Gulu Final Report

What can I say about Gulu? I just wrote an “official” report to keep in the school records that seemed very uneventful and somewhat dull as I was writing it, but I would say our trip was far from that. I am glad that I have the chance to write about it now (rather than later) so that I don’t forget some of the great things that happened.

Well first off, I know that most of you are asking what happened with Ivan?!?!?? Well, competitions began on Tuesday. But like most things here, the scheduled time was 8am and the actual events did not begin until about 12:30pm. After many speeches from the different guests of honor and the marching in of ALL the kids, then the games began!

I thought it was really neat during the introduction to learn that this year’s National Primary Athletic Championship held a record number of districts represented from Uganda, 74 in total. I would guess there were over 1000 kids that competed in the junior and senior competitions. Though, I really don’t know how some of these boys in the senior were actually in primary. They looked like grown men. It was also neat that in the speeches the local officials recognized that having Gulu host this competition was part of their healing process. And that it was there to show that peace has been restored in northern Uganda. Very true.

Wednesday was also spent at the field watching events. Ivan’s competition happened around mid-day. He was the second runner in the 4 x 100 relay. Unfortunately, his team was disqualified for crossing over the lap line and improperly passing the baton. But we finished the day at the field and were able to watch some of the athletes named as the Champions of certain events. I wish that he could have continued BUT what an honor that it was that he made it all the way to Nationals. Even his coach was encouraging him that since this was his first year, he saw how things were and next year he will be ready even more.

From the first day of competition, Naster, Glenn, and I got to enter as “technical crew” from Mbale and sit in the only stands at the field. Glenn told the people at the gate that we were there to take photos of the Mbale competitors, which was true. So they asked to see our cameras and let us in. It was so nice because we had a great view and were able to sit, rather than stand and be crowded by all the people watching from the sides of the field. And, it was true, I did take photos of all the Mbale athletes. Meanwhile, Teacher Francis stayed with Ivan and Abel. As we saw the athletes marching the tour of the field, there was Abel, right in the action. It made us laugh to see him there, as if he was an athlete too. Maybe next year.

But our trip was so much more that the sports competition. I already wrote a bit about the visit to the IDP camp. Still, I am so encouraged that is was a bit uneventful because that shows even more that peace is being restored. But I also try to imagine life in that camp. Having to leave your home with at least some amount of land and a garden and maybe a bigger and better house, then to have 48 hours to leave the place you have known (and often a place that your family has stayed for generations). Then to go to a camp, where they find people from all over, already settled, and must find a small piece of land to build their little mud hut. Literally, I could reach my arms from one house to the other. Our guide told us that over 3000 people once lived in that camp. That means 3000 were displaced from their homes and that was only one camp!! I really can’t imagine what life would have been like living so close just for safety in numbers. Or what it would be like to have the threat of the rebels come and kill your family or snatch your children to brain-wash them to be soldiers. And this has happened for SO long. But praise God, that it is only Him that can bring peace!! Now there are only a few hundred that are still living in the camps, mostly trying to raise funds to relocate back to their homes or because their children are now enrolled in a school in town. But I am still not sure where they get food from because I did not see any farm land. Maybe the NGOs are still helping with that? Overall, it was eye opening to realize the conditions that so many lived in for so long.

We also had many laughs playing games in the evening. There is a game like scrabble called Banana Grams where we were able to use the letter blocks to race and make certain words or create as many words as possible. This was the highlight of every evening. The kids also REALLY enjoyed getting to choose what they would eat for dinner. And we learned some funny habits of some of the kids. For example, Naster likes to put catsup on her food and Abel stayed with the same meal, chicken and rice, throughout the whole week. For Abel, this was his first time to ever eat at a restaurant or sleep in a hotel so that also brought many laughs as he would discover new things.

Gulu seemed very different from Mbale. It was bigger than I expected and more modernized, though all of the buildings were the same height and shape. I noticed that there are no Boda Boda bicycles there BUT there were many women that ride bicycles (which is unusual to see in Mbale). As we drove north, the land got flatter and dryer. Mbale is much prettier, though I did enjoy seeing all the palm trees with big orange coconuts on them. Overall, I like Mbale better and am glad that I live here.

The other random story is that one morning Naster and I were sitting on the patio of the hotel and a boy came up and sat down at our table. A bit confused, I followed his greetings and then just looked at him, wondering what it was he was wanting. He told me he had a letter for me and then passed it across the table. It was saying that his sister was in the hospital and they hadn’t eaten in 2 days. I know this seems like a sad letter, but I often get approached with such stories so have to pray for the Lord’s discernment in what is true and where to help. So, I finished the letter and was very weary of what to do. In all honesty, my heart was closed and I just wanted him to go away and I didn’t want to buy him the posho and beans he was requesting. SO there was some awkward silence for a while until the Lord put in my head, “He is a human being, so treat him like one. You must LOVE.” So, I started asking questions about him and his family and the sick sister. Something got brought up and he mentioned that he had escaped from the Rebel army. This intrigued me so I asked more questions about that. In all honesty, his story seemed a bit flawed, like he was just playing me to get some food. But the Lord had convicted me to love so I did and when Glenn came down from his room we all went to the market together. I do think that he was making everything up, but that is not my concern. The Lord will deal with him on that and my call was to respond in love and respect him as a person.

The last night, when we were at dinner we found a crowd of people that were celebrating with one of the local political leaders. Having had a few too many drinks, they were loud and were dancing the local dances. One lady came to our table to greet us and then gave us a little dance showcase. It was amusing and Tr. Francis said it was Gulu’s way of saying goodbye and sending us off well.

So, we are back in Mbale and the rainy season has started. Thanks for your prayers.