World Vision (by Joyce)

Sometime back in January (it seems like long ago) when we were in Uganda, we woke up early at our hostel and took a cab into Kampala to the World Vision headquarters. After our briefing by the area manager (?) we headed off to visit a 10 year old boy named Joseph. Through World Vision, we have sponsored Joseph since last April. After completing background checks before we left home, we were all in the clear for our visit. It is nice to know that none of us have a shady past that would prevent us from visiting a small boy! We drove through the beautiful countryside of Uganda that was so green and somehow much tidier than Kenya. After a brief stop at the local area office, we proceeded by following a man on a motorcycle who knew where Joseph lived. As we pulled up to the house I spotted Joseph right away because he had on the same colorful shirt that he wore in the photo that was sent to us. When we first committed to sponsor Joseph, the card that gave information about him said that Joseph was a girl. That was one of the reasons that I chose “her” because I thought it was funny that there was a little girl in Uganda named Joseph. I was always suspicious that there was a clerical error and we found out a few months later that my suspicions were correct.

As we got out of the car, Joseph could barely contain his joy at seeing all of us. He was so embarrassed to have all of the attention, but he seemed to enjoy it. His sweet-faced grandfather was there to greet us in his long white “shift” that he wore. His grandmother could not quit shaking our hands. As we went into the small brick house, our eyes had to adjust to the dark, windowless living room. Some neighbor ladies came in with one Jackfruit that was twice the size of my head. Nick says “that it would be the size of your head if your head was the same proportion as a babies head is to it’s body and you grew up to the size you are now”. I don’t understand it, but it was funny and you had to be here to fully appreciate it. Anyway, it is a strange “fru-it” that grows on the trees nearby. We use the term “Fru-it” a lot here because that is how our kids pronounce it. I quite enjoyed the jackfruit and it was unlike anything that I have ever had. We were also served some steaming tubers (something like potatoes) and steamed ground nuts. I was so thankful that there was not a big meal that was served and that the grandparents only served what they could grow. I am always aware that if we eat a meal at someone’s house, that they might not eat tomorrow. As we sat in the crowded living room Joseph continued smiling and our World Vision representative (Scovia) translated our conversations. We had stopped and purchased some soap, cooking oil, rice and a few other things to give to the family and his sweet grandmother just continued to clap with everything I took out of the bag as she sat on the floor. When I gave Joseph a few things that we brought just for him, (a deck of cards, underpants…thank you Madeline…a ball and a few other things, he was quite happy. Joseph then gave me a doll that he had made out of banana leaves as well as a ball on a string that the kids use to play with. I can show them to you when we come home if you remind me! The doll is so cute and I really treasure it. They were still a little damp from just being made. Apparently, when I was out at the car, Joseph moved over to sit by Ashley and told Scovia that Ashley was his favorite. She was quite happy with that and made sure she paid special attention to him during the rest of our visit.

We met Joseph’s two little sisters and little brother who were all quite adorable, but the little brother would not shake our hands. The little tiny kids here are often frightened by our white skin. We have made many children cry just by looking at them. I made two kids cry at the same time in the marketplace here in Mbita last week! Apparently, Joseph and his siblings all live with their grandparents, but we also met their actual parents. They came by to greet us after awhile. Unfortunately, Scovia was not familiar with Joseph’s family and did not know why the kids were not living with their parents…??? She did say that sometimes the grandparents are so lonely at home that they want the grandkids to live with them.

This family was very poor but very proud to show us around their grounds. As we were going outside, Joseph’s little sister had a bowl full of groundnuts that she was very happily eating from a bowl. All of the sudden there was a scream from her that came because her groundnuts were taken away from her by a bunch of little grabby hands. She was very upset but was quickly made happy when Morgan took a big handful out of the basket that one of the ladies was carrying. Sometimes when these kids get food, they have to protect if with everything they have. It was quite a beautiful area and the family had a lot of things growing on the property to help sustain them. As we walked around, the whole neighborhood came out to see us. They were the nicest bunch of people and we really enjoyed our time there. When it was time to leave we posed for some pictures and said goodbye. Joseph seemed to be a little relieved that we were leaving because there was a lot of attention paid to him.

It seemed strange to pay one short visit to a child that we will probably never see again, but it was an experience that was worth the time. We have some nice photos and will send them into World Vision when we can. When I look at his photo that will go on my fridge when we have our own home again we will remember his family with fondness and with a smile.