Giving

May of you gave things for my trip to Uganda. I am really very thankful for all of you who showed your love for the kids in Uganda (and also your love and trust in me). Thank you! I thought it might be worthwhile to do an update on how I used some of that so you can see what you were a part of. So thank you to all who gave in whatever way you did. It was a blessing!

 

The books and all the supplies for teaching were used and enjoyed! 

 

 

Some of the boys at the boys home had been very interested in China having watched a movie with Jackei Chan in it! I had agreed to cook them Chinese food so the week before I left I bought groceries and we made chines food together (for about 40 people!). I was great fun! It was a bit tricky cooking it African style over a charcoal fire, but with a little improvising we managed!

 

 

 

Foodsafe goes out the window in Africa (but it is more fun that way)!
  



 

 
 
 

 

The boys loved trying out chap-sticks.

 

One of the boys decided to make his own. I am sure if you were an expert chop-sticker there would have been a considerable difference, but given their skill level they worked just fine!

 

Those who gave cameras they were a hit. The boys love using them! And when I left I gave them out to the two homes and API staff (all of who did not have cameras but could really use them)!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At program I bought 8 kilos of beef (meat is a treat for the street boys) so we could cook them a special meal.

 

I also went to the market with one of the Uncles and purchased 60 pairs of shoes and 50 t-shirts to be handed out to the street boys as needed. It was a bit of a funny sight as we tried to carry the big sacks back home with us on his boda boda!

 

In kivulu there is a container that one of the Uncles has been working on opening as a barber shop. His plan is to provide free haircuts for the street boys and with some of  whatever other income is generated buy items like fruit or porridge for the boys. They needed a new buzzer. It seemed like a good cause so I used some money to help them. I even got to give a haircut!

 

The soccer balls were used!

 

 

I was able to be involved in resettling some of the street boys. I was able to help out with some of their needs for resettlement (like new clothes, a mattress, school supplies). I really loved doing this.

 

 

Another thing I loved to do was take boys for food. Sometimes as I walked around Kampala I would run into some of the boys I knew (or those I didn't).  I was often able to buy them some food and just spend time with them. 

 We were able to take 24 kids to the beach. We bought them new shirts and shorts which they changed into before we left so they wouldn't stick out as street boys as the beach. We also bought lunch for them after we were done and headed back to Kampala in the taxi.

 

 

These are most of how things were used. I just wanted to show you what your giving has been a part of. Thank you so much for supporting me. It was also by your giving that I was able to stay in Uganda two months longer than I had originally planned. I am so glad that I was able to stay longer.

 

So,

 

Wabela nyo nyo nyo!

 

(thank you so so so much!)

Lost boys

              Boys come to the streets of Kampala for many reasons.  For some their parents have died or are no longer willing to care for them.  They have nowhere to turn so they run.  For others, their home is so bad that they think life on the streets with all its hardships would be better than staying in that environment.   Many of the boys come to the streets for less extreme reasons. Sometimes they have done something wrong and instead of facing punishment they run. Sometimes they come from very poor families and although these families love them the boys feel like by coming to the streets they can make a way for themselves that is somehow better than what they could otherwise. Many poor families cannot put their children in school and so the boys grow board and come to the streets for something to do. Some boys are just downright stubborn, the draw of the streets and the “freedom” and “adventure” it entails are too strong.  They don’t like school, they don’t want to dig, or fetch water, or listen to those in authority over them and so they run. Each boy has his own reason for running. Each story is a little different and the issues are complicated.  But, in the midst of it all, you can clearly hear God’s heart – He desires to restore what has been lost.

                There are many boys on the streets who given the opportunity and support are willing to return home to their families.  This is a challenging endeavor and one which needs a lot of wisdom.  It is also incredibly rewarding.  It is a beautiful thing to witness the joy that families often express when their lost son comes home.

