Leaving Today

Well, my time in Africa is coming to an end for now. Dave and I are leaving here this evening and will be back in Denver Wednesday afternoon. We have spent the last few days spending time with one of the LGH employees here in Uganda. On Saturday, Patrick took us to his home village, which is about 3 hours away. He is building a house there that he hopes to eventually live in. He currently has 2 mud huts on his land that his father lives in. The picture is exactly what you think of when you think of Africa. Mud huts with grass roofs, and surrounded by mango trees and many other crops. It was really fun, because the kids there don't see white people very often. As Dave was playing and wrestling with the kids, Patrick told me that they will tell their friends stories for months about how they touched and played with Mzungus (whites). We had a lunch of goat meat. Patrick also wanted to have us to his house in Jinja, so we ended up bringing a goat home with us in the back of our van. The goat stayed at our house for a couple of days being tormented by the dog. Yesterday we took the goat over to Patrick's house. The girls did not want to see the slaughtering of the goat, so they only showed up for lunch. Seeing a goat slaughtered with the dullest knife imaginable is quite a gruesome sight. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty nasty, but we helped skin it and then roasted it. It ended up being pretty good.
The day before the Suubi meeting and buying of necklaces this week, we were informed that there was a list of 11 women that wanted to be seen by me because they had some sickness. I was a little overwhelmed because I didn't have much to offer, but I decided I would do as much as I could to help. I was amazed at the crazy stuff that I saw. Most of the women just wanted to know that a white doctor thought the same thing as the doctors here. Many of them wanted me to buy their medication for them, which I just couldn't do since I ended up seeing around 15 patients in the 2 house we were there.
There is certainly difficulty in serving the people here. Since people know that you are here to help them, they all ask you for something. Medicine, school fees, money for a business venture, and the list goes on. Dave knows this much better than I, but it is very draining when everyone needs something from you, and no one is there to help you out. I think that is why it is so important for us to encourage those that are in the field, giving of themselves every moment of the day, with every conversation.
One of the only english phrases that many of the little kids here know is, "mzungu, how are you?" They don't even know what the answer means, but they yell it every time you drive by or walk by them. It is kind of annoying, but I think I'm gonna miss it.
I am excited that I am going to come back a different person. I am so glad I came and got to serve, and get to know some of the stories firsthand. I will try to finish some of my thoughts after I get back.

Warning.....opinion approaching

In response to a comment on my blog (thanks Mom) I will diverge a little from a blog to a bit of a forum. I hope this is ok, I just felt like doing it. The question was asked how do we be more than just a band-aid to the poverty that is here but we don't really see in America. First of all, I think we all need to go and see it for ourselves. I will be the first to admit that I have glassed over the topic of poverty for my entire life, not really knowing or caring that people live in such poverty. Things are so much more important to us if we have experienced it ourselves instead of merely pictures or stories. Secondly, I think even band-aids are good if that is all we have for now. I have heard others (mostly Dave speaking of Bono) say that Africa is in such a crisis now, we must just give the fish even if we cannot teach them to fish for themselves yet. We have to give even if it is just a temporary fix for a bigger problem (people really do starve to death). And then finally, I think we need to change how we live in America. We have been reading a book here called Irresistable Revolution, which is a bit controversial, but I think it says a lot of good things about what Jesus has called Christians to do as far as using only what we need, living simply, caring for the poor, the orphans and the widows, and even selling all we have, giving it to the poor, and following him. I will apologize to Dave if I am speaking for him, but what we are trying to do with the Suubi project is to bring much higher, consistent wages to women here, as well as informing America about what is going on here, and allowing people to play a part in fixing the problem. I think we need to start asking where the products that we buy were made, and whether or not the workers paid a fair wage. Otherwise I feel like we are taking advantage of desperate people. Mostly, I think that my time here has opened my eyes to a need that I am called to be a part of meeting. So that is a little of my opinion on things. Feel free to comment on my blog if you would like.
We went into the rainforest yesterday, and stayed overnight in a lodge, it was awesome. I have never been in a rainforest before. The walls in our room basically opened up to the outside, and the forest was like right there, with monkeys and everything. A long way from Kansas....

