Fountain of Hope

Last year we were introduced to the Backpack Nation website through Charlotte and her friend Katie. The basic idea behind it is to inspire and encourage travelers from developed countries to make a positive difference in the lives of people from the developing countries they are visiting. Brad, the guy behind the website, asked for essay submissions from travelers describing special people they had met, and how they have, or how they would like to help them. He chose 20 essays to post on the website and let people vote for the top 5. Katie’s essay about a family she had met in Senegal was chosen as one of the winners and she received $1,000 to give to the family so that they could dig a well and make other improvements to their simple home.

We understood and admired the main message of the website and the competition to a certain point when we were reading through all the essays last year, but I think through our trip we’ve really gained a deeper understanding and connection to the true meaning of it. In the States we never considered ourselves wealthy, I mean we lived in a basement apartment and didn’t even have a car! But seeing how other people around the world live has given us a new perspective—most of us in the US and other developed countries are rich, rich, rich. We can have everything we need, and even a lot of things we want but don’t actually need at all. We can afford a place to keep us warm when it’s cold out, cool when it’s hot out; we can hop in a hot shower when we feel dirty, and turn the lights on when it’s dark; we can open the fridge for something to eat when we’re hungry, or if we don’t see anything we feel like eating we can hop in our car (or on our bikes!) and get whatever we want at the store, go out to a restaurant or order a pizza; we have comfy beds to sleep in and lots of clothes to chose from each morning; when we’re feeling sick we can go to the doctor and still get paid if we take a day off from work. We have now realized what luxuries all these things really are.

So in January, when we saw that Backpack Nation was repeating the competition and asking for new submissions, we decided to write about James and Tabitha in Uganda. We had a hard time putting into words what an amazing experience we had with them, what wonderful, generous people they are, and how much their past actions and future plans for the organic farm and orphanage have inspired us. The deadline crept up on us and we stayed up late one night in India to type up the essay and send it in. Unfortunately, we got an email last week saying that our essay had not been chosen as one of the final 12 (he cut the number down from 20 to 12 this time). We were definitely disappointed and at first we picked apart our essay, and blamed ourselves for not taking more time to write it or not making it more interesting and emotional. But we quickly realized that it was silly to be upset about not being chosen, because the point was that we really wanted to help James and Tabitha and we knew that we would do that no matter what, it would just have to be in a different way.

We have decided to set aside $200 of the money that we will be getting back from our taxes to forward to James and Tabitha’s Fountain of Hope project. We are hoping that family and friends who read our travelogue will also contribute a bit so that we can reach our goal of $1000, the amount we would have won for James and Tabitha through the Backpack Nation contest. To contribute you can either use a credit card through our Pay Pal account by clicking on the "Make a Donation" button on the left side of this page, or you can send us a check to Megan’s father’s address (email us to get the exact address). In either case just indicate that the money is for ‘Fountain of Hope’. Below is the essay that we wrote for Backpack Nation, and you can also go back to our Uganda entries to find out more about our time there. In addition, we hope to soon post the description/proposal for Fountain of Hope that James has written, along with the budget that he came up with.

Meanwhile, please also visit Backpack Nation to read the inspiring essays and vote for your favorite four. Thanks to everyone for your help!

Our Fountain of Hope Essay

“If there’s one thing I want you to tell other people when you go home, it’s that there is hope for the younger generation of Uganda,” James told us as we stood in front of the simple mud brick hut that was a combination storage shed and bedroom for the 6 orphaned boys he cares for on his farm. “I want Arcadia Valley Farm to be a source of inspiration, optimism and most of all, I want to teach these boys the value of an education and provide them with the experience to make something of themselves. I want this farm to be a fountain of hope.”

James Lutwama’s own personal story is much like that of his boys. He was orphaned at a very young age and raised by his aunt. Even as a child he was determined to receive the best education possible and quickly learned how to provide the things he wanted for himself. Most importantly, he never allowed himself to be thought of as a helpless victim just because he didn’t have parents to provide for him.

When James made the decision to attend a well respected boarding school he devised creative ways to earn his school fees. He worked in teachers’ gardens and bred rabbits which he then sold. While his classmates were off playing or relaxing during school holidays James would be cutting lawns and digging and planting. Other students had money to buy multiple changes of clothing, but James had just one uniform which he’d have to wash each evening in preparation for school the next day. In this way he made it all the way through secondary school and was then accepted to attend Makerere University in Kampala.

We met James through a lecturer in Washington, DC who came to speak about volunteer work he did in Uganda. At the time we were planning our year-long, around-the-world honeymoon and were looking for volunteer opportunities in various countries. Based on our email correspondence with James we made plans for a three week stay in Uganda, not knowing exactly what to expect.

