I thought I would share a bit about myself! I am from the north, where war has hit the hardest in Uganda. But I was fortunate to have been raised in a Christian family. I have 10 siblings and am the 5th born child. Prayers were conducted every day before going to bed and our lives were lived according to very conservative Christian values. When we were growing up, there were so many! We lived with cousins and distant relatives because my dad had moved to the city for work. It was the only way we would survive.. him working in Kampala and sending funds back to help. But, I understood.
Life was not so easy but we enjoyed it. We welcomed visitors regardless of the fact that it meant surrendering our beds to them. We shared beds with other siblings. Most times, one bed would be shared by several of us… not sure how many since mattresses were joined together to make single beds! We always made sure everyone had somewhere to sleep. One tiny blanket shared by 4 of us at times. In that case everyone fought to sleep in the middle because that meant you had the blanket no matter what! We would constantly fight and struggle with each other at night to cover ourselves… and the ones on the edges would be pull back and forth for the blanket.
When going to school, we used to walk long distances… at least 4 miles. That was the nearest good school around. It didn’t matter whether it was raining or not! We went no matter what. Our dad taught us that to have an education was the only way to survive. So we fought hard and endured much to be educated. I am thankful that I had a father that valued education… so many of us in Uganda don’t have that kind of influence. It’s one of the reasons I think I love working at Calo Me Lare. I have the chance to give these orphans what was given to me.
