How do you tell a story like that?
How do we tell about such an experience? To the people left behind, how can we convey even 1 gram of the immense gratitude of the beneficiary communities we met?
Sorry to disappoint you but I'm afraid I still don't know. A few days after our return from our two-week trip to Uganda to look at projects I am still thinking but have not found any answers.
One thing, however, that I can do is try to put some thoughts down in writing, like a sort of posthumous travel diary to at least put some order into the wonderful chaos that I have and we have experienced and that I still have in part. There will also be contributions from friends and colleagues - Serena, Bianca, Filippo - who have travelled with the Foundation.
We know, after all, that writing is a kind of therapy and so, in a selfish manner, I am going to throw in a few lines in the hope that it will help me and that I would like to share them with all of you.
The protagonists of the story will be me (Fabio), Serena, Bianca and Filippo: 4 mzungu who go to Uganda to have a life experience with the aim of viewing and documenting the projects that the Costa Family Foundation has been supporting since 2012.
How does the story unfold? Welcomed, protected and guided by the local partner ‘Insieme si Può in Africa’ they will have several experiences within the country. First in the chaotic Kampala they will view the projects that ISP carries out with local partners and thanks to the support of the Maratona dles Dolomites; then they will move to Karamoja (in Moroto) - the remote region on the border with Kenya - where the Foundation has been supporting projects related to agriculture, education, support for the fragile, food, water and health for years.
The idea is that over the next few days (in a more or less cadenced manner), one piece of the story at a time will come out , like a sort of canvas that is being built up as one goes along and whose design can only be read (and interpreted) once the work is finished, or perhaps never.
Spreading them out in this manner, however, will allow me (and us) to recover all the mental notes we have inside our heads and you - this is the hope - to be able to better appreciate each and every step, give it its due importance, read it, be contaminated by it and let it settle until the next one is published.
One step at a time, like a long journey.
This is the intent; I promise nothing about the end result but commitment, dedication, love and involvement will not be lacking.
Thank you for being there.
We will be back soon, I promise.
