Bethesda International

We arrived in Uganda's capital city of Kampala on Sunday afternoon. We had a small amount of concern after hearing about riots taking place on Thursday and Friday; many cars and businesses were burned and clashes with the police left at least 20 people dead. Uganda has a monarchy, but is ruled by a parliament and constitution and there was some conflict concerning recent "interference" from the king (at least this is the best I can understand). However, we have felt perfectly safe and aside from noticing a strong police presence in some areas, everything seems calm and back to normal.

Since Mom was having a little case of the African stomach bug this morning (she is totally fine now), Tina stayed back with her and I headed out to Bethesda International with our Kampala director,Vincents,and our driver, Maximus. We drove about 1 hour north of Kampala to Jinja. It was bittersweet to be at Bethesda again since its founder and director, Ruth Mirembe, died last year. None the less, they have continued with her vision and good work. Ruth founded Bethesda after she took in many of her nieces and nephews as her own siblings died of AIDS. She saw the increasing need for homes for other children as AIDS continues to orphan many of Uganda's children. Today, Bethesda provides foster homes to 200 children.

After meeting with Bethesda staff, we headed to a rural area known as Rapha, where Bethesda has 44 foster children and founded a community school for 257 children. I love riding through the African villages. They seem so peaceful and self-sufficient in their own very basic way. As westerners, our first impression is to think of people living in mud huts as people to be pitied, but upon further inspection it becomes apparent that although they live a very different life than us, they can have a decent and satisfying life in many ways that we do not. Our goals at AYA are not to bring people to an American standard of living, but for children to have the basics that make a good life possible; food, clean water, education, good health, freedom from violence and abuse, and the feeling of being loved and valued. It truly does not take a two-car garage and 42" plasma TV to bring people happiness. Anyone who has spent time in Africa will tell you that the joy and kindness of the people are remarkable. To them, if your children are fed, educated, and healthy, then life is basically good; everything else is a bonus, not a necessity.

After making our way through the village dirt roads, we were able to see Rapha School and the surrounding foster homes. I was happy to see the progress that has been made to the school. Columbine High School has been instrumental in raising money to build the Rapha School. I explained to the Bethesda staff the tragedy that Columbine is known for and how great it is that they have been able to make such a difference for another school on the other side of the world. Bethesda also has a wonderful farm in the Rapha community with livestock and crops that help to sustain their projects.

Before we headed back to Kampala, we had a nice lunch of fish (complete with the head, scales, and bones) and rice. As we made our way back, Vincents and Maximus decided to purchase some fish. Jinja is the source of the Nile River and fresh fish is readily available. To my surprise, they decided that the best way to transport the fish was to tie it to the side-view mirror. Therefore, we traveled with two large fish flapping in the wind. At home, people often have a flag with the University of Tennessee or their favorite football team, but I think two dead fish with blood and guts running down the side of the car really makes a statement. In fact, Africans make it apparent that ample trunk space is not a requirement for transporting large items. Driving down the road, you can see women with jugs of water, fruit, and even bundles of firewood on their heads. Motorcycles and bicycles serve the same purpose as pick-up trucks do in America. I even saw a man struggling up a hill on a bicycle with a huge dead hog on the back.

Okay, time to eat and update Mom and Tina on the day.