My final days in Uganda

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Time is such a funny thing. I've heard that some cultures/people don't even have words for the things we call "minutes" or "seconds". I am now counting down my final days here in Uganda. A week from tomorrow I will be boarding a jet plane to begin my 2+ days journey back home 😊 I do have words for these things of time.

Last week I spent the 3 days at an eye-opening workshop on HIV/AIDS. It was put on by the Uganda Womens Concern Ministry to sensitize church leaders from surrounding areas on the current reality of HIV/AIDS. I learned so much. I think the bigest thing I took away is the role stigma plays in our lives, and the POWER of them. Stigma means the perceptions we have of a group of people that cause us to discredit them. They have certainly had a lot more power in my life than I recognized. My (ignorant) perception on someone or even something, and the judgement I felt the right to pass. Quickly, a few things I learned about HIV/AIDS is: nearly 2/3 of people affected live in sub-saharan Africa. It was explained that this is because AIDS and poverty are "sisters". And you find the poorest of the poor in Africa. We also learned that here, women are 2x's as likely to be infected with the disease, and 61% of these women remained abstinent until marriage, and have had only 1 partner EVER. We had several excellant speakers from different organizations come share the most recent information on the reality of AIDs in Africa, and it really changed what I thought I knew. It again made me appreciate the country and times I live in, and the rights and freedoms of my gender. I don't know if I will ever be able to say that enough. It was such a great opportunity to be able to participate in this workshop, and helped to further shape my understanding of this beautiful continent.

This weekend I came back to Tororo to say goodbye to the family and friends here. It is African tradition that good-byes are a big deal. We had one at the girls school yesterday, and a small one at the church my host parents go to today. These usually involve speeches, cake, small gifts, and more speeches. it is a very nice way to say thank you and goodbye, but also-until we meet again. These people have truly welcomed me into their homes, church, community, and family. They have showed me love and welcoming unlike any I've experienced before (coming in as a "stranger"). I am so grateful for their openess and eagerness to teach me and include me. I look forward to coming back here again 😊

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