Sometimes in life things happen that make you realise just how lucky you are. It can be something so simple that you don't even think about but then the reaction of another person makes it really hit home! Let me explain...
Today we have been with the children who call the drop-in-centre (called "Tiger Club") their home. We arrived to an amazing reception with every child eager for a high-five or fist pump and desperate to show that they have remembered all our names from yesterday.
We spent the first half hour or so chatting with the kids and reacquainting ourselves with them. Next it was time for our briefing for the slum walk. When heading into the slums anything of any value has to be removed. The people living there are desperate for anything they can possibly find that will raise them some money. This money can then be used to feed their family or in many cases for drugs, glue to sniff or aviation fuel to sniff.
We witnessed several "transactions" between people in broad daylight and in full view of any passing police officer. However, the problem is so widespread that there is nothing that they can do. Young kids fast asleep on piles of rubbish. Open fires everywhere being used for cooking. Fighting. Theft. Homelessness. I could go on and on.
What it makes you realise is that all of this work that we and Retrak are doing is merely scratching the surface. At any one time Retrak helps around 100 homeless children.
However in the 1999 census, 10,000 homeless children were registered in Kampala! This number will only have gone up since then.
Scratching the surface though is better than doing nothing at all and to witness where these kids have come from, to what Retrak offers them is fantastic and only inspires me to do more to help. Three homeless children came back with us to the drop in centre after we got chatting to them in the slums and explaining what Retrak could do to help them. I hope and pray that we have made a difference to those young boy's lives and that they make the most of what Retrak can offer them.
Lunch was with the kids today. A plate of rice, kidney beans and cabbage which was very tasty and very filling. It was great to eat with the kids and they certainly appreciated us eating the same food as them and eating with our hands as they do. They want us to be part of their group and to be our friends.
Phil, Laura and I spent the first part of the afternoon with the Retrak staff teaching first aid and fire safety. We covered basic first aid topics such as CPR and the recovery position as well as how to deal with a variety of different injuries. We tailored the session to suit the needs of the staff. Focussing on injuries that are most common to them such as stabbings, heavy bleeding and burns. We talked through the best ways of treating the injuries and stressed how important it is to get proper medical care as soon as possible. We take for granted that when we call for an ambulance, one will arrive pretty quickly. In Uganda ambulances have been known to simply not arrive or the caller is told there is no fuel to run the ambulance. The same is true of the fire service who has been known to turn up with no water if they arrive at all.
The rest of the afternoon was spent playing games, doing arts and crafts and just generally interacting with the kids. Highlight of the training was being asked "if my arms get tired doing CPR can I stand up and stamp on their chest with my foot instead?" Er.....no!
The kids are a joy to be with. Their enthusiasm is inspiring and smiles infectious. These kids literally have the clothes on their back and nothing else but not once do they cry or whine. They throw themselves into any activity you set for them and thank you almost hourly for spending time with them and travelling to their country to help them.
After all this though my moment of realisation came. I was sat talking to a 16-year-old boy about football. We discussed which teams we supported and the differences between football fans in Uganda and England. This boy was a Manchester United fan, we talked about his favourite players past and present. I asked him if he had ever been to a football match to which he replied he hadn't and had only seen them on TV. I told him I lived 10 minutes from Old Trafford and saw the stadium most days. At this point he became visibly upset and told me it was his dream to watch Manchester United play at Old Trafford. I take going to a football match for granted. I could go several times a year and not really think about it. The same thing is this young boy’s life dream.
It's moments like this that makes me realise how incredibly lucky I am. Own home, loving family, great friends, good job, car, annual holiday. All these things make up my life and most of the time I don't even think about it.
Sitting tonight I realise just how privileged I am. Last year’s visit changed my outlook on life but this year’s trip is compounding those feelings.
People less fortunate than ourselves need our help both at home and abroad and if we can all do our little bit and "scratch the surface", life can be better for these kids and more of them can achieve their "life dream"!
Adam
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