Visiting in the slums

I don't often get the opportunity to visit families in the slum communities as I am busy with the girls and other commitments but recently I have had the privilege of visiting some families as part of some research that John and I are doing. Whenever I visit families I am overwhelmed by the welcome we receive and the warmth that is shown among the desperate situations that we witness. I just wanted to share with you, my visits to a few of these families to give you a picture of some of the people we are working with.

Mama I is a 19 year old mother originally from the Congo. She has a little boy who is around a year old and is bringing him up alone. My visit to this Mama's house was one of joy and hope. Mama had recently returned from a 3 week trip to a re-feeding and training centre which Revelation Life had paid for and taken her to, due to the severity of her son's malnutrition. As I sat in her one roomed home, she excitedly told me about her experience at the centre and how well her little boy was doing. She had the laminated timetable from her stay at the centre on her wall and was now following the same routine at home. She laughed and chatted, showing me the forms with baby I's weights at different stages and spoke with confidence about how she knew that baby I would not become malnourished again, as she now knew how to cook well for him. She spoke so fondly of the revelation life team and their faithfulness. She showed me the cream which the team had given her which healed a terrible rash that innocent had had. I was left so humbled and grateful for what I had in my own life. This Mama was so over the moon and grateful for having been given a pot of cream, some mentoring in how to cook and people that truly cared for her. Her home was very simple, she had few possessions, no husband to take care of her, no job but she now had a healthy son and was full of Hope. The team continue to visit her a few times a week to check in with her, deliver her food for her son and monitor her progress. Well done Mama Innocent for your positive approach to life and for showing me how small things can make a world of difference.

My visit with Mama T (in the picture above) was somewhat different from the one I described above. Sometimes when I chat with people and they tell me their story, I can't believe how so many tragedies can happen in one persons life. It was like this with Mama T. I sat on the floor on the edge of a thin dirty mattress as there were no chairs or beds in this tiny windowless one room home. Never the less, mama was extremely welcoming and was happen to tell us about her life and her situation. She had 2 babies living with her, baby T who is a year and a half and B, his younger sister, who is about 6 months. Both looked weak and unwell although there was an obvious bond and love between them and there mother. As we chatted I found out that her first husband had died and that her three children had gone to live with her in laws family (am unsure if this was against her will, her choice or just a necessity). She had left the countryside for the city in search of work and found a new man. She gave birth to a boy but sadly due to illness and lack of money for medical fees, he did not reach his first birthday. This profoundly affected Mama and she has not really been the same since. To add to all of this, when she was pregnant with baby B she found out that her husband had been killed in Somalia where he was a soldier. So much loss in one persons life. Life is tough in Kampala's slums, especially when you have no man to take care of you. There is no benefit system, so if you want to eat you have to somehow earn money even if you have no job. My heart went out to Mama T and her desperate situation. I wanted to hold her and for all the pain to go away. Although she had been given lots of help and support from Revelation Life, her situation failed to improve significantly because of the severity of her situation and her loss of Hope. We, however, are not losing Hope in her and now look to the future, considering what Mama T and others in a similar situation need to help get them back on their feet and re-find hope for their lives.