"Father G,” four co-wives, a Ugandan and two American’s walk into a church…

Busaana Baptist Church
Busaana Island, Lake Victoria, Uganda

Today was by far the most special day I have had in Uganda so far and it is only 2 p.m. Today, the Mississippi five, Sarah (our Ugandan interpreter and awesome woman!) and two team members from Georgia traveled by boda boda (cross between a dirt bike, a moped and a motorcycle) to a fishing village on the mainland and then boarded a 20 passenger wooden dingy to the island of Busaana. When we boarded the dingy, I was not prepared for what would be at the shore we washed upon. It was by far the poorest village we have visited, and today was not a normal visit. In my opinion, it is what all of our visits up to today should have been. I am not saying that trips to the other locations have not been meaningful and have not helped people, but today, we were the first people to visit Busaana in several years.

On an island with 100,000 residents, 8,000 live in this fishing village. In the one spot we visited, the pastor of Busaana Baptist Church houses 60 orphans. There are orphans there that do not have an orphanage to sleep in or a schoolhouse to learn in. In comparison to the other places we have visited – well, they look like the cream of the crop, and you know by the pictures I have posted they are far from even our lowest of economic class. Seeing this village on Busaana Island made me wonder why people had not already come there to help them. Of the 130 islands in Lake Victoria, this is not the largest in size, population or orphan count.

On our boat ride over, Pastor Timothy was telling me about the islands and what brought the current residents. Criminals fleeing repercussion for their crimes, widows with no way to make money but selling themselves to fishermen, refugees hiding from the government so they would not have to fight a war they did not believe in, and the stories continued. The running theme along all of these stories was that each of the people that have come to the islands over the past 20 years have passed away from disease and malnutrition among other things and left thousands of orphans spanning the islands. For those good people like Pastor Timothy, who suffered greatly himself as a child, some children are able to seek refuge in his loving arms and village. For others, they are not so lucky and continue to go hungry each day and die of disease each week because they have nothing and no one to love them.

One little boy that made a huge impact on me today, and that I wanted to bring home with me to say the least, was a 3-year-old boy named Misaki. I could tell when we were in the church that Misaki did not feel well. He lay in my arms and was burning up. Now granted it was hot, but you can tell the difference between hot and having a fever. He was so weak that as he lay in my arms tears began pouring down his face. It was as if he was trying to sleep, but couldn’t because he felt so sick…but he also could not cry for help because he was too weak. So as he lay in my arms half sleeping with tears coming down his innocent cheeks, I could not help but cry. I cannot understand how any child can be left to suffer in such a way. Why a man – if you can call a father that abandons his family a man – would leave his wife and four young children for, as we say, “a younger model” and not give them anything. I know we see this everyday in America, but it is completely different. Here, the children and women are left with nothing. Women cannot get jobs, and without a man they starve to death.

I felt about as bad as I could possibly feel as I sat there knowing that I was going back to a nice house in a few days, a cushy job, a car, food…really anything I want. I make more money in a month than men make in one year in Uganda. Women probably make 1/16 of that. As I sat wishing I could take Misaki home, but knowing I couldn’t, I did the next best thing I could think of – I marched myself and Misaki down to the clinic and purchased is Malaria medicine and then I walked across the street and purchased food for him (and mother/brothers/sister) for a month. It cost 20,000 shillings. That is less that $10. I know it is not everything I can do, but it is at least something.

Today really made me think about my life and my future more than any other day in Uganda. Pastor Timothy is one of the men that you can call “A real man.” He has taken on the responsibility of some 60 men by caring for children that they left behind. He hopes to build an orphanage on the island one day so the children are able to have real places to sleep, eat, live, learn, play and grow into productive adults. I think I will be hard pressed not to return here and open an orphanage in five years. I would have enough money in that time to open five orphanages – I asked for pricing to build one today. That would house 300 children.

On a more fun note, we did also travel the Nile today so we could have some adventure time. But, in all honesty, I would have preferred to stay on the island with Misaki. If customs would have let me bring a child with Malaria home I would have an adopted child by the time I returned to the States. I can tell you my life is not meant to be spent in America, living the greedy American dream. And let’s be honest, that is exactly what most of us have – a greedy American dream. We don’t need the cars we have, the vacations we take, or the homes we live in. We only need to survive and to be able to help someone that cannot help themselves. I only hope I can remember this and not fall back into a pattern of selfishness and greed when I return home. We can easily be lost in the suction zone of society and it’s standards. And I do not want that for my life. I do not want that for my family, and I refuse to bring a child into that kind of world. We take too much for granted everyday.

Find peace in yourself and the courage to help someone that cannot help themselves. If you have a great idea to help others, but do not act on it, then what have you really accomplished and whom have you helped?

People may forget who you are and forget what you said. But they will never forget how you made them feel and what you did for them.

This is Misaki. You read about him in the blog. I will be pursuing his adoption or opening an orphanage here. Either will really work - so many need a home.

PHOTO JOURNAL:

 

After Busaana Island, we did a little adventuring via boda boda.