The Mugisha Family

Godfrey Mugisha is my new ‘son’ in Africa and he’s a fine young man; the brightest in class and amazingly well respected and liked in the village. (By ‘son’, I am his full sponsor and- like Winnie- I take this VERY seriously; I’ll back him as far as he can go, then make sure he becomes independent and self-sustaining.  That’s what we do for our children.)  I walked up the 2km to his mother and siblings home through really nice country (The father was seriously injured in a fall into a pit and later died years ago) . This is the entire family in front of their home:

The inside of the hut is so cramped (no more than 100 square feet), it is obvious that Godfrey had to move into the orphanage for one simple reason; there was literally no floor place for him to sleep!  I take up so much space here, two of the kids stayed outside.

The mother was incredibly gracious; serving hot milk with sugar added.  Very nutritious and filling.   They keep the hut very neat and have these very attractive jars for storing their cows’ milk.  Note the design has for using the cooling affect of the ground (or in this case, the dried mud platform).  That dried mud is EXTREMELY hard with a high clay content.

Godfrey’s mother insisted on presenting gifts as well (I have been supportiGodfrey for almost a year, and included a little extra money every month for the family- not even $20; raising it by $15).  She gave me a giant straw mat and two very nice straw bowls.   The mat was too big for be to carry in luggage easily, but it was a perfect addition to the visitors hut, as seen here.  Other charity workers will avoid cold feet in the morning, thanks to the generosity of an incredibly poor family with more dignity than one can imagine.

My goal; someday, raise $2,500 to build them a proper house on the 13 or so acres they own.  If I can get that done, then Godfrey can live at home and this fine family can take care of their own (though I’ll still get him through school).