Lady Dianna »

We arrived in Uganda yesterday and drove 9 hours from Entebbe to Gulu. Yes, that is as long as it sounds! That is the amount of time it took us to fly from Amsterdam to Nairobi. The only difference was the scenery was spectacular. Uganda’s country side is just gorgeous.

I was so excited to be in a new place. We met my friend Kallie in the airport! She and some friends of hers started 31 Bits here in Gulu about 6 six years ago and have seen their program flourish. Women affected by the most extreme poverty imaginable now never have to wonder if they will have food to eat. Some if these women have even been able to pay for themselves to go to college, purchases property, and start businesses of their own just by making jewelry. What an incredible blessing Kallie and 31 Bits are to these deserving women.

They employ 120 women living in the Gulu area. I had the honor of teaching 20 of these women a little bit about hair dressing, hygiene, and salon business. Many of them have dreams of opening their own salons after they have the capitol they need from working for 31 Bits. Their motivation is extraordinary. I sat with two women, Harriet and Juliet, who want to open a salon together. They have tried finding salon equipment in Gulu with no luck. They asked me if they gave me their savings if I would purchase a shampoo sink and a hooded hair dryer if I would mail them to Uganda for them. Now, that is what I call determination!

Kaylie will be working with thier social workers and give a seminar to the women about Self-Esteem and Respect. I look forward to hear more about their lives and teaching chemical relaxing on Monday!

Still pretty swollen from the bug bites, but finally feeling better!

Off to Kiamaiko to see our sponsor kids! It is January now, so this confused so many of them! They saw and thought, “Why are mzungus here? They are early!” Charles, of course, was embarrassed as ever to see me. I really do know what parents go through when their kids think they are too cool. But then, I saw Isaac, my brother and sister-in-law’s child. I don’t think he could have been happier to see me! His big huge smile just melts my heart. We had to see them quickly because we were doing home visits in the community. We went to some of the beauty school student’s homes and to meet some of the new students. It was wonderful to be back in Kiamaiko. If there is ever a place to be a celebrity, Kiamaiko is the place!

After seeing all my friends, we went back to Kiamaiko to say good-bye. I finally got to see Samuel, my new sponsor child. I spent some time with him and his father. His teacher says he is the top student in his class. I’m so excited to watch him grow. 10 years from now I know I’ll be at his high school gradutaion watching him give his Valedictorian speech…. Isn’t that what all parents wish for their kids??

I always hate leaving Kiamaiko. We have made good friends with the interns and missionaries here. Megan, Diana, Zach, and Ryan, are spending 9 months here and their passion for helping those in need is exactly what Missions of Hope needs. I feel like I’m alwasy counting down the days until I am back again.

But for now….. off to Uganda!

Your sponsor mommy will miss you, Samuel and Charles!

Ain’t no party like a hair cut party!! David had to get in on it and Kaylie was such a good sport about it. I cut everyone’s hair one evening and we had the pleasure of meeting Melvin and his partner in crime (a.k.a. Zach and Ryan) These are 2 of the 4 incredible missionaries interning at MOHI this year. We will miss our know found friends! We love you, Sweet Southern Megan, Beautiful Diana, Zach Attack, and Big Daddy Ryan!

Asante Sana, Kenya…

Graduation Day! The day I have been waiting 6 months for. The day we will see the first of many classes graduate from Shear Hope Beauty School in Mathare Valley. And of course, Kaylie and I are still feeling sick from our mosquito attack in Joska. We did everything we could to not get us down!

The girls came looking so smart! The ladies have been preparing and looking forward to this day where they will have a certificate to proudly show that they are Hair Stylists.

The celebration began with them singing Swahili songs. Hearing them sing was always the favorite part of my day this past summer. You can’t help but want to dance listening to Kenyans sing. They sang so joyfully.

The jewelry teacher, Francesca, led the graduation ceremony and had many people come and speak to the girls. Everyone who spoke was so motivational and encouraging to them. Each girl was presented with their certificate of completion from Shear Hope Beauty School and a gift of hair cuting shears from The Trade and combs, clips, and brushes to help them begin their career. They were all so overwhelmed and so grateful. Then, we asked two of the girls to speak on behalf of all the students. Beatrice and Carol each spoke about how thankful they are to now have an education and a trade to be able to provide for their children. Beatrice shared that she will never be afraid that she will not have food or school fees for her kids.

I know Beatrice will go far. I know they all will. They all have aspirations of opening their own salons. They all have goals of saving money. They all have dreams for a better future.

 

 

Joska. The happiest place on earth.

Kaylie and I went to Joska Boarding School to visit the children that we have come to love so much! They are so filled with happiness. Everyone who has every visited this school holds it in a very special place in their heart.

As Kaylie is a counselor back home, Missions of Hope asked her if she would hold a Self-Esteem seminar for the junior high and high school girls of Joska. She was thrilled to! These girls come from the slums and see the worst of the worst everyday. They are so happy to be able to live at Joska, but the trauma of the slums stays with them.

In planning this talk we decided for both of us to speak on the importance of Self Worth and Emotional Purity. The morning we woke up for our seminar, we were both covered in bug bites! As Kaylie put it, “I look like a 13 year old boy going through puberty!” How funny that in one hour we would be speaking on the importance of Self-Worth! All we could do was laugh at God’s sick sense of humor!

As both of us have had our fair share of trauma in our lives, so we felt it would be best if we opened up about our pasts to allow the girls to feel more comfortable with us. We began with grades 6,7, and 8, and then we spoke to the high school girls. After we shared about ourselves, we asked the girls to write down their experiences to us. We gave them the option to make it anonymous to make them feel like they can really tell us anything.

The response we got was overwhelming. Here are just a few of the notes we received. Please be aware that these notes may be difficult to read and contain sensitive information.

“My name is ________. My mother drinks alcohol. When I asked her to stop she started abusing me. I don’t know what to do. I just want her to stop. My father is not around to protect me. Please pray for my mother.”

“My name is ________. I am 12. I was raped by my neighbor who is a boy. I need prayers to help me forgive him.”

“My friend was raped by her own dad. She is the one who is blamed. Please pray for her.”

“My name is ________. The last day of school I stayed with my aunt. Whenever my uncle came home he raped me everyday.”

“One night a man tried to rape me. He touched me where I am not supposed to be touched. When I ran away from him, he threw stones at me.”

“My name is ________. I saw my brother be killed. I have tried to forgive the man who did this, but I can’t.”

“I was abused by my step-father and I have thought of killing myself. Thank you Kelli and Diana for coming to talk to us.”

Kaylie and I sat and read each heart-breaking message from these sweet girls. Each note had a little girls heart poured into it and It meant so much that they felt comfortable enough to share these stories with us. One by one, we read and felt their pain. We separated the ones we felt needed immediate counseling. Kaylie and I talked privately with these girls. We wanted to talk to all of them. They all need so much more than we were able give.

These young girls have been tormented and tortured their whole lives. They have never been treated like the princesses they are. We asked our friend, Alex, to write a love letter to all the girls telling them how a real man should treat them. The girls loved it so much that they wrote to him in many of the notes they wrote to us. Here is one….

“Dear Alex, Thank you for your beautiful letter. I pray the Lord will bless you and keep you.”

Even after the attack of the bed bugs, I was so thankful to be there for those girls. They were so thankful to have us. Though they have struggled with traumatic events that have happened and will for years to come, they still manage to smile, sing, and dance for all who come to visit them. It encourages me. It makes me know that even in the darkest of situations, they find joy. Which does make this the happiest place on earth!