adorable2.jpg
adorable2.jpg 2008-11-01

adorable.jpg
adorable.jpg 2008-11-01

alfred shafik.jpg
alfred shafik.jpg 2008-11-01

Bild 024.jpg
Bild 024.jpg 2007-12-19

Bild 039.jpg
Bild 039.jpg 2007-09-27

Bild 041.jpg
Bild 041.jpg 2007-09-20

Bild 042.jpg
Bild 042.jpg 2007-09-27

Bild 043.jpg
Bild 043.jpg 2007-09-27

Bild 044.jpg
Bild 044.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 045.jpg
Bild 045.jpg 2007-09-21

Bild 054.jpg
Bild 054.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 055.jpg
Bild 055.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 065.jpg
Bild 065.jpg 2007-09-21

Bild 072.jpg
Bild 072.jpg 2007-09-21

Bild 069.jpg
Bild 069.jpg 2007-09-21

Bild 073.jpg
Bild 073.jpg 2007-09-21

Bild 088.jpg
Bild 088.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 095.jpg
Bild 095.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 097.jpg
Bild 097.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 142.jpg
Bild 142.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 149.jpg
Bild 149.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 150.jpg
Bild 150.jpg 2007-10-16

Bild 179.jpg
Bild 179.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 191.jpg
Bild 191.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 199.jpg
Bild 199.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 229.jpg
Bild 229.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 230.jpg
Bild 230.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 237.jpg
Bild 237.jpg 2007-12-20