                This past month API has been part of a number of resettlements. Each boy that went made the initiative to go home on his own.  Each boy was excited in his own way. And when he arrived home each family was happy to see their child returned to them. They were all so very thankful saying “ Webela! Webaly nyo nyo nyo! (Thank you! Thank you so so so much!).” They showed that they were willing to take over reasonability of their child again. Here are two of the boy’s stories.

 

                Felix is 12 year old. He has come non-committedly to program for a number of months now and just lately voiced an interest to go back home to his family.  His home village was a far ways from Kampala. We boarded a night bus headed for the hills of western Uganda and arrived at the bus stop around seven-thirty in the morning. But this was not the end of our journey. We traveled farther into the hills on in the back of a small pick-up truck (Ugandan’s can sure fit a lot of people in the back of a pick-up truck!). The roads were a bit rough so it took us over an hour to reach Felix’s small village. We followed the narrow dirt path that wound its way through banana trees until we came to his home. It was a small (but not that small by some standards here) mud house.  His mother came out of the house when she heard us arrive. When she saw Felix she expressed happiness in seeing him home safe.  He grandmother came to us too and with tears in her eyes thanked us. 

                As we talked with the family is became clear that Felix had a habit of repeatedly running away. This was not the first time he had come to Kampala. They were afraid that is would not be the last. The chairman for the town was a neighbour and came by to visit as well. He confirmed that the mother really loved her son.  He said they had enough food and Felix had been in school.  He asked that we would pray for Felix to stay home. He said he was willing to support him and the family in any way he could.

                We talked with Felix some more about the danger of the streets (something he knows well first-hand) and how home is a much better place for him. When we left Felix was playing with his small cousins.  For now he was happy to be home and be with his family. We are praying that Felix makes good choices and does not heed the call of the streets.  We will be calling his family soon as a follow-up to see how he is doing.

 

                Ivan is 12 years old. He showed up at street program a little over two months ago and was very new to the streets at that time.  At the street program he was friendly and engaging.  He constantly attached himself to the Uncles and Aunties and it became evident that he has run away to the streets looking for a better life. His story remained elusive until one day he opened up. He told us he had a mother who he loved and some younger siblings. He did not have a father. His mother was very poor and could not afford to put him in school he had become tired of having nothing to do in the day and had come to the streets to see if he could find someone to take him into their children’s home.  He was not enjoying life on the streets at all and when he was asked if he would like to go back home to his family he said yes. We took Ivan home last week. We traveled by bus a ways outside of Kampala to a village. There we unloaded and weaved our way between homes until we found the one that was Ivan’s. His mother was there cleaning rice in her one-room house.   She was happy to see us and invited us in to sit on her floor. As we chatted it became clear that Ivan’s story had been more or less true. His mother really loved him but had been struggling to provide her children with adequate food and money to cover school fees. She said Ivan had begun to hang out with the wrong crowd of boys in the village.  She speculated that they had encouraged him to run to the streets.  She desired to take care of him now that he was back, but it was evident that she could use some help.

                As part of API’s new focus on resettlement we would love to find sponsors for children that come from impoverished families.  If these families truly love their children but are struggling to care for them than is seems like a good solution to support them in any ways possible to achieve a healthy family environment. Thankfully for Ivan we already had people who were willing to sponsor him to go back to school. We talked about this possibility with his mother and she was excited by the idea. So we went with him to register at the local school. The thing about schools here in Uganda is that you pay a small fee on top of school fees when you register for the term. This small fee pays for meals which the students get every day. In this way, not only are you helping the family with education, but you are also ensuring that the child gets one good meal a day. This is also a huge help to the family.  We took Ivan to get a backpack and school supplies as well as a mattress.

                By the time we left Ivan and his family, he was laughing and joking with his mother and playing with his younger siblings.  He seemed contented to be home and excited at the prospect of starting school immediately.   We left him then but will be visiting him again in the next few weeks. We plan to begin a chicken project with his family as they would benefit from an additional source of income.  We hope to get this started next time we visit him.

