Greymouth Watoto Trip

Tales from Thailand – FINALLY!!

After enduring a loonnggg flight from Dubai to Thailand, those of us who can’t sleep on flights – me, Jeremy & Pete White, were all thinking there’s a good reason that people splash out the fares for Business class where they can stretch out!

At Bangkok, we said farewell & commiserations to Tracey & Marge as we left them to endure a 7hr stop over @ the airport prior to their NZ flight.
On our way through Bangkok to our hotel, Pete W reminded me that he had officially retired himself from Ugandan tour leader & had nominated me as Thailand tour leader. I can’t remember any nomination/ fair voting democratic process with any of this…

At the Century Park Hotel, they upgraded our rooms so we found ourselves about 20 floors up in rooms that would happily accommodate the average Watoto house!
We spent that afternoon basically relaxing, enjoying the air conditioning, swimming & catching up on sleep. (I know this as Pete H has a very unflattering photo of me looking like I’ve been shot dead on the bed.)

The next day, we found our way through Bangkok for a tuk tuk tour. Bangkok has about 10 million people & the road system is only built for about 3 million so it can take ¾ hr or longer just to go one block. The traffic lights have lit up signs telling you how long it’s going to be before the lights change again – they count down from 100 – slowly. They should just use the Ugandan road system – ignore the traffic lights, centrelines, traffic islands, use the footpaths & you’ll get there quicker.
Our tuk-tuk tour was hilarious. Our guide “Jerry” was Chinese & his grasp of the ‘Eengwesh’ language was pretty creative. Lloyd & I had to really concentrate to understand what he was saying & then translate it to the others. Pretty hard work but Jerry’s enthusiasm for his job made up for it – & besides, he kept calling me ‘sir’.
Tuks-tuks are not for the faint hearted but once we realised they were reasonably stable at the speed of sound, then we could relax our white knuckled grip on the seats! (Speaking for myself here).

Pete ‘Motor head’ White couldn’t take the smile of his face after his first blast in one of these death machines & was obviously thinking from then on how he could get one into NZ. (Might have a bit of trouble getting over Mt Hercules in one of these on your way down Sth Westland for carpet laying, Pete!)

There are about 100 temples or ‘Wats’ in Bangkok & we figured we must’ve visited every one by the end of the day. They were amazing though – the Thai didn’t muck around building small ones as they were enormous & most were decorated with tiny tiles &/or gold leaf.
It was a stinking hot humid day that meant we all were all nicely marinating in sweat the entire time – very pleasant!
It was blissful to get back to the motel, the air conditioning & the pool. Jack & Jeremy wee the resident pool sharks.

We visited the “Suan-Lum” night bazaar – with its 3,700 shops. Jeremy & Jack felt they had just entered Aladdins cave with all the electronic gizmos, watches, knives, switchblades, & all the other gimmicky gadgets you could imagine that wouldn’t be (legally) seen usually in the average shop.

Day 2 saw us up & leaving @ 6.30 to visit the floating markets @ Damnoen Saduak, Sth West of the Bangkok.
We stopped @ every touristy place on the way as our bus group was one of many buses who were touring that day. Thai tourism ingenuity is a well-oiled machine– they are very slick about getting every Thai baht out of your wallet. As you step out of the bus, unbeknown to you, someone takes your photo & waiting for you when you go back to the bus, is a plate with your photo on it. Multiply this by more touristy stops, & one could accumulate quite a dinner set.
The actual floating markets are up a maze of canals so the bus dropped us off for a ride in long open boats for a “very exciting ride, madam – just like in James Bond movie, madam” to the markets.

I feel that tuk tuk drivers & long boat drivers are of the same breed – suicidal adrenaline junkie maniacs. I’m convinced they have a wild desire to see the whites of their passengers eyes at all times…
Anyway – one very wild exciting 20min ride later & we arrived @ the floating markets – hair standing on end & wide grins –(especially Pete White who was obviously trying to calculate how he would fit a tuk tuk & a 5 metre long boat with a 3litre turbo charged motor into the overhead locker on the plane home).

The floating markets are a wonderful seething mass of noise & chaos that has to be seen to be believed. Long open boats selling anything & everything are crammed against each other in canals. Although over the top touristy, it’s great photo fodder.
While there, Jem, Jack & other brave souls had (rather nervous looking) photos taken of them with snakes wrapped around their necks.
Kate & me were nearly sick at the thought when they were offered to us.

Just when we thought we had seen everything, it was onto elephant riding, (a rather sad) monkey show for some & then a wood carving workshop.
The woodcarving was a surprise as it turned out to be amazingly intricately carved huge pieces of furniture – ie some of the table / chair sets had seats that were about 4 metres long. Think of the size of the house that would be needed for a lounge suite of this size– or the entire family could just share one chair in an average sized house.

Next, it was onto a cultural show that included Thai dancing, fingernail (I am not making this up) dancing, wedding & monk ordination ceremonies, kick- boxing, sword & long pole fighting & elephant work.
We figured we got our money’s worth for this day’s tour! This is what happens when I’m nominated as tour leader, guys…

That night we went on a Bangkok river cruise. One of those events were they pack about 200+ people on, feed them up & put on live entertainment & get every one up dancing as the boat cruises up past all the temples lit up & the lights of Bangkok.
It was a great night & where we saw a side of Jack Hines never seen before. He was the first up dancing as the Thai girl hosts were quite taken with this tall blonde Kiwi guy & every time they got him up for a dance, he was given cheap fluro flashing headgear or glow stick jewellery.
So you can imagine my surprise when I was up dancing myself, to see this tall grinning glowing flashing apparition of dancing fluro-ness heading towards me leading a Congo line! Yep- Jack managed to find himself leading the entire boat load of passengers in this rather wobbly Congo line with the Thai girls clutched firmly behind him. Give me strength.
They couldn’t believe me later when they found out he was only 13.
Day 3 – secretly feeling shattered but ready for another day of danger & excitement – we left (nearly without the sleeping divas -Kate & Olivia) @ 6.30 am to travel up to the River Kwai & Hellfire Pass railway @ Kanchanaburi –Nth West of Bangkok toward the Burmese Border.
At Kanchanaburi, we visited the war museum that gave us the history of the Japanese invasion into Thailand during WW2, the reason behind the railway & the conditions that the prisoners had to endure.
We also walked over the large iron bridge over the river Kwai. We were advised to “not panic (read here, don’t leap off the bridge) if train comes”.
There were heaps of people walking the bridge & it was barely as wide as the rail tracks so passing each other was an exercise in balance& nerve as there were quite a few wooden planks missing & not many places to pass. I couldn’t help but wonder how they got any unsuspecting tourist out of the river before they either floated off towards Burma or were eaten by something. Don’t they have crocs or water snakes in Thailand?!

After travelling to Nam-Tok, we boarded a rather dodgy looking train. For $NZ 3.00 we could be up graded to first carriage- which meant a cup of tea that tasted like turps & a bizarre looking muffin.

The railway journey took us over the actual Thailand- Burma railway that Prisoners of war built during WW2. (We all hoped it had been adequately reinforced over the years as some very precarious looking wooden bridges & viaducts built along the mountain side were VERY high up & the river looked a very long way down!)

We then bused to the very nice Kanachanaburi Motel that is spaciously spread out, surrounded by trees & built on the banks of the Kwai Noi River. As we were almost the only ones there, when we arrived for lunch, the very attentive staff practically hand fed us.

