Refreshed and ready for a new day we
headed a short distance to our distribution site in Kyabigambire. We were met
by cries of ‘yayayayayaya’ a sound of appreciation by the women of the area, we
shook hands and felt very welcomed by their community. The children were all
dressed and ready in their colourful clothes from the SCAW distribution. The
children had been waiting patiently then slowly moved towards us in a wave of
colour. When we started blowing bubbles they laughed the carefree laugh of a
child as they tried to hold the bubble in their hands, like how I will hold
this trip as a memory, a fragile thing that is there and then it is just a
beautiful memory. All set and ready to go we sang some songs with the children.
We concluded the singing with the children singing the ‘National Anthem of
Uganda’ followed by us singing ‘Oh Canada!’ Many times I have sang this song
but I will remember this time specifically as we sang as a group of seven
Canadians seeing the watchful eyes of these innocent Ugandan children. We went
back to the front where we were entertained by the women dancing to the sound
of the drums. The distribution went well, a light rain fell. Afterwards we sat
under the stool shade of a large Mango tree with members of the inner wheel as
we concluded our visit to this community. We watched as children with bedkits
and family members dispersed from the area.
Tonight the recipients will
replace their papyrus mat with a new foam mattress, the mosquito netting will
cover their bed tonight and protect them from malaria. The
children will use their new lunch bucket tomorrow to pack up
their matoke or rice and vegetables for lunch. The sandals provided in the kit
will be treasured. The children will examine the math kit and be excited to
think they have 12 exercise books to use for their lessons. The others items
will also be very useful to them, including a blanket, 2 sheets, a wash basin,
boxers, a water bottle and a backpack.
We waved good bye and set off down
the road, so thankful for the wonderful organizing of our Inner Wheel friends,
as things are going very smoothly. The children will have a good night’s sleep
for many nights and even though we know that there are many more who need our
help, we head home knowing what we did ‘for the Children.’
By Margo Leonard
Team Uganda 2018Post your comments here:
