real life…

Although I am travelling around some amazing places, living the dream and generally just loving my life, today is one of those days when I am only too aware that real life is happening around me…

Am sure the clashes between a local King and the state in the region of Kasese here in Uganda have not made it onto the variety of news media available in Europe – too much celebrity rubbish, terrorism, disasters and more local news to focus on…but over 60 people died in what is called a land and power dispute this week… Uganda have kings in some (or maybe all…am not too sure) regions and it seems that there might have been a desire to break free from the state / president power in Kasese… It’s led to the death of many innocent people.

And this morning famine was reported in one of the other regions… It’s so bad that they have had to start eating rats. With over 80% of Ugandans working within agriculture and considering the fertile lands and rainfall it is difficult to understand how just one small part of the country are starving…why is nobody helping?

And if that wasn’t enough, we were told that a woman had given birth overnight here in the village and left the baby in a toilet. The baby is alive and the search continues for the mother or her family, because the state does not want to pay to put the baby in the orphanage unless absolutely necessary – it’s expensive.

Just so heartbreaking…feel for the mother, she obviously did not want the child but had no choice but to carry to term and give birth…I feel for that poor baby, never wanted and now probably has to grow up all alone…

A sad day and one for reflection – am feeling thankful and fortunate for my life more than normally. Let’s all find time every day to find something positive, something to be grateful for – because we are all better off than so many people in this world…