MARY’S
HOUSE VOLUNTEERS AROUND THE WORLD:
Mary
Vanderhoof from Mercerville, NJ has been coming to the retreat house with her
family since 1999. In addition to
volunteering here and serving as a host family, Mary and her husband, Randy,
recently led our Families with Young Children retreat.
However,
this summer, Mary experienced a completely different form of community as she
traveled to Luweero, Uganda for two weeks in August. Mary’s trip was sponsored by Catholic Relief
Services, which runs a program called the Global Solidarity Partnership
(GSP). The goal of GSP is to partner
dioceses in the United States with dioceses in underdeveloped countries. Mary traveled to Uganda as a representative
of the Diocese of Trenton who has been partnered with the Diocese of
Kasana-Luweero for five years.
Luweero
is about 60 miles north of the capital city of Kampala and is an extremely
rural, underdeveloped area. Like many
other parts of Africa, it has been ravaged by the effects of HIV/AIDS. In addition, Uganda is just starting to
rebuild after a civil war tore the country apart. Catholic Relief Services funds various
medical programs for those infected with HIV/AIDS as well as educational and
outreach programs for those affected by the disease (orphans, widows, etc.).
The
purpose of Mary’s trip was to see what assistance programs are already in place
in Luweero and determine how the Diocese of Trenton can continue to help. In addition, the delegation would learn about
the Ugandan people, culture and live in community with these people.
Mary
shared that this was the most culture shock that she has ever experienced. In fact, she described it as traveling back
in time 50-100 years. Folks in the
village lived in round mud huts with thatched roofs and most of the homes had
sporadic electricity if there was electricity at all. Some homes had generators but for the most
part could only afford to run the generators for an hour or two. There was very little running water and
families cooked over wood stoves. However,
Mary was surprised to discover that many people had pre-paid cell phones. These cell phones were their lifelines,
sometimes the only means of communication.
For two
weeks, Mary lived with the Sisters of Saint Mary Mother of the Church, a
Ugandan order of sisters. These sisters
operate an AIDS clinic and run a school.
The sisters also take care of the orphaned children who make up about
1/3 of the school. These children have
been orphaned by AIDS, malaria or are refugees from the fighting that continues
in Northern Uganda.
These
women impressed Mary with their deep faith and dedication. These incredible women grew up during the
Ugandan civil war – they remember the fighting taking place in their own
backyards. Now, the Sisters are
completely dedicated to helping the people of Luweero. Their clinic sees hundreds of people a week –
people who are too poor to pay for medical attention.
It was in
this clinic that one of the reasons for Mary’s trip became evident. The Diocese of Trenton had provided crucial
medical equipment to the clinic but it wasn’t until Mary’s group saw the clinic
that they realized the equipment was no good without electricity. To remedy this, the delegation was able to go
into town and purchase a small generator for the clinic – one that would only
operate the crucial medical equipment.
Mary was
also impressed by the Ugandans themselves.
Everyone she met was warm and welcoming and she came to appreciate the
rich culture. One thing that struck her
deeply and she hopes that she will always remember was the way music was such a
part of the culture. The people of
Luweero sang all the time. The Sisters
always sang in four part harmony and even been taught how to drum as part of
their training. Even Mary participated
in some of the drumming. The music was
so beautiful that Mary could see that it was a reflection of their souls.
During
Mary’s time there, she visited eleven different clinics - some in areas so
remote that there were no roads going to clinics just bicycle paths. Mary was also able to visit a number of
schools there. Even though grammar
schools are supposed to be funded by the government, individual children still
need money for uniforms, books, meals, etc.
The Diocese of Trenton is also trying to help in this situation by
funding children’s education.
Despite
the extreme poverty, the children were enthusiastic, happy and welcoming. Just like all children, they loved getting
their pictures taken by digital cameras and then instantly seeing their image. The children spoke English very well, a
testimony to the quality of education that they are receiving, and enjoyed
putting on shows for the visitors. In
turn, the parents are very involved in the children’s education. Like many American parents, they are truly
concerned with ensuring their children receive the best education
possible.
The
schools ranged from formal classrooms to schools that Mary described as
resembling large horse stalls – with nothing but wood slats to separate each
class. Regardless of the condition of
the classroom though, Mary noticed that all the children were bright and
confident, proud of what they could do and eager to show this. They displayed a great enthusiasm and joy of
learning. Mary expressed that it was a
gift to be around these children. She
was energized by their energy and awed by how happy they were with so little.
The
Diocese of Trenton also helped to provide pigs to the schools – “Pigs?” you
might wonder. But these pigs provide
both food and income for the school. In
fact, enrollment in a school doubles if the school has pigs and a vegetable
garden because then the parents are assured that their children will eat.
Mary’
trip was not without frustration and discouragement, though. She shared that she was extremely
disheartened by the oppressive treatment of women and girls in the Ugandan
culture. This significantly contributes
to the spread of HIV/AIDS. It is taboo
to discuss this devastating disease yet the women are the ones who go to the
clinic to get tested, receive treatments and learn more about the disease. However, they are unable to share this
information with their husbands, sons or brothers. The women are powerless to stop the spread of
HIV/AIDS even though they know how. Mary
experienced this first hand when she visited a sick woman with six children all
under the age of 10. This woman’s
husband was at the hospital with his second wife who was also dying from
AIDS. Despite evidence that this disease
was ravaging their family and that their children were being born infected with
HIV, there was nothing this woman could do to prevent the spread of HIV in her
own home.
As Mary
said, “Empowering women is a huge challenge but I believe that is what will
contribute to stopping the spread of AIDS in this country.” There is hope though. One example is the Community Banks for Women
that are being started in the Diocese of Kasana-Luweero through the help of
Catholic Relief Services. The women meet
once a week and bring what little savings they may have acquired to be
deposited. After being a member of the
bank for a set amount of time, they can then take out small loans for purchases
that will help them earn income. One
woman bought a sewing machine to start a seamstress business. Another woman bought a pregnant cow. The women help each other as business
people. The money that they earn gives
them power in their family; it gives them a voice in their home. We have heard the expression “money is power”
and in the Ugandan family, this is true.
In addition, these women set an example for their daughters and other
women in the community. Mary truly
believes that the community leadership for women fostered by these banks is the
key to turning things around.
Mary came
away from her experience in Uganda with a sense of hope and she can see that
hope in many of the wonderful people she met.
She also now has a burning desire to help and empower the women. While she enjoyed coming home and taking a
long shower, she also deeply misses all of her new friends in Uganda. She would encourage everyone to experience
this kind of cultural immersion. Despite
the poverty and violence, the Ugandans and the Sisters in particular were a
beautiful, joy filled people with an incredible faith and prayer life.
For the people
that Mary met, the most important things in their lives were relationships
because they had no material things to get in the way of those
relationships. This is a lesson that we
can all learn from Mary’s experience.
To learn
more about Catholic Relief Services in Uganda, click here:
http://www.crs.org/our_work/where_we_work/overseas/africa/uganda/index.cfm
To learn
more about the Global Solidarity Partnership, click here:
To learn
more about the Diocese of Trenton’s work in Uganda, click here:
http://www.dioceseoftrenton.org/diocese/pressreleases_detail.asp?prid=1178