After our intimate lunch, our intrepid team got into long boats to SEDATELY cruise up the river to Kaeng Lawa Cave, which once you survived the 300 or so vertical steps to the entrance, contains amazing limestone caverns & formations.
It had really poor lighting inside but Jeremy found the cave blacker than most as he forgot to take off his sunglasses. Worse still – he then announced this to everyone there! (Mental note to self – keep these wee errors of judgment quiet or they will be repeated on blog sites!).

The hotel contained several swimming pools one of which had a great water slide. The ‘kids’-Kate, Jack, Braydon, Olivia & Jeremy must’ve spent 3hrs going up & down the slide. More sedate older sensible people like myself & the Petes, sat at another pool, on the other side of the motel, sipped G & T’s & enjoyed the peace & quiet.
Pete & I decided that if we ever go away on any holiday again – we’d take Jeremy with us as he entertains the kids so well.

A visit to Hellfire Pass brought us back to reality. This is a long narrow pass cut through solid rock wide enough for the WW2 railway. So named because to keep to the railway completion deadline, the POWs worked through the night so lighting was candles or lamps nailed to the walls of the cutting. A prisoner remarked that if he died, he wouldn’t go to hell as he felt he was already there.
It was quite eerie to walk through the pass along the railway as it was very quiet & marks could still be seen on the walls of the cutting from steel poles that were hammered in to make holes for the dynamite. It was very easy to ‘hear’ the tap, tap, tap of hammers around you –especially when others remarked on the same thing.

It was a very sobering experience & I can imagine on Anzac day, it would be very moving to be there.

While in this area, we also were able to go for an elephant ride & also bamboo rafting on the river. But we must’ve been a bit heavy as Pete W had to get out at one stage & help the raft guy push us out into deep water as we grounded at one stage!
How embarrassing! The hotel staff obviously were feeding us too well.

Back in Bangkok – we had one more frenzied visit to the Night Bazaar to buy more must have items –& while we were aware the goods were ‘authentic genuine fakes’, we all had a great night bartering with the store owners & then comparing our bargains. Bartering brings out a skill in people & I must admit Kate Hines & Olivia are pretty ruthless to see in action!

We finished our last night in wonderful Thailand with a tuk tuk race. I bartered with the drivers for 3 tuk tuks to take us back to our motel. And then we were off! The drivers decided to race & obviously had as much fun as we were. At one stage, I swear we were travelling faster than our guardian angles could keep up but they obviously were as Pete White was in motor head heaven. We soared (flew) up to the front of the hotel beside a limo hooting & yelling at the top of our voices – all beaming & looking as though we’d been in a wind tunnel.
Wow!

Thailand was great & we saw some amazing sights (not just Jack leading the Congo line) & experienced amazing things. It was a full on trip but well worth the fatigue!
The Thailand events may be written slightly out of sync- but not by much. For the purists out there – (Amanda)- dare to sue me.

Over the course of the entire trip, I saw people change & grow in response to challenges & experiences we encountered on the way.
At the risk of this sounding like a thankyou speech after winning an Oscar –

Jeremy – considering you were a choco, KFC & MacD’s only sort of a guy – we were all very impressed by your willingness to try different foods. We’ll be around for homemade chippatties, boiled coleslaw, omelettes with plum jam & dried bananas.
Kate, Jack & Braydon – always gave everything a go & got stuck in to help even when it was hot & we were all really tired & scratchy with each other. We loved standing back & watching you guys communicate so well with others who couldn’t speak English. Your fellow humans could learn from you.
Amanda – thankyou for obliging us with entertainment @ every airport security check – they never did find the bag of peanuts…
Marge – for your patience teaching cryptic crosswords, providing reading books “The Shack” that challenged our idea of God, profound talks & for not going completely insane when the internet kept going down.
Lloyd & Olivia – thankyou both for sharing this journey & allowing us to get to know you. You both fitted into the team as though we had known you for years. And lets note forget Olivia’s choco pudding!
Pete & Pete – thanks guys – another successful trip. Can’t ignore the ongoing call of Africa! Another team will be back.