Bild 244.jpg
Bild 244.jpg 2007-10-31

Bild 250.jpg
Bild 250.jpg 2007-10-31

Bild 253.jpg
Bild 253.jpg 2007-10-31

Bild 258.jpg
Bild 258.jpg 2007-10-31

Bild 263.jpg
Bild 263.jpg 2007-10-31

Bild 269.jpg
Bild 269.jpg 2007-10-31

Bild 276.jpg
Bild 276.jpg 2007-10-31

Bild 280.jpg
Bild 280.jpg 2007-10-31

Bild 282.jpg
Bild 282.jpg 2007-10-31

Bild 289.jpg
Bild 289.jpg 2007-10-31

Bild 290.jpg
Bild 290.jpg 2007-10-31

cake.jpg
cake.jpg 2007-12-20

calendar.jpg
calendar.jpg 2008-02-05

board.jpg
board.jpg 2007-12-12

cards.jpg
cards.jpg 2008-02-08

cards2.jpg
cards2.jpg 2008-02-08

catch.jpg
catch.jpg 2007-12-12

cedric.jpg
cedric.jpg 2007-12-20

cedric gene.jpg
cedric gene.jpg 2008-11-01

ced.jpg
ced.jpg 2007-12-12

class.jpg
class.jpg 2007-07-20

cedric jumps.jpg
cedric jumps.jpg 2007-12-12

class1.jpg
class1.jpg 2007-07-20

class2.jpg
class2.jpg 2007-07-20

class5.jpg
class5.jpg 2007-07-20

class pray.jpg
class pray.jpg 2008-02-05

class reading2.jpg
class reading2.jpg 2007-11-16

class reads.jpg
class reads.jpg 2007-11-16

class w alfred.jpg
class w alfred.jpg 2007-07-20

coming.jpg
coming.jpg 2007-12-12

Copy of Uganda 026.jpg
Copy of Uganda 026.jpg 2007-12-12

Copy of Uganda 027.jpg
Copy of Uganda 027.jpg 2007-12-12

Copy of Uganda 028.jpg
Copy of Uganda 028.jpg 2007-12-12

Copy of Uganda 030.jpg
Copy of Uganda 030.jpg 2007-12-12

Copy of Uganda 031.jpg
Copy of Uganda 031.jpg 2007-12-12

Copy of Uganda 032.jpg
Copy of Uganda 032.jpg 2007-12-12

Copy of Uganda 033.jpg
Copy of Uganda 033.jpg 2007-12-12

Copy of Uganda 055.jpg
Copy of Uganda 055.jpg 2007-12-12

florence physio.jpg
florence physio.jpg 2007-11-14

fun.jpg
fun.jpg 2008-02-05

haha.jpg
haha.jpg 2007-07-20

jackie9.jpg
jackie9.jpg 2008-02-05

jackie.jpg
jackie.jpg 2007-11-14

jackie and sam.jpg
jackie and sam.jpg 2007-11-16

jackie laughs.jpg
jackie laughs.jpg 2008-02-05

jackies laughs again.jpg
jackies laughs again.jpg 2008-02-05

katamba alfred gene.jpg
katamba alfred gene.jpg 2008-11-01

jackie poses.jpg
jackie poses.jpg 2007-12-12

katamba gene.jpg
katamba gene.jpg 2008-11-01

katamba grace.jpg
katamba grace.jpg 2008-11-01

katamba book.jpg
katamba book.jpg 2008-02-05

katamba prayer.jpg
katamba prayer.jpg 2007-11-14

katamba prayer bear.jpg
katamba prayer bear.jpg 2007-11-14

katamba reads.jpg
katamba reads.jpg 2007-11-16

katamba reads2.jpg
katamba reads2.jpg 2007-11-16

katamba shafik.jpg
katamba shafik.jpg 2007-11-16

katamba silly.jpg
katamba silly.jpg 2007-12-12

katamba spider.jpg
katamba spider.jpg 2007-11-07

kids1.jpg
kids1.jpg 2007-12-12

kids2.jpg
kids2.jpg 2007-12-12

kids3.jpg
kids3.jpg 2007-12-12

kids7.jpg
kids7.jpg 2007-07-20

kids again.jpg
kids again.jpg 2007-12-12

kp.jpg
kp.jpg 2007-07-20

lawrence.jpg
lawrence.jpg 2007-12-20

kids silly.jpg
kids silly.jpg 2007-12-12

lawrence 3.jpg
lawrence 3.jpg 2007-12-12

lawrence ball.jpg
lawrence ball.jpg 2007-12-12

m666.jpg
m666.jpg 2007-07-23

looks.jpg
looks.jpg 2007-12-12

m1111.jpg
m1111.jpg 2007-07-23

mamas.jpg
mamas.jpg 2008-02-05

mamas1.jpg
mamas1.jpg 2008-02-05

mamas2.jpg
mamas2.jpg 2008-02-05

math1.jpg
math1.jpg 2007-11-06

math2.jpg
math2.jpg 2007-11-06

math3.jpg
math3.jpg 2007-11-06

math4.jpg
math4.jpg 2007-11-06

me peter gene.jpg
me peter gene.jpg 2008-11-01

me pat.jpg
me pat.jpg 2007-07-20

me shafik 1.jpg
me shafik 1.jpg 2008-11-01

me shafik.jpg
me shafik.jpg 2007-07-20

morning.jpg
morning.jpg 2008-02-05

more swinging.jpg
more swinging.jpg 2007-12-12

mother.jpg
mother.jpg 2007-12-12

mother and children.jpg
