A Child's Prayer

We went to Rose and Paul's orphanage again yesterday. It was the first time we have been able to make it back since our first couple of weeks here in Uganda. The children were just as excited as ever to see us and were eager to show us all that they have done since we last saw them. Like last time they sang and danced for us even adding a few new songs to the mix.


The children singing and dancing for us.

Then it was our turn, since children here love gospel music and singing about Jesus we thought it would be appropriate to sing them some primary songs, namely I Am a Child of God, and A Child's Prayer. As we stood there singing to them I was very touched as I thought of the love that Heavenly Father has for his children and how he is just as aware of these children as he is of children anywhere else in the world. I am constantly touched by the faith of these children whose lives have been torn apart by poverty and AIDS. Each of them has their own story to tell and yet they are constantly smiling and ever so pleased just to be able to associate with a mzungo (white person). It makes me so uncomfortable the way they treat us as royalty when we have done nothing to deserve it. It is they who deserve the praise and special treatment. They are the ones who have overcome so much.


Children with the dental kits we handed out after showing them
how to properly care for their teeth.

Our team has been thinking for some time now what we could do to help the St Paul and Rose orphanage so that they might better be able to take care of the 27 orphans currently in their care and maybe even be able to take in more orphans. They have acres of crops that the children themselves are responsible for nurturing and harvesting. Unfortunately they are so far removed from any sort of economic center that there really is no market for their goods. What they are able to manage to sell doesn't even begin to cover the costs of the children's school fees which can cost as much as $50 USD per semester per child ($1350 per semester for all of them).

We have been so drawn to this particular orphanage because Paul has truly taken it upon himself to make these orphans into successful members of society. Beyond sending as many of the children as possible to school (7 have had to stay home this semester because as much as he tried Paul just couldn't pull the school fees together) Paul provides them with practical skills that will be abundantly useful in the future.

One problem that many of the rising generation face in Uganda is a lack of practical skills. They all want to grow up and have white collar jobs working in an office in front of a computer. Unfortunately this isn't feasible, there just aren't enough jobs. The result is people like our taxi driver who has a doctorate but can't find a job. Turns out education doesn't solve everything unless you have a practical way to apply it.

Agriculture is something that they will never get enough of in Uganda though. Unfortunately most adolescents consider such skills below themselves. Not Paul's children though, they have been trained in the latest practices and have the opportunity to apply them on a daily basis. Team this with some basic business skills and discipline (all of which are also provided at the orphanage) and the odds are definitely in these children's favor.


Our team with the children. The foreground is filled with
the potato plants that they have planted.

Beyond the skills that these children learn from a young age they are also provided with an abundance of love and nurturing. It is for these reasons that our team has been trying to help this particular orphanage.

Paul has asked us to help him build a chicken coup so that he can sell the eggs to the endless market found in his area. "I don't want money for school fees" he explained to us, "I want a way so I can EARN the school fees." Paul understands the fact the sponsers dissapear and cannot be counted on in the long run. If he finds someone to pay his children's school fees this semester there is no guarantee that he will be able to find someone to pay them the next semester. He would much rather have an income generating project that would next to guarantee that all of his children would be able to attend school. Consequently his orphans would also be learning how to care for and rear the chickens which is another valuable practical skill.

Beyond his goal to be able to pay all his children's school fees Paul and Rose would also like to be able to expand their orphanage so that he can provide a home for more children. "We have children show up on our doorstep every week asking for a place to live and the best we can do is give them some food before turning them away." Paul and Rose want so badly to be able to help these children but there just aren't enough resources to go around.

Unfortunately as we ran through Paul's numbers for the chicken coup project we realized that such a project is financially out of the reach of our teams funds for this summer. It broke our hearts to have to tell him this as he looked to us with such hope for his children's future in his eyes. "What if we were to cut the project in half?" he asked. "We could start smaller and then with time we could reinvest the profits into the project and it would grow." Our hearts were torn, even still it would require a substantial amount of money. It's such a worthy project though we couldn't just not try. So we told Paul and Mary we would do everything in our power to help them out. I guess that's why I'm writing this blog; hoping that someone who reads this might be able to feel for these children what I feel every time I look into their hopeful faces and like me have the desire to make a difference in their lives.

I know I've been doing lots of fundraising projects these last few months and I am so grateful for the generosity that many of you have already shown. I promise that the funds donated thus far have made a difference in the lives of many people. It is with humility that I ask one more time for a helping hand. The total project cost is about $1500 not an impossible amount if we were all willing to work together. If you are at all interested in donating to this cause feel free to email me (sunny5049@gmail.com) and I will provide you with further information.