                Being part of restoring families is a beautiful thing.  Boys make choices to run to the streets, but if they desire to go home we want to encourage and support them in that. Maybe by getting to know the specific stories and needs of each family we can decrease the number of boys living on the streets of Kampala one at a time!

True Fasting

Isaiah 58:6-12

 

 

 Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,   Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

Snapshots

It has been a little while since I wrote an update on my blog. I thought that I would post some pictures to show you a little bit of what I have been up to. Consider these as snapshots into my life as it has been of late.

 

 

Cooking with the Hope House ladies

 

 

For the last few months I have been meeting with these ladies. We have had a sharing time/bible study together Sunday afternoons. I have loved getting to know them. They have beautiful hearts. They also have painful stories. I have had the privilege to learn bits and pieces of these stories.  The ladies have all been through the API Hope House project. This project was offered to women who felt hopelessly trapped in prostitution in the slum of Kivulu. It lasted two years and taught them jewelry making and small business skills encompassed in God's message of love and hope.  API is hoping the run another project like this. If you want to know more check out this http://www.ugandaarise.org/ you can also read a little about of some of the ladies I know.

 

A few weeks ago we got chatting about cooking. The Ugandan way to cook is to use charcoal on a little cook stove. They cook a lot of beans and rice. Hardly anyone knows how to use an oven. They just aren't practical. We talked about things we liked to cook. They ladies wondered if I could teach them to make chicken soup. I wondered if they could teach me to make japati. So a few days later we had a cooking date. We ended up eating the chicken soup over rice, instead of putting some rice in the soup. . It is very Ugandan to put any type of sauce or broth over rice and eat it that way.  We decided this was a mix of Ugandan and Canadian way. It was delicious.

 



 

A Treat at Program

The last few weeks there has been a team here from the states. They have been helping out at the street program. On one of the days they decided to bless the boys and get something special for them to have for their meal.  Fish it was. But here in Uganda they eat all the fish pretty much. The head is good part of the fish and is used! This is Benjamin, happy with his fish supper. The boys always share their food saying "Auntie, you take!" On this day Benjamin was no different. These boys want to share with you especially if it is special.  And in case you are wondering, the fish is rather good here!

 

 

A Birthday Gift

 



 

I have been helping teach Sunday school in Grace Church which is in the Kivulu slum. Uncle Abdul translates for me. I love having him translate for me because he does such a good job. His heart of the street boys is amazing. He knows what it is like for them since he spent time on the streets himself as a young boy. The boys respect and listen to him. African church is a strange mix of noise and worship. They louder the better I think must be their motto. I am the only white person that attends this church currently. They have translators, but most of the worship songs are in Lugandan. Last week I decided that singing in Lugandan is practically speaking in tongues for me. I know a little of what the songs are saying, but mostly not. So I just make up what they mean in my heart!

 

After church is finished I walk out of Kivulu. Some of the boys often walk with me. They say they are my body guards. Sometimes they even puff out their chests and strut a little to fit the part! I do feel safe with them though. At this point there is a lot of trust that has developed on both our parts. It is probably a little bit of a funny sight, a muzungu walking down the streets trying her best to communicate with a small pack of grubby boys who are her friends. People sometimes give us strange looks. On this particular Sunday there were four boys walking with me. One of them pulled a branch off a tree that we walked by (there are so many beautiful flowering trees here in Uganda) and waved it around and repeatedly yelled rather loudly "happy birthday!" We started getting some even stranger looks! I am not sure that he knew my birthday was only a few day away. I think he just thought it was a funny thing to say. But regardless when he gave it to me it made me happy.

 

 

An Afternoon of Swimming

 



 

One program day the boys got to go swimming.  We rented the pool. The boys were very excited. The problem is that most of the boys can't swim at all. We kept them to the shallow end for safety sake. I got in with the boys with was an adventure in itself.  There was a lot of splashing!