mother and children.jpg 2007-11-14

muk1.jpg
muk1.jpg 2007-07-23

patricia gene.jpg
patricia gene.jpg 2008-11-01

njaya.jpg
njaya.jpg 2007-07-20

patricia reads.jpg
patricia reads.jpg 2007-11-16

pete.jpg
pete.jpg 2007-12-12

peter name.jpg
peter name.jpg 2008-02-05

peter bear.jpg
peter bear.jpg 2007-11-14

peter thank you.jpg
peter thank you.jpg 2008-02-05

reading gene.jpg
reading gene.jpg 2008-11-01

reading.jpg
reading.jpg 2007-11-16

resting1.jpg
resting1.jpg 2008-11-01

resting.jpg
resting.jpg 2007-12-12

restipatng.jpg
restipatng.jpg 2007-12-12

room.jpg
room.jpg 2008-02-08

S6301596.JPG
S6301596.JPG 2007-11-13

S6301604.JPG
S6301604.JPG 2007-11-13

sam gene.jpg
sam gene.jpg 2008-11-01

sam bear.jpg
sam bear.jpg 2007-11-14

sam reads.jpg
sam reads.jpg 2007-11-16

sharing.jpg
sharing.jpg 2007-12-12

shafik.jpg
shafik.jpg 2007-11-16

sophie dalton.jpg
sophie dalton.jpg 2008-11-01

sophie dalton1.jpg
sophie dalton1.jpg 2008-11-01

sophie dalton2.jpg
sophie dalton2.jpg 2008-11-01

sing.jpg
sing.jpg 2008-02-08

swinging.jpg
swinging.jpg 2007-12-12

Uganda 001.jpg
Uganda 001.jpg 2007-09-25

Uganda 003.jpg
Uganda 003.jpg 2007-09-25

Uganda 004.jpg
Uganda 004.jpg 2007-09-25

Uganda 005.jpg
Uganda 005.jpg 2007-09-25

Uganda 006.jpg
Uganda 006.jpg 2007-09-25

Uganda 007.jpg
Uganda 007.jpg 2007-09-25

Uganda 008.jpg
Uganda 008.jpg 2007-09-25

Uganda 009.jpg
Uganda 009.jpg 2007-09-25

Uganda 010.jpg
Uganda 010.jpg 2007-09-27

Uganda 013.jpg
Uganda 013.jpg 2007-11-08

Uganda 014.jpg
Uganda 014.jpg 2007-11-08

Uganda 015.jpg
Uganda 015.jpg 2007-11-08

Uganda 016.jpg
Uganda 016.jpg 2007-11-08

Uganda 018.jpg
Uganda 018.jpg 2007-11-08

Uganda 019.jpg
Uganda 019.jpg 2007-11-08

Uganda 020.jpg
Uganda 020.jpg 2007-11-08

Uganda 021.jpg
Uganda 021.jpg 2007-11-09

Uganda 022.jpg
Uganda 022.jpg 2007-11-09

Uganda 023.jpg
Uganda 023.jpg 2007-11-09

Uganda 025.jpg
Uganda 025.jpg 2007-11-09

Uganda 026.jpg
Uganda 026.jpg 2007-11-09

Uganda 027.jpg
Uganda 027.jpg 2007-11-09

Uganda 028.jpg
Uganda 028.jpg 2007-11-09

Uganda 029.jpg
Uganda 029.jpg 2007-11-09

Uganda 030.jpg
Uganda 030.jpg 2007-12-12

Uganda 031.jpg
Uganda 031.jpg 2007-11-14

Uganda 032.jpg
Uganda 032.jpg 2007-11-14

Uganda 033.jpg
Uganda 033.jpg 2007-11-14

Uganda 034.jpg
Uganda 034.jpg 2007-11-14

Uganda 035.jpg
Uganda 035.jpg 2007-11-14

Uganda 037.jpg
Uganda 037.jpg 2007-09-10

Uganda 038.jpg
Uganda 038.jpg 2007-12-12

Uganda 039.jpg
Uganda 039.jpg 2007-12-12

Uganda 039.jpg
Uganda 039.jpg 2007-12-12

Uganda 040.jpg
Uganda 040.jpg 2007-12-12

Uganda 041.jpg
Uganda 041.jpg 2007-12-12

Uganda 042.jpg
Uganda 042.jpg 2007-12-12

Uganda 043.jpg
Uganda 043.jpg 2007-08-30

Uganda 044.jpg
Uganda 044.jpg 2007-08-30

Uganda 045.jpg
Uganda 045.jpg 2007-08-30

Uganda 046.jpg
Uganda 046.jpg 2007-08-30

Uganda 047.jpg
Uganda 047.jpg 2007-08-30

Uganda 048.jpg
Uganda 048.jpg 2007-08-30

Uganda 049.jpg
Uganda 049.jpg 2007-11-16

Uganda 050.jpg
Uganda 050.jpg 2007-08-30

Uganda 051.jpg
Uganda 051.jpg 2007-08-30

Uganda 052.jpg
Uganda 052.jpg 2007-08-30

Uganda 053.jpg
Uganda 053.jpg 2007-11-16

Uganda 054.jpg
Uganda 054.jpg 2007-11-16

Uganda 055.jpg
Uganda 055.jpg 2007-09-03

Uganda 058.jpg
Uganda 058.jpg 2007-09-03

Uganda 068.jpg
Uganda 068.jpg 2007-12-12

Uganda 069.jpg
Uganda 069.jpg 2007-12-12

Uganda 076.jpg
Uganda 076.jpg 2008-02-05

Uganda 077.jpg
Uganda 077.jpg 2008-02-05

Uganda 078.jpg
Uganda 078.jpg 2008-02-05

Uganda 079.jpg
Uganda 079.jpg 2008-02-05

Uganda 080.jpg
Uganda 080.jpg 2008-02-05

Uganda 081.jpg
