What I am thankful for

On Saturday, we drove through the dirty and crowded streets of Kampala. Traffic was thick both on the road and on the sidewalk. We slowed for the street traffic, and I saw a little girl sitting in the middle of the sidewalk. I would guess that she was about 1 year old. She was sitting with legs crossed in the middle of the sidewalk, nestled in a blanket. As we waited for cars to move, I looked around to see if I could identify a parent or some adult who might be nearby watching over her. I didn’t see anyone. As I continued to watch the little girl, I saw two older children approach her. They took her hands and they instructed her to hold them out palms up. Then they moved away, and the little girl sat obediently, with palms up, as people walked by her. Not even seeming to notice her.

What might happen to this little girl? How is it decided who ends up begging on the sidewalk in Kampala and who ends up screaming “Mzungu” from the carseat in the Land Rover?

What I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving is that I’m in the position to be doing what I do. Because I know that things could have gone differently for any of us. I, too, could have ended up as that little girl on the street. I could have ended up the older girl in Arua who had to drop out of school to work and take care of younger brothers and sisters. I could have ended up as the woman in the village who was beaten by her husband, infected with HIV, and left to die. But I didn’t end up any of those women. I ended up as a woman who has friends and family who love and respect her, who has had unlimited educational and professional opportunities, and who has access to food, water, and healthcare whenever and wherever I need it. Sure, I worry about my finances sometimes. I get frustrated because my bad knee acts up and I can’t jog like I used to. I get bored or stressed out by my job. I’ve felt the grief that comes from illness and death of a loved one.

But all and all, I’m in pretty good shape and I realize that even more starkly when I do field work. Nothing puts things into perspective for you like doing this stuff.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Even if things sometimes seem hard, we all have much to be thankful for.