Day 8 - Sunrise, Painting and Slums

 What a big day we all had! Wake up this morning was at 5am so we could start the day with the sunrise on Monkey Mountain. We were walking by 5:40am and just made it to see some of the colours of the sunrise come through the clouds. We walked to a spot where there was a bit of a lookout over the area that we are staying. We could see the Village of Hope, Lake Victoria and the surrounding areas. It was breathtaking! We reflected on how beautiful it all was and how you would never know the hardship and the darkness experienced by the Ugandans looking from the view. It was so peaceful. It was almost deceptive however God has made Uganda beautiful and I think most of us were filled with awe at this stunning view. After some monkeys caught our attention, it was time to quit monkeying around and head to the Village of Hope for some work. 

Today we were painting! We repainted their outdoor space. Before we knew it about 3 hours had flown by and we were done. We got the tick of approval from Ronny (who is a character and a half of an Ugandan and one of the painters that is associated with Hope Builders) and we were headed back to Suubi for lunch and then off the Masese slums. 

This is hard to write. The darkness in this slum is great and overwhelming. When we arrived we were greeted by about 50 children. They were swarming us, all trying to touch us and grab our hands and arms. But the picture was all wrong. Kids what looked to be maybe 5 or 6 were carrying babies on their backs instead of being at school. Some were chewing on pieces of rubbish. Most of the kids had holes in their clothes and so many of them were sick. A small fight even broke out at one stage. These kids were in survival mode and behaved in a way that reflected that. It was sad to see. We were told by the local leader that many of these people had moved here when wars in the North East part of Uganda broke out. We also later found out that there were so many young children because lots of the kids were from teenage pregnancies in COVID. It is a place full of brokenness. We heard the stories of the people that live there. Stories of sickness and not being able to work, stories of hunger, stories of grandmothers being left with their grandchildren when they couldn’t even look after themselves, stories of 9 kids and a mother living in a hut that was far too small and stories of wanting to die but knowing they couldn’t because they have kids relying on them. It was a lot. We gave a small bag of food and supplies to the families that we visited there and were able to pray for them. 

Then it was time to go home and debrief at Suubi. Many of us felt angry and frustrated, nearly all of us felt confronted and uncomfortable, some felt helpless and sad. We even talked about how God would be heartbroken at the state of his precious children in the Masese slums. It is the sinfulness of sin. Although jt seems hopeless, God has not forgotten the people in the Masese slums and is rescuing one life at a time through Hope Builders. So many of the Village of Hope kids have come from there and are not just living but thriving. God’s heart is for people and to bring the lost and the hopeless into His family. He chooses to use us to bring change and shine His light in the darkness.

Grace J

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