Sam is now finished with an intense year of studies. He's spent since February focused on preparing for the Ugandan government exams which test his knowledge of all he learned in primary these past seven years. Last Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. found him sitting and pouring forth his knowledge stores onto the papers which do much in this country to determine a child's educational future. Then, this recent Monday he sat for the entrance exam for our secondary school. With all that behind him he and Toby then spent Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week enjoying activities with all the other P7's as a culmination to a year of extra hours of study and review.
Yesterday was Sam's first free day in quite awhile so he and I spent the afternoon at jajja's house. The last time he had been to see her was just before we arrived back. As we approached her compound I saw her seated on the ground attending to her coffee beans which were drying in the sun. Her aged eyes, dimmed by years, struggled to focus on Sam and me. When her ears revealed our identity by our greeting voices, she practically jumped up to greet me. I, too, was overcome with emotion to see her after all these months and so I went down into the dirt on my knees to meet her shriveled arms reaching out to me. We embraced amidst numerous of her blessings and greetings and I was in no hurry to let go!
She instructed Sam to retrieve a mat from inside the house for me to sit on and we sat close together as we shared the news of the past months. Sam joyfully informed Jajja of his completion of exams and P7 week and we learned of how Jajja is being lovingly cared for by various neighbors. Some bring her water, some share of their garden and others sell her cooking oil and vegetables for well below market rate.
We had brought her food and some money, but it seemed little. Every time I visit Jajja the pangs of poverty grip me. There it is, before my eyes, in my nostrils, and grabbing at my heart. Jajja is old. No one knows how old. It seems she's reported being about 90 for about 7 years, but a true examination of life events would put her in her 80s. Every time we go to the states I wonder if she will be alive when we return. And every time, she is still with us, praise God! As she told Sam and me yesterday, she's ready to die, but she can't because she has her children. These, the ones she loves and has sacrificed so much for, are Namuwonge, Nabukeera, and Sam. And indeed, she has given of everything she has ever had to care for them since her son, their father, died in 1999 when Sam was an infant, and in an increased measure when their mother died in 1994.
On the ground before us were two piles of coffee beans--one green and the other closer to completion of the drying process. I asked how much a kilo she would get for the beans, for this income is some of her only means of contributing to the care of the children and keeping herself alive. The answer? 1,700 shillings a kilo. Before you hear the amount in dollars, think back to your most recent coffee purchase. Is that amount in your mind? Jajja is receiving about 75 cents for two pounds of coffee beans she has tended, picked, dried and delivered to the local purchaser.
This is reality. The reality of coffee. The reality of the way of life in many parts of the world. For Jajja with three young children ages 8, 6, and 2 in 2004, there was no hope of her children receiving an education. Enter New Hope Uganda, caring for the fatherless. All three children were enrolled for free in the primary school and have been taught and nurtured these past roughly 15 years. The house, Jajja's house was built and periodically updated by the staff of New Hope.
And in one month's time, Nabukeera will rejoin Jajja at their home to care for the grandmother who has sacrificially and lovingly given of herself to these three children. Also, the eldest, Namuwonge just finished a two month stay in which she cared for Jajja by tending the gardens, buying food and cooking and cleaning for her. I am proud of both Namuwonge and Nabukeera for their desire to serve and care for Jajja during this season. In February, Nabukeera will leave for further education and again we will increase our visits to check on her. But, the village caretakers employed by New Hope also check on her frequently and for that we are grateful.
Thank you to those of you who support us and who support New Hope. Thank you. Your contribution is making a difference in many lives.
Mary
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