HOPE IS CONTAGIOUS !!

HOPE IS CONTAGIOUS

As I mentioned in the previous blog, I have been sick for a few days with an elevated temp, body aches, etc. Well, I am fine now but anxious to tell of the gift I received in the midst of this illness:
It was Sunday, the first day I was without an elevated temperature and could amble about the house a bit, when I heard a knock on my back door. With my more than usual peaked complexion, fuzzy bathrobe and, un-brushed hair(for days) , I opened it to find two sweet children that I recognized from the AIDS Orphans Saturday Program, but off hand couldn’t remember their names, when to my surprise their mother “Maria Goretti” popped her head around the corner.
I was flabbergasted to say the least! Not only had she and the children walked several miles to visit me, because they heard I was sick, but Maria looked so beautiful in traditional yet dressy garb, glittering headband and all.,
When I caught my breath, I invited them into my sitting room,. Maria examined each photo; asking questions, while her children did the best they could to translate .what I was saying to their mother. Then, as if on cue, another knock brought Sr. Bonnie, also looking stunning in a yellow floral traditional garb.
Bonnie was much more able (much more able?) to translate than the children and we all had a wonderful visit. They were so beautiful and it was such a personally special moment for me, that even in my illness, I had to take their photos, which I am sure you are admiring right now.!
Maria ends each visit with a prayer and today it was her turn (thank God!). I could tell in the beginning it was common prayers as Bonnie and the children prayed with her but there was a spontaneous prayer at the end that .Bonnie translated to me as ---thanking God that we were all together, that I was getting well, but mostly that I had come from so very far away to help her and other people sick with AIDS.
There are tears in my eyes as I write this and I recall the name of the book that Maria’s story is taken from ”Tears of Hope” I pause, wipe away these holy tears and replace them with a smile, recalling Mother Teresa’s words “We want to create Hope for the person with AIDS, and acceptance in the heart of the people We must give Hope, alwaysHope, and remove the bitterness that is harming them when they have been avoided by others.”
Today Maria’s generosity of spirit gifted me with ” Hope “. Tomorrow, with Gods help, may I pass it on!
Hope is contagious!!

Walking to Work with Marie

My Back Door -----Laundry Day-Must be monday

I have had two requests : One is that the Blogs either be shorter, or there be a male and a female version. It seems that the men have difficulty “focusing” for long periods (HA). My response to that is “I’ll try” but I really don’t have that much control; of what spews out from wherever it comes from Last week and this fit the bill as they are primarily photos, but next week is as much a mystery to me as to you (smile)
For those of you who receive my Jabber Jabber Jabber letters, where in I get off my chest the things that are bothering me, sorry but no effort will be made to shorten them. They are my Journal of sorts and quite a healthy release for me. So, your choice is either to read them or not.
The second request is to include photos of my walk to work each day, which is what I have done. Today we will walk ¾ of the way ( leaving out from my back door to the St. Francis center of activity), and finish another time-smile
Marie

Nice View of three Latrines from my kitchen window. But I have my own indoor bathroom. I'm 'special (HA)

Path directly behind my home-I am on my way!

On the right of the Path are the ruins of Sorghum Crop--Next comes Maize (Corn)

Open Field with Interesting Tree

The Path Continues Ps It has turned Cold here—burr! Last evening three students come over for “soup” as they didn’t know what it was. So I used up my Knorrs Vegetable and Chicken Soup (saving the Lipton Chicken Noodle, should I get desperate to try it (Is there anything as good as plain ol’ Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup?) It was so cold they left their jackets on and I put on my o so soft and cozy bathrobe. When they left, my body ached from head to toe , so following a cup of warm tea, I crawled into bed robe and all & shivered myself to sleep (Feeling sorry enough for me yet?-smile)
Lynn bring that winter jacket!!!

Most Days I Pass Three Generations Of Ugandan Women

Hum my camera caught a strange new bird Grace calls it an Umuzongoyongo-I call it "Birdie"

Next Day
Well, apparently the temperature wasn’t all that low, it was my own personal temp that was that was all that high. While I shivered Grace was outside pulling weeds. I leaned out the window and said “I am freezing, why aren’t you? She smiled and said “It is not cold, you must be ill” . Sure enough, my temperature .was 102.8 !! . And I thought it was just cold outside with a little arthritis causing the body aches.
What a lousy day off! In bed, Emergen- C and hot mint tea. When I couldn’t get warm dear Grace lit the small charcoal stove and when the smoke subsided, she brought it into my room. It did the job and the chills subsided, but the temp climbs as soon as the Ibuprofen and/or Tylenol starts wearing off..
Not sure what is going on but it seems I have spiked a few temps since I have been here, but they have all resolved quickly on their own without antibiotic, so hopefully by morning I’ll be myself again The Path Continues

I make a right hand turn from the paths and now I am on the "Main" road

The Administration "Block" and part of the new St. Francis Church

The Brand New Paediatric Building (yep, that is how we spell it here in Uganda)

