i hadn’t got online yet. my computer has been acting funny so i rebooted. as it started up with the reassuring whirl of a hard drive booting, i turned on my space heater, and returned to my desk.
opening up firefox [the browser of choice], my eyes skimmed down my news section as i typically do every morning.
my heart got stuck in my throat, and i couldn’t breathe when i read this headline:
SCHOOL FIRE KILLS UGANDA CHILDREN
I clicked, tears already welling up in my eyes.
An overnight fire in dormitory at a Ugandan junior school near the capital, Kampala, has killed at least 19 girls.
The BBC’s Joshua Mmali at the scene says distraught parents are wailing as rescuers work to retrieve bodies.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that it was homicide,” Police Inspector General Kale Kaihura said, reports AP news agency.
Our reporter says it has been established that the hostel’s doors were locked from the outside.
Two adults are also reported to have died in the fire, which police say started at 2200 local time (1900 GMT) on Monday.
It is not clear how many children were in the room, which had 63 beds.
A Red Cross worker told the BBC that it is difficult to identify the bodies as sometimes only pieces of bodies are being found.
all my mind can see right now are the all the girls sophie and i played ball with two afternoons. their smiling faces, their bright eyes, their laughter. their silliness as they would catch and tumble and drop the ball. the sing-song in their voices.
to clarify, the school in the story is not the school we visited. but i have no doubt the girls are just like the ones we were playing with. hugging. loving. laughing with.
linet, the i sponsor from uganda is nine. i just cannot imagine it.
my heart is breaking today, probably in the deepest way since returning from africa. i keep crying. i am really glad i have an office to myself right now.
i am about to email our team that went to uganda with the story. so i also ask you pray for their hearts.
but most of all, please pray for the girls in the school, their parents, and the country of uganda. what a horrible tragedy to face.
if you would like to sponsor a child from uganda, please click here.
Comments
25 responses to “death. here is your sting. why?”
“Preliminary investigations indicate that it was homicide”
It’s times like this that the calls to turn-the-other-cheek and love-your-enemies don’t feel so easy.
we’re crying with you Anne – and commit to pray for many iget angry when stuff like this happens, plain angry
wow…that messes me up and i have never been there. I can only imagine the feeling in your heart.
I am praying for you.
Wow. That horrible. I cannot imagine the cruelty of heart it would take to do that. I know your heart is broken right now.
Overwhelmed. Praying.
thank you everyone.
I’m so sorry Anne. It’s a tragic event for those girls to have suffered this way and for the ones who may have done this to live in sins grip.
My heart dropped when I read the article title. Just tragic.
I cannot do much, but prayer I can do.
Reading this broke a part of me. I cannot even imagine having just been there and playing ball with girls who are just like the victims, like you had. Your heart is heavy and hurting.
I will pray Anne.
http://www.vagabondrunn.wordpress.com
I cannot write words that even express the pain that friends and family of these children are feeling, but I can imagine that happening to my own dear children, and it tears my heart out. I mourn for this loss. Today is a day of prayer for me, and I will lift up all those involved.
can someone post a link to the story?
why would someone do this to children?? pure evil
anne, i am so, so sorry…
i am thinking about the hours i got to spend with the beautiful kids in india last year. more specifically, i am thinking about the couple of hours i got to have with several sweet girls at a school in madhupur.
i am thinking about sidia, the girl joy and i sponsor in mozambique.
come, Lord Jesus, come…
Sorry I forgot the link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7347946.stm
That’s just horrible. I’m fighting the tears and I haven’t even been to Africa. How could someone do something so terrible to innocent children? My prayers are with all who are effected by this tragedy.
I just sent this to my pastors who have also recently been to Uganda several times. We are all praying and knowing that God can turn this around for his glory…there will be beauty from these ashes…there has to be.
I am so sorry to hear this.
i’m sorry my friend. i’ve never been to Uganda, but i too saw all the kids i know and have played with in South Africa when i heard this. my heart is broken. praying.
definitely praying and thanking God for gift of another day to live and breath. thanking him for his protection over me and my family each day.
i will be praying for you as well as the families dealing with this tragedy!
OH I am sad!!!
PRaying
Absolutely tragic. Praying in NC.
Hi Anne,
Over here in New Zealand we have just had 6 vibrant young Christian students and a teacher die in a freak canyoning accident; then I came to your blog and read about this…its so terribly sad and unanswerable why these things happen..thinking of you and praying for all those precious people..
Sarah
Hey, Anne.
Continuing to pray. For parents, siblings, and the terribly misguided people who committed this act.
I’ve been to Uganda. I’ve been in Kampala. I’ve been to a secondary school on the edge of the city. This breaks my heart.
Your blog stirs my heart. Thank you. So sorry about this tragedy. Blessings to you and yours.
Peace,
R
What a tragedy! My heart goes out to the families.