My Ugandan epiphany

This past week has been highlighted with a controversial video campaign, the viewing of a stirring film, and notable home visits. Unable to pinpoint the root of my sudden revelation, it is best to say that a culmination of all three of the week’s occurrences provoked myself to take action. 

When I woke up on the morning of March 7^th and got online, my Facebook newsfeed was flooded with comments, statuses, and posts regarding the KONY 2012 campaign. Thanks to Invisible Children’s new video, the social media world was rocked by this viral campaign overnight. Not as much overwhelmed than frustrated, I promptly logged out of Facebook.

My ‘Facebook friends’ unnerved me because I assumed most of them were jumping on the bandwagon - a wagon leading them down a dead end road. Does sharing a link on Facebook show one’s deepest concern for an issue, or does sharing the link reflect one’s ability to give in to peer pressure? The comments posted by the individuals on my newsfeed, although meaning well, wrote with a sense of urgency and minimal reflection on their knowledge of the topic. The people sharing the campaign are saying how we need to stop the warlord, as if he is currently ripping kids out of their homes, and bringing them to his camp for brainwashing. Educating oneself on a vital topic, can only improve one’s viewpoint, hopefully resulting in a more effective pro-active plan.

By week’s end, the SWB programming had wrapped up, and the KONY 2012 partisan attitudes had relatively quieted down in the social media world. With Friday’s docket being nearly empty, Raphael (SWB-Kampala local director), Nick, Travis, and myself went on two home visits. The home visits consist of roughly a half hour to an hour visit to one of our regular participants’ homes. Upon our entry into their home, and following a warm welcoming, we make sure the parents are familiar with SWB and how their child benefits from us. Ensuing our introduction, we allow the parent to discuss anything they desire, as our way to show keen interest in the child and the family. Getting to know our participants’ families allows the organization to become more familiar with the community, and to ensure the participant is housed in a safe living space.

The first house we visited was the home of Grace and Yanick, both of whom are regular participants in all of our programs; both father and uncle gave us a warm welcome.  Topics including, SWB programming, the gentlemen’s feelings’ towards our programming, and the background info about us (interns), were discussed in the visit. To conclude, I was given the privilege of reading aloud a passage from the Bible, which talked about men working and living in unity; something the father thought was suiting for the work we (SWB) had been doing thus far. We said our gracious goodbyes and headed to the following home visit.

Not having to walk too far, we reached the next home quite quickly. Before heading into the home of Samuel, who is another frequent participant, we were confronted by a mentally unbalanced woman, insisting on inviting herself into Samuel’s house. Not ever fully understanding her relationship to Samuel, nor feeling the need to ask any questions about her (in general), we proceeded into the house. Once inside, we saw not only Samuel, but Yanick too. After introducing ourselves to Samuel’s mother, we were informed that Yanick’s mom had passed when he was a baby, and Samuel’s mom brought Yanick in. With this in mind, we were able to deduce why he did not resemble either of the pastors from the previous home; he had been living at both homes, wanting both a father and mother figure.

Being aware of Yanick’s past, and knowing there are thousands of kids with stories similar to his, helped ratify my belief that there are many benevolent and valuable causes locally, one can act upon. Instead of devoting one’s time to trying to have a lasting impact on something outdated, or halfway across the world, why not focus on making a change locally, where one can create a positive effect on the cause? Knowing I have been having an impact on Yanick and the rest of the kids a part of SWB, is far more gratifying personally, as I am able to witness the positive change firsthand.

Rather than focusing on something from the past, or something out of your own control that you may not be too educated on, one should devote their time to something they can make an immediate change on – an effective action using their own two hands.