Illuminate the Night

My physician husband, two younger daughters, and I spent 5 weeks in Uganda in 2016. While my husband did anesthesia for surgeries at Bwindi Community Hospital, the girls and I began spending time with Wendee and the children at Redemption Song Foundation (RSF). We became aware of the challenges the Batwa people are facing, helped publicize Wendee’s fundraising efforts for safe drinking water, and assisted in constructing a mud hut for a family (through the Batwa Development Program).

Because we lived in northern British Columbia, we were accustomed to long winter nights – sunrise after 9 am and sunset before 4:30 pm. However, until we experienced life in Uganda, we hadn’t experienced true darkness. The dark that descended shortly after 6 pm felt thick, almost three-dimensional. Unlike the local people, we had flashlights to help guide us up the 2 kilometer dirt road from the guest house (where we ate our meals) to our accommodation. Even with the flashlights, it was disconcerting, particularly when a motorbike went whizzing by. At the simple lodge where we slept, we had some feeble solar lights, but we still ended up going to bed early because it was too difficult to read. None of the villagers’ huts we passed had any form of light. We realized how long the nights must seem for the people and how extremely difficult it must be for the children to do any type of homework.

As a family, we committed to sponsoring a child and our daughter Rachelle has also been helping to sponsor Angel, a young child who she became particularly attached to.

We truly want to help illuminate the night for the Batwa and support the RSF initiative for solar power! Won't you join us? Consider making a donation to this worthy cause.