Slum Cycle

Wow, we have been so busy and have seen so much.. where shall I start...

Yesterday we painted the room. The boys wanted green so we got to work and it looks great! Check out the pics! We have also moved the older carpet, which I bought last time, into the bedroom and have bought a new one for the main room. It looks very smart and the boys are sooo happy!

We also visited Eunice and Rachel's family. I have grown very attached to this family over the years because they all have brilliant hearts and they are all very hard working with great vision. It was lovely to spend some time with them and discuss their ideas for building a better future for themselves.

The evening was magical. We returned to the home, to find there was no electricity so it was pitch black, apart from the light from Matts wind up lamp. Gerald cooked pocho (flour mixed with water) on the stove whilst Matt and I got to know the rest of the boys. They are so much more talkative now. I think it may be because they are more confident in their English as they use this language every day at school. Also, it is clear that they feel more comfortable being themselves in front of me and each other. I think the fact that I have supported the project for almost 4 years has confirmed to them that I will not leave them. They were so used to being let down by their family and people in the slums. Their smiles are the biggest I have ever seen and they laugh a lot now.

Once the food was ready, we went into the main room and sat in a circle, under the dim light of the lamp - it was very cosy! They do not have any of the plates at the home as they had to take them with them to school so they placed a large plate full of posho in the middle of the circle and presented a few bowls with beans in. We grabbed some posho, tore it with our hands and dipped it in the hot beans..eating it with our hands! Try eating mash potato and baked beans with your hands and you have an idea! It was entertaining! Matt said it was one of the best meals he had ever had - not just because of the food (which he loves by the way!) - but also because the atmosphere was amazing - homely, welcoming and relaxed. It really hit home how much they appreciate the food they are able to eat and eating together broke down any boundaries. We ate as a family.

Today we met up with a man called Paul who runs one of the projects Hope for Children support, called Peace for Children. Paul was a street boy himself who made it out successfully so he has now dedicated his life to helping boys living on the streets. He took us to Kisinyi slums - notoriously dangerous! - so I was very on guard and was thankful to have Matt with me. As we walked deeper in to the slums the smell of petrol and death literally filled our lungs and was very claustrophobic as we tried to breathe. It felt like we couldn't take a proper intake of breath. The youth we found were hanging out together, sat or laying on top of a big pile of rotten rubbish. They were holding plastic bottles, which had their tops cut off, under their sleeve. Inside the bottle was a rag which was drenched in petrol and they would sniff the bottle continuously. These boys were so high from this drug, their eyes were red blood shot and they had no soul about them.

As Paul was telling us their stories it was clear that most of them were living on the streets because they had no one to look after them at home. Their dad was either dead or with another lady, leaving their mum struggling to find food and school fees for them. So these boys decided it would be a better life for them on the streets where they could at least find scrap metals to sell and gain their own money. Unfortunately, they are so broken by the poverty that they are longing for a way to escape reality and therefore use the money for these drugs which blanks out all the pain they are feeling inside. It was very difficult to see and Matt and I came out shocked. I have been in the slums before but this was a different level of despair as all hope seemed to have gone.

Paul is counselling these children and trying to show them that there are other, more productive, ways of living. He has set up a drop in centre so the boys can come and find someone to talk to and receive medication and food. The centre is brilliant. There is a teacher there who tries to teach the boys everything relevant to them and their future. When we were there they were learning Science. No, not about photosynthesis or the periodic table (!), but instead about how to prevent the spreading of diseases. Matt also taught some English to a group of the boys! I was very proud of him!

Meanwhile, I was talking to a boy called Ronny who was at the centre because he had just been ran over by a car. His leg was in cast from toe to hip! He told me that he came to the streets when he was 10 because there was no-one to look after him in Gulu. He came to the streets with just 20,000 shillings (5pound) and made friends who were in the same position. His 'friends' taught him how to sniff the petrol which he buys from the money he gets from selling scrap metal. He was explaining that he would love to go to school and to own his own car one day but for now he doesn't see a way out. A story similar to most of the boys we met today.

It was interesting to then go to Namuwongo slums and speak to the mothers of the families, similar to those these boys have come from. It was clear that the mothers cannot cope with their situation. They earn 50,000 (approx 15pounds) a month, working 6 days a week in cleaning for others. They have no education themselves so they cannot get a better job. They husbands have left them for a younger model and they do not help with the three or more children they leave behind. Out of that 50,000, the rent is 35,000shillings, leaving 15,000 shillings (about 3pound) to feed the family for the whole month!!! We sat in a tiny box of a room, about the size of our bathroom (!), in amazement that this houses at least 4 people. As we listened to the struggles to these women both Matt and I went silent in sadness - it is so difficult to take in and hear as you naturally compare their lives to our lives in England.

Seeing both the families the boys come from, and the situations on the streets which they were forced to moved to, made me reflect on just how far the boys in The Mydel Home have now come. Some of them lived in the streets with these boys who sniff drugs. Some of them did try the drugs when they were living rough. Others told me how they slept next to people taking these drugs but they refused to try it themselves - very commendable! I remember when I first started the home, a handful of the boys were particularly aggressive in nature and I could see in their eyes that they had seen a lot of suffering and their hearts were broken. I had to be very strict at the beginning to ensure the boys did not take the drugs in to the home or their aggressive behaviour. I even told some of the boys that they had to leave as they did not respect the rules. Now, the boys are completely different in nature. They no longer have glazed eyes. They have smiles which light up a room and they act like fun loving brothers to each other. It is great to see. It just shows that with the right guidance and a consistent, secure environment the boys can get out of the 'slum cycle' and change their lives around.

Today has made me even more determined to ensure every boy turns from the ways of the slums and I will support them in every step.

Lots of Love xxx