Lessons on Love and Life

by Joshua Poyser (United Kingdom (Great Britain))

Making a local connection Uganda

Heartbroken, lost and depressed. What do I do now? Like many people who want to escape and heal their souls, I head to Africa, the pearl of Africa - Uganda. I needed to find a reason to live. I found it in Eastern Uganda through a charity called The Real Uganda ran by a Canadian lady Leslie Weighill (who has been in Uganda for over ten years now and has a Ugandan passport). I stayed with a family, Judith, Robert and their three boys and a little girl in a small village just 30 miles west of Jinja; where you can find the source of the Nile River. As the plane made its descent into Entebbe Airport (famous for the hostage-rescue event in 1976) there’s a feeling of hope. Out of the window I can see Lake Victoria, the lush green flora and the piercing yellow sun; represented by the yellow horizontal stripes on Uganda’s flag. You can feel the equatorial heat as soon as you step out of the plane. In the village where I volunteered, the couple ran the local school, the local church and pretty much looked after the whole village. The black stripes on the national flag represent the colour of skin that all African’s share, but they welcome me, a muzungu (foreigner) in as if I was part of their community. Judith and Robert worked none stop, going to bed after midnight and getting up before the roosters (who would wander around the village — bringing a whole new meaning to free range!) had even started to crow. Judith and Robert believed strongly in education and in their faith. Uganda is a religiously diverse nation, Muslims live happily along side Christians, they don’t mind what you believe as long as you believe in something. The village welcomed me in as family, I was uncle Josh. I took part in children’s lessons, played volleyball with the teachers, tried to learn the regional language, Luganda, and helped the school cook (or matron as they called her) prepare posho and beans for 150 school children. The infectious laughter, hard work, and welcoming nature of the village started to bring me back to life. Instead of being a prisoner in my own mind and getting lost in my dark thoughts I saw a light. I was thinking about others rather than myself. The red stripes on Uganda’s flag represent the blood we all share. Living in this community I see how we are all connected in a way I don’t experience living in the UK. Judith said: “Volunteers bring their life experience and stories with them, they bring something to the community, something a lot of these children will never get to experience otherwise.” When I was back England and starting to find my way again I received some devastating news. Judith had died suddenly. It was suspected to be untreated high blood pressure. I had only recently experienced losing someone close to me when my Grandad died. It was extremely sad and I cried, but there was a certain acceptance to losing someone as part of the natural cycle of life. With Judith it seemed unfair. Why does somebody this young, this hard-working, who had done so much for so many other people die? It seemed to go against the laws of the universe. I find some comfort in dealing with this tragedy how my family in the village must be, with religion. Believing there is something else other than this life. Judith was an amazing person. She was smart, hard-working and had the biggest heart. She taught me great values and how to live a good life. I will always remember her by trying to live by the example she set. I will carry part of her with me, wherever I go. Judith will inspire me to keep travelling, to meet amazing people like her and tell their extraordinary stories and the things they do all around the world. In the end this story is not about my broken heart. It is about the size of Judith’s heart, of your heart and what you can do with it.