It has been 2 years since I last visited Uganda which made it a special pleasure to once again embark on the long ride north from Kampala to Gulu. I was thrilled to be reacquainted with the beauty of rural Uganda, which Winston Churchill once dubbed, “the Pearl Of Africa”. As we drove, the sights were familiar; endless banana trees, rows of cotton, peanuts, soy, Irish and sweet potatoes grew in the rich soil. As we rode through the small towns, I remembered the children peddling oranges, cassava and sugar cane to travelers on the buses that had stopped for a respite.
The “bush” is what the locals call the endless savanna terrain on both sides of the road. It stretches until it meets the big African sky which lulls one to sleep during the 6-hour ride. But soon we were at Karuma Falls where the White Nile River rushes north and big baboons try to hold up traffic for a handout. This meant that soon we would be riding by the landmark twin trees that welcome you to Gulu.
So much has changed in Gulu in two years time. More roads are paved and there is even one divided road that has streetlights. What has not changed is the people of Gulu, the Acholi. The women welcomed us with dance and drums and endless smiles. “You are most welcome” was heard everywhere. The grace, beauty and warmth of these wonderful people cannot be forgotten.
The work of THRIVE has expanded enormously since my last visit and it was such a joy to meet with our staff at the Centre and to attend the community meetings of our Thrivers in their home villages. The Economic Empowerment Program now enrolls more than 1000 people in Village Savings and Loan Associations where people are learning skills to operate personal businesses and are developing the saving habits that help provide money to pay school fees for their children. In the group meetings, many proudly showed us their newly acquired reading and writing skills which they learned in THRIVE’s Literacy classes. We met with our partners at Save The Children International (SCI) where they told us that our psycho/social education work in 16 different schools in Northern Uganda is now being used as a model for all SCI’s training programs.
So much has changed and improved because of our dedicated staff; yet there is so much more to do. Many of our women Thrivers report that they suffer physical, emotional or sexual abuse in the home and many others report that thoughts of and the reality of suicide are ever present in the community. Poverty is ever present and life is still hard in Gulu. Our counselors are working tirelessly to ease this burden and we have plans to expand trauma healing and mental health services.
One week in Gulu flew by and I was mad at myself for not scheduling more time to be here. I continue to be inspired by the faith, optimism, wisdom and hope of the people of Gulu. I learn so much each time I come to this marvelous country in the heart of civilization and I hope that I won’t have to wait two more years before I return here again. Apwoyo Matek!
By Mike Bello
