Two months in Uganda: months that were at once painful and uplifting, a true pilgrimage of pain and hope. Painful because of the high rise in the number of Covid 19 cases, a country wide lockdown, and the loss of many people including my dear friend and BLI co-founder Anthony Zachary Mary Rweza. Once I was able to get to BLI, however, my sprit was lifted in many ways: seeing how the BLI campus had taken shape; hearing reports from the caretakers about the impact of the training program; interacting with them and watching their energy and enthusiasm in the fields and on the volleyball court; experiencing the leadership and teamwork among the staff; – and quite significantly – enjoying the visit by Emma Kirabo and Maria Ssanyu, two recent Notre Dame graduates (see their blogs here and BLI’s latest newsletter here).
A number of times, Denise Levertov’s poem, Beginners, came to mind:
But we have only begun
to love the earth.
We have only begun
to imagine the fullness of life.
—so much is in bud.
How can desire fail?
—we have only begun
to imagine justice and mercy,
only begun to envision
how it might be
to live as siblings with beast and flower,
not as oppressors.
We have only began…
Please enjoy these photos of BLI and my time in Uganda.
The BLI team! 
Playing a board game with the caretakers 
Our campus 
Exploring the forest 
Our new volleyball court! 
Kirabo Emma, Ssanyu Maria, and my brother, Father Joe
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