Uganda: A Nation of Orphans

By Shayla

Red dusty roads are lined by trenches littered with fluttering garbage. Little rickety bridges march their way across the gap, precariously connecting brightly painted shops and small brick homes to the whizzing population. The deep rust red soil gives way to endless fields of sugar cane, the stalks dancing in the breeze.

Despite the ever present heat, a blanket of green covers the valley. Women walk the busy streets in silky Sunday best dresses, some with tiny sleeping babies adhered to their curved backs, held only by a thinning cloth. Others make their way with weighty jugs balanced atop their heads with skill.

Entire families weave through inching vehicles big and small on faithful motos. Children with soft shaved heads, faded uniforms, and bright white smiles wander the road side. Each one has a story. For many, it’s a story of brokenness, abandonment, fear, or hopelessness. This is a country ravaged by AIDS, torn apart by extreme poverty and loss. It is a place where thousands of young people have been kidnapped, forced by Kony and his malicious troops to kill their own family members. There the former child soldiers reside, with hearts of ice, their innocence brutally stolen. They are alone in this world, their loved ones having perished at their own hands. Each story unthinkable and completely heartbreaking. This is a nation of Orphans. A people that is never knowing if there will be food on the table or schillings in their pocket. 
But somehow hope persists. The ever present light of the Lord seeps through the cracks, giving these people seemingly impossible joy.
This was so apparent all through our time in this beautiful country. All week at camp we got to hear the stories that have been written on their lives. They are tragic and unfair. A young girl's father died, leaving her and a flock of siblings with a widowed mother, struggling to make ends meet. Another, caught up in the wrong crowd, swept up in alcohol, to be noticed. The most common of all...There is never enough money for school fees, and that burden is sometimes unbearable, going week by week hoping against all odds a relative will come through with support. But through it all there is redemption by the Lord's hand. A young girl is placed in a loving home with stability and comfort. Another leaves the crowd and turns her life around, becoming a leader in the Christian Union on her campus. A distanced Aunt searching for forgiveness provides the fees and more, or a sponsor makes it possible to pay for the next term. 
Here at camp the joy flows like a gushing river, more in one place than I've ever had the privilege to experience before. Times of worship and praise are filled with utmost passion. The drums pounding, hands clapping, arms lifted, and voices raised...surrendering it all at the feet of the King of Kings.
Because the truth here is known and held close, there is hope in the Lord. The joy in their hearts pours out in all aspects of their life, they overflow with care and affection, and light me up with their smiles.  Living among these people has stolen my heart. And I have been able to share in their joy, in their hopes for the future, and their friendship. Uganda may be a nation of orphans, but I sure found a family here.