poem ~ mission trip

I went on a humanitarian mission trip
and I saw with my own eyes,
The horrific horror and circumstance 
that people have just to try to live their daily lives.

Walking three to twenty miles or more
just to get to the water resources there, 
That lay deep in the ground  
not like us in a pipe from town.

Seventeen days in Kotido Uganda
with only one full meal a day,
That consisted of rice, beans and greens
prepared in the same fashionable way.

We only ate meat one day
for this is considered quite the treat,
And so was the fresh pineapple
that we got on market street.

It's hard to fathom how one lives
in such meager of ways,
When your used to eating all you want
in food consumption all your days.

Their huts are about five feet deep
and sleep four to fourteen each,
In a small circumference they sleep
with no blankets or pillows as they rest their feet.

We washed our clothes out by hand
in a bucket with some soap,
For even this was the classy way
when most do it in the mud hole with sand.

I can't tell you what this trip meant to me
to see how they live in such simplicity, 
Yet it forever changed my world view
when I looked into their eyes anew.

As they intently look at you
with a deep longing for hope,
To help them fight off disease and death
as they work to build another sand dam yet.

They can't hide their appreciation and love
for all that's been done for them,
So they sing and dance for you
as a simple way to say Thank You!

I promise if you could go
and see it for yourself,
There are no words for what it does
when you experience this firsthand.

My heart will always be with them 
for all they have to live through,
And the things we take for granted
in the abundant life we have here in America too. 

© Misty W Gilbert
#Poems #AuthorLife #MistyWGilbert #TheSassyVoice #MissionTrip #CleanWater #ForOneAnother #VolunteerWork #Philanthropy #CharityWork #GiveBack  #Uganda