 

 

The Van

Another adventure that happened to me in the last week is that the API van got stuck on the way to the land. We are in the rainy season now. Because of this the roads have gotten quite rutted and hard to drive. While trying to avoid ruts on one side, we slipped into the ditch on the other. Unfortunately the ditch was filled with the neighbours crops... It took a good hour and most all the boys from the boys house man power to get us out! The neighbours were understanding and we made compensation for the mishap.

Jethro

 

 

For over a month now Amy and I have been living with a family we know as API looks for a new volunteer  house.  Shawn and Sarah have the gift of hospitality. They are easy to hang out with. Sarah is due with their second son in August. Jethro is their other son. They adopted him from here in Kampala over a year ago now. 

 

Jethro is a character. He loves to joke and make funny faces. He is my little buddy and time I am cooking. I do no think a day passes were we are not laughing at something he does or says. I am really grateful for Shawn and Sarah and their family.

 

 

Another Resettlement

 



 

Yesterday I got back from the far reaches of western Uganda. We were talking a little boy named Felix home to his family who lived in the hills near the great lakes. This trip involved two overnight bus rides. We rode ten hours in a bus from Kampala and then proceeded the next hour or so in the back of a little white Nissan pickup. This picture was taken before the other twenty people joined us in the back! This was a whole new African adventure for me.

 

Felix with some of his family. They were happy to see him. We are praying he stays home.

 

On the way back the ride got even more exciting. We didn't want to wait for the evening bus as we were hoping to get back to Kampala sooner than later. The only other option was the pickup. But it was loaded with beans and the front was already occupied. So we perched up on the sacks of grain for the three hour trek out of the hills back to paved roads! Secretly I was hoping to have the opportunity to ride in the back of these trucks so I didn't mind at all!

 

At one point we got stuck on a hill. The weight of the beans plus us was too much for the truck. We all unloaded except grandma (jaja as they are called here) who continued to perch in the spare tire. I love doing resettlements. I love meeting the families of the boys. I love seeing their expressions when they first see their child again.  I love seeing more of Uganda. It is a truly beautiful country. The area we were in was all hills and farms. I love seeing grandmas in spare tires and all the Ugandan culture that comes with that. It makes me happy!

So there are a few snapshots of my life over the past couple weeks. I am blessed to be here.

Two of Their Stories

Abby often does prayer updates on some of the street boys on her blog http://aperfectinjustice.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2013-03-01T14:30:00-08:00&max-results=7. Lately I have been helping with this. I get the opportunity to talk with some of the boys (one of the uncles or aunties translates for me) and hear some of their stories. I take a picture of two of them. We pray together. Later I type up what they told me and send it to Abby.

 

I talked to couple boys yesterday. Abby will probably put their stories up on her blog soon, but I thought you might be interested in reading it here since I had just finished typing them. I really love doing this type of thing!

 

 

 

Fred Natovu

 

 

Fred is a small boy. He says his age is ten but he looks to be maybe seven at the most. What he lacks in size he makes up with spiritedness. He seems to hold his own fairly well with the other boys at program although he is definitely smaller then them all. This is part of his story.

 My mother's name is Coleen. I have never known my father. I came to the streets of Kampala sometime in April and I have been living on them for a month now. I ran away from home because of my mother. She used to beat me and sometimes deny me food. When I left my home in Waskiso and started traveling to Kampala I was helped by a man. He was on a boda boda and he let me ride with him to Kampala. My plan was to visit my uncle. He lives in Kampala. The problem was that when I got to his house it was locked and no one was there. The neighbours told me that my uncle was in prison but they didn't tell me why. I didn't know anyone in Kampala other than my uncle. I came to the streets because I have nowhere else to go. I do not want to go home. Life on the streets is not good. It is hard to get things to eat. I don't have clothes like I did at home. I sleep on the ground with other boys and sometimes we get chased away from where we are sleeping at night.  When this happens we have to walk in the dark to find another place to sleep.

 Please pray for me. I want to go back to school. I also want to have a safe place where I can live and be happy.
 

Before he came to the streets Fred reached primary 3 in school. When he grows up he dreams to become a teacher. He explained that teachers teach people new things and help them become what they dream of through education.

