Written by Sage Sebastian 16 from Billings, Montana.
Uganda is a country where little simple things bring very much joy and true joy. We say joy is difficult to come by, but I think it is only because we make it. Where we live in the United States, there are some people who are grateful for many things however, there are many who aren’t .
In Uganda we went to a village of over 600 people who because of AIDSpirit, were able to fix their well. A couple of years ago people went to this village and the kids were throwing up and had sickle cell. Many people looked distraught and sick. A year later after the well had been restored, they looked healthy and joyful. This is all due to water. Many of us, me included, take water for granted. I know that many times a day I drink out of my water bottle and get water from the water fountains and I don’t even think about it. In Uganda, this was so appreciated.
To repair this well it was $2500 and it helped over 600 people live longer lives and were much happier. And although that is money, it is not a lot to save that many people and make a difference in their lives.
Also, at this village, there was a boy who had a broken arm. They asked my dad to check him out, and his arm was broken. However, he was still playing with the other kids and not complaining and smiling. If this happened to any of us in US we would be in so much pain and go to the doctor immediately. This seven year boy had had this fracture for a while. There were also two or three children with cerebral palsy who had grown out of their wheelchairs and their mothers or grandmothers would carry them around. Many of them were getting too big for this. This was very sad. We purchased a wheelchair for one, but not all.
I was walking around with 2 to 3 children at all times. Only two of them had shoes and two of them had shirts. They held onto my hand for as long as they could, and their parents never came to me at all. This may be because the life expectancy in Uganda is only 45 years old and I only saw two people who looked older than that. These people work all day every day. They were amazing.
When we arrived they danced and drummed for us because of having clean water. This changed their lives and it was a simple act that if more of us did we would change the world one well, one village, one town, one district and one kingdom at a time. Because all of us deserve a chance. We can change the world, just a little.