Yesterday I went out with a team from Revelation Life. We went to minister in one of the slum areas of Kampala. They do not refer to them as slums, they refer to them as communities.
I can’t give you an account of what it was like to be there because I am still processing those feelings myself. God has brought me to a place where I could go there without being completely overwhelmed, but it was an eye opening experience. So this post will simply be a description of who we saw and what we did.
On arriving in the community, we walked a long way through narrow passages between homes. The trails were narrow with lots of up and down, often unidentified liquid running down these trails. You really needed to be part mountain goat to navigate parts of the journey and you always needed to be looking down so you didn’t fall or step in something. But you also needed to be always looking up so that you did not cut your head on one of the sharp metal overhangs from a roof.
After walking a very long way, we arrived at a very tiny dwelling where we visited a mom and her three month old twins. The father of the twins died just prior to the birth of the twins so the three of them are staying with the mom’s sister and her family- ten people staying in a place that is about the size my living room (maybe even smaller). Sarah (the nurse from Revelation Life) weighed and measured the babies, gave mom formula and vitamins. The Revelation Life team will continue to check on them in the future to see that they are growing and staying healthy.
We went to visit a few other homes and check on people Sarah had seen previously. We saw a little girl with Rubella (German measles)- that disease is not one that they are immunized against here. Of course I had many questions for Sarah about that- how did she know it was measles? On white skin we assess the level of redness, etc, but on black skin, all the rashes look the same to me.
Next we saw a little boy who very likely has TB- nasty cough and night sweats. Many people in Uganda don’t believe that TB is treatable so they don’t seek medical help. This little guy’s mom had TB and Sarah is not certain if the mom was treated or not. Of course, in a place where everyone lives as closely as they do in this community, the disease spreads like wild fire.
Everywhere we went we had an entourage. We were four Mzungu and one Ugandan (translator) in our group and the children all argued over who got to hold hands with the Mzungu. The kids loved to have us there and were very eager to come along wherever we went. Everyone (adults and children) was so kind and loving- they have so little, but they still have joy.
As we walked, I pelted Sarah with questions- some medical, some cultural and whatever else came to my mind. I believe that God is giving me every one of these experiences to learn and to grow. I don’t know yet why I needed to learn these things, but I know that yesterday wasn’t just a “tourist outing”- there was a much bigger purpose in me going there and at some point God will reveal that. I did learn a very sad new fact about Uganda- this country has the highest rate of alcoholism in the world. Please pray for this country.
There are several pictures on my Facebook page that my friend Judy took yesterday. It gives you a bit of an idea of life inside this community.
Maybe by the time I get home, I will have processed the experience a little more and I can give you better description of the experience, rather than just a forensic analysis.
Revelation Life does a number of different programs/ministries in this and other Kampala communities. They are a great organization. Check out their website www.revelationlife.org.uk
Please pray for them and the great work they are doing.
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| This photo gives you a snapshot of life inside this community. There are several photos on my Facebook page. |
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