| 這些難民其中有很多是孤兒，而且也是「夜間通勤者」，常常走了很遠很遠的路，只為了尋找一個更安全的棲身之處睡覺。在通信期間，有一位筆友失聯了一陣子後，再也沒有人看到過他；而另一位筆友則是病入膏肓後，便過世了。透過通信，這些高中年紀的根與芽組員們，常常會在筆友身上學到一些異想不到的事，也讓他們更能感受到北烏干達衝突的嚴重性。小組成員Karina
Kubota說：「我們時常看到有關烏干達的新聞，但是拿到一封從那邊寄來給我的手寫信，卻又是一種完全不一樣的感覺。」
「生態尖兵」組員在信中會告訴這些難民們有關動物園裡發生的事情、還有裡頭的動物、他們自己的興趣以及所做的義工工作等。Karina說：「我們也會問這些孤兒們，他們每天的生活究竟是什麼樣子？也會問他們有沒有兄弟姊妹？他們現在所待的地方安全嗎？他們在學校學習些什麼？」
小組組長Sheri Mande說他的組員們在此活動中領悟到：如果不顧所處的環境，其實在美國和在烏干達的年輕人，在本質上其實是很相似的，他們都愛他們的家人、朋友，喜歡玩遊戲、上學，他們對未來也都有共同的展望。有時候，烏干達寄來的信裡會要求寄錢去幫助他們支付學費和制服，但是洛杉磯動物園的政策中是禁止小組去募款的，他說：「就在我們想要全力幫助他們的同時，這一部分其實是相當困難的」，因此Sheri建議組員們不要直接寄錢過去，但鼓勵可以捐錢給那些在當地工作且可信賴的非營利組織，像是RESPECT
International 或ACDA。
截至目前為止，這個根與芽小組已經和烏干達難民交換了四次信件。Sheri說：「能收到從生活困苦難民營中孤兒寫來的信，表達他們的希望、快樂和愛，是個非常特別的經驗。看到他們的處境，使我們對之前所擔憂的事情有了不一樣的看法，他們的強韌的恢復力，也讓我們對未來抱持著樂觀的期盼。」
"I
love my best friend and my pen friend … I like games,
reading and studying English."
"I like swimming and my stroke is like an alligator
...."
"My goal is being a nurse to help my country."
"I like planting trees to help the environment."
These are the words of kids. Maybe they sound like
the words of a happy kid in your life.
You might be surprised to learn that they are the
words of children living in refugee camps in northern
Ugandan. They are the words that these children have
written to members of the Los Angeles Zoo ECO-Corps
Roots & Shoots group in California.
About two year ago ECO-Corps R&S got involved
with Partnerships in Understanding, the Roots &
Shoots international correspondence program, and requested
to be paired with a R&S group in Africa. Roots
& Shoots staff put the group in contact with its
program partner, RESPECT International, as well as
with the Agoro Community Development Association (ACDA),
which work with refugees in northern Uganda and organized
the letter exchange.
The members in L.A. were sometimes surprised by what
they learned about their penpals.
Many of the young Ugandan refugees are orphans, and
many of them are "night commuters" who walk
long distances daily to sleep in safer conditions.
One Ugandan pen pal disappeared and was never found.
Another became very ill and later died.
The correspondence
has made the high-school aged Roots & Shoots members
more aware of the conflict in northern Uganda.
"Yes it's reported on the news every now and
then," said Karina Kubota, ECO-Corps R&S
member, "but that's not the same as receiving
a letter from a real person addressed to me."
The ECO-Corps R&S members write about the zoo
and the animals, about their hobbies and volunteer
work.
"We also ask questions about the daily lives
of the orphans," said Karina, "We ask, 'Do
they have brothers or sisters? Are they safe where
they are now? What do they learn in school?'"
Group leader Sheri Mandel says that her group members
have learned that regardless of circumstances, youth
in the United States and Uganda are essentially alike.
"They love their families and friends, playing
games and going to school—and they share similar
hopes and dreams for the future."
Sometimes the letters from Uganda ask for money for
school fees and uniforms, but L.A. Zoo policy does
not allow the group to raise funds, and Sheri advises
her group members not to send money directly.
"That part is very difficult because we want
to help all of them," Sheri said. She encourages
her group members to instead make donations to reputable
non-profits that work in the region, such as RESPECT
International or ACDA.
To date, the groups have exchanged letters four times.
"It is extraordinary to receive letters from
orphaned children living as refugees under incredibly
difficult conditions and yet read their expressions
of hope, joy and love," Sheri said. "Their
situation puts our own concerns in better perspective,
and their resiliency gives all of us hope for a better
future."
~摘錄自根與芽小組網站
Roots & Shoots
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