Uganda 081.jpg 2008-02-05

Uganda 084.jpg
Uganda 084.jpg 2008-02-05

Uganda 082.jpg
Uganda 082.jpg 2008-02-05

Uganda 083.jpg
Uganda 083.jpg 2008-02-05

Uganda 085.jpg
Uganda 085.jpg 2007-07-20

Uganda 086.jpg
Uganda 086.jpg 2008-02-05

Uganda 089.jpg
Uganda 089.jpg 2008-02-05

Uganda 090.jpg
Uganda 090.jpg 2008-02-05

Uganda 092.jpg
Uganda 092.jpg 2007-07-20

Uganda 093.jpg
Uganda 093.jpg 2007-07-20

Uganda 095.jpg
Uganda 095.jpg 2007-07-20

Uganda 094.jpg
Uganda 094.jpg 2007-09-17

Uganda 096.jpg
Uganda 096.jpg 2007-07-20

Uganda 097.jpg
Uganda 097.jpg 2007-07-20

Uganda 098.jpg
Uganda 098.jpg 2007-07-20

Uganda 099.jpg
Uganda 099.jpg 2007-07-20

Uganda 100.jpg
Uganda 100.jpg 2007-07-20

Uganda 101.jpg
Uganda 101.jpg 2007-07-20

Uganda 102.jpg
Uganda 102.jpg 2007-09-17

Uganda 103.jpg
Uganda 103.jpg 2007-09-18

Uganda 104.jpg
Uganda 104.jpg 2007-09-18

Uganda 105.jpg
Uganda 105.jpg 2007-09-18

Uganda 106.jpg
Uganda 106.jpg 2007-09-18

Uganda 107.jpg
Uganda 107.jpg 2007-09-18

Uganda 112.jpg
Uganda 112.jpg 2007-09-21

Uganda 113.jpg
Uganda 113.jpg 2007-09-21

Uganda 115.jpg
Uganda 115.jpg 2007-09-21

Uganda 114.jpg
Uganda 114.jpg 2007-09-21

Uganda 116.jpg
Uganda 116.jpg 2007-09-21

Uganda 117.jpg
Uganda 117.jpg 2007-09-21

Uganda 118.jpg
Uganda 118.jpg 2007-09-21

Uganda 120.jpg
Uganda 120.jpg 2007-09-18

Uganda 151.jpg
Uganda 151.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 150.jpg
Uganda 150.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 153.jpg
Uganda 153.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 152.jpg
Uganda 152.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 154.jpg
Uganda 154.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 155.jpg
Uganda 155.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 156.jpg
Uganda 156.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 157.jpg
Uganda 157.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 158.jpg
Uganda 158.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 159.jpg
Uganda 159.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 160.jpg
Uganda 160.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 161.jpg
Uganda 161.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 162.jpg
Uganda 162.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 163.jpg
Uganda 163.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 164.jpg
Uganda 164.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 165.jpg
Uganda 165.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 166.jpg
Uganda 166.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 167.jpg
Uganda 167.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 168.jpg
Uganda 168.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 170.jpg
Uganda 170.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 169.jpg
Uganda 169.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 172.jpg
Uganda 172.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 171.jpg
Uganda 171.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 173.jpg
Uganda 173.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 174.jpg
Uganda 174.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 175.jpg
Uganda 175.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 176.jpg
Uganda 176.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 178.jpg
Uganda 178.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 177.jpg
Uganda 177.jpg 2007-07-26

Uganda 179.jpg
Uganda 179.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 180.jpg
Uganda 180.jpg 2008-02-08

