survive. But they are making it happen, one day at a time.
(Pictures will follow soon…I have to get them from my roommates because I didn’t use my camera!)
