There is a place we often visit in Kampala that is one of the many open air markets around town.  It is smaller than most, but offers certain products and services which attract many tourists and “us mzungus”.  There are gift shops, restaurants and grocery stores along with fruit vendors.  A lot of you think you have had a banana and a pineapple but I’m sorry to say that unless you have been here and tried these succulent fruits, you have just been gnawing on wood all of these years. 

They are also vendors selling shoes, beads, carved items as well as many bootlegged videos.  Many of the movies come out on video here while they are still in your theatres at home, some even before.  I just saw Rocky 7, 8 and 9.  Because of the attraction of this place, a few who are disabled with missing limbs and crippled legs congregate here to ask for money. 

On one of my last visits, I was trying to score a copy of Rocky 10,  I just had to know what happened.  As I was driving away, I witnessed one of the saddest things I ever saw.  There was a man with shrivelled legs and flip flops on his hands chasing my car, frantically trying to get my attention.  One thing I try to do every time I am faced with these encounters, is to take the time to get to know them, listen to their story and see what I can do to help but I had already committed to turning left by pulling into traffic.  The devil on my left shoulder said “keep driving, don’t cause an accident” while the angel on my right said “hey look, there’s a copy of Rocky 11, circle around and get it”.   As I pulled around and parked my car, I could see that his eyes caught me and again he frantically started to wave and began to make his way over to me.  I sat down on the curb so I could talk to him eye to eye which actually created quite a scene among the Ugandans.

I prepared myself for a typical Ugandan greeting - “I want money”.  I’m so used to that now that I am able to ignore it completely.  I told him my name and asked him for his.  I got to know a little about Bosco and his fascinating story.  Long story short – because of generous people across the world (I used to say Canada but lately the U.S. and Australia are coming on board), I was able to take Bosco to a place where they custom built him a cool ride for only $225 Canadian (that’s about $250 Australian and due to the recent events with the decline in the U.S. dollar, about $495 American). 

In a place like this you have to choose whether to ignore or acknowledge the existence of the overlooked.  In a country with such wealth and poverty, once again Jesus’ words come alive, this week it was the story of Lazarus and the rich man.  We have grown so accustomed to stepping over the poor at the gate, we need to take a moment and sit.  The friend you make may have eternal consequences for you and him.  You never know, he might even be able to get you an advance copy of Rocky 12.

Please click on the youtube link to see Bosco and his new set of wheels.