Walter and Myself – my sponsor child. |
Monique being checked for Malaria by her adopted step-mother. Her birth mother is trying to run a business in Lira, so Monique is cared for by her new family |
Julius’ father Charles, the head of our family, with his Grand-daughter Grace |
Eloise and Myself, With Grace – the wife of Julius and their son Jayden, and Florence, the wife of Jimmy and their daughter Grace. |
Development can be a scary word – I remember learning at university that if you do it wrong, you ruin peoples lives. The newest buzzword in the development scene is “participation.” Every project needs to be design and run with the participation of its stakeholders. Of course I agree with this, but it is easier said than done. From a professional perspective, our first meeting with the women in Barr village was so fruitful. We watched as they came up with brilliant ideas that we would never have thought of on our own. They really are an incredible group of women and I am so excited to be working in a place where authentic, organic, grassroots development is happening.
The ladies from Barr welcoming us |
Speaking at Barr village |
I saw so much more, understood so much more, and felt so much more connected to the people on foot than I would have from a car. With that said, whilst I love the connection I felt with the place on foot, I also loved the separation that being in the car offered, where I could be a spectator on the lives of the people we passed. I love observing daily life from this perspective; the people walking along the road, the little kids on bikes that were way too big for them, mums carrying babies, kids carrying siblings, people carrying heavy loads in interesting ways, the way life works when no one is watching.
3. What would you change?