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| ©2008-2010 St. Nicholas Uganda Children's Fund |
Grace, of God
October 2009
"We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they
do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer."
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer
It is the nature of Americans to want to "fix" things, to
believe that there is no problem that cannot be readily
solved. But in Uganda, we are all too often confronted
with difficult situations that are not easily resolved, and
indeed are beyond our capacity to do more than offer
temporary relief.
Among the Baganda people, a child is sometimes given
what is called a "proverb name" in addition to their clan
name and Christian (or Muslim) name. A common
proverb name is Kisakye, which can be translated as
kindness, mercy, or grace. The proverb name Kisakye
may be given to a child whose birth is considered a
blessing, perhaps after a difficult pregnancy, or it may
be given to a child whose father is unknown so a clan
name cannot be properly bestowed.
This is the story of a woman called Kisakye, or Grace.
She was a cleaning lady at the local mission hospital
when Sharon was also working there. The hospital
cleaners toiled six days a week for about $30/month,
scrubbing floors, beds, and toilets, and generally doing
the unpleasant tasks that no one else wanted to do.
Grace appeared to be sullen and uncommunicative, but
this was a mask she wore to disguise her village
background and lack of education. Now a woman of
undetermined middle age, she had had two
ill-considered relationships with men, each one leaving
her with two boys and then moving on to greener
pastures. Sharon tried to help by sponsoring one child
in school for each of the cleaning ladies. For Grace,
this was her first-born, Christopher. He has now been
in our program for five years.
Christopher
October 2009
"We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they
do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer."
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer
It is the nature of Americans to want to "fix" things, to
believe that there is no problem that cannot be readily
solved. But in Uganda, we are all too often confronted
with difficult situations that are not easily resolved, and
indeed are beyond our capacity to do more than offer
temporary relief.
Among the Baganda people, a child is sometimes given
what is called a "proverb name" in addition to their clan
name and Christian (or Muslim) name. A common
proverb name is Kisakye, which can be translated as
kindness, mercy, or grace. The proverb name Kisakye
may be given to a child whose birth is considered a
blessing, perhaps after a difficult pregnancy, or it may
be given to a child whose father is unknown so a clan
name cannot be properly bestowed.
This is the story of a woman called Kisakye, or Grace.
She was a cleaning lady at the local mission hospital
when Sharon was also working there. The hospital
cleaners toiled six days a week for about $30/month,
scrubbing floors, beds, and toilets, and generally doing
the unpleasant tasks that no one else wanted to do.
Grace appeared to be sullen and uncommunicative, but
this was a mask she wore to disguise her village
background and lack of education. Now a woman of
undetermined middle age, she had had two
ill-considered relationships with men, each one leaving
her with two boys and then moving on to greener
pastures. Sharon tried to help by sponsoring one child
in school for each of the cleaning ladies. For Grace,
this was her first-born, Christopher. He has now been
in our program for five years.
Christopher
Upon our return to Uganda in September, we heard that
three of the hospital cleaners had been fired five
months earlier, Grace among them, because they were
deemed "too old to do the work." There was no
severance pay, no retirement package, no "401k," no
safety net. The women were paid for the current month
and that was it. Our local staff learned through
Christopher that since then, his mother had been
unable to find steady work, that the family had been
kicked out of their flat, and getting food was a problem.
They advised Christopher that his mother should come
in and talk to Sharon.
Grace didn't want to beg, but desperation overcame her
reluctance. She came, and at Sharon's prompting told
her sad tale. We learned that a friend had given the
family a place to stay rent-free for two months, the
"grace period" expiring in mid-November. No school
fees had been paid this term for Christopher's younger
brother Jonah in Senior 3. Her search for a job was so
far unsuccessful. Returning with her children to their
village was not an option. Grace's mother was dead,
and relatives had brought her father to the city because
he was too sick to support himself. There was not even
a small hut remaining to provide shelter.
What hope for employment is there for an uneducated
woman with no marketable skills? What is the long-term
solution for a family with nowhere to go and no relatives
to turn to? Rather than leave her with empty words of
sympathy, we decided to provide some immediate help.
We agreed to pay Jonah's school fees for the current
term, and gave her money for an additional month's
rent and some food. We pray that Grace will eventually
find some regular work that will at least provide a means
of survival. Time will tell if our temporary assistance
leads to a more stable situation, or if she'll be back in
two months with no good news.
We wish that all of our stories were about needy children
rescued from places of sorrow and given a better
tomorrow. Right now, Grace's story does not have a
happy ending; in fact, it has no ending at all. It's just
one of many tragic accounts that take place throughout
today's Africa.
Grace
three of the hospital cleaners had been fired five
months earlier, Grace among them, because they were
deemed "too old to do the work." There was no
severance pay, no retirement package, no "401k," no
safety net. The women were paid for the current month
and that was it. Our local staff learned through
Christopher that since then, his mother had been
unable to find steady work, that the family had been
kicked out of their flat, and getting food was a problem.
They advised Christopher that his mother should come
in and talk to Sharon.
Grace didn't want to beg, but desperation overcame her
reluctance. She came, and at Sharon's prompting told
her sad tale. We learned that a friend had given the
family a place to stay rent-free for two months, the
"grace period" expiring in mid-November. No school
fees had been paid this term for Christopher's younger
brother Jonah in Senior 3. Her search for a job was so
far unsuccessful. Returning with her children to their
village was not an option. Grace's mother was dead,
and relatives had brought her father to the city because
he was too sick to support himself. There was not even
a small hut remaining to provide shelter.
What hope for employment is there for an uneducated
woman with no marketable skills? What is the long-term
solution for a family with nowhere to go and no relatives
to turn to? Rather than leave her with empty words of
sympathy, we decided to provide some immediate help.
We agreed to pay Jonah's school fees for the current
term, and gave her money for an additional month's
rent and some food. We pray that Grace will eventually
find some regular work that will at least provide a means
of survival. Time will tell if our temporary assistance
leads to a more stable situation, or if she'll be back in
two months with no good news.
We wish that all of our stories were about needy children
rescued from places of sorrow and given a better
tomorrow. Right now, Grace's story does not have a
happy ending; in fact, it has no ending at all. It's just
one of many tragic accounts that take place throughout
today's Africa.
Grace
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