What an incredible journey with Field of Hope as a volunteer it has been! These past four months have reminded of how powerful it is for someone to have hope. Most especially what it means to gain back the hope and faith you had lost.
Hope is something that ignites a flame of possibilities and it is fair to say that I have witnessed hope in a few field trips that I took with the team to visit schools, farmer groups, and during different teacher trainings.
Despite coming from a different part of the country (western Uganda) with different cultures, unfortunately the culture of women being unable to support themselves financially and living in fear of what’s next is a culture we all share!, most especially in areas where women have not had a chance for education. They tend to lose hope and get consumed into early marriages, and becoming vulnerable to sexual harassment, physical and mentor gender-based violence.
However, through Field of Hope efforts, I have seen a glimmer of hope. From the few visits that I joined Joseph and Agnes to the farmers’ villages for gender equality trainings, cooperative trainings, leadership trainings, impact assessment visits, it would be fair for me to say that Field of Hope is returning a sense of hope to these women and to the community members.
A farmer being able to use good farming methods gives her hope for high yield produce, A woman learning how to save her money and use it for the right purpose for-example paying for her children’s school fees gives her hope for the future, A girl child being able to go complete her education gives her hope for independence and a voice to advocate for her rights in the society’
A woman producing her own food without going to work in someone’s garden so she could get a free meal is a win, A young girl having access to clean water and not moving a long distance in the bushes alone looking for water gives her hope for good mental health tomorrow because it reduces her vulnerability to sexual assault and exploitation.
These experiences have filled me with joy, knowing that field of hope is making a tangible difference in the lives of women and small holder farmers. The joy on their faces whenever they would be welcoming Field of hope team says it all, it reflects hope to me. a
Being directly attached to the Youth Agriculture Education pillar, I closely with the pillar head David and also joined him for school visits to do teacher evaluation and deliver career talks to students. The eagerness on students faces hoping that our presence would bring a positive chance showed me that there is need.
And speaking of hope, A teacher having enough resources to teach now hopes for a successful lesson, and his learners’ success in that specific subject. Learners having enough resources, being able to have hands on learning, they hope to understand the concept more, gives them a chance to escape classroom boredom, and gives the agriculture industry hope for having more people with practical knowledge about agriculture, thus hope for food security, sustainable agriculture and stable income.
As a Christian, I have learned that hope strengthens my faith in God, trusting in his provision, serving others with the hope of making a positive impact and giving them hope the future has been a rewarding experience
Hope and excitement about the future are very essential, we all need hope to motivate us to have faith that tomorrow will be better than today. I am grateful to God for this experience and I want to send my heartfelt gratitude to the founders, donors, and board members, and the Ugandan team of field of hope for what incredible Seeds of Hope you are sowing in Ugandan communities. God bless you!
Anne Oshaba, Volunteer