Kathy

Friday 16 Jan
A pretty uneventful day leaving Gulu early morning after visiting the new Bulrushes and church site. Construction of the Baby’s home is well under way and most days they have about 300 workers on site with the cost being met from a donation from an American Evangalist.
The road back to Kampala was generally in good condition but we also went over part of the same road that we took to Murchison Falls National Park. The good news was they had removed some of the speed humps but the bad news was that they had tar sealed another 3 kilometres and put 355 speed humps on the road!!
Arrived back in Kampala mid afternoon and after a quick trip to the mall for launch and internet it was back to the guest house to chill out.
Saturday 17 Jan
We headed out mid morning to look at other Watoto Villages around Kampala that we had not yet visited. First stop was Buloba village which was one of the first developed by Watoto in the mid late 1990’s but is relatively small with around 30 houses. The vast majority of the children have been moved to either Suubi or Bbira where there are primary schools. The village is now being converted to a retirement village for the “mothers” that worked for Watoto and can no longer cope with 8 kids. It shows that Watoto continues to evolve with time & is future proofing to prepare for looking after the mothers as they retire. It has lots of trees etc and is such a peaceful place.
We then moved on to Bbira when the last team had built. Pete, Kathy, and I were pleasantly surprised at the landscaping & development that had occurred since August 2007 when we were last there, considering the massive amount of building being carried out at the other villages of both Suubi and Gulu. The momentum of building had continued in all Watoto villages.
Back in Aug 07, we built a high school classroom- the second block of 4 rooms built at that time. There are now 8 blocks of 4 rooms each completed with 1 further block to be started. In addition there are 3 blocks of high school teachers’ houses (4x 2bed units in each block) and about another 8 classrooms at the primary school, a new Kindergarten & more primary school teachers houses.
There are now 15 circles of 9 houses completed & occupied. It is intended to have 20 circles to finish the village. Nothing is planned on a small scale!
We then drove to Watoto Central Church (formerly known as Kampala Pentecostal Church –KPC) in the heart of Kampala City to pick up some more money & tickets from the safe. There was a wedding happening in the main church. It cost about 300,000 shillings ($NZ 200) to hold the ceremony there – this is about the same as NZ, the difference being the average monthly wage say for a labourer on our building site, is 100,000 shillings. The bride wore white but the bridesmaids were very colourful in their fluroscent pink or vivid aqua blue (depending upon their ranking) and the men in suits with bright ties (6 Groomsmen) plus youngsters.
Next was a trip to the Authentic Craft market for a bit of retail therapy. Still selling the same sort of things as last time. Part of the fun was bartering over the price( about half the original asking bid) Things may be a bit slow for the stall holders as they came down rapidly and in some cases quite aggressive in attracting your attention. By the end of our visit, there were some happy stall holders & some Kiwis worried about excess baggage costs.
Sunday 18 Jan
Up early and glad rags on before church at Watoto Central. This is the parent body for the Watoto Orphanages. We attended the 10am service which was the 2nd of five for the day holding about 1800 people at each service. We were privileged to be @ the front row in reserved seats. People start to line up for the next service just after the last service goes in. The last song from the service is the first one in the next service.
The actual service has the first hour of mainly singing with a choir of 60 & a band of 6 players. The second hour was a sermon from the big guy (Gary Skinner) concentrating on a passage in the bible (in this case – using your gifts/Talents) which will form the basis for the next couple of month’s sermons. His bible quotes were read off his i-phone.
After Church, we visited Bbira Village for lunch with a family. We split into groups of 2 or 3 & went to different houses in one circle. Our group had lunch with Mother Docus who had 8 children- 7 of which were there. One young girl was away with the latest choir and another, Grace, was practising for the next one that is visiting NZ. The oldest boy was 15 while 3 were under 5. 2 of which had recently come from Bulrushes’. It was a great meal that included local dishes such as fried chicken, beef stew, large pink yams, rice, boiled potatoes, greens, chippates, matooke (steamed banana mash) ground nut sauce, bean stew, some other unidentifiable dishes &, of all things –soup. No separate plate was given for this so we poured it over our rice! Pineapple and bananas were dessert.
We had the usual compulsory game of soccer with the kids after lunch which completed a very satisfying visit. We all came away with an insight into how the Watoto system actually works & how fortunate the kids are who, while have a such a bad start to life, in the end are fairly well off.
That night we went to the Ndere Cultural Centre for a performance by a local troupe of dancers and musicians. It was mainly local musical instruments & dances from the various regions of Uganda and a compare who told both local legends and funny stories. He mentioned how Americans and Europeans have watches but Africans have time. It was a great show & in typical African time, the show went for 4 hrs & not the advertised 2.5 hrs. Late to bed at 11 pm.
Monday 19 Jan
Up early and building clothes on for a day of painting at Sanyu Babies Home. This was the second part of our trip to Uganda. The 2007 group visited Sanyu & decided it was the poor cousin of Watoto & that if we went back we would raise money for Sanyu & if possible, do some work there. Sanyu has been operating for about 80 years & relies totally upon donations & even through it operates under the auspices of the Ugandan Anglican Church it receives no funding from this source. It is an old building in need up a major upgrade with the home surviving on a month to month basis. Our project was to paint the outside of the kindergarten block. We started by moving firewood from the front gate to the boiler room, a distance of 100metres uphill. We were given paint and off we started on the windows etc but just as we were to start using rollers on to the main walls we were told this colour was for the base boards. They then arrived with the right wall paint being “flamingo” or salmon pink. Not very inspiring! Marge became the washing walla & disappeared into the laundry for the day learning how to do the washing from a deaf mute. Back to the guest house stuffed after a big days work. Not used to the work after a week of travelling about.
Tuesday 20 Jan
Another day painting at Sanyu. Finished painting the rest of the pink walls with Kathy the artist painting a mural on the wall. She was handed pots of forest green & saffron yellow & told to paint pictures…
When we went looking for the grey paint to finish the base, the local help could not find it and said “If you can’t see it then it has gone”. Typically, there was 10 litres yesterday and none today but had 5 litres of a different grey that did not match!! The management of Sanyu were so appreciative of us working there and gave true heart felt thanks to us.
Kathy and Kate finished her mural just as the first big fat raindrops of a thunderstorm began. After Sanyu – back to Watoto church for Tshirts, the markets for more drums, & the shopping Mall for last minute shopping to spend remaining shillings.
For our last night’s dinner, Livvy made chocolate self saucing pudding for dessert which was a real treat & then we had quite a few laughs reflecting on pearls of ‘wisdom’ that people had said during our time here.
Wednesday – 2hrs of creative packing of our giraffes, drums, etc. Moments of panic when memory sticks were mislaid etc…
Now at Kamapla airport waiting for the flight to Dubai and Bangkok. Pretty uneventful thru customs and immigration .
I asked everyone on the trip what their thoughts on the trip.
Pete White: This has been another great experience, very different from the last one but just as good. The team has been a wonderful group of people who all have worked very hard in sometimes trying conditions. Uganda is a lovely place and the Ugandans are so friendly and appreciative. Sanyu was also a great experience and well worth doing, they really appreciated our effort. Been twice now and still not out of my system. Wonder what God’s got planned next for me. See you all in a week. Cheers, Pete White.
Braydon White: It’s been great, apart from 3 things – heat, traffic and travelling. The food has been really nice and the house was spacious. The building was hard and Sanyu was a bit boring.
Tracy Hall: Uganda is an amazing place with many contrasts. It has unusual sights, smells and tastes, some pleasant, others not so. It is a lot greener than I thought it would be. The people we have met have been willing to share their knowledge and passion. They are friendly, welcoming and appreciate what we have done. The children no matter whether at a village or as we passed in the bus would share a smile and a wave. It has been a wonderful experience and an amazing adventure which has changed the way I will look at things. I feel fortunate to have had this opportunity and will carry Uganda in my heart.
Kate Hines: When I thought of Africa before we came I thought of animals, heat and people living in Mudhuts. Now when I think of Africa, I think of smiling faces, different smells every second, and hot, hot weather. Africa has been amazing, even more so coz I came with my family. When I go back to school everyone will ask “What did you get up to in your holidays?” and I’ll probably answer “Just been on an experience of a lifetime, how about you?”
Jack Hines: Uganda is by far the best place I’ve ever been to. PROS- Kindness of people, meals, and the great Guest House. CONS – traffic, roads and weather. It has been awesome!!!
Kathy Hines: When we left Uganda in 2007, the challenge given to us was not to forget Uganda & its people but to be ambassadors for Uganda & to return. It was a humbling to be able to say –yes, we have returned. But the ongoing challenge is renewed again for 2012!
Lloyd McGarvey: It still hasn’t really sunk in that I have been in Uganda for 2.5wks. We have done so much. The trip has been a wonderful mix of work, touring, relaxing and meeting people. It is rewarding to feel like we have made a contribution to people’s needs here but humbling when you think how great their needs are.
Olivia McGarvey: So many things to remember. The heat was hard to work in though. The smells were a big part of making Uganda so very different. I really don’t have a lot to say and lunch is ready BUT I am very glad I came
Marge Teft : It has been an incredible trip; very glad I came. Never having been to Africa before it was a real eye opener to the culture, struggles and joys of this part of the world. Great to have been part of the work of Watoto and Sanyu ( even for a short Time )and hopefully to have made a positive contribution to some folks in Uganda.
Jeremy Ewen: This has been an experience that I will never forget. To come to Uganda and built a house for orphans has been very special. I have enjoyed meeting the people of Uganda and seeing their friendly, passionate and sincere nature. It has been a joy to bless them and that they are genuinely grateful. The safari was wonderful and I enjoyed seeing all the different animals. Thank you for the opportunity to do this. I am definitely taking part of Africa home with me.
Amanda Ewen: How do I sum up this experience in just a few words. Uganda now has a special place in my heart. A smile and a wave is an International language that breaks down all language barriers. The joy these people share is amazing. In new Zealand we seem to have so much and only want more. Here is Uganda the people are so grateful for the little they have. The smells and scenes are so different from New Zealand. I wish there was a way to capture the smells to remember them always. Uganda is a place of laughter joy smiles music and potholes.
Pete Hines: Another very successful trip to Uganda with both projects more or less completed. It gives me great personal satisfaction to be part of an Aid programme that actually works and you can see the results before your eyes. The trip while similar to last time it was different with visits to other areas especially Gulu as well as a different group of people. It is with Africa the most important thing is people people people. Not only us but the locals as well. The challenge now is for 2012.
You can take the “boy” out of Africa but not Africa out of the “boy”
Many Thanks to all who supported us both in spirit and financially
Cheers Heinzey

