Investing

What would you do if you were surrounded by street children begging you for money? They know you have money to give—you’re a Westerner. And to be honest, you do have more money than they do. What about when your neighbor asks for just $6.00 to get home to his village? And what would you do when someone begs you to give them a job or to help them start a business by fronting all the money they need to start said business? Do you give money to the crippled men sitting in doorways of slum shanties? Do you let go of the hand of a child who has slipped their fingers into yours, hoping to feel coins drop into their dirty palm? What would you do? What should you do?

I was faced with each of the above dilemmas last week, and I generally face the dilemma of money every day. What do I do? What should I do? What does it mean to “help” someone who is begging for money? Even if they’re hungry, should I perpetuate a system of begging? In speaking to friends I’ve learned that it is important to invest in people instead of simply giving people money. But what does that investment look like? And what do you do when time is limited—when people are starving?

It’s hard for me to know what to do about the constant begging. I’m not cold hearted, believe me. It brings tears to my eyes when I see a woman sitting against a pole outside the prominent expat shopping center, begging as she holds her newborn twins who are even lucky to be alive. But then again, are they lucky? What kind of life do they have ahead of them when their mother cannot feed herself? And is she lucky to have two more mouths to feed?

Last week, as I wandered downtown to go to a large clothing, food, and goods market called Oweno Market, my roommate, colleague and I stopped for a moment as Kristen (my roommate) made a quick 30-second phone call. In this short period the three of us were literally surrounded by 12-15 children pressing into us, holding up their hands, begging for money. When the call ended, we quickly moved down the street but not without the entourage of children following us. They finally fell back as we quickened our pace and made it clear we would not be giving out any change. But was that right? They have nothing, and we have so much. What should we have done? Either way—whether I give them money or not—I feel uneasy.

Investing in people—what does that look like? I still don’t have an answer to this, and may never. But it’s good to ponder. One way I have seen my roommate invest in the poor is by helping to manage a home for children here in Kampala. She’s been working with this home for more than 8 months now, and the 45 kids that live there just love her. The organization that sent Kristen here pays for the kids’ school fees, has provided them with a new home, and covers the cost of food and electricity, among other necessities. The home, Voice of Hope, is a place for needy kids to live and learn skills that will hopefully enable them become independent, responsible citizens someday. I hadn’t been to the home until last weekend when I spent the afternoon with her at the home. We were greeted by beautiful little children running up to the gate and throwing their arms around our waists. For over two more hours I watched some of the kids dance, sing, and perform acrobatic routines for us, while holding a little four-year-old boy named Vilanny on my lap. All the kids were so loving and sweet, and it was just fun to give them hugs and smiles. It was a really fun afternoon, and I look forward to many more visits with the kids. Who knows, maybe they’ll teach me the Luganda I’ve neglected to learn! The home is by no means perfect or a paradise, but it is a special place. I am thankful that this home exists, and that the kids have hope for a good future due to the investments made by Kristen and the home caretakers.

Kristen also works, along with some of the leaders of Voice of Hope, in a Kampala slum. On Wednesdays she helps facilitate arts and crafts projects or score a football (soccer) game. Their ministry in this slum is to street kids, a tougher bunch than those at the home. Kristen took me to the slum last week and it was definitely an eye-opening experience to walk through the reality of a street kid’s life: Sleeping on the dirt when it’s warm or sleeping in a large, metal cargo box when it rains. Walking around with nothing to do all day because they can’t afford school fees. Not going to school when they have the fees, preferring to get high from sniffing the paint-thinner-soaked-rags that they carry around everywhere. Begging for money or learning to steal it so as reduce their hunger pangs.

While these have been valuable, eye-opening trips into the “real” Kampala, what do I do with these experiences? How do I process them? For now I’m determined to keep asking questions of friends and colleagues, but am getting used to the fact that I may never have concrete answers.

I hope this has given you a sense of some of the things I have been experiencing and processing in the past couple of weeks. One of my greatest desires is to come in contact with reality while I’m here, so I hope I don’t shy away from future experiences such as these. Working in an office in the nicest neighborhood in Kampala can create a "bubble" effect, so I hope I can challenge myself to step outside of my comfort zone here.

Thanks for reading, and I love you all!

Meg

If you want to see photos of my time at the children’s home, go to the following website: http://picasaweb.google.com/megangarn/OhSoCute