Email from Uganda Apr 12 04

April 12, 2004

Hello Everyone,

This will be our last letter to all of you from Uganda. We will be going home in a week and hopefully will talk to you from there.

We have had a wonderful time here in Uganda. Our work at Reach Out has been very rewarding and we think we have helped a few people live better lives. Our adventures on safari and little vacations has been great. Each trip was different and exciting. Uganda is a very exciting country but has many problems.

This past weekend we took our last mini vacation and headed east to the Mt. Elgon region of Uganda. It is beautiful country with many farms on hillsides and many coffee and banana fields. The mountain is not very high but very wide and is an inactive volcano. We even stayed at a rest camp called “Volcanos”. There is a beautiful waterfall called Sipi Falls which we could see from the rest camp and as it is the rainy season, each day the falls got a little more water in it. We took a hike in the forest and although it was not very far, the altitude was about 7000 ft. and because of the rain it was very slippery, it seemed like a long way. The scenery was really beautiful.

On the way home we stopped to visit with the Abayudaya, this is a group of about 650 Ugandan people who became Jews about 85 years ago and live a very poor but religious existence near the town of Mbale, not far from Mt. Elgon. We visited their school, which consists of several small buildings that are not well furnished and a small administrative office. They have 5 synagogues and we visited with the rabbi and his class of Talmudic students on Sunday morning. He was very enthusiastic about our visit and we sat in on part of his class.

We have learned many things while here in Uganda but most of all we have learned that we are very lucky to live in a country like America and to have the advantages people here cannot even imagine. We think of our grandchildren who will grow up wearing new clothes, new shoes and have every opportunity to pursue their dreams. Here, no one ever wears new clothes or shoes, everything is second hand. And talk about threadbare, clothing is worn until it falls off.

Women and children are certainly second class citizens and work extremely hard. Many people here think I look like I am in my 40’s. I thought, at first, that was a real compliment but now I realize that women age very quickly because they have such a hard life. They marry at a very young age and have one baby after another (birth control is not used very much) by the time they are 50 they look like 70 or 80 and many do not live past 50. The children, especially in rural areas also have a very hard life. They are expected to carry water starting when they are about 6 and certainly they are expected to help with all chores as soon as possible with the girls being expected to take care of younger siblings by the time they are 8 or 9. Many never go to school, even though school is free, they cannot afford the uniform or books needed.

As we told you in a previous email we bought soccer balls for two of the Reach Out patients. Two young boys, Ivan and Herbert, each around 12 years old. They have Aids and are now taking ARV’s to keep them alive. We also now are sponsoring them in school for a year (with the help of our family). They are so thankful that each week they now come for their doctor appointment and bring us little treats (crackers). It is wonderful to think that these kids who have nothing and are sick still have big enough hearts to think of us.

We will end now before we all start balling. Take care and we will see you and talk to you from home next week.

Love to all, Hinda and Peter