Thursday 14 January.
It is great to be in Gulu, a place we had only heard and read about. However it was completely different from what I (Heinzey) expected. The town had been at war for twenty years and there was very little physical damage to the buildings only years of neglect and no maintenance. The war was fought mainly in the bush and was a more guerrilla type operation with small weapons. The main effect however is psychological and the trauma of being captured and forced to be child soldier’s slaves and “wives” of the rebels is still felt as has the rounding up of the entire local population by the Ugandan Army and placing them into displaced persons camps “for their own safety”.
However Gulu had a good positive feel to it with the war being over for two years now. The rebels moved (forced) out of Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan to raise havoc in the Congo now. There is lots of building going on and it is a bustling market town with a laid back feel.
We started our day by walking to a building that was used by the “night commuters” as a refuge. The building was adjacent to an army/ government building and therefore able to be protected from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) the rebel force who was kidnapping children for their army. About 1000 children slept here every night for 5 years and stayed safe. There were thousands of children kidnapped by the rebels.
Adjacent to this building is a soccer field which is part of a school. It turns out that this field was used by Idi Amin in the 1980’s as a Slaughter field where he would helicopter in, shoot people and fly out while the bodies were carried away for disposal. It is ironic that the two places are adjacent to each other one being the site of some of the worst atrocities in Amin reign of terror and next door a place where thousands of children’s lives were saved.
We then walked to “Living Hope” one of Watoto’s latest projects. It was set up for women of whom the vast majority are HIV positive as they were also children soldiers or their “wives”. As part of the enrolment in Living Hope all of their children were tested (by an Amercian team) for HIV and only 2% are positive. The results were so amazing that they tested again & got the same result. When many of these women were diagnosed with HIV, they could’nt afford medicines & generally gave up, hoping to die. They also irrationally thought if they had another child it would give them some self respect but it just added to the tragic cycle all
over again. The women here are taught that they have a life and should have hope and treat the disease like any other chronic disease (like diabetes or heart problems) and mange the disease. They are also taught life skills and have counselling and when they complete the 2 yr programme they should have a fulfilling life and be self supporting. They are also taught business skills & various skills like tailoring, bee keeping, Jewellery making, manufacturing peanut butter etc which are at presently sold thru Watoto. When the women leave they will have the choice of selling their crafts to the local market. When they leave each lady has the choice of a gift such as a bee hive or treadle sewing machine so they hit the ground running. They are also investigating other products such as biofuel bricks made from rubbish to replace charcoal. Also they are investigating how to manufacture sanitary pads made of papyrus as this is far cheaper than the usual ones available.
There is also a nursery / crèche and medical centre. They hope to expand into the land next door and double the size of the project.
At present they have 900 women enrolled in Gulu and 1200 in Kampala and with all Watoto projects have a huge goal of 3000 women.
The Living hope complex has been give to Watoto “rent free” by the local council with the building being used by night commuters during the war. The local council is very supportive of Watoto, but it is a pity that central government is not. The council also gave a substantial building to Watoto who has converted it to a hospital and American plastic surgeons are coming here to operate on people mutilated in the war. One of the things done by the rebels was cutting off noses, ears and lips. The first operation happened last week.
Watoto Church Gulu was our next stop. It was originally a hotel complex that Watoto took over in August 2007 when the first service was held. Started with about 300 people and now get 1300 people each Sunday. It has now out grown the site and Watoto have brought 13 acres of land (as a result of a single donation) closer to the town centre where they will relocate when finance is available to build a 2500 seat Auditorium. Also currently being built on this new site is “Bulrushes’ Gulu” with a starting capacity for 170 babies.
Watoto Gulu also run outreach programmes for Child soldiers returning from the bush and other displaced people. These programmes are so successful that they are training more people to run these.
The next stop was a school that was built and paid for by the Belgium Government and was up to recently run by the local government. They have formed as partnership with Watoto to run. This is a trauma centre where child soldiers could be sent and counselled given some education and rebuilt their self esteem before being put back into the wider community either as a Watoto orphan or with their family. The complex was self contained with school, medical centre and dormitories for all 450 children.
We then went to Watoto Gulu Village which is about 45 to 60 minutes out of the actual town. The land was available straight away and totals 160 acres. We stopped on the way at LaBone displaced persons camp. This is the last active camp and has currently about 500 People living there down from a total peak population of 10000 All on about 100 acres. Image the entire population of Greymouth living in mud huts on the Rec ground. The camp is to close next month and all huts bulldozed and the people taken home by the Army.
The Watoto Gulu village has a nice feel to it and in a couple of years it will be a magic spot. Very quiet and peaceful with only the noise of children playing. There is about 12 houses occupied and a further 12 almost complete as well as a primary school and teacher houses. Not bad for the land was only purchased a year ago. It was great talking to the “mothers” who are all local women who are passionate about the project and their love for the orphan children is immense. It is intended to have about 100 houses and 800 orphan children.
The night finished after tea with Jack Hines saying he was off to bed to read but instead went to Gilbert our Watoto Host room to watch the African Cup soccer match. Braydon was locked out of the room. Thinking Jack was asleep we after some animated discussion with the hotel staff able to get a key for the next room and Kate “MacGyver” Hines climbed over the balcony 2 stories up to break into the room only to find Jack was missing (?? Taken by the LRA).Jack was found a bit later in Gilbert’s room totally surprised by all the drama.
We are now back in Kampala at the guest House. A number of the party are acting like lost souls because their contact with the outside world via Vodaphone network is erratically unreliable and after 2 week in Africa they still don’t realise “That this is Africa and thing happen in Africa Time”.

