Meeting our sponsored child Sylvia in rural Uganda

We hope you enjoyed reading Chris and Jon's stories from last week about health care and primary schools in Uganda. Here is another lovely piece from the couple on when they met their sponsored child, Sylvia:



In 2009, we were invited to attend a presentation on World Vision’s work in Uganda. We were keen to attend as Chris was due to visit Uganda to work as a volunteer nurse in a child crisis centre a few months later, and the upshot was that we started sponsoring a little girl, Sylvia.

We always had it in mind that we might be able to visit her at some time, and this year that opportunity arose when we visited Kampala, the capital of Uganda, for a wedding.

Near the end of a packed day visiting World Vision projects we found ourselves with Elijah, our guide from the World Vision Uganda sponsorship team, and Ronald, the Project manager, being driven down a narrow dirt track, with thick vegetation and large banana plants overhanging and cows and chickens launching themselves unpredictably across the road, testing our driver William’s concentration.

We were heading for Sylvia’s village, some 120 km north of Kampala, and it seemed an understatement to describe it as off the beaten track. It was the day before Sylvia’s 8th birthday, and we were told that she and the whole village were very excited by our visit.

Arriving in the village

Eventually the road widened as we reached a long row of dwellings, and we pulled up in the dust outside the nearest house, where a crowd of children were waiting. 

“That’s Sylvia’s home,” said Elijah. 

I felt a lump in my throat as I stared at the modest little brick hut and it really came home to me how her life lacked so many of the amenities and advantages that we take for granted as necessities. Yet Sylvia’s family at least own their home, and as we were to discover later the plot of land at the back yields abundant and varied produce.

We had been delayed in our journey, and Sylvia had gone off to play. So we sat down on benches in the square outside her house while she was found.

The children stood round and silently stared at us. On our travels through Uganda we were used to children cheerily crying out “Mzungu (white person), how are you?” to us, and I commented to Ronald that the children in this village presumably weren’t used to seeing mzungus. It turns out they didn’t even know the word, as they had never seen a white person before.

Suddenly the city bustle of Kampala seemed a long way away. But then I chatted with Emmy (Emmanuel), one of Sylvia’s school teachers, and with his permission I took his picture. This seemed to break the ice, and the children crowded round to see the photo and have their own pictures taken.

Then the word came that Sylvia was home, and there she was, instantly recognisable from the photos we had seen and wearing the same orange dress.

Welling up

Chris and I have sponsored a number of children over many years, and I have always tried not to sentimentalise them; so I felt unprepared for the wave of emotion that I experienced on actually seeing Sylvia for the first time.

Composing myself, I shook hands with her as she solemnly welcomed me to her home, and we all went inside with Sylvia’s mother and a few of her neighbours. It was dark inside but pleasantly cool, and we sat on benches on the mud floor.

Sylvia was shy and appeared rather overwhelmed – not surprising, as I imagine she had never before been the centre of so much attention - but she started to relax as we exchanged presents.

We had bought a wash bag with toiletries for Sylvia’s mother, and then gave gifts to Sylvia, starting with a pencil case with pencils, crayons and sweets inside. Then we gave her a dress and skirt, for which we had closely studied recent World Vision photos of children in the community to ensure that we bought clothes of the appropriate length. Sylvia’s eyes widened as she saw the clothes and held them against her.

Small gifts, big smiles

Sylvia’s latest annual report had said that her favourite past-time was ball games, and so we had bought her two brightly coloured rubber balls. I did fear that it might appear condescending to give such small gifts, but her face lit up with excitement as she eagerly reached out to take the balls. I realised then that her experience of ball games was probably limited to school, and that she may well never have possessed a ball of her own before.

After a final present of a small soft toy, Sylvia went into the back room, returning struggling with a large bunch of bananas. Further trips produced a bag each of beans, potatoes and avocadoes, while her mother brought out a long sugar cane which dominated the small room.

It was humbling to see how much Sylvia’s mother was giving us, and I whispered to Ronald that we couldn’t take all this. He replied that we must take it, and that she wanted to show her thanks for coming to see them and for our support – and of course it would have been insulting to refuse her gifts.

Just as I was wondering how our driver would fit the cane into the car, a neighbour got a machete and swiftly cut it into manageable lengths.

Then it was outside again, with us and all the villagers sitting on benches in the square while the children performed songs and dances of welcome and thanks for the work World Vision had done in their community.

The smaller children provided a chorus while the older girls led with solos, demonstrating tremendous self-confidence.  Sylvia sat between Chris and me, singing along and giggling as the children danced increasingly close to her. It was a very happy time, and again I felt humbled at the thought of all the work that had gone into this performance for our benefit.

Reflections

Sylvia was now very comfortable with Chris, peering inquisitively at the photos she had taken, but all too soon it was time for us to leave. We said goodbye to Sylvia, promising to write and send photos, and saying that we hoped we would see her again one day. Then I headed for the car as I felt myself welling up.

It was so special to us to meet Sylvia, and was certainly more emotional than I had expected. Actually meeting my sponsored child, seeing her village and where she lived brought home the reality of everything I had heard about the lack of amenities, but also revealed other aspects such as the strong sense of community and the fertility of the land.

All the significant improvements made by World Vision – the borehole to provide fresh water and the construction of a primary school – come to life when you actually see the context. Although there is so much still to do, what has already been achieved is notable. And I know that in future when we write to Sylvia, we’ll be able to do so with an enhanced understanding of her life and home.

Thanks to Chris and Jon for the heart-warming account of their sponsor visit. The two of them are full of experiences they would love to share with you. Do you have any questions for them? Head over to our Facebook page where they would be more than happy to answer questions about their memorable day with World Vision.