Last Night in Uganda

There are so many stories of courage and perserverance that have rushed to my eyese this trip and now run around inside of my head and will always be nestled warmly in my heart. This time and for the last few times it starts with Kwoyelo Ronald. "Kwoyelo" means troubled life. It was the name his parents gave him at birth, and has aptly described the obstacles that Ronald has fought and won. He is a determined and serious student who greeted me each time I met him wearing a shirt and tie. He will be taking his Senior 6 exams in November which will be the sole determination of whether he goes to the University level and what kind of education he will be allowed to attain. Ronald sees in his current classmates the educational experiences he would have loved to have had. And he knows his first 11 years of education in a small village have not prepared him, but he just puts his head down and works harder. His mother and Uncle greeted me in my last hour in Lacekocot and wanted to join me in a feast they had prepared for me. Due to time, I regretfully had to explain why I had to turn down their generosity. As I looked into the weathered face of Ronald's mom, I saw his smile and his quiet determination in her eyes. I know Ronald well, but not nearly as well I would know my Nerinx students. I do know that there are many students both young men and young women with similar stories, and someone told me last night that it was not fair to help just one. She may be right, but it is not possible for me to sit back. I have not had a teaching job for a year, because I cannot be silent when I see injustice.------------------live simply, so others may simply live-------------------------My assets are small and the bank of Magee makes Greece look stable, but I have walked around Ugandan often carrying the equivalent of two months pay for many Ugandans. It is simply unfathomable to try to understand these differences. My young friend, Geoffrey, who has been on his own since he was 7, was about to be kicked out of the room he lets when he is not boarding at the school. He has never asked me for anything but a pen and a few sheets of paper. He told me this story. He needed one month for back rent and one month's rent. The total cost was less than what I am going to pay for King Edward's chicken in my first meal in St. Louis. I had one final meal with Geoffrey and Julius before I left. There was a photo studio (Glamour Fotos) along the way and we stopped to get our photo taken. On the way home from the Pork Joint we picked up the photos. As I said goodbye to the two boys, Geoffrey reached out and hugged me. I realized or realised as they spell here, that what Geoffrey has missed all of these years the most was not food or shelter, but hugs. There is nothing quite like the constant hugs of family. It is the fuel for the heart, and if our heart is full we are capable of anything. And if our heart is empty....... Both Geoffrey and Julius showed up for my traditional salute to the leaving teachers. In the hectic end to packing and loading the bus, and trying to organize the bus. I forgot to hug Geoffrey. ........(go to Facebook for pictures of Geoffrey and Julius)