Day Six and a Half in Uganda

Teopista and Lawrence are hosting a wedding meeting for a local couple in their yard.  In fact, the bride to be is one of the teachers at St. Berna's.  I am sitting alongside listening, but not an active participant.  There are about 30 people here.  Wine will be served at the end of the discussions.  They are here to talk seriously about the wedding preparations.  The couple are not able to pay for everything, and their family and friends are here to negotiate who will provide the cake, who will make the wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses, who will bring the wine, which groups will organise the food.  People are here because they care about the couple and want to help.  It is so touching to listen to their joy, their enthusiasm and their love.

So I see before me the 30 wedding planners.  Each element will be attended to with care and love.  The community also feel drawn together in this marriage.  The bride and groom have nothing to worry about because everybody is doing their little bit. And into the future, the community will still be bound into the lives of the husband and wife.  Money in the West has sadly managed to disintegrate that need for people to be able to rely upon one another in this way.  It is as though we are islands by comparison.

Uganda truly is an amazing place.  I am happy to have seen this wonderful collaboration taking shape today.  The finest pleasures for me seem always to be the least expected ones.