Corruption.

I've been asked many times if I could see myself one day moving to Uganda to live permanently. My answer is always 'probably not' and only for a few reasons, one which slapped me in the face last night. I should first admit that I would only ever choose to stay in Uganda permanently if I happened to meet someone special and we decided to build a life together here (which to be honest, at this point in my life seems too ridiculous to even type because I am far from ready for that). I know it wouldn't be hard to meet someone if I wanted to so badly, there are many men who would be ready to be my husband (not flattering myself, just being honest). But I just feel I have so much more I want to do and see before I settle anywhere. I'll never rule out the idea of living in Uganda completely because who knows what might happen in the future, but at this point I only see myself as a frequent visitor.

But anyways, back to the purpose of this post. The other major reason I couldn't live here is the government. The basic running of this country and the way things are and will likely remain for some time. The reason why soooo many children aren't going to school and why it is impossible to find a doctor in the local hospital, why families are hungry and children are dying in our village of malaria. These things are due to the so-called 'lack of resources' which is absolute BULLSHIT. It's the same thing how people say that they can't afford things yet they have $5 drinks at Starbucks every morning. It's not that they can't afford it or that there is a lack of resources, it's that their priorities are out of whack. I'm not judging the choices people make, I'm just saying that you can't make the claim that there's no money unless it's actually true. This point was proven 100% last night during a conversation with some 'government officials' of our area (that's what I will call them for the purpose of this post, however I would prefer to use some much less professional terms to describe them).

First of all, this government official is wearing a fancy suit and travelling with his expensive phone AND a tablet - it is very uncommon to see these things in the village. It's like he's trying to show off that he has money. We started talking about things that we hoped to see change in our area (we started by simply asking if it would be possible for the road to be fixed - it's nearly impossible to drive through some spots). This conversation developed into a very heated discussion about the things that are wrong with the government and the sub-county and everyone sharing their opinions on the subject. The government officials talked about the corruption that exists in the higher-up positions. Let me tell you, this man himself was the definition of corruption and everything that's wrong with this country (not to criticize the people of Uganda, just the way it is run). You know there's corruption when a government official flat-out admits that he drinks and drives - IN FRONT OF A TRAFFIC OFFICER I might add - and says 'but there's nothing anyone can do about it because I'm government!' I kept questioning why someone of government should be above the law and the only answer he could give me was 'because I'm government!' ...interesting... The traffic officer (who has become a friend of ours and was off-duty at the time) was arguing that she would pull him over anyways and his response was that she would lose her job if she tried. I was thoroughly annoyed and disgusted by the conversation already, but it continued. We tried to ask how it is fair that these people in government are so well-off while people in the village are dying. The government officials laughed in disbelief at the idea that people were dying in the bush. This is a very true fact.. Carli has attended several burials for CHILDREN in the past few months. They didn't seem to pay much attention to this and just said that there is no reason people should be dying as we have a hospital here.. yeah well just the other day Carli had to drive around the hospital compound for 10 minutes until she even found a nurse. No doctor was even on duty. It's so sad.

This is just a small example which perfectly illustrates the struggle I have between my love and compassion for Uganda and it's people, and the frustration I feel towards the lack of ability to make change and progress when the country holds itself back in so many ways. Also I must acknowledge that I understand corruption exists everywhere, but it's just a lot more evident here.

Anyways, I should wrap this up since I could write on and on about this subject and I'm sure it will come up again in the future. Just had to vent a little as life here can get so frustrating. Good days and bad days. It's all about the experience!