A different look at the same Country

So there we were; on the back of the motorcycle 'boda boda', a mountain rainforest breeze flowing through the air, coasting down the hills that divide the SW of Uganda and the DR Congo. Crater lakes were on both sides of us, reaching 400 m in depth, surrounded by banana trees and hills that appeared to have a patchwork quilt thrown over them. Spending some days in another part of the country gave me more of an understanding of the devastation that the war has inflicted on the people in the north. The boda boda led us on a winding dirt road up to the top of a sharp hill next to a crater lake. There we found an orphanage: it was a community project, with funds from our payment for a nightly hut rental benefiting the 150 orphans that the project was supporting.

When I woke up in the cool misty morning, crawling out of my mosquito net, opening up the hut door and sipping on my coffee while observing these children, I wondered what looked so different to my eyes. As they ran around the yard, laughing, tossing balls, playing hopscotch and imaginary games, I realized that these children are well-fed, nourished, clothed, and have the behaviours of normal developing children. The children that it has become normal for me to see in the IDP camps are mostly naked, or have the same torn clothing on every day, have bloated bellies that are a result of malnourishment, are usually covered in dirt, with runny noses and flies, and don't have the opportunity to develop as those that live in a healthy environment; and yes, they have smiles, as you've seen; but they are in a state of life they didn't have a choice of growing up in. So as I sat there I thought, well, this does seem like an obvious point that one would make, even before seeing these places, but there is something different about experiencing it with your own eyes and ears. It seems to drive me even more to work with these people for this cause.