Uganda: Moved by an experience that gives gusto to everything
A problematic pregnancy, and other difficulties that “make everything gray.” Then she received an invitation to meet the women of the Meeting Point. Francesca speaks of "the greatest novelty that happens in me by simply looking at them."I live in Uganda and my husband and I are expecting a baby girl but, due to health issues, we do not know if the pregnancy is progressing well. Other problems have also come up recently that are not serious but that weigh down the day and make everything gray. Because of my pregnancy, I started working from home and one day I received this message from Rose: "Come with me to the women." I resisted and answer,ed "I have a business meeting." She insisted, "You can join the meeting from my house, but get out of there." I gave in. I crossed the city, climbed Kireka Hill and arrived at the Meeting Point. The women were sitting with their children, and we sang and danced for an hour. I am always amazed by how they live… Not only because Ugandan culture is vibrant, but because you cannot look at these women without seeing that Christ has taken over their lives, and they say ‘yes’ to His presence at every moment. After the games and dancing we sat down; I collected the money from the Easter posters, and some of the women left some change as a donation. Those women, who live in the slum, whose houses flood when it rains, do not remain indifferent to those who need it most. I simply look at them and do not do anything, yet the greatest of novelty is already happening in me: letting a Presence enter that gives meaning and gusto to everything.
Among the group I recognized a woman Rose had told me about. Having heard about the war in Ukraine, she had gone to Rose with the money she had made that day, saying: "I am giving this money so that the children of those women can also know that they are wanted. Those children are mine too."
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Rose also spoke of a boy, 18 years-old, the son of one of the women, who was seriously ill with high blood pressure. She took this opportunity to speak about how to recognize the symptoms, prevent it, and gave us some health advice. Two women were translating what she was saying into the Ugandan and Acholi dialects spoken in Kireka. It was amazed to see how everything becomes a judgment and care for oneself and others when life is a "gift of self, moved."
Rose has been repeating this for years, and I never cease to be moved. I still do not fully understand it, but when I am touched by this experience, by the lives of these women, it becomes a little more tangible.
Francesca, Uganda