It’s hard to put into words just what this trip meant to me.
It came at a time in my life where I didn’t really feel motivated by my then current circumstances, I was anxious about what the future held for me.
I had a better idea of what to expect than most upon working at Love Mercy for the past 9 (ish) months as an intern. Even still, I wasn’t ready for the impact it would have on my heart. Working with Love Mercy, I’ve come to really respect and admire the work that’s being doing on the ground more than I had prior to joining the team. Seeing the behind the scenes work I thought I couldn’t love the organisation anymore than I already did.
And then we visited our first village, Barr village, and I realised I hadn’t come close.
The women greeted us with singing and dancing, each one of them so excited to see us, to say thankyou and to give us each a hug. Their generosity, kindness and sense of hope is something I’ll never forget. We listened to their testimonies as they discussed how Cents for Seeds had restored their sense of worth and how it enabled them to go on to save to send their children to school and pay medical bills etc.
It’s amazing how with each village we went to, I felt more and more at home in Uganda. The women in the communities have an incredible ability to make you feel as if you’re just at your regular family get together, catching up with cousins and chatting away. I didn’t know them and I didn’t speak their language but by the end of the trip they felt like family.
Actually being able to go and meet the women in the program and to meet their children. Being able to hear their stories face to face, to see the REAL change that is being implemented in their communities and to see with my own eyes how it’s changing their lives… It’s hard to express what that changed in me.
They have hope for their futures and for that of their children, they are being lifted out of the horrible circumstances they were put into by war and poverty.
You don’t really understand just how vital the work Love Mercy is doing on the ground for communities in Northern Uganda is until you hear their experience in the program as well as what their lives looked like prior.
Quite simply, the Uganda 2018 trip relit the fire in my heart to do my part to change the world.
– Caitlin Crowther.
Caitlin attended the November Trip in 2018. She had the unique experience of interning for Love Mercy for the 9 months before traveling to Uganda. She saw the photos of women, men, children and community’s that were on the receiving end of supporters of Love Mercy. She learnt names, and heard stories from our staff, building a connection to people she had never met in a land she had never been. Now, Caitlin has met some of the people she saw photos of. She has heard their stories. She has been face to face with people who have endured hardship for most of their life.
She has returned excited, ready to continue the impact.
