Merones

Jamie and I were sitting on three inches of near-useless couch cushioning the other evening chatting about the usual kind of stuff, like what the newest bug was on the wall, or names for our fighting geckos, or something equally inane. I started to complain about how sore my butt was, and how I hated our furniture. “I hate our furniture,” I said, “and my butt is sore.”

This was a typical night in Kibaale. Conversation would eventually drift onto the topic of food, but let’s just focus on my complaints of having a sore butt. Then let’s look at the photos below of our little sponsored girl, Sanyu Meroni.

Meroni, or “Merones” as we refer to her in our own house (with some extra bass and maybe a chest thump) is in nursery class here at Kibaale Community Primary School. We have been wanting to sponsor a child for a long time, and when given the opportunity to choose one for sponsorship the choice was pretty hard. Thankfully, Merones made it simple over the past few weeks by popping into Jamie’s office to steal a hug, flashing a huge toothless grin whenever she saw us, or streaking across the field and catching air with her big ears before bashing into Jamie’s legs.

Today we had the chance to visit her in her home. We stopped into town, bought a 25kilo sack of maize flour, and headed to her house. When we arrived, we discovered that Merones is one of the few kids who doesn’t really have a "house" house… she’s currently living in a grass hut with her seven brothers and sisters, and parents. We dropped the sack of flour near the house and were invited in, and as I tried to scramble inside, looking like some massive albino ogre trying to get a snack, I couldn’t help but remember how just a couple days ago I had been whining about the lack of cushioning on my couch. What an ass.

Here’s some pics from our trip.