Uganda 181.jpg
Uganda 181.jpg 2008-03-09

Uganda 182.jpg
Uganda 182.jpg 2008-03-09

Uganda 183.jpg
Uganda 183.jpg 2008-03-09

Uganda 184.jpg
Uganda 184.jpg 2008-03-09

Uganda 185.jpg
Uganda 185.jpg 2008-03-09

Uganda 0361111.jpg
Uganda 0361111.jpg 2007-09-10

waiting.jpg
waiting.jpg 2007-12-12

xmas.jpg
xmas.jpg 2007-12-12

Uganda 001.jpg
Uganda 001.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 002.jpg
Uganda 002.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 004.jpg
Uganda 004.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 003.jpg
Uganda 003.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 006.jpg
Uganda 006.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 005.jpg
Uganda 005.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 007.jpg
Uganda 007.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 008.jpg
Uganda 008.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 009.jpg
Uganda 009.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 011.jpg
Uganda 011.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 010.jpg
Uganda 010.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 013.jpg
Uganda 013.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 012.jpg
Uganda 012.jpg 2008-03-14

Uganda 015.jpg
Uganda 015.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 014.jpg
Uganda 014.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 016.jpg
Uganda 016.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 017.jpg
Uganda 017.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 018.jpg
Uganda 018.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 019.jpg
Uganda 019.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 021.jpg
Uganda 021.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 020.jpg
Uganda 020.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 022.jpg
Uganda 022.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 023.jpg
Uganda 023.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 024.jpg
Uganda 024.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 025.jpg
Uganda 025.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 026.jpg
Uganda 026.jpg 2008-03-21

Uganda 028.jpg
Uganda 028.jpg 2008-03-22

Uganda 066.jpg
Uganda 066.jpg 2008-03-24

Uganda 029.jpg
Uganda 029.jpg 2008-03-22

Uganda 103.jpg
Uganda 103.jpg 2008-03-27

Uganda 104.jpg
Uganda 104.jpg 2008-03-27

Uganda 105.jpg
Uganda 105.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 106.jpg
Uganda 106.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 107.jpg
Uganda 107.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 108.jpg
Uganda 108.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 109.jpg
Uganda 109.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 111.jpg
Uganda 111.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 110.jpg
Uganda 110.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 112.jpg
Uganda 112.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 113.jpg
Uganda 113.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 114.jpg
Uganda 114.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 115.jpg
Uganda 115.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 116.jpg
Uganda 116.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 117.jpg
Uganda 117.jpg 2008-03-28

Uganda 127.jpg
Uganda 127.jpg 2008-04-04

Uganda 128.jpg
Uganda 128.jpg 2008-04-04

Uganda 129.jpg
Uganda 129.jpg 2008-04-04

Uganda 130.jpg
Uganda 130.jpg 2008-04-04

Uganda 131.jpg
Uganda 131.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 132.jpg
Uganda 132.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 133.jpg
Uganda 133.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 137.jpg
Uganda 137.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 134.jpg
Uganda 134.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 141.jpg
Uganda 141.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 145.jpg
Uganda 145.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 144.jpg
Uganda 144.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 146.jpg
Uganda 146.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 148.jpg
Uganda 148.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 147.jpg
Uganda 147.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 149.jpg
Uganda 149.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 150.jpg
Uganda 150.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 151.jpg
Uganda 151.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 152.jpg
Uganda 152.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 153.jpg
Uganda 153.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 154.jpg
Uganda 154.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 155.jpg
Uganda 155.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 156.jpg
Uganda 156.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 157.jpg
Uganda 157.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 158.jpg
Uganda 158.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 160.jpg
Uganda 160.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 159.jpg
Uganda 159.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 161.jpg
Uganda 161.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 162.jpg
Uganda 162.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 163.jpg
Uganda 163.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 164.jpg
Uganda 164.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 165.jpg
Uganda 165.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 170.jpg
Uganda 170.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 171.jpg
Uganda 171.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 172.jpg
Uganda 172.jpg 2008-04-13

