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Uganda Trip 2016
Good news! ! ! Recently, we heard from the Orphanage in Meru, Kenya! They not only house 60 orphans, but provide a daily meal to hundreds of street children. We hadn’t gotten an update for several years! We gave them $10,000 in 2011, to fence around their acreage, build a barn and caretaker’s hut and buy a herd of 20 Anglo Nubian dairy goats.. At last report in 2012, they had completed fencing and buildings and had the goats. We had set up the herd, but didn’t know if they would make a good business of it. Now, a woman from Lincoln, Nebraska has adopted the project, and buys 50 to 100 goats from them per year! She gives the goats to local AIDS projects in the Meru area. (AIDS is the reason there are so many orphans) We are thrilled! We believe it doesn’t work well when money is handed out, but when animals are given, it is an ongoing blessing.
In June, Dr. Sam insisted that we give food to 15 of our widow families, 20 more in August and another 20 in November who were near starvation. We sent out large bags of 30 kilos of beans and 50 kilos of ground corn earlier this year. They cost us around $50 per widow family, but we couldn’t say no. We are grateful he is looking out for them. The rains have been sporadic, and their crops don’t look good. We are concerned about widespread famine and expect to be helping more of our 245 families. It is sad they work so hard to plant their crops, and then don’t get rain.
I arrived in Entebbe late Wednesday evening Aug. 31st. We stayed overnight in the capital city of Kampala. Thursday morning, we did some grocery shopping, tied my three travel bins on the roof, and loaded up a new 5 burner kitchen stove (made in Turkey). We experienced the solar eclipse while still in Kampala and that was awesome! I wondered what ancient people in Third World Countries thought of an eclipse? (Lawrence said he had prayed for a cloud cover that day—and God has a sense of humor!) We headed home around noon. Once we pulled off the highway, we were on dirt roads with the windows down because no AC in the van. It was terribly dusty when meeting larger vehicles. I didn’t realize how dirty my hair was until I washed it, and the water in the sink was really dirty!
Saturday early, we went to Soroti, the second largest “city” in Uganda. Largely sprawl but downtown is paved. I met with field Vet Dr. Sam and his Veterinary Assistant, my Interpreter, and Local Pastor Joel. Sam recommended Joel after we lost my former Interpreter. They are dear caring men who become very important to the widows. Joel had been busy motorcycling to villages and selecting the neediest widows with children. (when the husband dies, his brothers come and take all her property because they don’t believe women own property!) Sam had been motorcycling to villages and rounding up goats. Widows from 2012 will be gifting us a goat in their 4th year. Not in their first year because they were starving, and we wanted to give them the chance to get their herds established. We will buy the rest from our own previous widows who have goats to sell (isn’t that great?). Their goats are so tame and healthy, better than the ones we have bought from goat farms.
My Missionary son Lawrence and family bought all the supplies ahead of time and had them at their house. I couldn’t do this without their help. Monday, my dtr-in-law Rebecca and the 5 grandkids helped me bag individual kilo bags of beans, rice and brown sugar. We had plastic dishpans and also put in salt, tea, biscuit snacks, water bottles, harsh blue soap and also nice smelling white soap in long bars (a treat for them), little notebooks with a pen, and their own Bibles in a big zip-lock bag. It might seem useless to give the widows a Bible in English, but it has a Salvation Prayer in the front. I read it to them, and they repeat it in Ateso. They are very sincere and it brings tears to my eyes. We want to give hope to the hopeless. We also give various Veterinary supplies and a mineral block. We pack everything in a very large feed bag of white woven plastic (they will be able to use as a child’s bed or floor cover). And a 5 gallon yellow plastic “jerry can” for carrying water. Goats don’t need much water, and are very capable in harsh climates.
Tuesday, we met 21 new widows near Adacar Village. My son gave a nice message in Ateso, and led them in some rousing singing with them trilling a lot of “Yi, Yi, Yi’s”. Wow, you should hear them! Then I spoke for awhile stressing the nutritional value of goat’s milk. I asked them that if I gave them a chicken, would they throw away the eggs? They were shocked at the thought! Then I told them not to waste the nutritious goat’s milk. They are unfamiliar with DAIRY goats, and some laugh at the thought of it.
