Two Incredible Ugandan Moms

This was written for Mothers Day 2013:

Dear Sponsors, With Mother's Day right around the corner, I want to introduce you to some of the mothers I met in Uganda last summer, and the children they care for. Acan Lilly Arach Eunice First, meet Lilly, mother of four and auntie to six nieces and nephews, who also live with her, including Arach Eunice, who is sponsored by our friends, Jay and Brenda. Lilly became guardian to them when their mother became too weak with HIV/Aids to care for them. Lilly seems to be a woman with limitless energy. Besides the endless "digging" that everyone has to do, she cooks for a local cooperative restaurant one week of every month and she is an active bead-maker in the Women of Hope Arts and Crafts Project. She loves making beads, because it gives her a chance to sit in one place for awhile! Lilly always looks fresh and put-together, in spite of all her hard work and ten kids to care for. She loves all the children God has given her equally. Alanyo Joska Lakaraber Winnifred And this is Alanyo Joska and her daughter Winnifred, who is sponsored by my sister, Tracy and her family. Joska is a beautiful person, with a kind and gentle smile for everyone she meets. Her husband died six years ago, leaving her with six children to raise. Winnifred is the youngest, and they are clearly very close. Joska is a woman who gives of what she has. She is very supportive of SOVCO, and serves on the board of directors. Just this morning, Tonny told me he met Joska while she was weeding her beans close to the road. She invited him to come and see the goat she is raising to donate for SOVCO's annual general meeting. When I was heading home last summer, Joska gave me two bags of beans and some rice to take with me. Today I was reading an article by Beth Kuenstler, the director of Kiva, an organization that grants loans to women in developing countries. She said, of the women she has met, "what stood out most was the richness of their spirits and the kindness they put out into the world, even though they lived in what most would consider to be unbearable situations. The hope that people can hold for themselves changed my belief in humanity." This is how I feel about Lilly and Joska, and so many others of the mothers and grandmothers, and just plain kind women who care for our sponsored children. Happy Mother's Day! Sally Front row: Agenorwot Paska, Adyero Agnes, Akello Isabella, Komakech Aaron, Angom Mercy, Joseph Sunday, Janet Sylvia, Anena Caroline, Ambrose, Okello Patrick (#2). Second row: Adong Patricia Achora, Opiyo Gerald, Apiyo Scovia, Apiyo Prossy, Ajok Mercy (both eating mangos, which are in season), Adong Brenda. Back ro