Hope IS a Basic Need

By Eric Lindh

The last two days in Gulu have been a roller coaster of emotions. We got to visit four of Fields of Dreams Uganda's partner schools and hang out with some incredible children. Most of the schools averaged around 1,000 children who were cared for by approximately 20 courageous and loving teachers. While there is definitely need in Kampala, there was an obvious difference in the schools in northern Uganda. Not every child had a school uniform to wear and those that did wore ones that were tattered and torn or barely held together by a single button. The majority of the kids were barefoot. School supplies were in short supply. One school did not have water due to a broken well, so the students had to walk a couple hundred yards or more down the road to fetch water. With a lack of government assistance, many of the children in these schools simply went without food during the day. The list of challenges goes on and on. With every time I walked away from a school visit, my admiration and respect grew for the teachers in this part of the country.

At each school, we had the privilege of presenting their brand new soccer uniforms in preparation for FoDU's first championship soccer tournament in Gulu this coming Friday. The kids were beaming with excitement to receive these uniforms and to be able to represent their school with pride.

But probably the most memorable part of these last two days was sitting in the classrooms while the Fields of Dreams Uganda staff introduced the concept of the DREAMS plans to the older elementary students. These documents serve as tools for students to discover their own dream for their lives and map out a way to achieve it. While this may not seem like much on the surface, it means everything to these kids. That was put into perspective for me today after hearing some of FoDU's Ugandan staff share very personal accounts of how the war in this region has affected the children. Over 20 years of conflict and mindless killing has left a generation of children with little to no hope for their future. Hope IS a basic need. At times there were more than 100 children crammed in the classroom listening to the DREAMS plans presentations, while dozens of younger children were practically climbing on top of one another near the doorway and open windows. This caused quite a distraction; at least for me it did. But the students in the classroom didn't flinch one bit. Their eyes were fixed on the FoDU staff in these classrooms, and they hung on every word that was spoken. To hear that someone believed in their dreams and wanted to help them turn those dreams into a reality provided new hope for their future. You could see their eyes light up and their excitement grow to learn that they were going to be able to create their own personal DREAMS plan in the coming weeks.

Please pray for the children in these partner schools and in all of Uganda; that they would discover new hope for their lives through the soccer and DREAMS plan programs so that they can fully live into their God-given potential.