Cheers Heinzey
Thursday 14 January.
It is great to be in Gulu, a place we had only heard and read about. However it was completely different from what I (Heinzey) expected. The town had been at war for twenty years and there was very little physical damage to the buildings only years of neglect and no maintenance. The war was fought mainly in the bush and was a more guerrilla type operation with small weapons. The main effect however is psychological and the trauma of being captured and forced to be child soldier’s slaves and “wives” of the rebels is still felt as has the rounding up of the entire local population by the Ugandan Army and placing them into displaced persons camps “for their own safety”.
However Gulu had a good positive feel to it with the war being over for two years now. The rebels moved (forced) out of Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan to raise havoc in the Congo now. There is lots of building going on and it is a bustling market town with a laid back feel.
We started our day by walking to a building that was used by the “night commuters” as a refuge. The building was adjacent to an army/ government building and therefore able to be protected from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) the rebel force who was kidnapping children for their army. About 1000 children slept here every night for 5 years and stayed safe. There were thousands of children kidnapped by the rebels.
Adjacent to this building is a soccer field which is part of a school. It turns out that this field was used by Idi Amin in the 1980’s as a Slaughter field where he would helicopter in, shoot people and fly out while the bodies were carried away for disposal. It is ironic that the two places are adjacent to each other one being the site of some of the worst atrocities in Amin reign of terror and next door a place where thousands of children’s lives were saved.
We then walked to “Living Hope” one of Watoto’s latest projects. It was set up for women of whom the vast majority are HIV positive as they were also children soldiers or their “wives”. As part of the enrolment in Living Hope all of their children were tested (by an Amercian team) for HIV and only 2% are positive. The results were so amazing that they tested again & got the same result. When many of these women were diagnosed with HIV, they could’nt afford medicines & generally gave up, hoping to die. They also irrationally thought if they had another child it would give them some self respect but it just added to the tragic cycle all
over again. The women here are taught that they have a life and should have hope and treat the disease like any other chronic disease (like diabetes or heart problems) and mange the disease. They are also taught life skills and have counselling and when they complete the 2 yr programme they should have a fulfilling life and be self supporting. They are also taught business skills & various skills like tailoring, bee keeping, Jewellery making, manufacturing peanut butter etc which are at presently sold thru Watoto. When the women leave they will have the choice of selling their crafts to the local market. When they leave each lady has the choice of a gift such as a bee hive or treadle sewing machine so they hit the ground running. They are also investigating other products such as biofuel bricks made from rubbish to replace charcoal. Also they are investigating how to manufacture sanitary pads made of papyrus as this is far cheaper than the usual ones available.
There is also a nursery / crèche and medical centre. They hope to expand into the land next door and double the size of the project.
At present they have 900 women enrolled in Gulu and 1200 in Kampala and with all Watoto projects have a huge goal of 3000 women.
The Living hope complex has been give to Watoto “rent free” by the local council with the building being used by night commuters during the war. The local council is very supportive of Watoto, but it is a pity that central government is not. The council also gave a substantial building to Watoto who has converted it to a hospital and American plastic surgeons are coming here to operate on people mutilated in the war. One of the things done by the rebels was cutting off noses, ears and lips. The first operation happened last week.
Watoto Church Gulu was our next stop. It was originally a hotel complex that Watoto took over in August 2007 when the first service was held. Started with about 300 people and now get 1300 people each Sunday. It has now out grown the site and Watoto have brought 13 acres of land (as a result of a single donation) closer to the town centre where they will relocate when finance is available to build a 2500 seat Auditorium. Also currently being built on this new site is “Bulrushes’ Gulu” with a starting capacity for 170 babies.
Watoto Gulu also run outreach programmes for Child soldiers returning from the bush and other displaced people. These programmes are so successful that they are training more people to run these.
The next stop was a school that was built and paid for by the Belgium Government and was up to recently run by the local government. They have formed as partnership with Watoto to run. This is a trauma centre where child soldiers could be sent and counselled given some education and rebuilt their self esteem before being put back into the wider community either as a Watoto orphan or with their family. The complex was self contained with school, medical centre and dormitories for all 450 children.
We then went to Watoto Gulu Village which is about 45 to 60 minutes out of the actual town. The land was available straight away and totals 160 acres. We stopped on the way at LaBone displaced persons camp. This is the last active camp and has currently about 500 People living there down from a total peak population of 10000 All on about 100 acres. Image the entire population of Greymouth living in mud huts on the Rec ground. The camp is to close next month and all huts bulldozed and the people taken home by the Army.
The Watoto Gulu village has a nice feel to it and in a couple of years it will be a magic spot. Very quiet and peaceful with only the noise of children playing. There is about 12 houses occupied and a further 12 almost complete as well as a primary school and teacher houses. Not bad for the land was only purchased a year ago. It was great talking to the “mothers” who are all local women who are passionate about the project and their love for the orphan children is immense. It is intended to have about 100 houses and 800 orphan children.
The night finished after tea with Jack Hines saying he was off to bed to read but instead went to Gilbert our Watoto Host room to watch the African Cup soccer match. Braydon was locked out of the room. Thinking Jack was asleep we after some animated discussion with the hotel staff able to get a key for the next room and Kate “MacGyver” Hines climbed over the balcony 2 stories up to break into the room only to find Jack was missing (?? Taken by the LRA).Jack was found a bit later in Gilbert’s room totally surprised by all the drama.
We are now back in Kampala at the guest House. A number of the party are acting like lost souls because their contact with the outside world via Vodaphone network is erratically unreliable and after 2 week in Africa they still don’t realise “That this is Africa and thing happen in Africa Time”.

Cheers Heinzey
Thursday 14 January.
It is great to be in Gulu, a place we had only heard and read about. However it was completely different from what I (Heinzey) expected. The town had been at war for twenty years and there was very little physical damage to the buildings only years of neglect and no maintenance. The war was fought mainly in the bush and was a more guerrilla type operation with small weapons. The main effect however is psychological and the trauma of being captured and forced to be child soldier’s slaves and “wives” of the rebels is still felt as has the rounding up of the entire local population by the Ugandan Army and placing them into displaced persons camps “for their own safety”.
However Gulu had a good positive feel to it with the war being over for two years now. The rebels moved (forced) out of Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan to raise havoc in the Congo now. There is lots of building going on and it is a bustling market town with a laid back feel.
We started our day by walking to a building that was used by the “night commuters” as a refuge. The building was adjacent to an army/ government building and therefore able to be protected from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) the rebel force who was kidnapping children for their army. About 1000 children slept here every night for 5 years and stayed safe. There were thousands of children kidnapped by the rebels.
Adjacent to this building is a soccer field which is part of a school. It turns out that this field was used by Idi Amin in the 1980’s as a Slaughter field where he would helicopter in, shoot people and fly out while the bodies were carried away for disposal. It is ironic that the two places are adjacent to each other one being the site of some of the worst atrocities in Amin reign of terror and next door a place where thousands of children’s lives were saved.
We then walked to “Living Hope” one of Watoto’s latest projects. It was set up for women of whom the vast majority are HIV positive as they were also children soldiers or their “wives”. As part of the enrolment in Living Hope all of their children were tested (by an Amercian team) for HIV and only 2% are positive. The results were so amazing that they tested again & got the same result. When many of these women were diagnosed with HIV, they could’nt afford medicines & generally gave up, hoping to die. They also irrationally thought if they had another child it would give them some self respect but it just added to the tragic cycle all
over again. The women here are taught that they have a life and should have hope and treat the disease like any other chronic disease (like diabetes or heart problems) and mange the disease. They are also taught life skills and have counselling and when they complete the 2 yr programme they should have a fulfilling life and be self supporting. They are also taught business skills & various skills like tailoring, bee keeping, Jewellery making, manufacturing peanut butter etc which are at presently sold thru Watoto. When the women leave they will have the choice of selling their crafts to the local market. When they leave each lady has the choice of a gift such as a bee hive or treadle sewing machine so they hit the ground running. They are also investigating other products such as biofuel bricks made from rubbish to replace charcoal. Also they are investigating how to manufacture sanitary pads made of papyrus as this is far cheaper than the usual ones available.
There is also a nursery / crèche and medical centre. They hope to expand into the land next door and double the size of the project.
At present they have 900 women enrolled in Gulu and 1200 in Kampala and with all Watoto projects have a huge goal of 3000 women.
The Living hope complex has been give to Watoto “rent free” by the local council with the building being used by night commuters during the war. The local council is very supportive of Watoto, but it is a pity that central government is not. The council also gave a substantial building to Watoto who has converted it to a hospital and American plastic surgeons are coming here to operate on people mutilated in the war. One of the things done by the rebels was cutting off noses, ears and lips. The first operation happened last week.
Watoto Church Gulu was our next stop. It was originally a hotel complex that Watoto took over in August 2007 when the first service was held. Started with about 300 people and now get 1300 people each Sunday. It has now out grown the site and Watoto have brought 13 acres of land (as a result of a single donation) closer to the town centre where they will relocate when finance is available to build a 2500 seat Auditorium. Also currently being built on this new site is “Bulrushes’ Gulu” with a starting capacity for 170 babies.
Watoto Gulu also run outreach programmes for Child soldiers returning from the bush and other displaced people. These programmes are so successful that they are training more people to run these.
The next stop was a school that was built and paid for by the Belgium Government and was up to recently run by the local government. They have formed as partnership with Watoto to run. This is a trauma centre where child soldiers could be sent and counselled given some education and rebuilt their self esteem before being put back into the wider community either as a Watoto orphan or with their family. The complex was self contained with school, medical centre and dormitories for all 450 children.
We then went to Watoto Gulu Village which is about 45 to 60 minutes out of the actual town. The land was available straight away and totals 160 acres. We stopped on the way at LaBone displaced persons camp. This is the last active camp and has currently about 500 People living there down from a total peak population of 10000 All on about 100 acres. Image the entire population of Greymouth living in mud huts on the Rec ground. The camp is to close next month and all huts bulldozed and the people taken home by the Army.
The Watoto Gulu village has a nice feel to it and in a couple of years it will be a magic spot. Very quiet and peaceful with only the noise of children playing. There is about 12 houses occupied and a further 12 almost complete as well as a primary school and teacher houses. Not bad for the land was only purchased a year ago. It was great talking to the “mothers” who are all local women who are passionate about the project and their love for the orphan children is immense. It is intended to have about 100 houses and 800 orphan children.
The night finished after tea with Jack Hines saying he was off to bed to read but instead went to Gilbert our Watoto Host room to watch the African Cup soccer match. Braydon was locked out of the room. Thinking Jack was asleep we after some animated discussion with the hotel staff able to get a key for the next room and Kate “MacGyver” Hines climbed over the balcony 2 stories up to break into the room only to find Jack was missing (?? Taken by the LRA).Jack was found a bit later in Gilbert’s room totally surprised by all the drama.
We are now back in Kampala at the guest House. A number of the party are acting like lost souls because their contact with the outside world via Vodaphone network is erratically unreliable and after 2 week in Africa they still don’t realise “That this is Africa and thing happen in Africa Time”.

