At school I had to write a story about a social injustice that I felt strongly about. This is the story I wrote- I hope you enjoy it!
Be Listening
Luwero, Uganda. Most of you have never heard of it.
The district was once called the Luwero Triangle where so much blood was shed
during the civil war. But that was 20 years ago. What is it now? A place where
there are small gardens and mud huts. A place where glass in the windows is a
luxury. A place where you have to look both ways before crossing the street and
then run for your life. A place where HIV/AIDS is everywhere. A place where
people go to bed without eating a meal. A place where children are on the
streets. A place where babies are left in the bush to die. A place where those
who can’t walk are hidden away and never see the light of day.
That is not the whole story. There is a place where those who
can’t walk are accepted. There is a place where babies are loved. There is a
place where people eat heartily. There is a place with sturdy doors and
windows. There is a place with brick houses and gardens. There is a place where
peace has come. This place will be my
home. This place will be a home for so many others. This place because of a few
will never be the same again. This place
is New Hope. This place takes care of the broken. This place cares for those
who can’t care for themselves. This place takes care of those who would have
otherwise been thrown away by society.
One person can change your world, or someone else’s
world – one boy. That was all it took to change Allen’s world, Ivan’s world,
Kakulu’s world. Who was this person? Was
he great and important? Was he rich? No, he came from the lowest of the low. He
was a baby. He was a local. He was picked up from his house by the police. Why?
His mother was hitting his head against the wall, banging it against the hard
compact dirt. His father had locked him in the house to keep him from his
mother. Their neighbor had reported a baby screaming next door all day. How
could this boy change someone’s world?
He was taken from his home and brought to New Hope.
He was loved and taken care of. Now he can’t walk. He can’t read or write. He
can’t say words. But in his brokenness he has alerted those around him. Alerted
people that there were disabilities everywhere. Alerted people that children
were dying because no one was helping.
It is a painful story. Why did this happen?
Although it is hard to accept maybe God put this boy through this hardship to
help others realize how much life should be valued. How much we need to pray
and assist those in need. Hassan’s story has brought hope to other children. Allen, Ivan and Kakulu, to name a few, are
now receiving the care they need because someone listened to a baby’s screams
for help.
There are also others who need help. Like Nicolas,
whose mother abandoned him in a pit latrine (a hole in the ground that is used
as a bathroom) or Sam and Jebez whose mothers abandoned them in the bush when they
were just a few days old. There is a place where all these babies went. They
went to the Baby House at New Hope where they were loved and cared for. Now
Nicolas has been adopted, Sam has gone back to live with his relatives, and
Jebez is thriving at Hope Family. When Jebez gets a little older a home will be
found for him. These little lives have been saved because someone listened to
their tiny cries for help.
Injustice doesn’t just happen to children; it
happens to adults too. Kakande is a man who you can never forget. He has
moderate or severe learning disabilities. He used to live with his step-mother
or brother-in-law. His step-mother brews alcohol illegally while his
brother-in-law is a witch doctor. For as
long as anyone can remember he used to come to New Hope and get medical care,
clothes, and sometimes money but he would always return to his old home. The
next time anyone saw him his money would be taken, he would be burned and cut
and he would have had too much alcohol to drink. He would have been beaten and
generally taken advantage of. One day he came to the clinic with so many jiggers
(fleas that burrow into your skin and lay eggs) and infections that he could
barely walk. He had to be taken to the hospital for care. A lady named Kate and
many others realized that something had to be done. In the village he was being
abused and neglected. They had asked if his relative would take him in but no
one would. He was not wanted because he couldn’t do things that healthy people
would.
Now Kakande lives at New Hope where he has his own
room and attends the Special Needs class. He can do jobs such as get water,
deliver messages, get firewood, and push kids in their wheelchairs. Kakande is
a different person than he was before he began living at New Hope. He was
someone who was rejected by society and was taken advantage of and then
neglected. Now he has learned that he does have purpose and has found out that
he can be helpful and contribute to society.
His life is now filled with meaning because someone cared enough to
help.
Where does that leave us? Everyone has something to live for and should
be accepted for who they are. People shouldn’t judge others by the way they
look or the things they can do. We are all made in the image of God. We should
show God’s love by praying and caring for those who are needy. We are to defend
the cause of the weak and the fatherless and maintain the rights of the poor
and the oppressed. (Psalm 82:3) Be the
someone who listens and cares enough to help.
Bibliography
Clark, Paul 2010 New Hope Uganda [On-line]
Tolhurst, Kate 2011, Kate at New Hope Uganda [On-line]
Dendy, Stu 2010, Stu, Sarah & Thomas…at New Hope Uganda [On-line]
30 April 2012
A really thoughtful article Catriona - thanks!
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