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| From Uganda 2012 |
The home consists of an area beside a corn field that has three thatched huts surrounding a central area. The central common area and the area around the huts is all hard-packed earth, the grass having been trampled away. The huts are about seven feet square. The floor is hard-packed earth. The walls are made by forming an infrastructure of loosely woven sticks and then packing wet clay often mixed with dung and straw around the sticks. When the material dries it forms a fairly soft clay-like wall. More sticks are used to make a pointed conically-shaped roof frame that is then covered with long reeds (thatch).
One hut belongs to the father, the other to the mother, and the third is used by the children. The wife does the cooking at her hut. The children all sleep in the one hut on the floor which appeared to have a few gunny sacks for them to sleep on. It is very dusty.
The climate allows for much of their living to be done outside except for the rainy season (May to September).
I try to imagine myself living under these conditions and it simply does not seem possible. I am humbled by this experience. I take my creature comforts in Canada for granted. I vow to be ever mindful of my great good fortune in Canada.
The bedkit will be used by all the children. They will probably sleep parallel to each other with their heads and shoulders on the mattress and their bodies on the bare floor. The mosquito net will probably be draped over all of them. If a donor cannot imagine what a difference their gift will make they can be assured that their bedkit will make a huge difference in the life of those six children and will be a great comfort to the parents knowing that their children will be much more comfortable and will be protected from mosquitoes especially during the rainy season.
Don McCormick
for Team Uganda 2012
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