In front of my nose

There are things in this world that are not fair. When I came to the States, thanks to the visa waiver system that Australia and the US have going, no one questioned why I wanted to come. For that matter when I travelled to Uganda, I paid fifty dollars when I got to Entebbe Airport for my entry visa, no questions asked.

Now I do understand that there are rules around immigration for various reasons, so don't misunderstand me, I'm not advocating for an absence of rules. Just commenting on the suggested value of different people through the ease or difficulty of the process for them to get a visa into certain countries.

For instance, I know that if any of my friends from Uganda or DR Congo want to come to Australia there is a very long process involved which despite the length can still end by being denied a visa. At the moment Australia HOPE International is involved in the process of trying to get visas for our partner from DRC and some of the children he works with so that they can come and tell their stories to people in Australia who might otherwise not hear.

The process for these guys has been long, starting with, last October, the application for passports. This took longer than your average application because, due to the unrest around the time of the Presidential election, government offices were closed for some time. After successfully getting the passports, visas then had to be applied for from Nairobi, Kenya as there is no closer Australian Embassy/High Commission. Luckily this process can be done by mail.

We are waiting to hear (and have been waiting for a while) what the outcome will be. Please join with us in believing for a good report. Not only will this trip be an amazing opportunity for these kids from what is considered to be the worst place in the world to live if you are a woman or child but is also an opportunity for HOPE to get to a wider audience and advocate for those who we are not able to bring to Australia.

If you would like more information about the trip check out THIS LINK.

While sitting on my friends comfy couch, drinking my cup of mint green tea and typing on my trusty laptop I feel quite removed from that world that I left only a month ago. I have this habit of only seeing what is in front of me. But in two weeks I will be back in Victor and after giving myself a week to recover from another bout of jetlag, will be helping to look after and acclimate our Congolese guests. So today, writing this is what I can do to remind myself that not everyone lives the same way.

Blessings

bron