Today we visited St. Jude’s Orphanage. There were children there from newborn through 17 years of age. Generally children do NOT get placed in orphanages because it is customary for family members to take responsibility for children. One effect of this 20-year war, however, was an increase in the number of orphans. HIV/AIDS has also played a major role in the increased number of orphans, however, the number of HIV cases has decreased dramatically over the years. The visit consisted of us dancing and playing with the children. I let the children take my camera and take all the pictures they wanted. If I can figure out this blogging technology I will share some of their pictures with you. The children were all very attention-hungry which was very sad but we had fun together for the 2 hours that we were visiting. I left wondering, however, if we had done any good visiting. The children’s days are filled with meeting people and then saying goodbye.
In the evening we were invited to the farm of the Olalobo family. We spent hours listening to their stories. They are a more affluent Ugandan family. Tom, the father, went into exile in the 70’s due to a change in government leadership. Many of his family members were killed at this time. He returned in the early 80s with his children to build a house on his family’s property. A few years later they fled to England where the children were raised. Now 20 plus years later they have returned, finished their house and are working to develop sustainable business plans to help the Acholi region. The visit was fascinating! During the war, Tom’s mother stayed behind refusing to leave. Many people used his partially built home for protection from the LRA. There was a barbed wire fence around the property which served as a deterrent because the rebels never wanted to be trapped anywhere. Their stories of close calls and their reflections on the current state of Uganda gave me a lot to think about.
This place has my brain churning a mile per minute.
In the evening we were invited to the farm of the Olalobo family. We spent hours listening to their stories. They are a more affluent Ugandan family. Tom, the father, went into exile in the 70’s due to a change in government leadership. Many of his family members were killed at this time. He returned in the early 80s with his children to build a house on his family’s property. A few years later they fled to England where the children were raised. Now 20 plus years later they have returned, finished their house and are working to develop sustainable business plans to help the Acholi region. The visit was fascinating! During the war, Tom’s mother stayed behind refusing to leave. Many people used his partially built home for protection from the LRA. There was a barbed wire fence around the property which served as a deterrent because the rebels never wanted to be trapped anywhere. Their stories of close calls and their reflections on the current state of Uganda gave me a lot to think about.
This place has my brain churning a mile per minute.
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