Uganda Trip-10
After leaving the Children of War Center on Friday, 4/04, Christine took us to the Interpersonal Psychotherapy Therapy Group center. The purpose of this center is to help the children who are suffering from ongoing mental illness like depression. They broke us and the children into four groups and we met in smaller groups: the men met with boys and the women met with the girls.
We listened to a few of their stories, those who were willing to say anything about themselves that they felt safe sharing. Once again we heard horrendous stories about what some of the boys had endured. The story of one thirteen year old boy stood out to me. He is only thirteen and wanted to commit suicide because of some of the deaths on family members, especially his mother. Through the group therapy he no longer wants to kill himself and feels as though he has a reason to live. I have posted pictures of some of the students their and of the group of boys with whom Bob Givens and I met.
The last visit we made was to a small village where World Vision had donated musical instruments for the purpose of helping the healing and reconciliation that needs to go on in so many of these villages. The drums are large gourds called callabus and the music and dancing was wonderful. They actually pulled a few of us in to play them and I can assure you that I was not very rythmic: Bob and I were two very stiff white guys who stood out like sore thumbs!
It was a great experience and at the end the village gave us a live chicken as a gift and I was chosen to receive it. It was a very generous gift so we graciously received it and put it in the back of the van. Later we gave it to one of the World Vision staff.
We listened to a few of their stories, those who were willing to say anything about themselves that they felt safe sharing. Once again we heard horrendous stories about what some of the boys had endured. The story of one thirteen year old boy stood out to me. He is only thirteen and wanted to commit suicide because of some of the deaths on family members, especially his mother. Through the group therapy he no longer wants to kill himself and feels as though he has a reason to live. I have posted pictures of some of the students their and of the group of boys with whom Bob Givens and I met.
The last visit we made was to a small village where World Vision had donated musical instruments for the purpose of helping the healing and reconciliation that needs to go on in so many of these villages. The drums are large gourds called callabus and the music and dancing was wonderful. They actually pulled a few of us in to play them and I can assure you that I was not very rythmic: Bob and I were two very stiff white guys who stood out like sore thumbs!
It was a great experience and at the end the village gave us a live chicken as a gift and I was chosen to receive it. It was a very generous gift so we graciously received it and put it in the back of the van. Later we gave it to one of the World Vision staff.
posted by UCC Medfield at 9:16 AM
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