Waiting for the Rain

(This was written July 16, 2009 – We apologize for the delay in sending)

Children helping with Aggregate Collection

When will the rain come to the Teso region (in Eastern Uganda)? This is the question on the minds of the Ateso people, and lately some others too… Recently the circumstances have become so dire, that even Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has visited an area just 4 miles from Koreng to assess the looming famine and to pledge government support for the region. The rains have not come at a time when they have been long overdue. Many of the crops typically grown in this area, like maize, sorghum, millet, and cassava (AKA: yucca root), have stopped growing or have burned from the intense sun and the lack of water. In an area where education is lacking (due to few schools and past instability in the region), and where there are so few jobs, people rely primarily on the food that they grow to live.

The Ugandan media has been covering the current crisis in the Teso region for the past few weeks as the situation has worsened. We had heard stories about people being so desperate that they would have to eat dried mango tree leaves. We happen to be in Koreng this week trying to finish the interior of a church building that we hope will serve as a center for vocational training, and a hall for community development seminars, in addition to its function as a church. We are spending our nights in the town of Bukedea (a 35 minute drive, 10 mile distance from Koreng), and as we drive to and from Koreng, the food crisis is evident in the dying crops and barren fields. It is during the months of July and August that the rains would typically come and people would begin to reap their harvests. This is usually not the time for drought or famine.

Collecting the Aggregate - One Rock at a Time

Some organizations, and even the central government, are pledging to send aid to the Ateso people. They talk about sending food and increasing irrigation in the region. And so it is that the local government distributed food in Koreng this week. Households that included elderly people received 1 Kilo of beans, and 2 Kilos of Posho
(corn-based) flour. This amount of food would probably feed one meal to a family of eight (a very typical family size around here).

This is probably all the aid that the people will receive from their government. An 8-year-old boy brought the Kilo of beans and the 2 Kilos of flour to his grandmother, and noticing the meager quantity, he told the old lady that perhaps they could plant the poor-quality beans so that they could then have more to eat. The grandmother laughed as she asked the boy: “And where will the rain come from?”
The boy did not understand that this little amount of food was the only answer to their food shortage. We witnessed this exchange between grandmother and grandson at Michael Okwakol’s grandfather’s house in Koreng. The following day, a woman approached us at the church and
said: “The hunger is too much. There is no food. Not even the cassava is growing. We have no money to even buy bread…”

Cossy Serving Posho & Beans

The worst of this crisis may not even be here now. The true dry season usually comes in December and January. The harvest from July and August is supposed to help during the dry season.

But here we are, during these bad times, working side by side with community members trying to finish a church building that we hope will soon be used as place where people may be empowered. Members of the Koreng community had pledged to contribute the labor if Embrace Uganda would contribute the materials necessary to complete the building. All the money necessary to complete the work is not here yet, but we decided to catch the enthusiasm and momentum of the community and begin with the available resources. We came to Koreng to find several men and women willing and ready to volunteer their time and effort toward this project; even in the midst of very hard times. The children have even showed up at the work site to help after their school day is over. Thankfully, the budget has allowed for the workers and volunteers to receive a meal during every work day. The food is very welcomed and appreciated. Of course, cooking in rural Uganda is the work of women, and we have had a few hardworking ladies cooking simple, but great meals to feed approximately 20 adults and 15 children each day. We thank God for this treasured blessing.

Shoveling Sand Outside Church

We do not yet know when the resources will come for the final completion of this building or when a center for community development and vocational training will open in Koreng, but we hope it happens sometime early next year. For now, the funds that we have will begin the process of finishing a place where the community will find hope in the prospect that their children will learn skills necessary to support themselves and contribute to their community. The money to start this venture is gradually trickling in, and we pray that God will continue to bless the efforts of the community, and that He will provide the resources for Embrace Uganda to assist wherever possible.
Perhaps the training on these church grounds will someday allow people to start businesses and/or acquire jobs. Perhaps people wouldn’t have to face starvation when the rains did not come. If only they had a little bit of money to buy bread.

We know that Koreng has been dry in so many ways (lacking water, food, aid, access to education, etc.), and for such a long time… For now we will work on finishing this building. We trust, hope, and pray that the rain will come to Koreng soon. Please pray with us too.

Until next time . . . much love . . . AJ & Ana

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