This morning I woke up while it was still dark and prepared myself for what was supposed to be a 6 hour bus ride north to Gulu, the land of the Acholi. However, as soon as we reached the outskirts of Kampala, the bus broke down and my 6 hour trip turned into 9.
My first trip to Uganda, and Africa at large, was through a study abroad program based in Gulu. I stayed with the same homestay family for one month and I grew very close to them. My homestay mother is an angel on earth. She is always giggling and smiling, even at her old age while she strains to take care of her three young grandchildren whose parents (her children) have died. She only has two living children now of the 8 she bore, a son, Noel, who you may remember me mentioning in past blog posts as our solar panel contact here in Uganda, and Caroline, a daughter, who is my age (24), but already is raising two children of her own. Every time I'm in Uganda, I always have to take a few days to visit Gulu. Last year when I was here, Caro was eight months pregnant with a baby girl. She confided in me that life at home with her husband is bad, he verbally and physically abuses her and she often goes to bed hungry and can feel the baby tossing in her stomach. This broke my heart, and we cried on each others shoulders in a hot and crowded hospital room waiting to see a doctor, along with 10s of other pregnant women.
I knew I needed to help her, and I knew she could make amazing paper beaded jewelry. I told her that I could front her the money to buy supplies and if she could make a couple hundred necklaces, I would buy them from her at a good price and sell them in Colorado at our Mwebaza fundraisers. She eagerly accepted the chance to make her own money and not be dependent on her husband, who spends most of the families money on alcohol. When I returned today, she was just finishing up the last of the beaded necklaces. She had made over 400 pieces from scratch! And the detail and artistic design of each piece was amazing, like nothing I'd ever seen being sold in any market in Africa before! I am falling asleep tonight with a happy heart, knowing that I have played a part, no matter how small, in empowering someone so dear to me who has endured so much suffering.

2013
Noel
Mama Paula, Caro
Joann, Joshua, Gabrielle, Samuel (Caro's first born)

Caro with all her amazing beaded jewelry 

         

Caro and her two children, Samuel and Ruth.