Leaving Uganda but Uganda won't leave me

Tomorrow I leave Uganda for Ireland. It’s been a busy few days and I’m reminding of something that Jake at Nuru told me:

“These folks are way stronger than me. The things they’ve been through and overcome, I don’t think I could do it.”

I don’t know how they do it.

Meet Susan:
She is a single mother of 6 and is HIV+. She  received food from the clinic, but not since the financial crisis.Now her children eat one meal a day.

Meet Jacob:
Jacob was my main man in Uganda. He’s a college-grad who had a good job with an NGO supported by USAID. The contract was supposed to last for five years. Jacob got married and soon his wife Sarah was pregnant. Shortly thereafter it was announced that USAID was pulling the funding as a result of the global financial crisis. Jacob has been without work for 8 months. His daughter Nawira is now 2 weeks old.

Meet Cornelius :
Cornelius used to own several small businesses partly supported by his brother’s remittances from the US.  Cornelius doesn’t hear from his brother anymore. Many of the businesses have been “crushed” by the crisis.

Meet Gerald:
Gerald lost his father to AIDS when the ARV meds were no longer free at the clinic. Gerald had to drop out of school to help support his family. He now lives and works at a small dry cleaners.