Getting to know

We have spent the last few days individually interviewing several of the Suubi women. It is exciting and heartbreaking to hear their stories. This has been partially for the documentary, but also so that we can get to know them a little better. I never thought I would know anyone who had their entire family killed before their eyes. Nearly all of the women are from Northern villages, and had several family members killed by the rebels in the North. They fled here to Jinja. Most had homes and land on which they could grow crops to sustain their family in the North. When they came here, they had to start paying for rent, clothing, food, and schooling for their children. They were not used to working, so many have found it very difficult to find jobs (there are very few anyways). Women also told of seeing their family locked in their homes and being burned to death....horrifying to say the least, and these people lived through it. And much more, they still have so much love, compassion, and joy that they share with their community and us. I feel like we (mostly the long term volunteers, not myself as much) are really becoming part of their community as well. We have had to set boundaries to their hospitality (they buy is cokes when we come to their homes), and told the women that we no longer want to be guests in their homes, but be sisters, brothers, and servants. It is difficult for them to see a Mzungu (white person) washing clothes, or sweeping the floor, or cleaning dishes, but they are starting to get used to it. At first, they just laughed as we told them that we wanted to start doing those things more, but it is getting better now.
The chairperson for the Suubi women asked me to come see her sister who is sick yesterday. We walked through many mud hut with grass roofed villages until we came to her home. She is a 28 year old mother of 3. Thankfully, they carry their medical chart with them here, so I was able to look through it, and then examine her. She has had endocarditis (infection of the valves of the heart) for over a year, which has caused her to go into heart failure. She is unable to afford the antibiotics for a sufficient length to eradicate the infection. The medicine costs less than $5 a month. We are going to try and pay for at least 6 months of it, to try and get her treated properly. It is so sad to see what can happen here when there just isn't enough money for simple things, and no safety nets.
I am so impressed with the Light Gives Heat volunteers here. I have talked about them before, but they are so great, and work so hard to spend time with the women. I don't understand why, but every day here is so difficult, and takes so much energy. They continue to do such great work (which they have to pay to be able to come and do). If you wouldn't mind, go ahead and comment on their blogs to encourage them even if you don't know them.
I have always thought that there will always be poverty, and that there isn't anything we can do go get rid of it. But I don't think that is correct. I have seen what just a little money and some love and support every week can do for a small group of women. We are called to ease the suffering of the poor as we work to end poverty. Easy to say...but the work is hard.
It is hard to say how different this trip has been than the two shorter trips I took to Honduras. I fill like I am much more a part of what is happening here. I get to hear the stories, and feel some of the pain of poverty and war. It has become much more personal.

Also occurring this week, the Jayhawks won the NCAA tournament!! I hope somebody TIVO'd it so I can see the game when I get back.

Love ya
Josey

Sick today, Go Jayhawks

I don't have much time, but I wanted to put up a quick blog today. I got sick overnight, spent the morning out with the women, and then the rest of the day in bed/the bathroom. I am feeling much better now, though. Also, my Jayhawks are playing in the Final Four tonight, and I won't be able to watch. Go Jayhawks.

