Leadership Cherokee - Youth Style (Part 3)

It's easy to become a pessimist by watching the news.  We watch as police-blotter style reports tell us of shootings, drug transactions and other very negative situations involving local youth; indeed, these types of reports permeate the news across our nation.  However, in our midst here in Cherokee County, we have a number of youth making very positive contributions to our community and beyond.  These are the youth who will be accepting and embracing leadership in the coming years.  Most of those who will be influential in contributing positively to this community and beyond are already doing so.  In this, the last of this series of blogs, I will attempt to reveal the story of yet another young person who is spreading light and love with her activism. 

Elya Snow is a soft-spoken young woman of 28 who lives in Cherokee County.  She's grown up within our community, surrounded by family and faith.  It is her faith that drives her to move past the comfort of home and Cherokee County, past the comfort of Georgia and even the United States to reach out to a group of orphans in Bugadde, Uganda by teaching them what she can, encouraging them in every way she can, and by learning much from the children themselves. 

As a child, Elya always had a heart for helping others and knew she wanted to do so overseas.  A seminal moment occurred when her family was watching the movie "Tears of the Sun."  Although it was a fictional account, Elya asked her father if stuff like that portrayed in the movie really happened.  Intuitively, even before he answered "yes", she knew.  She cried for half an hour after he was truthful with her.  The rest of the family enjoyed Dunkin' Donuts, but Elya's heart was changed by what she saw in that movie, along with her perception of what poverty could do to someone, and ultimately her vision of the oppression others faced world-wide. 

She had another life-changing experience when Dr. Wilson Kulaba visited her family church and preached the Gospel.  Elya had heard Dr. Kulaba preach before - the catalytic moment was the announcement of a mission trip to Uganda.  Dr. Kulaba grew up an orphan in Uganda under the reign of the notorious Idi Amin, yet began preaching and establishing churches, despite the obstacles he faced.  He knew that education and his faith were the keys to effecting the change he wanted to see in the world; consequently he studied long and hard, eventually obtaining a Ph.D.  He began to dream a dream of helping orphans in Uganda, and while his primary mission was and is the establishment and growth of churches (which he has done for decades), this spark of a dream - the orphanage - was growing in his heart and mind. 

Within a week of his visit to Elya's church in 2003, a mission trip to Uganda was announced for 2004 and she knew she had to make that journey.  A two-week visit to Kampala to encourage Dr. Kulaba's congregation also included a side journey to the village of Bugadde, where a revival was being held.  During that two-week trip, he shared with Elya his vision of building an orphanage in Bugadde, where a school would be attached to apartment-style living quarters and perhaps widows could assist with the educating and raising of the orphans.  Elya was so excited by the concept that when she returned to Kennesaw State University where she was pursuing a degree in Special Education, she switched her major to Early Childhood Education in the hope that she could help actualize Dr. Kulaba's vision for the orphanage. 

It took Elya a long time to complete her degree at KSU, graduating in 2008.  That same year, Dr. Kulaba visited again (as he did frequently), and Elya learned that the orphanage - His Kids - had been started.  She felt a tug on her heart - as though HER dream was coming true.  She knew she had to return to Uganada and started the necessary fundraising to pay for her trip, planning to spent at least two months this visit. 

No one could have foreseen what would happen next.  Elya was scheduled to depart in May, 2010.  In April, two of her brothers were involved in a horrible car accident.  One was injured but expected to make a full recovery; the other, however, suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and was critically injured.  It seemed the African trip would be overthrown, and Elya didn't much care.  Hers is a close family, and she felt called to stay here and help in any way she could.  However, her brother's injury was so severe that he required constant care within the hospital environment.  So, her family encouraged her to go ahead and travel, knowing she could and would be helpful upon her return.  Through much prayer, Elya was led to make the trip, confident that the hospital was overseeing her brother's care and that he was always in the Lord's presence. 