Upon our arrival in Uganda we were met by James and his fiancé Tabitha and gradually began to learn of the great lengths to which they had gone in welcoming us and insuring our safety and happiness. They believed that neither of their own homes was sufficient to host us, yet at the same time considered themselves our guardians and didn’t want us staying alone. They spent considerable time, energy and money arranging for all of us to live together for our entire visit. James sold his only cow and Tabitha had to leave her animals under the care of neighbors (who unfortunately ended up selling them for their own profit). James and Tabitha even arranged security guards to protect the house day and night.

Every day Tabitha prepared delicious traditional meals for us and every evening James returned home with some new item he thought would make our stay more enjoyable – everything from special fruits we’d never heard of to a borrowed VCR and TV. We were blown away by the extent of their hospitality and their sincere generosity not just toward us, but toward their fellow Ugandans as well. Though they each only receive a meager teacher’s salary (about $10-15 per month) they are always finding ways to help and encourage others. Most of their earnings usually go to support the orphans they each have taken in. Uganda has an alarming number of children left orphaned because one or both of their parents have died of AIDS. This was the case with at least half of the students we taught for a week at the nearby secondary school, and I have read that nationwide, 30% of the youth are orphans. Whereas other people with a desire to help would probably feel the need to wait and raise outside funding, James and Tabitha take the orphans into their homes and treat them like their own children. They give them a home, food, clothes, a chance to go to school, and most importantly hope for the future. And they do this all out of their own pockets.

Yet even while supporting these children, James has still managed to save enough money to invest in 6 acres of fertile land where he has started his farm. He trains the orphaned boys in organic farming methods and during weekends and holidays they work with him in order to earn their school fees. James hopes that his boys will place a greater value on their education because they have earned it themselves. “Teach someone to fish and you feed them for a lifetime,” James says with a smile. The first orphan James took in 8 years ago is now entering his last years of high school and teaches and supervises the younger boys.

In the future James hopes to run his own school right on the farm. He would like to combine academic learning with practical training in such a way that students can realize the relevance of education to their own lives and become self-reliant. His goal is for the farm, school and orphanage to become a self-sustaining entity. The crops they grow will provide food for the orphans and the remainder will be sold at local markets.

James believes in the value of growing organic vegetables and fruits on his farm. It keeps his soil fertile, doesn’t pollute the local water supply, is a lot healthier for the consumer and always tastes better than conventionally grown products. But since he doesn’t use pesticides and herbicides, and doesn’t have cows or chickens to provide manure, he will need to spend money on expensive organic fertilizers. James and the boys have already planted over 10,000 pineapples which they still need to fertilize in order to achieve a good harvest that can be sold at a higher price. The boys will be involved in all aspects of the process: the planting, nurturing, harvesting, transporting and selling. James’ hope is that they will gain valuable business and life skills along the way.

“I see Arcadia Valley Farms being home to 50-100 orphan boys and girls someday. We’ll have a library and classrooms, proper housing and beds for all the students and provide healthy food to them—food they’ve grown with their own hands.” James has dreams of expanding the farm to include an eco-tourism retreat where visitors will be surrounded by fruit trees and flowers, stay in comfortable, traditional thatched huts and be served delicious, traditional Ugandan dishes like Matoke (steamed banana) with peanut sauce.

While James is the visionary, Tabitha, who has a degree in Mathematics, compliments him with her practical, no-nonsense approach to problem solving. She handles many of the administrative functions for the farm—everything from budgeting, to helping the boys determine a daily chore schedule, to working out the logistics of farm construction.

Even though they’ve already accomplished so much, James and Tabitha still face many challenges before they meet their goals. They have no transportation of their own to bring their produce to market, pick up building materials or complete daily errands. On market days they have to hire a truck and driver which costs so much money that they’re left with little to no profit. James has built a small house for the boys but the house he’s building for himself and Tabitha stands half completed because he doesn’t have the money for roofing. They are constantly sacrificing their personal comfort in order to meet the daily needs of their boys and girls.

If James, Tabitha and the boys are selected to win the $1,000 prize it would be used to help finish their house, buy organic fertilizer for their crops and cover the costs for school uniforms and tuition fees. Perhaps more importantly, winning would encourage them to continue with their work and would show them that there are people out there who value what they are doing.

In our travels and volunteer work we have met many people who face difficult situations and are looking for ways to improve their circumstances. During these encounters we’re often asked for money or educational “sponsorships”. We’ve struggled with the questions of how best to help people and whether or not our contributions would have any kind of long term impact on their lives.

Then we met James and Tabitha; a couple who could use financial assistance just as much as anyone we’ve met. Yet, instead of asking for anything they’re busy giving to and caring for others. It is through James and Tabitha that we have learned about the close connection between giving and receiving. Supporting them would be the best kind of giving because it is certain not to end with them.

Arcadia Valley is a source of encouragement, education and opportunity for the orphans at the farm and the surrounding community. At the same time, the love, dedication and hard work James and Tabitha continue to put into the project has become a reason for optimism and a fountain of hope for both of us.