Sweet Baby Loving ...

Sweet baby loving ...

On our last official day in Uganda, we spent our time at Sangaalo Babies ... loving on precious children whose circumstances have brought them to this loving home.

Sangaalo Babies - Home to 37 littles

The founder / operator / mama / wonder woman Damalie is truly a gift from above, with a genuine heart and passion for loving and caring for babies in need. 

Damalie, along with 2 - 3 other staff and often times her eldest daughter's tend to the needs / cares / well being of some 37 babies, all under the age of 4 ... I'm amazed and in awe of her deep desire and calling to love the loveless and her dedication through many trials to love and care for them so well.

Not to mention that the little babies are bathed 3 times a day - between feedings / changing / naps / this is a full time job x 37! Disposable diapers are not the norm in the 3rd world, so this also includes laundering a lot of clothes, blankets, sheets and cloth diapers!

My team fell right into place, loving and playing and caring for these babies and giving the Sangaalo "Aunties" a small break - Actually they went on to do laundry and cook and clean...who am I kidding, African woman are some of the hardest working people I've ever seen or known.

Per usual, I jumped  right in and met a little sleepy buddy lying on the floor and instantly fell in love - We'll call him "Baby K" and I am so grateful to have loved on him through cuddles and care for even this little while. He was a little angel, sleepy yet strong and is making great strides from his earliest days in this world where against all odds, he's overcome. We literally snuggled on this porch (in the shade & away from the downpours that came) for hours, while he napped, woke & played, ate his porridge and napped some more : )

Love at first sight... held this sweet baby ALL day

Sweet Damalie - Founder/Mama/Auntie/Visionary/Warrior of Sangaalo Babies 

*Disclaimer* As previously posted on Instagram, I was suffering some intense sunburn 3 days after the fact... Me+Equator+Doxycycline = Roasted

Love love love baby "K"

Linda and sweet baby Kate

Porch lovin' - with Heather, Allison & Linda

Curious little dude

So many beautiful babies to love & cuddle!

After our day at Sangaalo, we journied outside of the village with Damalie to see the land / farm / new home to these sweet babies, hopefully in the near future. The current location is rented, and having a permanent place that is wholly theirs will make a huge impact and allow more resources and growth! The house is almost ready for move-in, they only lack installing a fence / enclosure to keep the kids secure and contained.
Our trek made for quite the adventure as the rains came down and more mud ensued, also causing our van to get stuck in the African mud. Our drivers and several men in the village came out and helped push us out of the muck after slipping and sliding our way towards the main road.

Muddy terrain for this boy ... Village life

Thank you for following me along this journey.

I am grateful for this time in Uganda, for the beautiful people that I've come to know throughout this trip on my team and in each community we spent time with along the way.

I know my heart is meant to love others and I'm blessed to tell my small part of a much greater story.

xo,

Mandy

Malaria Bites in Wasiki village

We spent the day outside of Jinja, in rural Wasiki village with Healing Faith ministries and the McMorris family of 7.
Healing Faith is a malaria prevention and Christian outreach that establishes relationships within villages and communities in need.
The morning started out with downpours, so our journey into and out of the village was eventful and muddy, as cars could not make the drive in the wet, African mud. We headed out on foot, walking/wading a mile or more into the village, where the clouds parted and dozens of barefoot kids came out and escorted us "mzungus" along the path to an open field.
We gathered with 100 or so village kids, teens and a few adults and had a time of singing songs, playing silly games and then Emily, from our team presented a short bible story and skit for the kids
Afterwards, the McMorris' who are currently leading Healing Faith set-up Malaria testing for all, along with providing de-worming medicine for the kids as well. While testing was under-way, (3 malaria cases confirmed on the spot & medicine dispensed!) a few of us gathered with the mob of kids and attempted a craft of making paper bracelets and handing out stickers. Chaos ensued as most of these children could not speak nor understand English, along with their great desire to have whatever we were giving out. The culture, especially for those in rural villages does not understand that everyone will be included and that there will be enough for all, which makes for an intense setting when trying to conduct an activity where anything is given away. A few of the girls, including myself also set up an area of painting finger nails for any of the children interested and again, chaos was the result at first as everyone wanted to participate! Luckily with the help of our team's friend Issac who spent most of the trip with us in Kampala and Jinja, he was able to direct and translate and lines were formed and everyone was able to get a turn!

We spent the greater part of the day within this village, loving on and ministering to these people - I was able to spend time with a young new mom, loving on and cuddling her 3 week old baby girl!, making friends with Gloria, a precious little girl who was recently treated at the SoleHope Outreach house, donning her new "pillow case" dress and spending time walking with Violet, a young girl who lived in the village with her dad and siblings, and dreamed of visiting America some day.

