At Home in the Jungle

Well, I never did make it to electricity last week. It was all we could do to charge the battery for the camera. What an amazing week it was!!

The drive from Moyo to Paidha was long but beautiful. We headed southwest and into the mountains. Paidha is on the far west border of Uganda and Congo. It is at high elevation, so the view is beautiful, the air is fresh and cool, and the best part---no mosquitos! We arrived in the village in the dark and recieved a warm welcoming meal enjoyed by the light of a kerosene lantern. The next morning I awoke to the beautiful village scene--a clustering of typical Ugandan tukuls with grass roofs. We went for a walk around to meet Sr. Rosemary's extended family. What wonderful people! They were warm and welcoming. Some spoke English, but most didn't. I was so happy to have learned some Alur, so I was able to communicate a bit. They were helpful and patient with my feable attempts. As the week went on, I improved but still have a long way to go.

On Saturday, we went to the Market in Paidha. Wow!! It was great!! I love going to local markets to get a feel for the local culture. The market was packed with people busily buying and selling produce, fish, meat, and best of all, beautiful fabrics from Congo! People were loving getting their pictures taken. They were smiling and kind and seemed to find my presence rather entertaining.

Sunday Mass was inspiring as always. I hate to keep repeating myself, but the faith here is truly amazing! The church was completely full in the pews and the aisles were full of young people sitting on the floor. There is singing and dancing and a celebration of faith that I have never experienced in the States. To add to the experience, this was the church where Sr Rosemary grew up and made all her sacraments, including her perpetual vows. What an inspiration.

After Mass we had our Paidha Tree of Wisdom celebration. As we were approaching, all the guardians were sitting together. They all stood up and burst into song and came to greet us with dancing and smiles. We met with the guardians and children who all looked clean and healthy and happy. The outpouring of gratitude from all of them was truly overwhelming and humbling. I don't have words adequate to explain to all of you who have supported Tree of Wisdom how life-changing the program has been for these children and their guardians. Sr. Rosemary said she couldn't believe the change in all of them. It seems unfair that I am the only one with the opportunity to experience it all first hand. Please know that the sacrifices you have all made has had a tremendous positive impact on the health, education, and outlook of all of the beneficiaries.

The celebration was a great success! Through the generosity of donors, we have supplied balls, jumpropes and writing/drawing supplies so the children can have fun and build a family when they meet together. Because many of them come from far away, we give them a small meal on arrival and a larger meal at the end of the meeting. We have decided that these meetings will take place twice a year, July and December, so the children and guardians can build relationships and we can keep track of their progress. We are getting great reports so far about most of the childrens' performance in school too. They are wonderful and respectful children who are so happy to have the opportunity to build a future for themselves.

Yesterday, we returned to St Monica's in Gulu. We saw some elephants on the way after crossing the Nile. Uganda is really a beautiful country. We'll have our final meeting with the orphans in Gulu this weekend then I will begin to prepare to come home.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support.
Peace to all.
Monique