A LIFE CHANGING VISIT

An orphan is in every way a human being. In every way entitled to all the good things in this world, but some orphans, because they have no one to look after them, are left grappling on the surface of the earth: tired, hopeless and destitute. A life-changing visit I mean visits that change the way you see things. It has always been my desire to give back to society, a God-given burden of sorts. So for about three years, I planned to have a Christmas celebration at an orphanage, and in 2020, Love Uganda Foundation granted me the opportunity to do so.

Day of the life-changing visit.

20th December 2020, I set out to Kalagi village in the Mukono district with some friends and colleagues. We had a date with the children at Love Uganda Orphanage. And to date, I have not had an experience like that. More than what I had gone with, I was given. I was given hope, love, passion, desire, friendship and my goal was enlarged. I left that home in the evening with an assurance that if we only dare to do, all things are possible. Someone dared to set up a home for the vulnerable, to give food, shelter, clothing, and education: a future and a hope to those who would otherwise be hopeless.

The lockdown in Uganda

In March 2020, Uganda went into a national lockdown, the odds that someone would still care to give away the little they had were extremely narrow. Times must have been hard for the management of the children`s home, but no child was turned away, no child went hungry. From March through December, none of the children at this orphanage lacked. In my heart, I thanked all those that had given, all those who amid hard times remained donors to the good cause of the organization and those who believed that to preserve the future; we must invest in the children.

Children stories.

I listened in awe as one by one these children told tales of what they aspire for, who they want to be. In front of us stood doctors, lawyers, teachers, nurses, fashion designers, and farmers. These children are young, somewhat naïve, but certain that they will become what they wanted to become.  Whenever I am with a child, there are four things that I can do: pray, play, teach and mentor. On this particular day, the most important to me was to play and pray. So we danced, skipped, sang, prayed, and ate. We desired to be the big brother/sister figure for the time that we were there. So we set the bossy elder aside and set our inner children free.

It gave me the joy to see these children laugh, to see them dream big. And I was more amazed by the pen that they had set up during the lockdown. As a way of not just putting into practice the theory they had learned from class, but to make a little money. Imagine, the oldest of them was 13, but they had devised a mechanism of feeding the rabbits in turns. And taking care of them as a group.

To the administration of Love Uganda Foundation and Orphanage, thank you. Thank you for taking the initiative to be more than dreamers. Thank you for giving these children hope.

To the donors and volunteers, thank you. Thank you for every dollar and shilling that you give away. With the intent that one of these may get a meal and an education.

Let`s keep giving, as much as we keep living.