Hello friends--
Here’s the latest GUW Minute--Holiday Edition!
CHRISTMAS IN TORORO
On my recent trip to Uganda, I spent a lot of time meeting with our sponsored families and students in the area. As we sat in their yard or home, the “interview” usually followed a pattern:
- Do you like your school? (They always do.)
- What do you like about it? (Comments on the good food are common here.)
- What would you like to do professionally when you’re done with school? (So many aspiring doctors!)
- Are you helping at home now that you are on holiday? (What kid would say no?)
To mix things up a bit, I started to ask what they were planning to do to celebrate Christmas. I assumed that celebrations in that part of the world would probably be pretty modest, but surely it was an important day given the strong Christian identity of the country. First and foremost, I learned that a Ugandan Christmas is about meat. Everyone there seemed to be looking forward to eating as much meat as possible on Christmas. In fact, a group of teachers and staff at one of the schools we visited had a cow tied up on the grounds. They had purchased it in early 2022 and had been fattening it up all year. That cute cow’s days were numbered, and she’d soon provide Christmas dinner for several families. This was apparently a much cheaper approach than trying to buy meat in December when everyone raises their prices.
I was also pleased to hear that among some groups there is a tradition of kids going around at Christmas time to help the neighbors…cleaning yards, doing house repairs, etc. There’s a great example of the holiday spirit! And in Tororo town, activities for families were planned in a community park, with fireworks scheduled for Christmas Eve.
But most of all, everyone was looking forward to just enjoying time with their families and friends…a nice reminder of what is important this season no matter where in the world you live. However you choose to celebrate, I wish you all many blessings for the holiday and in the New Year.
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