Restoring Dignity ~ The women in Africa

This is a speech that was given about the Women in Africa

When was the last time that someone told you, that you would be better off going some where and doing something else? It seemed that it would be ok but it still gnawed at your better judgement.  Only to find out that it wasn’t as good as you thought?  That you should have trusted your instincts!

The people of Northern Uganda were told that they needed to leave their homes and come together to form a bigger group of people and the government would protect them and provide support against the Rebels. These camps were called IDP Internally displaced people camps.  But what they found as they gathered was they were not protected, they lost there means of support and they were dependant on a government that would not be able to help them.  With all good intentions- these people were still greatly affected by trauma, physical, emotional and mental, caused from that war.

My main role on this trip was to provide training on healing touch to our group and well as scheduling it with Living Hope when we got there. 

Our time there was Whirlwind ….  We were going from sun up to sun down.

It wasn’t until I got home did I have time to reflect ….  And strangely enough  - the first thing that came to my mind was, on our last day of pampering at Living Hope, there was a bunch of women  that showed up with these purple shirts.   I thought was kind of strange considering the environment in Africa – that they all have the same t-shirt – and I was also thinking – they’re so cute – I want one.  These women had received these shirts at the opening of this facility.  Living Hope facility provides trauma counseling, spiritual discipleship, skills training and empowerment to raise their children and bring change to their communities.

I find it rather interesting that I brought home the thought of these t shirts   “Restoring Dignity to Vulnerable Women”  That was the saying on the t-shirts.

What I’m thinking is that these women are the spine of that country.

Restoring dignity – The definition of dignity is The state of being worthy of respect.  

Let’s backup – let me tell you about these women in Africa,  

Restoring Dignity to Vulnerable women – referring to the trauma they have experienced from the war. They really are no different then you or I and I don’t mean to make light of trauma but trauma is relative.  We all have our own definition.  Your trauma is different then your trauma.

Suubi Village – Suubi village is for widows and orphanages because of the war.  The mamma (with or with out their children) are given 6 – 8 orphanages to raise.  These boys were abducted to be rebel solders.  Chances are they killed their family, it was that or be killed and the girls were taken as wives or slaves.  At Suubi they are provided a home, clothing, food and schooling.  These mama’s need to embrace these orphanages as kids and raise them as kids despite all they (including the mama’s) have gone thru.

Restoring dignity

Living hope – our first day there we were suppose to pamper 72 women and only 59 showed up that day.  But word got around and by Friday – we had 72 signed up but we had over 120 women show up.  We only were able to do 108 that day.  By lunch break – which was a much needed break, it was hot, we had a lot of women still to pamper, I mentioned to our translator that we were going to take an hour break and to let the women know who had been sitting there since morning, if they needed to do something and go somewhere – they would have an hour to do that, so they didn’t have to wait for us.  The translator informed me that they traveled very far to get here (by foot or bike) and they would rather just wait.  And to add more injury to my guilt, when we did sit and eat – all the women and all the stuff they packed for the day, were no where to be seen.  We were left alone to eat and to rest. 

Restoring dignity

IDP camp – the women in the camps – some talked about the trauma that they went through.  One woman talked about her experience with the LRA.  While she was telling her story, she mentioned that her husband was absent during that time cause he was drinking.  She mentioned in brief and without anger or sarcasm.  It stuck with me because I know how would have acted in that situation.  We are not talking about when your spouse is out of town and you have to pickup the slack – we are talking about how she and her new born baby were abducted, and was beaten within inches of death.  And she took ownership for this event in her life. 

This woman at the age of 12, abducted and taken as a wife, refused to kill a little boy.  The little boy did die at the hands of others but she stood tall and said no. When I look at these women and what they went through.  Without any support what so ever.  The respect I have for them is so immense.  They weren’t sobbing, weeping, they weren’t a mess.  They seem to have control.   Life goes on.

Restoring dignity

These women have my respect.  Could any of us go thru what they did and function as they do?

Suubi Village – Polite, caring, welcoming

Living Hope – respectful, appreciative,

IDP – they were clean, sweep the dirt, they was no waste or junk lying around.

These people (mostly women and children) they were hoeing a field by hand, not a garden but a field.  They truly work the land. They weren’t asking for hand outs, they waved when you drove by.  They greeted with a smile and were so happy to share with us with what little they had.

Remember when I mentioned about listening to someone telling you about being better off………

Even though these women had no choice at the time - These women kept their wit about them.  They kept their values in tact.

Restoring dignity

I got my shirt.  I really wanted the purple shirt with the sparkles on it but this will do.  How fitting that I should be wearing this shirt.  By seeing these women that we pampered, by seeing and hearing these women at the IDP camps that have lost there children, who had to kill a family member with their own hands, husbands lost to the war – they are the ones working the fields, they are the ones raising their family, they are the ones supporting their family, 

They are the ones who experience trauma that we will never experience in our whole lives, ever in a million years.

Those shirts that they were wearing- we all need to be wearing them.  We need to wear them because we are the ones that need to work on The state of being worthy of respect

I bow down to these to these women; they have shown me so much,

It makes me think on how pathetic we are with the things that we have and things that we can do and all we want is more.  We don’t find what we have worthy, we don’t respect what we have, we are never satisfied.

I went on this mission trip to bring healing touch to these women – that was my mission/ that is my purpose in this world – to show my heart thru my hands.  But I went home with their heart in my hands

Where’s your shirt – I have mine!