I am sometimes asked why I help the Batwa, why not help the poor in America?
The answer is complicated and yet it is so simple. In America there are people who have trouble paying their rent or purchasing groceries for their families. We have beggars on the street corners. We have those who live on the streets. We also have a very strong government and public social net including Section 8 housing, sponsored assistance for utilities payments, food stamps or EBT cards, WIC - Women's, Infants and Children's food program. Nearly every church runs a halfway house, a food pantry or a soup kitchen for the poor or homeless. There are homeless shelters in every city. Uganda has none of these systems in place. In Uganda, if you don't own land, you starve. In Uganda, if you are a Batwa, your home and your medicine, and your food was taken away from you without any notice. The Batwa have no safety net. They rely solely on the support of others and in a poor nation that support must come mostly from outsiders. The Batwa have not been given a chance to better themselves. They have no opportunity to buy land, to obtain a job, or feed themselves. They were ousted from their homes naked. They did not speak the language of those in the city where they had to relocate. They had no housing. They had no food. They live in trash huts because they have never owned any land to build on. If they were in America, they would have received government and church, and community assistance. But, they are not in America. They are in one of the most poor nations in the world. And, they need my help. They need your help to survive.
The thing that will change the future is education - learning marketable skills that will bring income to the Batwa. That is why we are educating the adults in the Kisoro Hill community. With skills, like sewing & carpentry skills, they can make a living. They can change the future of their families. They can feed themselves, clothe and house themselves and live a life of value. With some land, they can grow food, they can build housing. Everything is possible with a little help. And, they don't take our help for granted. They cherish the opportunity to learn. They welcome hard work that gives them a future. Plant Fruit does very little for them. We do most everything with them. The Batwa were taught to plant and harvest. But, they did the work. They are being taught to sew and create chairs and doors. But, they are doing the work. I am proud to provide support for these indigenous people of Uganda. Without our help they are in danger of extinction. With it, everything is possible!
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