I gon'da Uganda: The Journey of a Few Bundles of String…

Yesterday at my practicum site while I sat braiding bracelets with children I had fun thinking about the journey that the string we were using had been on. I'm not sure where the string began, but I'm guessing somewhere in a factory. A few days before Christmas it journeyed from my sister's hands into my Christmas stocking. On January 5th the string found its way into my suitcase and since then has traveled to Washington DC, the Netherlands, Entebbe, Jinja, Soroti, Kampala and Mukono. Yesterday it found its way into the hands of a group of children who are recovering from or continually under-going various health issues/surgeries. I would like to introduce them to you...

This is Procey sporting the necklace that she made. When Procey came to Acheru (Afaayo Children's Health Education and Rehabilitation Unit) she was paralyzed from the waist down. Her condition is not permanent because of a spinal cord injury or something like that but is more of (from what I can understand) an issue with her muscles that, if taken care of properly, has the possibility to be reversed or at least improved. She spends her days in a wheel chair and every few weeks has her legs re-casted. She can now sense when she needs to go to the restroom so progress is being made! Praise the Lord.

This is Damoli sporting the necklace that she made with the string. This picture does not even come close to capturing the bubbly joy of this little girl. She often has a huge smile on her face, is spunky and even a little ornery. Damoli got an infection and developed ulcers on her arm. She was neglected by her family and the doctors say that when she arrived at Acheru her arm looked like a piece of raw meat. She has since had surgery to move skin from her thigh onto her arm. She needs to have the arm dressed daily, but is recovering and will later undergo another surgery to straighten her arm.

Braiding her bracelet on the left is Rebecca. Rebecca got in an accident and lost a large section of bone on her right leg. She has since gone reconstructive surgery and the doctors hope that because she is still young her bones will grow together and heal properly. In the mean time she walks with crutches and is supported by the contraption pictured below. Rebecca is currently in P3 (equivalent to 2^nd grade) due to her various surgeries and working to catch up in her schooling.