A night of Harmony, Justice and Honest(y) (17th July)

Last night Mum and I were invited to have dinner at my friend Honest’s place. I first met Honest when she volunteered with our organisation for the 2003 measles campaign and our friendship grew from there. I must admit her name amused me at first, but now seems so normal. However, I had to swallow my giggles when I met two of her brothers – Justice and Harmony.

We had expected to reach Kampala (from Murchison) at around 3pm, but somehow the 220 km from Masindi town (outside the national park) took us 4 hours (due to taking a wrong route that had roadworks) and we didn’t arrive in Kampala until ~6pm. We quickly rushed to Honest’s – as they had been waiting since 3pm for us and she had prepared a huge meal of local food – including one of my favourites – Matooke (mushed plantain) and G-nut (peanut) sauce.

Although Justice was determined to tell us repetitively of all the family’s problems (which granted are serious) I was reminded of the admiration I have for Honest. She had never told me of any of these problems and she is one of those people who always has a smile on her face and exudes happiness. While she acknowledged the problems that Justice was talking about, she also pointed out other people in worse situations – like the abandoned babies at Mulago Hospital she had shown us during a tour when she was a nursing student there. She is such a special person and is certainly one of my role models. I hope I never forget her eternal optimism.