Hey Everyone! I’m sorry I left before having a chance to talk about my trip, I just wasn’t sure what to say!

 

Since I’ve been back many, MANY people have asked me if the experience changed my life and in what way…but I don’t know how to answer that! I’m sure it did, everything I’ve experienced has in one way or another, but after seven months everything about Uganda became normal. In fact it was so incredibly easy for me to slot in and find my place that I don’t even remember being shocked by things when I first arrived. It is totally different from our way of life here but I knew that before going. And like-wise arriving back in Australia wasn’t that hard because I knew what to expect. Maybe that makes me totally weird because I know most people struggle when they arrive back in Western culture but you can’t compare the two. Everything is different.

 

I was living in Jinja, the second largest city in Uganda but comparable to Kalgoorlie by why of not being like a city at all! Walking down Main Street (which I might add has many cars but NO road rules) you see many souvenir shops, banks, and Asian run supermarkets. There is a large Indian population who have returned after being given 90 days to leave the country in 1972 when Idi Amin (President) allegedly had a dream in which God told him to expel them. The Ugandan government claimed that the Indians were hoarding wealth and goods to the detriment of indigenous Africans, "sabotaging" the Ugandan economy. Anyway they are welcome again so many returned and they just happen to run most of the supermarkets! There is also a large western missionary population serving in Jinja so it was strange when I went to a town further north and there were no white people! Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb!

Turn the corner and you have a large skip/dumpster that always has at least one vulture scavenging and more often than not a street kid or street adult. The crazy thing is, in Jinja, you don’t really see any malnourished homeless people. They all manage to find enough food, I guess with so many white people around! Outside of the city is a different story though.

 

There are so many contrasts in a country like this. The land itself is stunning with lakes and mountains, bushland and desert. Where I stayed in the south, the earth was as red as Kalgoorlie but with luscious greenery. North was very dry though as they were going through yet another drought. The houses were from the British colonial period so they were big and expensive looking. But with so many white people around these were mainly occupied by them. You could also have a gorgeous home one minute then a shack the next. The rich live amongst the poor though there are many clusters of shack type areas. It was so strange the first time I went to a village because even though they live in mud huts they take so much pride in their homes. They hard ground is swept and kept tidy amongst the huts and they live together so happily. A village in the bush is so different from a shack in a town. It’s really hard to describe. Neither really have much money but they seem so different from one another.

 

Amani Baby Cottage where I volunteered was amazing! A 38-year-old lady from Texas, Danyne, started it almost 7 years ago with the support of her family. She adopted two Ugandan girls 6 years ago and is now married with two biological sons. They have never officially fundraised but God has always provided. When formula is running low, money appears to buy more. They couldn’t afford rent but Danyne’s husband Surj, renovated the whole building meaning they didn’t have to pay any. It was pretty derelict when they first started there and now it is perfect! Don’t get me wrong there is much that needs doing but the kids there don’t go without. There is usually around 55 kids up to the age of 5 officially but Mweru is a 7 year old autistic boy that they just can’t find a home for. Any child that doesn’t have family will be adopted out either locally or internationally. America can adopt quite easily but most other countries in the world have to do it through Ugandan government, which requires you to live there three years. This is because only once you have fostered for three years can the actual adoption be finalised. Australia (and most of the world) only seems to help facilitate adoptions with countries that are part of the Hague Convention which includes 76 countries, but Ethiopia is the only African one.

 

While I was there they had 7 kids go to America with at least 9 more still waiting on court dates, went to local families (both Ugandan and Missionaries living there), 8 re-united with family, 3 who are living with their new families and waiting on that three year period to end, 1 that went to a special needs home and 1 who passed away with cancer. Only about 50% of the kids are actually orphans but as crazy as it sounds you wish there were more because then they could go to a forever family rather than staying in the system.

 

The fact is I absolutely loved it there! The kids, the Mama’s, the other volunteers and just the general community is awesome. They are so family oriented and I wish we were here too, and I don’t just mean blood family. I’m sure you all know the saying “It takes a village to raise a child”? Well as I heard someone say, it doesn’t take a village at all, the village is just going to help you whether you like it or not! That’s what they do. They all know each other’s business and have an opinion about it but that’s ok because they’re family. If you ever get the chance to go to Africa I would highly recommend Uganda. I have absolutely no regrets and wouldn’t change anything about my time there, including the emotionally hard parts. Just look at their faces!