Six days of thoughts

I don't think words can even describe my week.
Of course I've let blogging slip and here we are on Friday, my last day in Uganda, and there's no way to cram in all that I've seen and done and the amazing people I've met.
On Tuesday morning I left the crowded streets of Kampala behind, with their crazy traffic system which I find fantastic in a horrific kind of way.
Think no crosswalks, definitely no right of way for pedestrians, no turning lights, disregard for driving on the correct side of the road, and bikes, or boda-bodas, swerving and weaving through traffic, the drivers wearing no helmets and sometimes with a small child on their lap, and stop signs are optional.
But as I made my way east the houses and pedestrians that lined the street slowly faded away and turned into endless fields of the most vibrant shade of green I've ever seen, dotted with farms, small businesses, schools and homes.
Once arriving in Jinja my contact Justine Ojambo, who started the Phoebe Education Fund for AIDS Orphans (PEFO) after his late mother Phoebe, picked me up and it was straight to business.Justine was kind enough to put me up in his home and show me all that PEFO does, and let me telly out it's absolutely outstanding.
I spent a few days in the field with some of the PEFO team meeting some of the grandmothers they assist. Instead of relaxing in their old age and having their children care for them, they are now caring for their grandchildren because AIDS has taken so many parents' lives leaving them with the responsibility to care for AIDS orphans.
But to meet these grandmothers you wouldn't know the hardships that this life has brought them.
They smile, laugh, dance and sing, welcoming you with open arms and open hearts.
For me, I arrived as a muzungo - the largely used word for white person here - stranger with a camera, yet the moment I stepped into their world they sang for me and were so ready and open to share their stories.To me that is a perfect example of the Ugandan people. They are open, giving, kind, and I think they live with their hearts.They may not have much in terms of materialistic things, or even the essentials like food and shelter, but it is evident in the smiles on their faces and the way they say hello that they are truly happy people.
And the people who work for PEFO are some driven and strong individuals as well, working so hard to help improve the lives of the grandmothers, and the orphans they care for, by providing shelter, education, food security and more.
Looking back on all the worries that have occupied my mind I feel so foolish.
It's as if the more we have, the easier and quicker we expect things and the more selfish, inpatient and unappreciative we become, forgetting the most important thing in life:living.
We all know that one of the only things that is guaranteed in life is that we die. So my hope for myself, and for others back home in Canada, is that we learn to stop focusing on the negative and worrying about what other people think, stop consuming as much as we do, let go of the idea that living for materialistic things means a better quality of life, and take a step back.
Then can we appreciate the beauty of your family and friends, the feeling of warm sunshine on your face, or a smell that brings up old and familiar memories from a time past.
For now my time is almost up in Uganda, but after only one very short week I know in my heart that I want to return.

Molly McNulty is travelling to Uganda and Zambia on behalf of the Jack Webster Fellowship Seeing the World Through New Eyes which is funded by CIDA.