2008 - Amanda Flower

During Easter this year I left Cardiff and travelled to Uganda with 11 others to work at the House of Joy School. On our first day there, we were greeted by 926 children who lined the roads and sang to us as we approached; totally overwhelming!!! It was at this moment I thought to myself “I have absolutely no idea what I am doing here. I cannot make a difference ”. But over the next two weeks I realised how I wrong I had been. I could make a difference and have the most unforgettable memories of being at House Of Joy School.

Although I am a school teacher, I had not planned to teach at the school although that happened on several occasions. Teaching in Uganda is very different. There can be around 80 pupils in your class. All of them extremely well behaved and respectful. They are so eager to learn and work very hard. All pupils absolutely love being there. At break and lunchtime the children would gather around us; some just to watch; others eager to help; some to play and others just to be held. Many stay for hours after school. They are in no rush to go home.  For many children school is a happier, safer place for them.

I also did many other jobs depending who needed help and what needed doing; fetching water, painting, mixing cement, digging, making and serving porridge. Physically it could be demanding at times. But the biggest thing to remember is even if you did nothing there for two weeks the children would still be so grateful. Just being there brings hope to these children. They know that they are looked after, cared for, educated, fed and clothed. They are no longer “The Invisible Children of Uganda”.

I sponsor a child at House of Joy, called Ivan and I got to meet him whilst I was there. He has no living relatives other than his grandfather who takes care of him. They have nothing and I mean NOTHING!!! Ivan had no school books, no equipment, not even a pencil. He had no shoes on his feet; the same for his grandfather. They sleep on the floor in a tiny hut. His grandfather visited me several times over the two weeks.  Somehow he found it possible to bring me three eggs on one of these visits. How humble is that;  someone who has so little can give away his only food for probably the day. He cried on my last day.

One afternoon, whilst walking from school I befriended two sixteen year old girls. Each day they would stay behind school and help me paint and clean for hours; all for nothing. How many sixteen year old children do you know in the UK who would do that – for nothing. One of the girls, Nancy, is an orphan. Her parents had been killed by witchdoctors. Yet she was happy and so full of life. She attended school willingly on Saturdays for extra lessons. Her dream is to be an accountant. It will probably only ever be a dream.

One of the biggest projects that went on while I was there was the fitting of solar panels onto the school roof. No children have ever used electricity. Imagine their surprise when lights were turned on after dark and music belted out of a CD player! 

On returning to the UK, people ask “Is it a life changing experience?”. 0f course it is. I have seen with my own eyes people who really have nothing, do not know where their next meal is coming from; people who are so hungry; people who are ill and have no money for medication; children who have HIV; children whose parents have died in front of them. I appreciate now everything I have. I am conscious of how I live. But mostly I am so very grateful of everything God has blessed me with.

Whilst in Uganda, someone told me a story of a boy on a beach where hundreds and hundreds of starfish had been swept up. He began to pick them up and throw them back into the sea, one by one. An old man approached him. The old man shouted at him, “What is the point in even trying. You can’t save them all” and the boy replied “But I can save this one, and this one, and this one…”

Would I return??? I am already making plans to return this summer.

My last thing is to say the name “House of Joy” is the perfect name. The children are full of joy and happiness.  They are so special. They are so grateful for everything and they complain of nothing.

I was so blessed to have been there.