I didn’t know what AIDS was until I was thirteen. During that time, Uganda had been having an epidemic in the north, and so awareness was at an all-time high. It was on the walls of our announcement boards, the emails of our newsletters, and the tongues of our school kids.
Eventually, I learned what this deadly disease was. In fact, I even learned who had it. It turns out, there’s plenty of people I knew that had contracted the disease from one way or the other. Suddenly, AIDS was everywhere. Fear began to captivate me as I became paranoid about my water, my dishes, my silverware- anything that could put me into contact with it. At the time, I didn’t realize that AIDS wasn’t transmitted through touch, but I didn’t care; I was too paranoid about receiving it.
After a few weeks of this, I realized how silly I was being. Nobody in my family had it, and my chances of getting it were higher than my chances of a girl liking me- basically none. I had to release that fear to the Lord, as I had done with so many other fears.
While I learned to release my fear of AIDS, the disease brought a much-needed wake up call. I was abruptly aware of the poverty all around me, from the badly-built houses to the poorly-clothed children in the villages. Where I hadn’t seen it before, poverty crowded in from all sides.
The truth is, no matter what I say about Africa’s technological advancement or the ways Uganda has grown since 1980, nothing I can say will remove the fact that Africa is full of poverty. The homeless percentage here is far, far higher than anywhere else in the world. In Kampala alone, there are over 10,000 homeless.
This post isn’t supposed to goad you into donating money to me or my ministry. Instead, I want you to simply remember. Remember that there are people, not just in Africa but all over the world, that need the help of all able to give it. If you can, you should. Whether it’s through sponsoring a child, giving to a ministry, or supporting a couple, there are ways you can help. And, if all else fails and you have nothing to give, remember: prayer is the greatest gift you can every give. Your daily prayers affect the lives of thousands.
Alright, that’s all for today. Thanks so much for reading! Your support means a ton to me. If you haven’t already, be sure to click that Follow button below (or to the right), so as to not miss out on any new posts. Thanks again, and I hope you have a wonderful day!
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Elisha McFarland 
I’m sorry, but “my chances of getting it were higher than my chances of a girl liking me- basically none” made me laugh. XD This was such a good post! My family runs a missions network throughout Africa, East Asia, and Peru and the children in poverty there weigh heavily on my heart. ❤ I don’t believe there should ever be a day I eat a meal without giving to support someone else who wouldn’t otherwise have one. So important! Thanks for sharing.
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xD I would expect nothing less. That’s awesome, though! So happy to hear about your family’s work!!! If you want to find out about my ministry, google “New Hope Uganda”, we’re the first thing that comes up
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I googled your ministry!! What amazing work (and I love the website design, applause to the designer). I pray God blesses it tremendously!
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Thanks!
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This was super well written!! But do you even know what AIDS is? Or how it’s transmitted? Since you’ve grown up in Uganda I’d guess you do, but it’d be helpful to clarify since a lot of people here haven’t experienced it firsthand.
Your water, dishes, and silverware would NEVER have put you in contact with AIDS, not because no one in your family had it but because AIDS is not transmitted through any kind of casual contact, liquid, food, physical touch, etc. Even if someone in your family had AIDS, you would still be able to live a perfectly normal life without “catching” the disease (Spoiler alert: You can’t catch AIDS), and if they had the right medication, so could they.
Not trying to criticize you here, I just feel like this is super important and your post didn’t address this, which made AIDS out to be some contagious infectious disease, which it isn’t.
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At the time, there was a misconception floating around that it could be transmited through anything lol. Guess I should have said that, sorry 🙂
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Its true Aids is a terrible diseases and I praise GOD that I am not infected with it
Hey thank you ELISHA for that great post
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My pleasure, man! Thanks a ton for reading!
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