Along the way, we met a young boy named Musisi (5 or 6 years old) outside of his home whom the McMorris family knew and had treated before for malaria. His little feet were severely swollen & infected and he was unable to walk. My team includes an EMT & pharmacist who also assessed his condition, and all agreed he needed medical attention as soon as possible for fear of losing toes or possibly a foot ... Since Musisi could not walk, sweet Maddie from my team and one of my roomies carried him on her hip all day long, loving on him and ensuring he was able to participate and also carried him out of the village through the mud. The McMorris' were committed to take Musisi to a doctor and later home for further evaluation. The following day at their "house church" Katie Davis (author of Kisses from Katie, mother of 13 girls, founder of Amazima) learned of his situation and enlisted her nurse to assess his condition as well. By the end of the day, Musisi was moved to Katie's house to stay in her "boys quarters" where she later brought his mother & baby sibling from the village, to stay as well while he was treated and healed. Needless to say, the purpose of our time in this community was much bigger than we could see, and thankfully this sweet boy is being cared for by so many and is healing!

Minor downside to this day in the village was the intense, African sun! After spending many hours outside, with little to no shade, most of my team along with my own delicate self suffered some fairly intense sunburn ... SPF and all, this white girl on the equator with her malaria prevention antibiotic is sporting quite the blistered burn many days later ;/

        Homes along the Village pathway 

Walking the walk 

Life in the village

Life in the village

                 Mama and babies

Gathered together

Sweet new baby girl being held by Shakira

Nail painting with Linda... #treasuresinheaven

Elder grandmothers in the village

Babies caring for babies...

Escorts out of the village

Muddy aftermath

xo,
Mandy

Sole Hope

We spent the day today with Sole Hope at their outreach house and clinic. I have been looking forward to serving with this organization since I started this mission trip journey, as I've followed their work for the past year or more. I highly encourage you to look into their mission and see the amazing, heart wrenching work they are doing in these Ugandan communities, treating, cleaning, healing little feet from Jigger infestation and providing shoes. Upon preparing for the trip, I was able to coordinate a Sole Hope shoe cutting party at Alternative, where we collected denim pants & plastic bottles to make over 70 pairs of shoe "uppers". I was able to hand carry 50 sets with me, (flash back to the weight limit and baggage overage!) and give them to the founder Dru, alongside one of the shoemakers who will sew the denim pieces together and attach the rubber sole, made out of tires and US Naval hovercraft bottoms ( amazing repurposing all around!)

I underestimated the intensity that would come with volunteering at their clinic / outreach and can honestly say it was the grace of God that carried me through the physical pain I witnessed and the emotional pain I experienced. As the clinic was set up on the grounds of the SH Outreach house/compound where they house the children (and some adults) with some of the most severe Jigger cases. They receive treatment, clothing (precious "pillow case" dresses for the girls), food, shelter and education on prevention and future treatment throughout a 2 week stay at the house, while they can heal. I'll spare you the gory details on Jiggers and jigger removal, but it is a horrific problem here in Uganda and is incredibly painful to endure  having them, as they continue to grow and spread as well as having them removed, by hand, one by one with a safety pin. 

Our team was able to serve SoleHope and their staff by documenting each case, assisting with removal and cleaning, comforting, holding and sitting with the children throughout the process (upwards of 2 hours, in some cases!) and organizing crafts and games for the kids pre & post the removal. 

In our first world minds, we all struggled with ideas and thoughts of how WE could make this process better, less painful and traumatic, etc etc and questioned the process to some degree, but ultimately what SoleHope's staff is doing, works and is with the best interest of these children in mind. 

I had the honor of washing little feet clean and then sitting and holding some precious children while they endured removal and then treatment & dressing wounds with antibiotic ointments & gauze.

For all the moms out there, I don't know how you endure pain and suffering of your children as it was almost too much for my heart to bear.

Once the little feet were wrapped up and covered with new, clean socks I was able to assist with fitting them with NEW shoes, made with love by hands from different parts of the world!

These children are the strongest, bravest most courageous kids I've ever seen and my greatest hope is that their time at SoleHope will be filled with memories of love and care, and not just the pain they've endured. 

Xo, Mandy

My Fathers House on Thanksgiving

A little behind on updates as each day has been quite full, but I am having a wonderful experience here in Uganda and enjoying new friends as we journey together. Our team spent Thanksgiving morning with My Fathers House at their school Royal Hope Academy. To say we were blown away by the hospitality and magnificent welcome would be an understatement! 

As we walked into the village towards the school, the older kids lined the pathway singing a Welcome to Africa song ... It was so touching and powerful and truly a wonderful experience to be surrounded by these kids and joyful spirits. The school choir then performed several songs of praise while several of the younger kiddos piled around us and into laps for the program. 

We were also served a traditional Ugandan lunch of matoke (cooked bananas), rice and beans. 

After lunch we were able to spend time in the courtyard meeting and getting to know the 380+ kids. Allison, one of the girls on my team was able to meet her sponsor child Swaburah in person, who she's been helping with school fees for the past year. How often does that happen?! 

After leaving My Fathers House, we left Kampala and journied to Jinja, a city three hours south near Lake Victoria and also the "source of the Nile" river. 

Once arriving to Jinja, our team leaders announced that they had planned a "traditional" Thanksgiving dinner for us at a local restaurant in town. It was such a treat to celebrate our American thanksgiving in Uganda with this team and reflect on the many blessings in our lives and throughout this trip.

Hoping you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and sending my love and gratitude for the continued prayers and words of encouragement! 

Xo,

Mandy