Cheers Heinzey
Thursday 14 January.
It is great to be in Gulu, a place we had only heard and read about. However it was completely different from what I (Heinzey) expected. The town had been at war for twenty years and there was very little physical damage to the buildings only years of neglect and no maintenance. The war was fought mainly in the bush and was a more guerrilla type operation with small weapons. The main effect however is psychological and the trauma of being captured and forced to be child soldier’s slaves and “wives” of the rebels is still felt as has the rounding up of the entire local population by the Ugandan Army and placing them into displaced persons camps “for their own safety”.
However Gulu had a good positive feel to it with the war being over for two years now. The rebels moved (forced) out of Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan to raise havoc in the Congo now. There is lots of building going on and it is a bustling market town with a laid back feel.
We started our day by walking to a building that was used by the “night commuters” as a refuge. The building was adjacent to an army/ government building and therefore able to be protected from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) the rebel force who was kidnapping children for their army. About 1000 children slept here every night for 5 years and stayed safe. There were thousands of children kidnapped by the rebels.
Adjacent to this building is a soccer field which is part of a school. It turns out that this field was used by Idi Amin in the 1980’s as a Slaughter field where he would helicopter in, shoot people and fly out while the bodies were carried away for disposal. It is ironic that the two places are adjacent to each other one being the site of some of the worst atrocities in Amin reign of terror and next door a place where thousands of children’s lives were saved.
We then walked to “Living Hope” one of Watoto’s latest projects. It was set up for women of whom the vast majority are HIV positive as they were also children soldiers or their “wives”. As part of the enrolment in Living Hope all of their children were tested (by an Amercian team) for HIV and only 2% are positive. The results were so amazing that they tested again & got the same result. When many of these women were diagnosed with HIV, they could’nt afford medicines & generally gave up, hoping to die. They also irrationally thought if they had another child it would give them some self respect but it just added to the tragic cycle all
over again. The women here are taught that they have a life and should have hope and treat the disease like any other chronic disease (like diabetes or heart problems) and mange the disease. They are also taught life skills and have counselling and when they complete the 2 yr programme they should have a fulfilling life and be self supporting. They are also taught business skills & various skills like tailoring, bee keeping, Jewellery making, manufacturing peanut butter etc which are at presently sold thru Watoto. When the women leave they will have the choice of selling their crafts to the local market. When they leave each lady has the choice of a gift such as a bee hive or treadle sewing machine so they hit the ground running. They are also investigating other products such as biofuel bricks made from rubbish to replace charcoal. Also they are investigating how to manufacture sanitary pads made of papyrus as this is far cheaper than the usual ones available.
There is also a nursery / crèche and medical centre. They hope to expand into the land next door and double the size of the project.
At present they have 900 women enrolled in Gulu and 1200 in Kampala and with all Watoto projects have a huge goal of 3000 women.
The Living hope complex has been give to Watoto “rent free” by the local council with the building being used by night commuters during the war. The local council is very supportive of Watoto, but it is a pity that central government is not. The council also gave a substantial building to Watoto who has converted it to a hospital and American plastic surgeons are coming here to operate on people mutilated in the war. One of the things done by the rebels was cutting off noses, ears and lips. The first operation happened last week.
Watoto Church Gulu was our next stop. It was originally a hotel complex that Watoto took over in August 2007 when the first service was held. Started with about 300 people and now get 1300 people each Sunday. It has now out grown the site and Watoto have brought 13 acres of land (as a result of a single donation) closer to the town centre where they will relocate when finance is available to build a 2500 seat Auditorium. Also currently being built on this new site is “Bulrushes’ Gulu” with a starting capacity for 170 babies.
Watoto Gulu also run outreach programmes for Child soldiers returning from the bush and other displaced people. These programmes are so successful that they are training more people to run these.
The next stop was a school that was built and paid for by the Belgium Government and was up to recently run by the local government. They have formed as partnership with Watoto to run. This is a trauma centre where child soldiers could be sent and counselled given some education and rebuilt their self esteem before being put back into the wider community either as a Watoto orphan or with their family. The complex was self contained with school, medical centre and dormitories for all 450 children.
We then went to Watoto Gulu Village which is about 45 to 60 minutes out of the actual town. The land was available straight away and totals 160 acres. We stopped on the way at LaBone displaced persons camp. This is the last active camp and has currently about 500 People living there down from a total peak population of 10000 All on about 100 acres. Image the entire population of Greymouth living in mud huts on the Rec ground. The camp is to close next month and all huts bulldozed and the people taken home by the Army.
The Watoto Gulu village has a nice feel to it and in a couple of years it will be a magic spot. Very quiet and peaceful with only the noise of children playing. There is about 12 houses occupied and a further 12 almost complete as well as a primary school and teacher houses. Not bad for the land was only purchased a year ago. It was great talking to the “mothers” who are all local women who are passionate about the project and their love for the orphan children is immense. It is intended to have about 100 houses and 800 orphan children.
The night finished after tea with Jack Hines saying he was off to bed to read but instead went to Gilbert our Watoto Host room to watch the African Cup soccer match. Braydon was locked out of the room. Thinking Jack was asleep we after some animated discussion with the hotel staff able to get a key for the next room and Kate “MacGyver” Hines climbed over the balcony 2 stories up to break into the room only to find Jack was missing (?? Taken by the LRA).Jack was found a bit later in Gilbert’s room totally surprised by all the drama.
We are now back in Kampala at the guest House. A number of the party are acting like lost souls because their contact with the outside world via Vodaphone network is erratically unreliable and after 2 week in Africa they still don’t realise “That this is Africa and thing happen in Africa Time”.
Cheer s Heinzey