 

 

 

Kiyemba Henry

 

 Henry says he is 12 years old. He has started coming to program in this last month. He cut his foot and heard about the clinic through a friend. Since getting treatment there he has been coming often to the street programs. He is a friendly and engaging boy with a quick smile. This is part of his story.

I have no interest in remembering my parents names. They are both living. My father is living with my step mother. My mother lives in Kampala. I was living with my father and stepmother. We used to live in an area of Kampala called Karerwe. My father decided to move from the city to the village. The village we moved to was called Kiti. When we moved there I lived with my family for three months but all this time I did not go to school. In the morning I would do my chores but then after that I would have nothing to do. I was bored so I would walk around and often go to visit my aunt who lived not too far away. When I came back home I often found I had missed meal time. My family never kept any food for me.  I would ask why they didn't leave anything for me but they would never reply to me. Instead they would tell me to get water. Sometimes I had to fetch water three times a day. often my family only ate one time a day so it was not a good situation for me. I was hungry so I would looked for jackfruit in the bushes.  My father and my stepmother sometimes threatened to send me to Kampiringisa because I was stubborn.  One day I was out with some friends. I stayed out too late and when I came back I found that my house was locked and my family was all asleep. I was afraid to wake them up since I knew they would be very upset with me. So instead I made a makeshift bed using a sack and string. I hung it in a big tree near our house. In the morning my father was very angry with me. He beat me with a stick that also had wire on it. He also hit my foot very hard. My foot was hurting me a lot and it took some time to heal. I waited some time after this at my home but things were not getting any better. I decided to come back to Kampala. My mother lives in Kampala, although I do not often see her. When I came to her house she was angry at me for coming to her and told me that I needed to go back to my father. She refused to let me stay with her. I did not want to go back to my father's house so I stayed on the streets. I found a plastic container and started fetching water to make some money. Slowly I learned more things about street life and how to survive. I met a boy named Big who brought me to Kivulu.  I did not like Kivulu though so I did not stay there. I have been on the streets of three years now.  Right now I sleep in Wandegerya in front of a restaurant called  Chicken Tonight.

Please Pray for me. I have an injured foot right now. I would like prayer for healing. I would also like prayer for an opportunity to go back to school.

Henry's dream is to become an engineer when he grows up.

 

What about Sponsoring?

Some of you have asked me about sponsoring boys through A Perfect Injustice. I thought I might as well give you some details here in case any others of you are interested. API has two boys homes, each with the ability to hold 15 boys. Right now there are a few empty spaces and we are hoping to bring in new boys. The boys already in the homes have sponsors, but the ones that are still on the street (who we want to bring home) do not. Here is the information that Abby sent to me in an email today.

Child Sponsorship FAQ

Want to Sponsor?

 

If you are interested in sponsoring a child in our home, please email me, Abby at aperfectinjustice@gmail.com and I will send you the bio of a boy in our home, his prayer requests and his picture so that you can get to know him better.

Why become a sponsor?

All of the boys that are available for sponsorship have been living on the street in a slum in the middle of Kampala, Uganda, some for over a year.  Daily they are subject to abuse at the hands of the community, the police, and boys that are bigger than them.  They do not have a safe place to sleep nor do they always have food to eat.  To survive, they wake up very early in the morning to begin their daily work of walking the city to look for scrap metal or plastic to sell.  For every kilogram of metal they pick they earn a quarter.  This small amount of money will give them at least something to eat and maybe allow them to pay 10 cents to sleep inside a small room with 20-30 other boys. 

The reasons the boys left home are varying but the common reason is abuse or loss of parents from AIDS.  The boys have suffered from a lifetime of abuse, starting from the time that they were at home.  Choosing to be a sponsor would allow a boy to leave the streets and come into a loving home where all of his needs would be provided.  He would no longer need to work all day or fear for his safety.  He will have people that love him, mentor him, teach him about Jesus, and finally have a safe environment where he is able to begin healing. Please note, to cover all costs of the child's care in our home requires three sponsors per child of $50 per month each.

