Lily Newman | Uganda 2022

By Martin Pidsley on Oct 24, 2022 12:00:00 PM

lily-newman-uganda-2022

In August 2022, our founder and Managing Director, Lily Newman visited her beloved Uganda for the first time since the Covid pandemic to see her Ugandan children, meet with loved ones and work with the charity Act4Africa which Lily has been a firm supporter of for more than 20-years.

In her own words, here is a diary and some reflections from Lily's trip.

04.08.22

All packed up and ready to fly! At the airport and off to check in. Uganda here I come!! I'm bursting with excitement to see my gorgeous family, work with the Strong Mother's Club and the amazing Act4Africa team. The are my absolute inspiration!

07.08.22

This is how I spent my amazing birthday with my Ugandan daughter, Conice (far left), and her fellow graduates Tina and Moses. Conice was celebrating her 2:1 in Broadcasting and Communication at University in Kampala (and it also happened to be my 57^th birthday!) Also pictured are my Act4Africa family, Theresa (next to me), Harriet - my friend for life and the incredible Patrick, our regional director. It has been a fabulous day!

08.08.22

Time to eat! Making lunch for my family.

Getting down to work with Act4Africa working on their 3 year vision, mission and values.

09.08.22

A truly humbling day spent with The Strong Mother's Club, an Act4Africa initiative.

We talked about issues of self esteem and confidence and the importance of being proud of their achievements and strong role models for the children. We finished the afternoon with the girls teaching me Incy Wincy Spider in L'Ugandan!

0-300x225 — I was able to meet some of the Mums who received weekly food parcels that were bought through the money raised by my "English Channel Swim" last year. Several of the women told me that they would not have survived without the food parcels, so my deepest thanks to every one of you who sponsored my swim and supported this initiative.

1-300x169 — I was able to meet some of the Mums who received weekly food parcels that were bought through the money raised by my "English Channel Swim" last year. Several of the women told me that they would not have survived without the food parcels, so my deepest thanks to every one of you who sponsored my swim and supported this initiative.

Turning negative life scripts into positive ones with the Strong Mothers' Club. Some of the girls shared their story of how Act4Africa has helped them.

11.08.22

Back to work with the Act4Africa team working on Understanding Difference for stronger teamwork and better communication.

As is sometimes the way in Uganda, things don't always go to plan! Morgan James Consulting has since donated the money for Act4Africa to replace the engine in their van, getting them back on the road to continue their incredible work.

12.08.22

Without a doubt the highlight of the trip and one of the most humbling and moving days of my life. Last year Morgan James Consulting decided to fund the building of a new borehole accessed by a village of some 800+ families. Today I had the opportunity to see and hear the difference this had made to the community.

The children and elders wanted to show me the source of their water supply before the borehole was built. Full of animal faeces, insects and weeds, unsurprisingly drinking from this water source caused a lot of illness within the community, especially the children.

Giving the new borehole a test drive!

13.08.22

The weekend is here and back to my main job of being a parent, teaching my Ugandan family how to swim and this time with the addition of Conice's boyfriend. They were all petrified of water when I did their first lesson just a week ago, so I'm so proud of the progress they've made...whilst they might lack finesse, they certainly make up for it in enthusiasm!

14.08.22

One of those 'only in Uganda' moments!

15.08.22

I had the honour of meeting Eliza today - 20 years old with 4 children.

Eliza was beaten and abused by her parents. When she met her boyfriend, she became pregnant at the age of 13, the first time she had sex. Her parents were ashamed of her so, as the abuse became worse, she moved in with the father of her child, not knowing at the time he was addicted to drugs. He also beat her and Eliza fell into a deep depression. She was a child, expecting a child with no-one to love or care for her. Ugandan girls like Eliza are often coerced into sex at an early age, desperately seeking the love and attention that they don't experience in their families.

Eliza heard about the Strong Mothers Club through a friend and joined one of Act4Africa's cohorts. She also introduced her now husband to the Leadership team and, as a result of her growing confidence and Act4Africa's teaching, he no longer does drugs, treats her with respect and is proud of his wife. Eliza tells me that, for the first time in her life, she is happy and feels positive about her future.

An incredible experience, bringing it all home about how vital the work of Act4Africa is.

My final night

My beautiful trip comes to an end and with the sun setting behind the Nile in the background I paused for a moment's reflection, to be still and marvel at the beauty of our world.

Terry Waite once said when he was chained to a radiator in a tiny room, held captive for years, "whilst my body is in chains, my mind is free."

If you look for the joy, you will find it.