The Reason

I want to share a little of the heart reason I’ve come to live in Uganda again. 

Naomi

Few people know this but the thing that has impacted me most out of any visit to Uganda over the last eight years was on my 2009 trip here. And that was meeting this beautiful little girl with Down’s Syndrome in the village who we’ll call Naomi. You’ll know that I have a soft spot for children and adults with Down’s because of my own special sister Lucy.

Me and Naomi

In 2009 Naomi must have been about 6 or 7 and she seemed to be quite a happy child. I think because I showed her some attention and affection she would follow me round when she saw me and always wanted me to pick her up. I didn’t see her that much while staying in the village but after only a few days she started calling me ‘mama’. That was when I realised that I needed to distance myself because I knew when I left it might be hard on her. The day that really broke my heart was the day that her mother asked me to take Naomi away with me – she didn’t want her.

Reality

My sister Lucy

I can completely understand why people find it so hard to look after a child with special needs here; it's hard even in the UK. There is no benefits system and there are very few day care centres, and certainly none in the remote rural areas, not to mention the social stigma attached to any form of disability. Everyone is expected to play their part in the running of the house - cooking, cleaning, fetching water and if someone doesn't have the capacity to do that, unfortunately they are seen as a burden.

Recently I went back to the village and Naomi is still there but she has grown so much taller! It was great to see her again and to know that she is ok. The other children tend to push her around and tease her and it crushes me, partly because I realise that if my own sister had been born here, her experience of life could have been so different, but also because I recognise that Naomi has a value of her own.

My project

I'm setting up my sewing machines in my good friend Sarah's outhouse. She runs a fantastic project called Suubi House which ultimately Sarah and her husband Godfrey want to be a community day care centre for children with special needs. I hope parents will be able to come here for sewing training - Suubi House is somewhere parents in Sarah's programme will be familiar with and hopefully feel comfortable in. I don't know how my project will work practically yet because it may be that I need to take my services to the parents – some may not be able to bring their child or they may not have anyone to leave them with. I will have to play many of these logistics by ear.

However it works it will be such an honour to help Sarah and others with a passion for empowering these children and their parents. I want to help parents realise more and more that there are people and a God who value their children and therefore want to invest in them.

So if you ever hear me wavering in what I’m doing here please just remind me of Naomi and her precious precious life.