 What can you expect from your sponsorship?

1.      Your child will write to you at least twice a year. 
2.      You will receive an updated photo twice a year and prayer requests for your child at the  home
3.     You will be able to go to our homes blog at aperfectinjustice.blogspot.com to see periodic updates of your child.
4.     If your child leaves the home for any reason, you will be notified within thirty days.

 

 What are you committing to?

 

  1.       Writing to your child at least two times a year and send at least one photo.
  2.        Praying for your child.
  3.        Committing to sending your pledge per month and if your financial situation changes for any reason, please notify us of no longer being able to continue with your sponsorship. 

Where does your money go?

Your ponsorship will cover the following costs:
    1.       Daily upkeep-food, clothes, toiletries, housing, utilities, medical care, etc.

2.       Christian counseling once a week
3.       School fees, supplies, and tutoring to help your child catch up in school.
4.       Fun-special outings, birthday parties, games, movies, etc.
5.       Staff-caregivers, mentors, cook, homework tutor, music/dance lessons, etc.

 Where should you send the money?

Please send your monthly checks to the below address send a note to indicate it is for the ministry of Abby and David Kakeeto, child sponsorship of (include name of your child if possible) and in the memo line of the check write the number 443.01 .

Global Training Network

7558 W. Thunderbird Rd., Ste. 1
P.M.B. 449 Peoria, AZ 85381

You can also give online at www.globaltrainingnetwork.org/support.  You can find an automatic monthly withdrawal form there also.  Please make sure to preference my ministry.

**All donations are tax-deductible. Upon receipt of your check/donation, GTN will send you

a receipt shortly. For tax purposes PLEASE, do not mark my name/your child’s name anywhere on the check, just the number 443.01 in the memo line. This makes it a personal gift, which is NOT tax-deductible.  Instead you must include, with your check, a separate  note saying that it is for child sponsorship  through David and Abby Kakeeto.

Stories of Resettlement

Resettlement, like so many things in Uganda, can be incredibly convoluted. All of my time in Uganda has been a learning experience, I readily admit that. And I am trying to learn as much as I can. Sometimes I feel like I could be in this culture a lifetime and things would still surprise me and so needless to say, after almost three months I am barely scratching the surface of things. We resettled a boy named Innocent last week. It was interesting.

 

I want to give you an honest perspective on how things are here, or at least my honest perspective on how I perceive things to be. I have noticed that some people come to Africa and they have a romantic and consequently somewhat naive view on the way things are here and what it means to be in the culture and "help." Others are very a where of the issues. They feel the burden of them and they want to see things change quickly for the best. But things happen differently here and it can bring a lot of frustration.... These are the extremes I suppose. But I have seen them here in others. And I have seen them here in myself. Somehow you have to see and love the beauty in the people of the culture while still being willing to honestly stare in the face of the brokenness at the same time. Sometimes the brokenness manifests itself in the lack of relationships, integrity, and responsibility of the very people you know to be so beautiful.  And then you also have to stare honestly at your own heart and see the brokenness that is also there. It is a hard thing to do.

 

I care a lot about Innocent. At program he was hardworking, resourceful, responsible, polite and seemingly honest. My decision to help him go back to school was largely based on the premise that he had a legitimate need for sponsorship due to his family situation and that he was sincere about having a deep desire to go back to school. Kids that show responsibility and incentive but lack the chance pull on my heart because I feel like they will not miss use an opportunity.
 

Innocent had told us bits and pieces of his story. I felt like something was missing in his story but it is rare for a boy to tell you everything as it is so personal. From his story we had enough to know that his family situation, although not ideal, was not so bad that he could not return to it. He said his real dad was dead. His stepfather had a number of wives. Innocent had ended up on the streets when he was ten but returned home after three years. At this point his stepfather would not pay the school fees to put him back in school. He wanted badly to go back to school. He waited a year but nothing happened. He had problems with his family and so he ran again. This is what he told us.

