As I’ve mentioned on many previous occasions, the roads here are terrible. Being in a 4x4 with a careful driver makes barely any difference – I was being tossed about like a rag doll despite wearing a seatbelt.
It was like going white water rafting where you’re bouncing all over the shop with no control over what your limbs do or where they go but I loved it! I was constantly chuckling away to myself in the back whilst the others thought I was mental. When I told them people at home pay a lot of money to go 4x4 driving like this, they thought we were all mental.
One of the organisations we visited was ARDI (African Rural Development Initiative) based in Manafwa. I’d been there a few weeks earlier when I was on my fact finding tour and got renamed Nasimiyu (see previous blog). The welcome I had there was wonderful. I was greeted with open arms, cwtches, kisses, never-ending handshakes, cheers, welcome back prayers, the whole shebang, like some sort of long lost daughter!
They were very impressed with the Lugisu I have learned since my last visit. I could say the equivalent of “Alright butt, what’s occurring?” to men, women, children and friends, ask them, “What’s the gossip” and say “See ya tomorrow” which I did by mistake. I was supposed to say “See ya soon”.
Dammit.
Going back there reminded me of something I’ve been meaning to mention. ARDI is one of the great Community Based Organisations here. It started in 1999 as a home for pregnant young girls (some as young as 12).
If a girl gets pregnant out of wedlock, regardless of any tragic circumstances surrounding her pregnancy, they are usually thrown out by their families so have nowhere to go and no income to live off.
As a result, many turn to all sorts to get money, including prostitution.
ARDI pretty much takes them in and looks after them and their babies whilst the young mothers learn a trade, such as tailoring, and continue with ‘life skills’ education.
But it’s not just a place for single young mothers now. It’s grown significantly and morphed into a much bigger operation with many programmes, one of which is a school. The school takes in children whose parents can’t afford to look after them or that, put frankly, are not wanted by their parents.
The first time I went to ARDI, I had a tour of the school and noticed that in every class, there was at least one albino child in each classroom, sometimes two and on one occasion three.
Some of these albino children have been abandoned by their parents because of the perceived social shame of having a ‘different’ child, whilst some are raised in dire poverty by single mothers because the father believed she had an affair with a white man.
With next to no understanding of genetic conditions and medical issues here, black albinos tend to be socially ostracised and discriminated against (some even believe it is a waste of money to send them to school as they are considered mentally ill or retarded) just because of a condition they happen to have been born with.
Seeing those beautiful little albino children running around laughing and smiling and happily waving at me because they’ve seen someone who has the same skin colour as them makes my heart bleed.
Life is tough enough here for people as it is. Because they are so young, they have no idea about the additional challenges they will face in their future.
It reminded me again of the ugly side of Africa that sits so uncomfortably next to its beauty and generosity.
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Photos:
1. Buying pineapples at a roadside shack. I got three for 75p!
2. TACC staff and driver 'in the field'
3. Me in front of a real life growing pineapple. Note pineapples don't grow on trees!
4. Caro (TACC admin officer), Rebecca (TACC Project Manager) and I during our spot check inspections.
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