Day #16

6-4-09

We are in Mbarara. It's beautiful like Mbale with the hills in the distance. Plus, we saw zebras and impalas (like gazelles). I didn't get a picture of them, but I figured I could get them from somebody on the team.
It's interesting, it seems wherever you go (at least wherever we've been), the little roadside markets all look the same. Even the buildings have similar advertisements and the products are essentially the same.
I kind of noticed this at the African Craft Village since each shop contained essentially the same items, it's just a matter of finding the best deals and knowing exactly what you want. It's so competitive, though. I wonder how some of them can make a living, especially since they probably have to buy all the items to begin with (starting off in debt), they have to rent their little shop, and they have to buy a permit in order to sell items.
I was really impressed with Pastor Enoch's ministries as he described them to us, today. It sounds as though they are really making a difference in the lives of the poor in their town. He described "absolute poverty" to us as those who do not receive the basic necessities in order to survive. In other words, they only have one meal a day, don't have clean drinking water, education, or health care. I don't know if he gave a stat on how many live in absolute poverty but it sounded as though there are quite a few. See, these are the people I long to help. I am afraid to give people too much beyond the necessities because I don't want them to think and act like Americans, but everybody deserves to have the necessities. I'm really curious to see his ministries in action and want to know if his programs truly are effective. If so, they should be duplicated throughout the country.
But before describing all the programs, he asked if anyone knew the definition of absolute poverty. I answered, "making less than a dollar a day." His next statement really shook me up as he stated, "You all read about poverty in books, but these people live in it." It's so true. Even being here in Uganda and observing the poverty is so different from living in it, day in and day out. I think this is why I want to live among the poor (if God so wills it), so I can understand their hardships personally and can actually suffer with them.