A real problem faced by Love Mercy came at the time the Cents for Seeds program
was kicked off. Women questioned the ‘loaning’ of the seeds, as other organisations in
the area were “handing them out for
free”. Cassi has witnessed that it is in
the education of self sustainability,
Day to day life, amongst the villages Cassi visited, has many
and the connection from one person
differences to day to day life in Western Society.
working to help another, that long
Cassi confesses that the nightly chore of cooking dinner is
term change can be achieved.
something that she herself has griped about occasionally,
however, after watching the time that goes into dinner preparation
amongst the Ugandan women, brings new light and gratitude to
how effortless dinner in a first world population actually is. And,
although life in Uganda is packed with chores and housekeeping
rituals that would send any woman insane, the women are incredibly happy. Often found sitting in groups under the local mango
tree laughing and chatting. The women are surprisingly free from
stress and life’s moans and groans.
Life in an African village...
A responsibility of Cassi’s on her visits, to the foundations project areas,
is to interview women in the hope of
identifying daily life problems, that
have become expected, due to lack of
facilities, services or supplies. Cassi
recalls speaking with many women,
and when the question of how many
children they have needs answering,
it is met regularly with a number that
has been decreased due to the high
infant mortality rate sadly common in
these areas. What surprises Cassi
however, is how relaxed and open
the women are about discussing their
story. They talk about the loss of the
children very openly. It happens so
often, to so many, that the grieving
process has become a life skill these
women have learnt through necessity. Although they love their children
and they are naturally sad that they
do not have them anymore, death is
considered as ‘natural’ and there is
very little hesitation when talking
about it. Women open up about their
loss and move on with it.
“Life in Northern Uganda is like that,
You move on with things. You get
things done.” Cassi says.
On embarking upon some of Cassi’s
first trips to the project areas, she
was expecting to feel pity or sadness.
Instead, she walked away feeling pity
for herself and the life she had been
living at home.
“The [African] people live very simple
lives. There are no distractions and
expectations around money, appearance and assets. The villages are fuelled by community spirit and support. Loneliness cannot make it’s way
into these areas, because people are
connected in everything they do on a
day to day basis. When you enter a
circle of women enjoying their daily
chat, they will celebrate your entrance with a song