Another Hope, another home away from home (Wednesday, Jan 7)

Happy new year everyone! I’ve also since left the Another Hope orphanage and its thirty five awesome kids and returned back to Mbarara, and to work, probably the same as many of you. As I settle back into the routine of my work, I can’t help but miss the kids, their smiling faces, even their greasy fingers after meals, their seemingly constantly running noses, and their dirty uniforms after playing in the dirt….the list goes on. I was definitely blessed to have been able to spend the past two weeks with all the kids at Another Hope and, as I promised them, I’ll be back to visit again before I leave Uganda.

On Saturday night, my last night at the orphanage, they had a sort of farewell party/send off for me. The kids sang songs, they gave a few speeches of thanks, recalling some of their favourite memories during my stay with them, and they prayed for me, as they always do for departing volunteers. It was humbling to see the gratefulness that the kids had for my efforts during my short stay with them. Yea, I tried my best to help them with math, or English, or sports, or to do simple repair jobs around the house. But really, it didn’t equate to the gratitude that the kids and staff showed for me.

Also, as I got to know each child better, I also learned more about their stories, their histories that brought each of them to Another Hope. And frankly, it hurts to think about the pain and suffering that many of these kids have already experienced, things that I’ll never be able to fully understand, things that I wish that no one would ever need to witness, let alone endure. For several of the kids, this means having to deliberately block out their histories because I just don’t know if I’d be able to treat them the same otherwise. I can’t write all their stories here, but you can ask me if you want to know.

Even now that the kids are at Another Hope and have a better home, a better diet, a better education, and overall, a better life, they still deserve more. Or, maybe, the rest of us just deserve less. Sometimes I wonder how God chose for some of us to receive all the blessings that these kids can only long for, and I feel ashamed at all the things that I take for granted. To give you an idea of how little is enough, the monthly budget for the orphanage, minus rent and school fees, is 400,000 Ugandan shillings. Translation: it costs less than 250 Canadian dollars to provide for these thirty five kids for one month, that’s less than twenty five cents per child per day. Moreover, the orphanage offers more than many of these kids have ever had, more food, more blessings, more love. How much do you, as a family or even as an individual, spend each month? Humbling, isn’t it? I really pray that we could truly learn to be content with less, and to be more generous with what we do have; I know it’s cliché, but when you see the way these children live, you realize that it’s more than just a catch phrase, it’s real.

And for all I’ve written about these kids, I haven’t had the chance to post any pictures of these beloved kids. So, here are some pictures of life at Another Hope. Just can’t get enough of the smiling faces, the funny poses, or just the deer-caught-in-the-headlights expressions. ...And the internet's cutting in and out right now so I'll post the pics up whenever I get a better connection.

And pictures!