A visit to the Africa branch ④

"However Happy" Uganda

    For 23 days from 18th June to 11th July, we visited four African countries to monitor our projects. We visited Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Uganda, countries working on child welfare project and Kenya, performing community development.

Kim’s school,

Hope of happy Dingkidi village without electricity and water

    Leaving Golden berry school, we left to meet students of Kim’s school located in north Glu region of Uganda. The unpaved road appeared far from the Capital Kampala. The road circumstances were not good sank the middle of road. There was just one main road left to go to Glu region, so there were all kinds of vehicles such as heavy-duty trucks with containers and buses filled with people. Among them, I found a bus kept swinging as if it would fall down. Robert, our bus driver, said that the brake was broken, but they didn’t fix it, so they had lots of accidents from the poor conditions of cars and roads. Car accidents occurred constantly, and the bus accidents often appear on newspapers with a big heading every month. As we expected, there was a neglected upturned truck. However, the good news is that the roads had been recently repaired. We hope that this makes drivers in Uganda bit safer.

     Uganda is a historically tribe society. Even though it’s now divided administrative district, languages and cultures are different which tribe they involved. Uganda that we are going to visit today is taken by Acholi tribe in north Glu region in Uganda. Joseph Kony, who is a leader of infamous ‘Lord’s Resistance Army’, is produced by Acholi tribe. The Lord’s Resistance Army, which was based on north of Uganda, had committed crimes such as attacking civilian, raping girls, killing family to civilian for 20 years. After becoming known, an international society was tried to block rebels. Even though moves of rebels is now stopped, victims are still stained with blood and tears in Uganda. The ground around Kim’s school was a refugee town avoiding rebels only five years ago. Among students of Kim’s school, they saw their parents were killed by rebels. The painful past is still settled in this region. 

    Finally, arrived at Glu. However, we had to run 30 min along the main road and 10min more through unpaved road with grass thicket to go to Kim’s school. How long we ran! We could find Kim’s school with red roof in wild field.

     Kim’s school is located in Dingkidi village which is in the wild with no lights after sunset. Kim’s school started from the late minister Kim Jong sung. Minister Kim Jong sung, who visited Uganda in November 2005, was introduced Dingkidi village by U.N. At that time, Dingkidi village was the poorest region in Uganda. Rebel forces appeared a lot and the region was not safe. However, Minister Kim Jong sung decided to settle for residents of Dingkidi village after 5 month later. And He had started to build school and health center for refugees in wild plain. Minister Kim Jong sung dedicated his life for neighbors in need. Minister Kim Jong sung, who couldn’t care himself to care people in need, was bitten by poisonous insects and overworked every day. Unfortunately, he died in March 2009. Kim Eun Hye, who was a teacher and a daughter of Minister Kim Jong sung, acts as a project manager.

     Kim’s school is the only one school in Dingkidi village. Four to five houses are gathered in a huddle in Dingkidi village and small villages are scattered in forest. So it takes over an hour to go to school for some students. They passed trees, crossed over a brook, and passed thicket to go to school. Some students cannot go to school in rainy season when small stream overflows. I was so proud of the students who go to school even it’s far. 

   Our foundation has been joined hands with Kim’s school since July in 2013. The main difference is students after Miral joined Kim’s school. Most of villagers live with income under one dollar a day, so paying school expenses around 5,000 won per semester is too much for them. Kim’s school was hard to manage the school because of the financial condition in the meanwhile. Especially, it was difficult to hire teachers who were educated specially. However, the school can hire educated teachers and improves quality of classes after cooperating with our foundation.

     Project manager, Kim Eun Hye, recently gave a birth. She was asked by student when she came back to the school. The question was “where is your baby?” She thought that it was a short sentence, but students have improved their English abilities. Before giving a birth, students couldn’t speak a word, but now they memorize alphabets and show us improving English abilities.

   Florence, who is introduced in SBS hope TV, is going to Kim’s school.  Florence had sugary by sponsors in Korea after broadcasting. She recently had one more tumor ablation sugary in ophthalmology in Glu because tumor that was removed twice was recurred in left eye. Even though help of our foundation was not big, she could receive tumor ablation sugary between eyes and a nose.

     When our foundation visited, Florence was plan to leave the hospital. We went to the hospital to meet Florence. As soon as entering the hospital, Florence welcomed us with hug. Florence said ‘I want to go to school.’ when we checked sings of surgery. We felt a lump in our throat looking at Florence who bravely mentioned about school even though she must be tired with surgery. 

    After getting out of the hospital, we went to Florence’s house with spot employee. We visited her house after walking by school and raking tall grassland for a while. Florence lived with mom and brothers. Her house was also made of wall, which is mixture of cow dung and soil, with chaff like other houses. There were seven family in the small house. When we checked her house, there were pictures, which she received when she stayed in Korea, on a wall. So Florence remembers Korea after coming back to Uganda.

     Florence’s dream is to be a nurse. Florence, who had surgery twice in Korea, wants to be a nurse who cares sick children like her. We hope that Florence would make her dreams come true in good health.

    Dingkidi village which is located in north of Uganda. There are no electricity and water. However, there are students who bring up hope in there. Thanks to sponsors who give a hope that children have a dream of tomorrow.