L

TEARS OF HOPE

Last Segment of Maria’s Story………………………………………………

I have a home for the children now, but that does not mean my problems are over. My brother and his wife still regard my piece of the land as their own They still don’t agree that a daughter has the right to inherit land They insist my share of the property is in the home where I married. My brothers wife still harvests bananas from my part of the plantation When I send the children to the gardens to harvest, they are attacked and the crops are taken away from them.
“ I went to the Legal Aid Clinic again for help This time I wanted my sister-in-law arrested for assaulting my children when they were harvesting from their own garden. I was very sad when I was told that the woman officer who had helped me before, had left
The person I found said she was only keeping the office, she did not know anything about legal matters .I went there several times after that but found it either closed or occupied by the same lady.”
“There is another problem: I told you how my brother refused to repair the house again and I had to do it myself? When I moved to my new home, my brother simply wanted to take it over, but I would have none of it. Not after the way my brother and his wife had treated me and my children. These are the same people that made me sleep out in the open with a one month old baby. They wanted to rent it out to operate as a shop. Why should these greedy dogs earn money from my mother’s house, when they had refused to repair it when it collapsed? And they are the very same people who do not even want to look at my son’s!” The anger twists Maria’s otherwise calm expression She becomes agitated and her voice rises
“Where do they expect me to put my sons? Throw them in the Chuho river? They would not make any fuss if the children were daughters They would, instead, be examining the buds on their chests, longing to see them open so they could rush to get bride’s price. Would they hesitate to demand bride’s price for the “foreigners”, as they refer to my children?”. Maria checks herself and calms down. She then adds in a quiet voice ”Let us continue with the story. I was telling you about the house. I locked it up when I left and it will remain locked until they give me the money I spent on the repair.
That is all I am asking for
“After failing with the woman officer, I reported to the LC 1 Officer of the village. He has not done much to help. He said that if my sons are attacked again when they go to harvest, they should raise an alarm They have done that a number of times, but nobody has answered their call for help. The neighbors say they do not wish to get involved in family matters “
“What I fear most now is that the children might fight back one day. They are growing, they are becoming men .What if one day they are goaded into hitting that woman She could be killed! Can you imagine that! This could easily happen when I am not alive to keep them under control Now I warn them to hold their anger, but who is to control them when I am gone?”
The problem with my brothers family is not yet over and the constant quarrels and lack of peace are not good for my poor health I should try to end the conflict and with God’s help I will.”

THE END……(well not really ”The End” as almost 5 years later and Maria’s story continues. I will bring you up to date, in a future entry

I wish to thank Winnie Munyarugerero for this narrative of Maria’s story and , mostly, I wish to thank Maria Goretti herself for her lessons of fortitude, courage and Faith

Just For Fun

Dear Friends August 8, 2007

Although there is much to write about: Home visits, including one to see Maria Goretti, I am just sending along some photos for fun today. Back in June when we had the Jubilee Celebration, there was some entertainment by the Nursing student, several of which have become my friends.
In fact last Sunday evening I had a Wrap-Up party for the students that helped me with the” Ellie Party” for the children. Some decorated, some served, two were the DJ’s and of course, there is always the clean up committee.
Well, Robina, or as I call her Robin, was part of the clean up committee and she and Juliet did a great job—but I digress---Robina headed the entertainment by teaching her classmates a South African “Zulu” dance and song. She was wonderful and I have, but am unable to include, the mini videos to prove it. But the photos are here, as well as a photo of some of the” Ellie Party” crew,
I wish I had photographed last Sunday evening as 11 young men &women and me snuggly fitted into my Living room to enjoy American Microwavable Popcorn . Boy, did I ever make a mistake---they loved it soooo much that my supply has dwindled-Ha.
In any case Robin, a delightful young student, and I have really hit it off and her intelligence, wit and joy of life give me great hope for the future of Nursing in Uganda
More soon,
Marie.

Tears of Hope

Maria’s story continues………………………………………

Then I asked him that supposing my children lived on another property, not this one , would he care for them once I was gone? I am not asking you to to feed them or dress them”, I added,” suffering has made them mature beyond their years. They are able to fend for themselves. But without me, they would need an adult to turn to guide them. Someone they could turn to for help and advice? Would you receive them as children?”
“No” he answered “with property of their own, your children would no longer be children. They would be men. They would be bigheaded and would not listen to my advice. If your children do not respect me now while you are still alive, would they respect me when they are property- owners?” he asked.
That is when I realized that I had to do something to get my children away from my brother’s compound. As I told you before, God is powerful. At St. Francis-Mutolere Hospital there was a muzungu ( white person) working with TASO. Remi was her name and she was from Holland. She knew me as a member of TASO and knew my situation very well. She visited my home several times and became my friend. I told her how my brother had become more hostile after I got some of the property.. I told her my children would not be safe if I died and left them with my brother. They needed to move away from that family. She explained that TASO did not have a lot of money. She advised me to pray. Later she returned to her country.
Maria stopped talking and reaches for the old exercise book from her bundle. She opens the book and picks one of the photos from the book, That is Remi, you can see me standing next to her. Can you see how pretty she is?’ She is the one who photographed my children, she was very kind to my sons.
When she returned to her country, I thought that was the end of our friendship, but she did not forget my sad situation.
“One day I got a message calling me to the TASO office at Mutolere Hospital. I was told that Remi had sent me a present. You see, when Remi returned to her country she collected money from her friends. This money totaled 350,0000 shillings and she had sent it to me to buy a piece of land for my children.
Madam, you can not imagine my happiness. There are good people in this world and Remi is one of them. May God bless her and give her a husband!
“With the money I bought a piece of land, see I have a copy of the agreement. A relative of mine, a doctor at the hospital keeps the original. I trust him. My enemies might pick the agreement when I am sick or unconscious and destroy it.

Last segment- to be continued next time………………………………………………..