'Our hearts are there'

None of them will ever be the same again.

The five Bonavista women who recently embarked on a missionary trip to Uganda returned with a weight so heavy they had no choice but to leave their hearts behind.

For two weeks in October they devoted themselves to helping orphaned children in the village of Watoto, near Kaupala.

The women - Eileen Faulkner, Sandra Durdle, Eliza Swyers and Laura Swyers, led by Cathy Harris - are all brought to tears as they collectively share their thoughts on what they consider 'the experience of a lifetime'.

"It was joyful, it was sorrowful, it was heart wrenching. It was unimaginable," says Eliza. "What you see on TV, it's very real."

They stepped off the plane and a taxi took them through the city of Kaupala. Cars everywhere - bumper to bumper and side to side. They recall complete chaos.

The back roads of the city are masked by businesses. Looking closely, the group saw people living in filth, in huts they wouldn't think to place an animal.

Harris says where and how these people lived would make the poorest Newfoundlander look rich in comparison.

"As a person who has done mission work before I expected devastation, but not to this vastness. It was worse than I had ever seen. There was no end to it in the city," Harris explains.

It didn't take long before they got to experience the desperation in the streets.

"If we stopped the van to give out to one child, within seconds we would be totally surrounded by children and adults with hands out - some naked and some in torn clothing. We put something in every single hand."

Driving through the impoverished city not only made the women see how blessed they are to live in Newfoundland, but it made them realized how lucky are the children who find homes at the Watoto Villages.

The Watoto mandate is to rescue a child, raise a leader and rebuild a nation. They rescue orphaned children from destitution. They take them into what are called Bulrushes - a babies home, where there is one adult to each child. Once a child reaches the age of two they graduate to a 'Mama's House', in the village. The mama may have children of her own. She takes in and cares for four girls and four boys.

Watoto has three villages. In each village there are nine of these houses in a circle and nine circles per village.

The group is confident the children are looked after with food, clothing, an education, healthcare and recreational activities.

The kids remain with Watoto until the age of 18, when they leave for work or college.

"Because of Watoto, I believe that organizations that go over in Third World countries make the difference," says Swyers.

Giving

Most of what the group brought was for the children of the village, who were already being helped. They didn't need to give out any clothes or anything. They gave mostly candy and bubblegum.

"It was overwhelming how, what we call little things, could affect them so much," says Swyers. "I think we gave them a lot of hope - that people really cared. Instead of just sending them money, we sat with them and I don't think they were used to that. We'd hug them."

Durdle points out they didn't go there to get thanks out of it, but just to see the children smiling.

"What we had we shared with them all."

On the second day of the trip the team went to work on the schoolhouse.

They were assigned to build two brick walls for a classroom.

The group was unsure if they'd be able to get it done. But the Ugandan workers onsite gave them the motivation and strength they needed to mix the mortar and pile the blocks on.

"To see them - how they work - that gave us that much more fiber in us to participate," Faulkner says.

There were women who carried mortar on their heads with nothing on their feet, while the group wore steel-nosed boots.

The men work no more than two years on the site, to keep their bodies from giving out on them.

It was as hard for the visiting group to see the men slaving away in the heat, as it was to see the desperate children in the streets.

"It's not human. I wish I never had seen it. It broke my heart," says Faulkner.

Hope

"I doubted these organizations. I really did," Swyers admits.

Harris was the only member of the team who had previously taken part in a missionary trip. Swyers says she can see now that these children are truly cared for through their sponsorships.

One of the team's main goals during the trip was to make the children feel they were important and loved. The Bonavista women feel they did just that.

"We literally touched thousands of lives," Harris says.

Upon returning to Bonavista it was easy for them to feel guilty for what they have, but the women all agree it's what you do with it and how you give of your time that makes all the difference.

"We've got to help our brothers and sisters that have nothing, because who knows the future? The day could come when we could be in the very same situation," says Durdle.

The group wants to return to the Village in a year, although a plan is not yet in place. They just know they're still needed.

Harris is driven by the fact that the Watoto organization has saved thousands of lives. Because of this, she believes there is hope for all underdeveloped countries.

"The more people get onboard, the bigger the team and the more we can do to help."