Back Again

It has been almost 5 days since we got back from Uganda and I am still readjusting back to home life. I really miss the place, the people and of course the food! The trip was incredible and now that I am home it is very hard to put into words. We met so many amazing people (kids and adults) and experienced so many different traditions (wabela...). I have been pounded with questions about my trip and I keep finding myself at a loss for words. It is strange for I am usually very talkative and am able to get across my excitement and emotions, but this trip was different. This trip moved me in ways I am unable to explain. The only way to truly understand is to experience it for yourself. All I know is that I have not stopped thinking about Kamuli and those 52 kids. I know that I will be tied to those kids and to Uganda for the rest of my life. I will be going back, that I am absolutely sure of.

I want also mention a person who had a real effect on me during my time in Uganda...

Benaleta is a fourteen year old girl who is part of the 52 kid foundation. The first time I met her, I overlooked her merely because I was surrounded by fifty or so other faces all greeting us. It was complete chaos, but as things began to settle down, there were some faces that stood out and some kids I would later get to know a lot better. One of those was Benaleta. She has a smile that takes your breath away and a laugh that is able to completely hide the impoverished life she leads. She is the most energetic girl I have ever met and I instantly grew attached to her. Over the course of the two weeks I saw her multiple times, one of those being at her house. Of all the home visits we made, Benaleta's home was one of the worst I had seen. It was hard to see the conditions in which such a brilliant girl lived. It also put much of my life into perspective for me, for here is a girl who is loving life simply because there is life to live, and not for the material things many of us deem necessary to be happy.

This girl is my role model and she does not even know it.

I miss seeing her and I can not wait until I am able to do so again.

I would also like to quickly thank John and Colleen for making all of this possible for me and giving hope to these children.