We brought widows from previous years in a van to each of the meetings. They each gave their success stories and encouraging talks. One boasted how fat she is, a thing of beauty in a third world country. (Frankly, she didn’t look fat to me!) Most of the widows I meet are skin and bones but the ones who came from previous years looked great! One widow named Salume from 2010 told how she has bought two cows, a bull to rent out as an ox, and has even bought land! Her family has food, and her children go to school. She still has a herd of 7 Anglo-Nubian goats! Unbelievable! Then Sam talked and instructed for an hour and a half, so it is a long, hot day before we hand out the supplies and give the goats. I was so fond of darling tiny grandmother named Ateo Tabisa. Her grandson signed papers for her with Joel, and was there with her to get her supplies and her goat. We meet some remarkable people.
Saturday we gave another 20 goats, bringing our total to 225. It went faster and smoother, and we were on the hour long drive back to Ngora when the earthquake hit. The road was rough with washboards, and we didn’t feel it. A lady who lives in Ngora felt it strongly, and heard the rumbling noise it made. We are not aware of any damage done in central Uganda other than people could feel it and hear it.
I brought rubber gloves with me, and wash all the dishes at our house. That’s a lot for 8 people and food preparation is all from scratch, but it is the least I can do since they all volunteer countless hours for the Charity with never a complaint. Now there is a gecko that runs around the window frame in front of the kitchen sink and makes me scream, even though I know it is harmless, it startles me!
It was such a meaningful day Tuesday when we gave the last 20 goats. They were out in the middle of nowhere that we drove to on a footpath. We kept thinking there couldn’t possibly be a building for a meeting place out in the middle of nowhere, but we finally arrived. Joel and Sam and the goats weren’t there yet. It was one of those inexpensive Church buildings that had a floor of smooth dried cow manure. AND there was a fresh pile of it for repairs up front by my chair! One widow, Apiding Dinah, came and scooped it up by the handfuls, and moved it out of the way. Then she went out and washed her hands, and acted as though it was no big deal. All their round mud block huts with grass roofs have the dried cow manure for floors. Concrete is too expensive. Luckily I am blessed with a poor sense of smell! These dear widows were far away from any villages or government help. Every hand I shook was as rough as sandpaper. They have hard lives.
We are concerned about rain for their crops. Lawrence said he was sure they cooked and ate the food we had given them in their supplies just as soon as they got home. I told them over and over about the good food source the goat’s milk is. I think these widows and their families won’t waste it. I think they were the neediest group we have ever helped. It was well over an hour drive out there, and we got home at 4:30. Everyone was ready for a shower and big drink of cold water. It was a pretty exhausting day, but we all agreed these widows were worth it. That brings our total families to 245 (including the one extra widow Sam slipped in the first day to replace a widow he rightly deemed was unworthy.) It is great to have someone there who keeps an eye on things.
After I got home in September, we paid Sam to continue replacing female goats to 11 widows whose goats have died for various reasons and two papa goats that are old and tired. He is waiting for available goats from our previous widows so we can buy from them. We continue to send Sam with Joel out every three months. His Boss, Dr. Opolot, is so pleased to be a part of our outreach to the needy in his area. He showed me a picture of a widow with her children in school uniforms, and said, “Education is the so important”. We were so lucky to establish contact with him on the internet our first year. He has traveled all over Uganda to buy from goat herds until we were able to buy from our own widows.
Thank you for your support. We are a 501(c )(3) non-profit Charity. We do not receive pay for our work, and work entirely as volunteers. All that has been accomplished was made possible with gifts that you have given from the goodness of your hearts. You can read about our beginnings If you go to our website www.helporphansandwidows.org , why we selected Anglo-Nubian type dairy goats, and many heart-warming anecdotal stories about our work with these dear, grateful people. This all started with three women from Rapid City who wanted to give milk to starving children, and ended up giving widows a valuable income opportunity where jobs are not available. These goats have lots of twins and produce twice a year. The sale of one goat brings them a year’s income. This year we gave female goats to 60 new widow families plus 6 papa goats to widows chosen as group leaders. I will try to get all my pictures of our new widows posted on our website soon. You can contact us at karbonn@aol.com
Sincerely, Karen, Bonnie and Carol
Help Orphans And Widows
PO Box 9362
Rapid City, SD 57709