I am writing from Kampala, the capitol city of the country of Uganda, in the heart of Africa. HHI is here to work with Medical Teams International on a Child Survival project in the north of the country, but due to the generosity of our donors, we are also taking the opportunity to lead some HHI trainings in the slums of the city.
Prior to leaving the US, I was introduced to the women of a group called Locan Rebe, they are the women who’ve escaped the horrors of war, survived the horrors of the refugee camps and then escaped there to eke out the most modest level of survival in the slums of Kampala. They demonstrate the true power of the human spirit and sisterhood.
They all live in tiny “homes”, each about 10×10 feet, with each home sleeping at least 8 people and up to 14! Every woman I met had her own children, but also had handfuls of orphans that they’d taken in from other women who have died. And a number of these women are HIV+ and in different phases of dying themselves. They pool their paltry financial resources (made by selling beaded jewelry they make of recycled paper and a few other crafts – BUY these today at Global Sistergoods) with their wealth of talents and their abundance of love…. and somehow they can pay their $25/mo/home in rent and feed their children.
HHI will be training 50 of their mommies when I return to Kampala in a few weeks and I am hopeful that 2 of these women – both teachers and one with diploma in early childhood development – will be hired by HHI to be our local trainers. These women are getting so excited about the training, that while we are training 50 women, there is already a waiting list for more trainings!
Good things are transpiring here!