This is prety good Amanda’s Mum and Dad Updated twice in two Days

2nd attempt to load Building site photos

Try again

Monday 12/1/01.
We left yesterday from Kampala @ 5am. Not a huge amount spoken- mostly grunts & groans. Up at 4am for 4.30 breakfast. Most of us fell asleep for the trip out of the city as the road has improved++ since we were here last time. New tar sealed road in place & when we got to start of the newly tar sealed area – instead of rd signs and a thousand orange cones that showed speed limits there were speed humps every 20metres apart for 1.2km – Marge counted at least 125. Those of us in the back of bus became airborne many times as we bounced over them. Very effective way to slow the traffic – Fergusons Construction could try it.
We continued up to the town of Masindi at around 8am. Last time it took to 11am so shows how the road has improved. Then we travelled over a very rough road to the top of the Murchison Falls. Stats are as follows: The Victoria Nile is squeezed through a chasm of about 6m wide & the force of the water being forced down the 40m waterfall is incredible. The river is 400m wide at the bottom of the waterfall.
We then drove to another part of the river to the ferry – which we missed by about 5mins but while the ferry driver suggested while he could certainly take us on the ferry, it was lunchtime & he was feeling a bit hungry but had no money. It was either give him some shillings or wait for 1.5hrs in the hot sun being watched by the baboons. Commonsense prevailed and probably some shilling and we only had to wait 30 minutes before carried on to Paraa safari Lodge a upmarket 1930’s hotel. Bit like Out of Africa setting with a pool with swim up bar overlooking the hippos in the Nile River. 50 rooms and restaurants etc in the middle of a national game park with warning signs that the animals are wild!!! Have a fence to keep the Hippos out of the swimming pool. Bit like Paradise but not good for any weight loss programme. See www.paraalodge.com
Late afternoon saw us on a game drive in the National Park which had many eyes opened wide where we saw baboons, elephants, giraffe and a lone lioness as well as lots of buck’s hartebeest and other antelope. Quite amazing experience with the elephant within 30metres and the lioness walking within 2 metres of the bus (told to shut the windows).
Back to the lodge and another smorgasbord and 5 kilos put on.
Tuesday 13 January
Late start with 7.30 brekkie. Another huge spread for breakfast before heading down to the river for a cruise upstream to the Falls. Saw lots (1000’s) of Hippo as well as lots of crocodile and a few elephants and waterbuck. The view from the bottom of the falls in even more spectacular than from the top. The immense volume of water passing thru this narrow chasm is spectacular. Even more so is the number of crocs sitting at the bottom waiting for any lunch being any poor unfortunate animal person or fish that get washed over the Falls. The biggest croc was probably about 12 ft with a very large mouth with sharp things hanging out.
Before and after lunch is hanging out at the pool and eating. Most of our group spoke to the founders of Watoto that are holidaying here this week with friends from Canada. Pastor Gary and Marilyn Skinner are very approachable and down to earth. It was very humbling to meet these two people with such a huge vision and passion; and having the ability to see these thru to fruition. The latest passion is Gulu where they now have some 50 houses for orphans and are also looking after 300 women with AIDS and getting them working doing crafts for sale etc. As with all Watoto projects the goal here is massive and they intend to have some 3000 women working there.
Time for a quick swim and off on another game drive. Requests include animals that are here such as zebra ands wildebeests and tigers (Kate Hines). We are also looking for Gordy or Bobs 12 spotted kiwis!!
Life is tough here with the temperature n the early mid 30’s Celsius and sitting in a bar overlooking the Victoria Nile typing this
Cheers Heinzey001 3pm
Thursday 14 Jan
Another day gone without finding an internet cafe.
Last night went on another game drive. It is still great to see the animals in their natural habitat and watching the new guys eyes light up and yell giraffe or elephant. We saw a lot of animals much the same as the night before but no lion. Lots of buffalo, giraffe and some elephants. Ended up in another traffic jam but this unlike Kampala where it is cars and trucks we run into a herd of elephants that would not move off the road and we had to back up and take a different road to the Lodge.
Another great meal and to bed except it was really hot and stuffy.
After breakfast this morning we left Murchison Falls National park and headed to Gulu in Northern Uganda. Hussein our bus driver took us on a short cut which in this part of Africa means a 100km of rough bumpy gravel roads. Not wrong!!!
We arrived in Gulu at around lunchtime. Trip was about 250 km and with Hussein’s shortcut there was about 3 km on tar seal roads and the rest rearranging internal organs. First impressions of Gulu were mixed and the place is not what I expected. Up until 2008 it was the centre of the war between the Ugandan army and the Lords Resistance Army run by Joseph Kony one of the world’s most wanted men. (He is now supposedly in the Congo). The war had been going on for twenty years here and in the Southern Sudan. There is about more than 2 million people in displaced camps. However the town is very much the same as any other African towns with no real signs of damage etc as what would be expected for a place at the centre of a war. There are lots of large trees providing shade and most businesses are open and expanding. It has a friendly feel about it. So far it is not what I expected but is for the better.
Checked into a hotel in Gulu called “Hotel Acholi”. It would have been the top place to stay in the 1960’s and 70’s but shows signs of faded grandeur. Idi Amin stayed here when he was President. Pete White attempted to burn the place down after lunch by watching them put another multibox in the multibox and lots of black smoke rising out of the hot water cupboard. When he told one of the female staff members of the smoke she ran out of the building. Not much chance of hot showers tonight but with the temperature in the high 30’s cold showers may be better.
It good to see some of the rooms have been upgraded recently especially the bath rooms with new taps hand basins etc BUT no toilet seats!! The staff that shows you to the rooms (ours was dressed in an immaculate 1950 Presidential Guard uniform) come into the room and turns the air con unit on to cool the room and then opens the window to let fresh air in.
Thursday 14 Jan
Morning started with another big breakfast. So much for the weight loss programme. We then walked about 500 metres to a building that was used by the night commuter for shelter during the war. They came to these building as they could be protected from the Lord’s Resistance Army who kidnapped very large numbers of 6 to 13 year old boys and girls. It was ironically next door to a field that Idi Amin used to execute large numbers of so called “dissidents”.
We then went to the latest Watoto Project called “Living Hope”. It is a training centre with women that are HIV and they train them with life skills such as sewing , bee keeping etc as well as giving counselling for their illness. Many of these women has children and were kidnapped as part of the war.

