Thoughts on what it’s like to be a brother
Print Edition
What does it mean to be a brother? Brothers love each other, they stand up for each other, they comfort one another. Sometimes they bicker, squabble and annoy each other, but there is care that is deeper than these petty arguments. Just ask my siblings who I see almost every day! We squabble, but we care.
Since I came to The Peace Center last summer, my family have started to sponsor a young boy named Blaire. He was not living at The Peace Centre last year and moved into the home in the autumn of 2016. Our family have been in correspondence with Blaire since we started to sponsor him at the beginning of the 2017, but I had never met him. As such, when I was on the bus to Bukinda just over a week ago, I was worried that meeting Blaire might be strange, that I wouldn’t know what to say or how to act around him. I was planning different conversations and scenarios in my head — but I really wasn’t sure how any of them would pan out.
When I first arrived he was a little distant, so I wondered if he didn’t recognize me from the photograph that my mum sent. So at dinner time that night I told him that my parents were Luca and Gabriella and as I said that he looked up at me in shock and asked with raised eyebrows, “your parents?” and that was the moment he realized who I was.
The next morning I got hugs before and after school. The hugs were strong, (that winded me!) and you could see the genuine happiness in his eyes and smile. It was amazing how he made me his brother so quickly. I have come to appreciate the sparkle in Blaire’s eyes. They are one of his most recognizable features and I look forward to seeing them shine.
A couple of days ago, Pier and I were playing about (as we tend to do) and Pier started to tease me a little. Before I had time to tease him back, Blaire intervened and said, “No! Mass is not that. Mass is my brother.” I was shocked. I had no idea I meant so much to him. It is not easy to stand up for your friends or family, and Blaire did it immediately even though I had only known him for a few days.
Am I a bad brother? Would I have stood up for Blaire as quickly as he stood up for me? Did I feel the same care and connection to him as quickly as he did for me?
This time last year Blaire — an orphan — was living with his brother Joshua in an abandoned home. They were struggling to survive. Now they both live at The Peace Centre and they are thriving. They have over 30 new Bakiga siblings and each have sponsor families with siblings abroad too. They don’t have to worry about their school fees, where their next meal will come from or their health. Blaire has a family that will write to him regularly and he can finally have the childhood he deserves.
I have learnt a lot during this trip to Uganda, including more about how to be a brother. I am Blaire’s brother. He defends me, and I defend him. He hugs me, and I hug him. He loves me, and I love him.
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