During the 2010 trip, she was only able to visit the orphanage for about three weeks out of the two-month stay.  She stayed in Kampala much of the time, assisting Dr. Kulaba with Children's Church and other activities within his congregations, such as making recordings.  Kampala was supposed to be safer than the small village where the orphanage was located.  However, Elya was staying just a few miles from the site of the suicide bombings carried out against crowds watching a screening of a World Cup final match in July, 2010.  I mention this only to point out the type of violence to which the Ugandan people have been exposed for a very long time.  Elya's faith keeps her from worrying about such things.  It is her faith in her Lord that motivates her to keep her eyes on the prize, and for Elya, the prize has been the chance to teach and to encourage the young orphans all that she can. 

She fell in love with the Ugandan children.  Compared to the United States, Uganda is not a comfortable place to live, especially in the more remote villages.  Amenities that we take for granted are not available to them; consequently the children are resilient and they are very strong in spirit.  Elya had so much fun getting to know the children, not even the language barrier could separate them.  For her first few lessons in Bugadde, the headmistress of the school translated for the children.  After that, Elya used tips she had learned from ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers, along with a good many visual aids.  She remembered to speak slowly and carefully and some of the children actually understood what she was trying to convey.  Ugandan children are just like any other children, she is quick to point out.  Some are hungrier to learn than others.  Some, she says, are very, very bright and truly invested in learning, having been encouraged in the value of education through family and friends.  Others don't put as high a priority on learning, most often because they skip school as they need to go into town and work to earn some money. 

When she returned to Woodstock in 2010, Elya became the primary caregiver for her brother, as he continued to recover from his traumatic injuries.  He's made amazing progress, for which all who love him are grateful.  When given the chance to travel to Uganda again this year, Elya leapt at the opportunity and began making plans to do so immediately.  Once again, she boarded a plane in May 2012 and returned to Kampala.  Despite her allergies kicking into high gear upon her arrival in Kampala, she was able to spend much more time at the orphanage and in the village of Bugadde.  She taught Monday-Friday, doing what she loves most - encouraging and teaching the children.  His Kids Orphanage functions more as a school attached to a boarding house.  Some of the children have intact whole families; others are being raised by grandparents, aunts, uncles or even neighbors.  Currently the boarding house has 20 occupants, most of whom are sponsored by the non-profit organization "Touches of Hope." (www.touchesofhope.org) There are all sorts of differing family dynamics that play into placement.  The most important thing is to foster education and encouragement of spirit. 

When asked what the children have taught her, Elya's quick to respond, "The children have taught me so many surprising things with regard to their capabilities and interests - children are children world-wide, and the similarities are far more than the differences."  She goes on to say that their creativity, their intelligence and playfulness make them so much fun!  Describing how the boys make cars out of anything that will run across the ground and how the girls make up complex interactive games, she muses over what they've taught her - much about life in general.  Deprived of most of the material goods that American children take for granted, thse children are also often lacking in basic nurture and encouragement.  Despite their hardships, their will to survive and to thrive is amazing. 

This time, more of the children had learned a little English.  Elya spent time learning the local dialect, Lugos, and loved it when she would try to say a word or two and the children would dissolve into gales of giggles over her mispronunciations.  They got to play and eat together and Elya was even able to take them some toys.  Just before her departure this year, she did some extra fundraising in procuring solar panels so that the children could do homework at night.  With help from Dr. Kulaba's church, coupled with the funds she has raised, they were able to install proper solar panels on the roof of the boarding house to enable night lights to function.  She says it was wonderful being able to interact with the children even after the sun went down. 

Although Elya knows she will return to Uganda and the children, she doesn't know the timing or for how long.  She is prayerfully considering her future, not sure in what direction the Lord will lead her, but fully confident that she will always be ready to serve His purpose in the world, wherever and whenever that might be.  She often thinks of the wisdom of Dr. Kulaba, who once told her "Even the longest night will end up in daybreak.  The sun is going to shine on you."

i pray you've enjoy reading about the "other side" of youth in America.  With people like Elya Snow, Adam Casey and Chloe Heidt in our midst, we can be assured that there is much action for the good of mankind and our futures are secure. 

Author's note:  Donations to His Kids Orphanage can be made via www.touchesofhope.org.  Sponsorship for an orphan is available via the same website.