Babies, and monkeys, and jackfruit, oh my!

Leah and I just returned from Kitooro Market, a huge bazaar with everything from fresh mangoes and jackfruit to spare car parts and heaps of silverfish.  It’s a hot Tuesday afternoon, and I my heart skipped a beat when I found a coke light at the market today—they’re hard to find here!

We spent all morning at Acacia Tree, leaving just after the babies went down for their nap. It’s rewarding to learn a little more about their personalities every day. I shouldn’t choose favorites, but baby Moses is mine. He’s been at AT for almost five months now, but because his mother can’t be found, isn’t yet eligible for adoption. If his mother isn’t found soon, AT will schedule a court hearing, and it will be decided there whether Moses can be adopted or possibly placed with family members. Uganda is a very Christian country, and the courts generally rule in favor of keeping babies (even if they are abandoned by their parents) in the country because the courts believe they already have a father—in Jesus. As a Christian, this has been difficult for me to understand—when a baby could be so loved and wanted elsewhere, why keep them in Uganda? It’s common for family members to take in nieces and nephews whose parents have died as well, but since the poverty level is so high, that also seems a poor option.

Learning the stories of the babies who have come to Acacia Tree has been humbling. Moses was found by a friend of Robin’s (director of AT) lying under a tree. At first, she thought he was a puppy, much less a tiny malnourished baby. When his mother was located at the time, it was discovered that she is severely mentally ill and often disappeared for long periods of time.  

Moses

One month old John Mark actually arrived on my first day at AT. Leah and I were having lunch there when a woman was found lying underneath a tree right outside the gate with an infant. Robin went out to see if the woman needed help, but she refused.  Blessed, one of the workers at AT, was able to persuade the woman to come inside.  The woman was only fifteen and was considering bringing the baby to Entebbe’s ‘baby dumping grounds’ since she couldn’t care for him. It was mere chance that she ended up right outside Acacia Tree.

A legal aid was called to receive a statement from the young woman and her signature signing the release of her son. The woman was sobbing during this process, and I felt guilty being in the same room. She had no privacy at all, which is very much the Ugandan way, I hear. Apparently, “everything is everybody’s business” here.

Almost one week later, John Mark, as Robin has named him, is doing remarkably well. He’ll soon be tested for HIV, but Robin believes he’ll be adopted in no time at all. Whenever I see him it’s hard not to think of his mom—he looks just like her.

Outside of the poverty levels here, Entebbe is beautiful. Since the airport is located here, there are several nice restaurants, and the beach at Lake Victoria is a dream. Leah and I explored Entebbe’s Botanical Gardens on Sunday. Uganda is home to cocoa trees, every kind of fruit tree you might imagine, and also produces spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. The Gardens were actually a real rainforest (it’s where the old Tarzan film was taped), and it was like nothing I’d ever seen before. When we finished our guided tour, we spread out a blanket and watched the monkeys playing in the trees. They were hardly afraid of us, coming only a few feet away.

The local and national Ugandan elections are this month, so candidate posters are plastered everywhere. Campaign trucks frequently drive around the streets and neighborhoods, blasting music and shouting at people to vote. The current president, Museveni, has been in power for twenty-five years and most Ugandans passionately want him out of office.

The United Nations has a strong presence here, and I learned, is currently in the process of moving all east African bases to Uganda, since it is one of the most stable countries in East Africa. I feel disillusioned by the UN after hearing that prostitution rates increase when they enter a city. Eh.

This is long enough!

Em