blessed to be a witness

leaving luwero felt a little like the let down at the end of summer camp. we had grown accustomed to our dirty feet, and had gotten used to the not always tiny friends that graced our presence ... lizards, weird bugs, and a little albino frog that would not leave our toilet. after exhausting him in our attempts to throw him out (and by 'our' i mean jason), we named him herbie hancock, and in the end, it was i that was sad to leave him. in very little time, our relationships with the staff had grown. their dreams were beginning to shape ours. we felt so humbled to be the recipients of their hospitality.

chad met maggie at a conference in seattle a few years ago. her personal story and the work she is now doing in africa inspired both of us, and we've stayed connected with the hope of visiting someday.

a little background on uganda:

- of the 30 least developed nations, 25 are in africa

- uganda's birthrate is the 2nd highest in the world

- 50% of the population is under the age of 15, with more than 2 million orphans

- the life expectancy is 42 years old

- 390,000 job seekers will fight for the 8,000 jobs available each year

with these statistics, it is easy to understand why it would be hard to dream. most children in this area have lost at least one of their parents. mothers try for multiple children, knowing that, if they're fortunate, only 50% will survive. hope tends to be near sighted, and promises have looming expiration dates. creativity and inspiration are boxed with the pressure of the realistic now. time is an uncommon luxury ... and no one believes that they will grow old.

maggie grew up as a slave in child pornography and prostitution. her parents were her captors. she knows what it is to be stripped of hope for anything different. she also knows what it is to defy the odds. confronting some of her greatest fears, and committed to finishing her own story with a beautiful ending, maggie founded AHI (african hospitality institute). AHI transforms the lives of at-risk youth through training them in hospitality. with the ever growing tourism industry in uganda, the demand for trustworthy and trained workers is growing, but these individuals are hard to find. until now.

we knew the staff at AHI was good. we felt continuously spoiled, but we wondered how much of our satisfaction came from the fact that we loved them as people. i.e., maybe it wasn't the fact that whatever i thought about was in my hand at the dinner table before i asked. maybe it was that it was delivered by sylvia and the radiantly sarcastic smile that said she could read my mind.

later, as we would travel around africa, we found ourselves commenting at nearly every restaurant or hotel, that every AHI staff member could not only excel in working in said organization, but running it.

we missed it. we missed them.

during the days, we played and fell in love with the little faces of the children in the villages surrounding AHI. even in our interactions with families who had very little, i was aware of the hope that permeated ... the light that shone. i ached when we left. not because i was abandoning them in their condition, but because i wanted more of what they had given me. just in witnessing ... i am ever blessed.