Uganda 173.jpg
Uganda 173.jpg 2008-04-13

I sit in front of her in the dark, me on the chair and her on the floor.  She’s kneeling in front of me with tears in her eyes, telling me the story of one of her children.  He is the fourth of seven and is moderately mentally retarded.  In the mornings when he wakes up and goes outside his neighbors call him names and empty excrement from their chamber pots over his head.  In the evenings when he lies down, the rain pours through the roof of their one-room home and makes it impossible to sleep.  The neighbors believe that he has been cursed by God.  But the tears in his mother’s eyes are not tears of hopelessness.  They are tears of joy, joy because her son will soon be able to go to school, that despite her neighbors’ jeers her son will soon have a sense of purpose each day.  Although her face has aged a little beyond its time, I have never seen one more beautiful. 

 

On another day I am busy running from one room to another, finding materials to do assessments on the never-ending stream of students who hope to attend school.  I’m impatient because the interpreter, an occupational therapist, is sitting on the steps talking with the mother of a child we’ve never seen before.  As I approach to ask her to come, I realize that the mother is crying silently, shaking with unheard sobs.  I go back to my classroom to wait. 

 

When she joins me, the occupational therapist tells me that the woman is the mother of a child with severe health problems caused by a combination of malaria and cerebral palsy.  Her son had become sick the night before, and when she tried to get out of bed to go and help him breathe her husband physically restrained her.  Holding her roughly in place, he told her to let their child die.  He told her that if she helps him, she will no longer have a home under his roof.  And he told her that if she spends his money on their child, he will kill her.  As her child’s breath rattled in his chest, she asked our occupational therapist for money for the doctor.  We watch out the window as she leaves for the hospital, knowing that she faces the possibility of returning home that night to a place that will be locked, with her other five children inside. 

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about dignity over the last few months.  How is it ascribed, and by whom?  Here in the government is preparing to host CHOGM, a meeting for the heads of many commonwealths around the world, in November.  We hear quite a bit about the dignity of the Queen and all the things that the common people must do to prepare for her arrival.  Preparations include packing the multitudes of homeless in into trucks and driving them several hours out of the city so that they won’t be around for the Queen’s arrival.  The waters of will also be closed off for six weeks, which will inevitably lead to deaths amongst the fishing communities on the islands.  What of their dignity?

 

In the face of so many grave situations, dignity may not seem like the most important thing to focus on.  But through the last few months I have realized more than ever how personally God loves each of us.  He is familiar with all of our ways.  And in the midst of this familiarity, He cares about “big” things like poverty and pandemics as well as personal things like dignity.  It’s easy for me to get overwhelmed with the injustice of people’s attitudes towards disabled children in , or the injustice of educational disparity in .  But God is not overwhelmed.  He has prepared good works in advance for us.  These good works include for me an opportunity to lend dignity to the lives of the people I come into contact with, that in these brief interactions I can be used by the One who is mighty to save.  

 

He raises the poor from the dust
   and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
   he seats them with princes
   and has them inherit a throne of honor.
   "For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's;
   upon them he has set the world.

 

1 Samuel 2:7-9

The following items would be extremely beneficial to Mukisa School: 

• pre-K through grade 3 workbooks/teacher guides (all subject areas)
• learning games and manipulatives
• pre-K-3 leveled books/magazines
• educational CDs: songs and rhymes related to academics
• dry erase markers
• Velcro
• glue sticks
• laminating paper
• world map
• globe
• sentence strips (re-usable if possible)
• CD player
• laptop computer (doesn’t need to have wireless capabilities, just word processing)
• digital camera
• blank CDs
• memory stick
• dress-up clothes for playing and for self-help skills
• multi-sensory toys (toys that make sounds, have an interesting texture, etc)
• teacher reference books

 

The items above are educational materials that are not widely available in Uganda. Please include ONLY these items when donating to Mukisa School, as other items may not be necessary and will be expensive to transport to Uganda.  Any donations you make will be greatly appreciated and used to their fullest extent.  Our greatest needs continue to be prayer and financial support.  If you are interested in doing a class fundraiser, making a donation, or hosting a presentation about Mukisa School at your place of worship or other relevant group setting, please contact us at friendsofmukisa@gmail.com to make arrangements.