Blown away

So it has been an eventful few days here in Jinja. We have spent Tuesday in Walukuba, the village where many of the women of Suubi live. We arrived at 10 am for a meeting with their directing board. We wanted to find out how they felt Suubi was going, their concerns, and the needs that have currently. The meeting went very well, and the women expressed needs for school fees, clothing, food, and water for the children. All of these needs come down to the fact that they need to make more money. They have the ability to make many more necklaces than we can buy. To be able to buy more from them, we must sell more in America, which we will continue to work on. I started asking a few questions about their health to get a general perspective on what we may be able to help them with. One concern that I have is that they are not getting enough protein in their diet, so I asked the group how often they eat meat, and they all started laughing. I was confused, thinking I had said something inappropriate. Then they explained that they only eat meat once a year, for Easter or Independence Day. I was shocked. I am a little disappointed if I don't get meat in every meal that I eat. Our meeting turned into lunch (where they cooked us meat!), and then into a dance party. One of the volunteers here was heading back to America, so the women had organized a few dances for her. They were awesome, and lasted a couple of hours. They had made up a few songs for several individuals in our group. We finally left at around 4pm.
Wednesday morning we spent at an AIDS orphanage. A 24 year old American girl started it about 6 months ago, and it is now sheltering 37 children with HIV. I am blown away by the radical ways that it is possible to love people like that. We had the opportunity to play with the kids for several hours, and even though chicken pox had hit there recently, the kids were so happy, and loving, and full of life. That afternoon we taught the Suubi english class. It is amazing seeing grown women write words for the first time. Watching the Suubi women that are more experienced help those that are less skilled is heart warming. I have never been thanked more, or felt more sincere gratitude than I have during the last week, and I have done nothing compared to the volunteers that live here for months on end.
With all the problems here, and throughout Africa and the developing world, it is very easy to get disheartened, and feel like what we are trying to do doesn't matter because the problem is so much greater than anything than I can do. It is cliche, I know, but it is true that if God does something here through me, and it makes a difference in someone's life, then it makes a difference. Period.
On a lighter note, we went with all of the LGH volunteers to the Jinja Nile resort, and went swimming yesterday. It was a great time to relax, have some fun, and get a little perspective on what we are doing and where we are going.
Filming the documentary is going well, I am excited to see what Dave can do with what we will have on film. There are so many stories, and directions that we could go, we had no lack of material for sure. We just started reading a book together in the volunteer house called Irresistible Revolution, and we started discussing it. I think it will be very encouraging and challenging to all of us.
On a more personal note, Becca (my wife) had her first sonogram yesterday, and the baby (singular, thank the Lord) is doing well and moving a lot. It is our first. I am so excited to see pictures. I am pretty sad that I missed that, but I will be back fairly soon.
So I guess I can end this by saying I am blown away. By everything. By a world that I didn't really know existed. By people that I didn't know could love like this. By volunteers that I didn't know could give like this. It is fun to be blown away...you should try it

I'm Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, we have arrived in Jinja after 4 days of travelling. It is sort of surreal to be here. The LGH volunteer house is beautiful, and the people here are amazing. This house is full of 18-27 year olds that are here to serve and love people. I ask myself constantly how can an 18 or 22 year old who just graduated have the desire to put their life on hold to fly to Africa and serve people. I know I wasn’t in that place at that point in my life. There are so many young people here serving and leading, starting up new organizations. I am so excited that our generation has a heart for serving people that have nothing. Everyone here has a story, everyone has a reason to be here, and another reason that they shouldn’t.
We met the women of Suubi yesterday. They were so excited to see us, but mostly excited to see Dave, who has been gone for 5 months. They had a song for him, and have a few dances planned for him next week. Molly, one of the Suubi women, stood up and talked about how happy they were that they have been a part of Suubi, and that they have all gotten much fatter (which is a good thing in Africa) since they started. They have been able to buy good food for their family. I was so impressed with these women. They have organized themselves unbelievably well. They have a board of directors, someone that writes down minutes for every meeting, and a president that runs the meetings and translates into Lugandan for those who do not speak English. I get the impression that these women would be successful in America if given a chance. I also spent some time in the house of a woman who had delivered twins one month ago. One of the twins was only about 3 pounds and was still having difficulty breathing, a baby that would be in a NICU in America. I am interested to see what health care needs that we can try to help with in this community of mostly women and children. All of the Suubi women have a story that will break your heart. At the same time, though, they are all so happy and full of life.
We are going to continue to work on the documentary today and the rest of the week. We are also going to do a little work on the volunteer house as well.
My favorite food/drink so far: passion fruit juice, rolex

Leaving Tomorrow

The day is finally coming, I can't believe I am finally going to Africa. I am so excited to hear and try to help tell the story of the people of Suubi. Just a little about me to start. I have just finished my fourth year of medical school at the University of Kansas and headed for residency in July. The chance came up to go on this trip with a long time friend, and I couldn't pass it up. I have no idea what to expect.