Yesterday our small team of five journeyed to Gulu, a northern city in Uganda that is approximately a 6-7 hour drive from Kampala on dusty, bumpy, half put together road. Since ‘Frank the Tank’ was in the drivers seat, I was fortunate to catch a 20 min nap before we stopped for a well needed beverage. The further north we drove, the hotter it got & the dryer it gets. As soon as we crossed the Nile River, we were in the north region, there were baboons crossing the road & eating bananas & there was a different feeling in the air.
Today we went to five partner schools to hand out training jerseys, socks, cones & soccer balls. Each of these schools are government run with a much bigger population in size than what we work with in the south. We went to two schools with over a thousand students! As we walked onto 3 of the 5 schools, I could tell a difference between Gulu & Kampala. If you know anything about Ugandan history, the people in the North have definitely faced much torture & turmoil. The students at each campus don’t run up to you to hold your hand or touch you because you’re different. They don’t waive excitedly because you are visitors. They somewhat turn away out of fear or just lack an expression on their faces. They’re not used to holding a hand, especially a strangers hand.
Tonight we went to an Americanized restaurant (I ate a burger & fries & it was delic!) & our Gulu staff shared a bit of the history that took place in Gulu, specifically some of the students on the campus we visited today. Florence, our education director in the North mentioned that the children don’t want to open up because they are afraid we might take them & hurt them or make them do something they don’t want to do. It was a good reminder for me to hear tonight because I was attempting to give the students high fives & encourage them to hold my hand -- but they haven’t built that trust with me yet. It was only 6 years ago that the war ended in Gulu. SIX YEARS. Which means most of the footballers we’re working with at the primary schools that are in P6 & 7 were most likely kidnapped to fight for the LRA – forcing these young men & women to murder there own family members, eat dead carcasses or chop off someone’s fingers & hands when they were just children – who are still children.
The stories we’ve heard from friends here in Gulu in the past & tonight are daunting. One of our friends couldn’t even start his story about his cousin who past away in the war because he was already begun tearing up. I have realized how much need there is for hope here. Coach Walter said that many of these students do not believe in God because of what they’ve witnessed & been a part of here. These kids were faced with evil straight in the eye. I pray the King of Kings & Lord of Lords would open up huge doorways for us to impact these children with Truth by loving them as they are & encouraging their dreams for their future through football & education. Hope is a basic need & praise God that Fields of Dreams Uganda has moved north to Gulu to install a hope for the future where, at the moment, it cannot be found.
To support the work of Fields of Dreams Uganda please donate today: http://www.fieldsofdreamsuganda.org/#!donate/chsy
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