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Last winter I went to a rural part of Uganda, Africa to bring Christmas to over 1,500 orphans and street kids with my friends from ReachUpReachOut.org. It was beyond life changing. I count it a great fortune to have realized the meaninglessness we attach to superficial priorites by watching these children be happy when they have absolutley nothing! The children we encountered were lucky if they ate even one meal a day. They have one outfit, they wear it every day and it is tattered and filthy. But they are happier than any American child I know!
I fell in love with the babies at the orphanage Smile Africa long before I ever met them. My friends from OasisLA.org had gone before me and the pictures they showed was of a grass roots project started at Smile Africa by a local woman named Pastor Ruth in Tororo, Uganda to give the local children a safe place to live if they were orphaned and at least one meal a day to the street kids.
The baby home on the property houses the only available running water toilet and so I spent a lot of time stopping to play with the babies as I passed through from our projects with the older kids. The babies were too young to run free on the property with the other children and so were confined to the safety of their room and their yard. What I noticed on my many visits with them as I passed through is that beyond a few stuffed animals and balls, they didn't have anything to do all day. No pencils, no books, no crayons, nothing to stimulate their active little minds. Sure, they had a safe place to stay and a little food in their belly, but even that is now threatened with the loss of their partner who was sending them $3500 a month to feed and clothe them all (which is another ask all together and we are praying someone can step in and commit meeting this monthly need).
The little girl in this picture is the one who broke my heart and started this call to action. Somehow she found a pencil and was coloring on the wall when I stopped her. Like a good American mommy I told her, "No, no, we do not color on the wall!" and promptly took her pencil away. I have never seen sadness on the face of a child like this before. She sucked her thumb into her mouth and stared at the wall for 15 miniutes as my will to be right broke down and my friend asked if I'd put her in timeout. I told her she had put herself in timeout and explanined the "crime". My friend laughed and said, "look around, there are other drawings on the wall, I don't think it's a big deal." She was right. I tried to return the pencil to the child but she wouldn't take it. I slipped it into her pocket and tried to coax her out with my words. Nothing. Just thumb sucking, staring at the wall. This was her life. And she smelled of a unnoticed dirty diaper.
I got her cleaned up by one of the nannies and spent the rest of our time at the orphanage holding her, rocking her, something no one ever does for her, or the others. It's not that they are not cared for, it is just that there are so many of them, so few resources and so few adults.
That day realization gave way to dreams, and soon I realized there is something I can do to help! So now we are going back this June 1 to bring art therapy to all the children at Smile, includinging these beautiful babies! For one week I will be leading them in mind activating, sensory stimulating activities made out of simple household items like water, paper, rice and crayons. We will make art, draw, sing and play till our hearts delight for one glorious week. I wish it was longer but I am grateful for our time together, no matter what. The costs of the trip, including all the art supplies and travel expenses is $4,000. That covers airfare, accomodations, food and all needed supplies. Would you partner with me in reaching my goal? Any amount helps and I am beyond grateful for not only the opportunity to serve these active little rascals, but to be part of a larger community with a common goal and purpose. Even if you can not give money towards this goal, prayers are also just as powerful and I am grateful for it all.
I think life is really about being the change we want to see and in todays turbulent world, anything I can do to help one person at a time is a victory. Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for caring about these beautiful babies. Peace and blessing to you.
I fell in love with the babies at the orphanage Smile Africa long before I ever met them. My friends from OasisLA.org had gone before me and the pictures they showed was of a grass roots project started at Smile Africa by a local woman named Pastor Ruth in Tororo, Uganda to give the local children a safe place to live if they were orphaned and at least one meal a day to the street kids.
The baby home on the property houses the only available running water toilet and so I spent a lot of time stopping to play with the babies as I passed through from our projects with the older kids. The babies were too young to run free on the property with the other children and so were confined to the safety of their room and their yard. What I noticed on my many visits with them as I passed through is that beyond a few stuffed animals and balls, they didn't have anything to do all day. No pencils, no books, no crayons, nothing to stimulate their active little minds. Sure, they had a safe place to stay and a little food in their belly, but even that is now threatened with the loss of their partner who was sending them $3500 a month to feed and clothe them all (which is another ask all together and we are praying someone can step in and commit meeting this monthly need).
The little girl in this picture is the one who broke my heart and started this call to action. Somehow she found a pencil and was coloring on the wall when I stopped her. Like a good American mommy I told her, "No, no, we do not color on the wall!" and promptly took her pencil away. I have never seen sadness on the face of a child like this before. She sucked her thumb into her mouth and stared at the wall for 15 miniutes as my will to be right broke down and my friend asked if I'd put her in timeout. I told her she had put herself in timeout and explanined the "crime". My friend laughed and said, "look around, there are other drawings on the wall, I don't think it's a big deal." She was right. I tried to return the pencil to the child but she wouldn't take it. I slipped it into her pocket and tried to coax her out with my words. Nothing. Just thumb sucking, staring at the wall. This was her life. And she smelled of a unnoticed dirty diaper.
I got her cleaned up by one of the nannies and spent the rest of our time at the orphanage holding her, rocking her, something no one ever does for her, or the others. It's not that they are not cared for, it is just that there are so many of them, so few resources and so few adults.
That day realization gave way to dreams, and soon I realized there is something I can do to help! So now we are going back this June 1 to bring art therapy to all the children at Smile, includinging these beautiful babies! For one week I will be leading them in mind activating, sensory stimulating activities made out of simple household items like water, paper, rice and crayons. We will make art, draw, sing and play till our hearts delight for one glorious week. I wish it was longer but I am grateful for our time together, no matter what. The costs of the trip, including all the art supplies and travel expenses is $4,000. That covers airfare, accomodations, food and all needed supplies. Would you partner with me in reaching my goal? Any amount helps and I am beyond grateful for not only the opportunity to serve these active little rascals, but to be part of a larger community with a common goal and purpose. Even if you can not give money towards this goal, prayers are also just as powerful and I am grateful for it all.
I think life is really about being the change we want to see and in todays turbulent world, anything I can do to help one person at a time is a victory. Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for caring about these beautiful babies. Peace and blessing to you.