 

The bus ride up to the area of Uganda where Innocent is from was somehow long, but it was beautiful especially as you got closer to his home. The rolling hills became larger and they flatten out to meet what is left of the thick jungle that used to cover this part of the land. Sugar cane is grown in abundance and banana orchards fill the hillsides. We were getting very close to the border to Congo. Innocent lives near Lake Albert and from the shores of the lake you can see Congo.

 

 

 

Innocent was nervous but excited to go home. It must be such a mix of emotions for these boys when they make the decision to go back to their families. "We are here" he murmured and exhaled deeply as we rounded the last bend before the turn off to his home.
 

It took a bit to untangle ourselves from the care. We had hired a private car from the closest big town since it was easier than going by taxi. There were four of us crammed in the back seat. When Innocent finally managed to get himself out of the vehicle and his family realised who it was there was loud collective shouting. Family members came running from out of the house, around behind the house, and down the road to give him hugs. They were all so happy to see him.

 

Unfortunately Innocent's mother was not there but was in a hospital getting treatment for an illness. We met his jaja (grandmother figure) and siblings. His father lived in a different house due to the number of wives he had, but one of the family members gave him a call and he came to meet us and visit. He also was very thankful that we had brought Innocent home.

 

This is where the stories began to not coincide. As we discussed things with the family they said that they had no idea why Innocent had ran to the streets. He had been in school when he ran. It seemed that the father figure was the biological father of Innocent, at least by all accounts of the family. He called Innocent "my son" and although he was not affectionate to him, he was not rejecting of him. The father himself stated that he was willing to pay school fees for Innocent to go to school. His only concern was whether or not Innocent would actually commit to staying in school. He kept saying "are you sure he wants to study?"

 

When we talked to Innocent he maintained his story. It seemed like we were at a little bit of a impasse when it came to finding the truth in these stories.

 

Interesting.

 

And that is how we left it. We ate supper with Innocents family and took tea with them the next morning. We went to the school where Innocent will be studying and payed the school fees for one term. We talked with Innocent and encouraged him. We prayed with him. And then we left. I still don't know what is true.

 

 

Irene, my wise Ugandan friend who had come with us on the resettlement, said to me that sometimes the best thing in these types of situations is not to look at the past for the truth because people tell many stories. Instead you should look at what is happening now, and watch what happens in the future. That is the truth you can know.

 

So here are some of the things that are true now.  Innocent is at home with his family. They are happy to have him back. He is off the streets which are not a good place for any boy. He will be going back to school when the new term starts in a few weeks. His father has verbally committed to keeping him in school as long as he applies himself. He has given us permission to call the family and follow up with how things are going for Innocent.  Time will tell the the rest.

 

I say this resettlement was interesting because I lack better words to describe it. In my heart I want Innocent to be honest and trustworthy. I want him to be just a kid who is basically "innocent" but had some bad things happen to him. I want him to be telling me the truth about "his dream to go back to school." I want this because it is easier than the possibility that maybe he has other motives.

 

And then another part of my heart feels the weight of the issues that surround Innocent and his family. The many wives, the distant father, the ill mother, the convoluted stories. Innocent ran for a reason. All kids do. I really do not want to place him back in an bad situation. I wanted to know the truth, to make sure it was okay, maybe even make sure that the problems were fixed. But I can't. And that also is the truth.

 

So that is a little of my honest perspective. This type of thing is hard. It is difficult letting go of the desire to control. And then somehow learning to love without expectations. I guess that is what God does. I mean, you want people to make good choices but you love them because you know them, not because they make those choices.

 

Regardless of what happened in the past, I pray that Innocent will now make good choices. I think he will always have a place in my heart. I have learnt a lot through this resettlement.

Also, on a lighter note, we saw baboons! We were in the car but they came really close hoping to get treats. So far the main wildlife I have seen in Uganda is baboons.  I think they are ugly and a little terrifying up close.

 

You can see Lake Albert and the mountains of Congo in the background.