Cheers Heinzey

7th January Thursday
3rd day of building – another 6.15am breakfast –strong coffee, boiled eggs, doxycycline tabs, pineapple & plum jam. Not necessarily all together but easier that way.
Another hrs drive out to the building site past sights that have to be seen to be believed: A traffic officer in the middle of an intersection directing traffic & texting on his cell as well! A block of coffin shops which included a drive through ‘Drive by Coffins’ . A thought for Westland Funeral back in Greymouth? Also ‘Holy Spirit Hair Salons’.
Adele – I read an article in the local paper that suggested a decent education will prevent your child becoming a foot scrubber or worse -a common hairdresser!
We arrive at the building site, don sunscreen, hats, gloves & shiFt bricks. Although no one complains about the muscle aches, the grimaces & threats to start @ Fat Maxes gym give it away! We were told by the builders the bricks weigh 8-9kg but we are all convinced they are at least 9-12kg – at the start of the day anyway. After brick number 200, they are at least 15kg – or more depending where you are in the line.
We are starting to get the hang of brick laying although I don’t think Kevin Tucker or Dave Packham need worry just yet re their businesses being under threat. Marge has got laying mortar down to a particularly fine art so long as “Justice” – her co-worker does the brick laying. As for myself –after balancing precariously on some pretty dodgy scaffolding for at least 2 long layers of bricks, ‘Moses’ the foreman noticed my part of the wall was definitely much lower than other parts due to not enough mortar. Not to worry -they just put loads more extra mortar on the next level. Any gaps between the bricks that haven’t been filled in & not noticed till too late are conveniently called ventilation…
By the end of the day the outside of the house was complete!!!!
We visited the brick making team of about 5 who have a VERY labour intensive method of turning moist sand into bricks via a manual compressing machine. Their bulging biceps, washboard abs & rippling muscles were very appreciated by the admiring gaggle of girls who went to see them in action (again). It was a very hot day & one of them had to take his shirt off… shame. (I would like to clarify here that the swooning that resulted was actually a result of the heat). Anyway – I digress.
Jack (13yrs) has been practising hard with the local kids & builders for the World Cup. Soccer is an international language. The sight of a soccer ball will transform the shyest child into a beaming soccer maniac – with wicked skills to match despite bare feet on hard uneven ground.
Friday 8 January 2010
Another day that started much the same as the day before. Early breakfast and quick trip through the traffic to Suubi. More bricks moved and only a short day with only five hundred to lay. All hands on deck and finished about lunchtime. Mission complete. A great feeling of accomplishment.

After finishing building yesterday, us white people “mzungu” challenged the workers to a game. Moses put everyone who turned up into 2 teams – of 15-20 aside! It was complete chaos, minimum rules & consequently very noisy. Pandamonium erupted when the mzungu’s scored the first goal (thanks to some of the Watoto kids playing for us). When the score reached 2 each –Moses diplomatically ended the game. We were all completely exhausted as it was really hot & trying to keep up with these guys was a real challenge -we must’ve looked pretty pathetic!
On the way home, we had a quick tour of the new ‘Bulrushes’ – a 3 story 4 wing building where a maximum of 180 kids from 18mths -4yrs will be housed prior to being settled into a Watoto family. We also saw a hospital complete with operating theatre & nurses accommodation. This will service all the Watoto villages.
Saturday 9 January
Late start to the day with breakfast at 8 o’clock. All dressed in team uniform (red Shirts) and left for Suubi 2 for dedication of “our house”.
We got caught in a major traffic gridlock today – so bad that a truckdriver left his truck to direct traffic. Our driver, Heussien, took a short cut through a petrol station to try & get around the jam and ended up only three cars in front of where we left for but lots of fun and anguish getting there. It was the longest trip to the building site this week being almost 1 hour longer than usual!
Our dedication service was held in “our house” with us Kiwis singing a couple of songs and the local builders singing some and then some dedication prayers. It was humbling and the locals being so thankful for us being there and building a house that will house 8 orphans and a mother for the next 200 years.
We went to the local mall to visit the internet cafe & the supermarket. Soap is not found with usual toiletries but in the fats/oils dept. Plasters, bandaids are only available through a pharmacy.
Amanda must be more dodgy than we originally suspected as she has been taken aside & searched at most check points since we left NZ & even today she was escorted though the supermarket by an armed guard for trying to enter the exit door. I rest my case.
We usually arrive back at the guest house completely exhausted & stained red/orange from the dirt/sweat/sunscreen combination that we have marinated in for 6-8hrs. Showers alternate between cold, hot or absent. Any grime not washed off is rubbed off on the white towels. Then the cut throat card games begin –Jem & his bunch of dodgy players- Jack, Kate, Braydon & Olivia have all shown quite a ruthless side to them.
Marge has started lessons in cryptic crosswords & now has a dedicated following – Jack even bought a book of c/crosswords for her which she accepted very graciously!
Bye for now,
Kathy

Good Morning
The building project is finished yesterday and today we had our dedication. I will write some more to night and post it tomorrow morning

Monday 4 Jan 2010

Easy start to the day after a good night’s sleep after the long flight. Started the morning with a trip to “Bulrushes”. This is the hospital /nursery for kids age 1 day thru to 1-2 years and some older (3-4   years) with special needs such as blindness.

For lunch we went to a mall changed money (1800 shillings to 1USD) and ate at a cafe that served western food

Next went to KPC (Now called Watoto Church) and had orientation on our programme. Bits about what to do and not do. Highlight was however watching the next travelling choir having their last rehearsals before embarking on a world tour for 6 Months.

Caught up with Andrew our host from last time. He was in great form but no half hour speech on the meaning of life. Still has not found a wife but has dreadlocks

Caught in a traffic jam leaving KPC. Makes living in Greymouth a breeze knowing we only have to wait 3 or 4 cars at a time and they are all on the right side of the road.

Early to bed

Tuesday 5 Jan 2010

Yeah first building day. Early start to get to Suubi 2 our building site and to beat the traffic and to travel 30 kms out of Kampala.

Arrived at the same time as the other Kiwi team who are building a classroom for the primary school at Suubi 2 and together loaded bricks for each building site. We also had to move our smoko shed down to our site. Our site consisted of a concrete slab and not much else.

Suubi2 was purchased in 2007 and totals 20 hectares. We are building house Number 82 with about 75 houses built there already and 32 houses occupied. They are also building a small primary school on the site and about 100 houses. It basically adjoins the existing Suubi1 site which has about 180 houses as well as primary and secondary schools and medical and administration areas

A quick lesson in bricklaying and we were in to it. With the help of very patient local help work started and continued at a brisk pace and laid reasonably level and plumb. A blind man would love to see it.

Rain arrived just before lunch so work stopped while a torrential downpour fell. Interesting was that when the rain cleared it was lunchtime and the local help disappeared to have lunch

Caught up with Moses the Bus driver from last time. As usual he was resting but jumped when yelled for him to get up. How these guys remember our names etc after 2 years amazes me considering they see a group every two weeks.

Finished laying bricks at about 2.30 pm with 8 rows done (as many that can be laid in a day)

Best sight on the way home:  A 1.5 metre high fridge sideways on the back of a scooter.

We’re being well fed. Tea tonight was pumpkin soup, beef lasagne, bean lasagne, boiled coleslaw, & potatoes, followed by fruit salad & banana cake.

Pete Hines got up this morning to go to the toilet and stepped onto a wet floor. Something in their bathroom had leaked during the night and covered the floor about an inch deep. Took about 20 mins to mop up. The staff put it down to the way the shower hose had been left.

Pete White had some problems explaining to some of the younger members on how to go about shifting bricks. The kids thought it was the same word without the f in it!!!

Kathy Hines realises that having any previous experience brick laying isn’t that much of an advantage – tried to rely on muscle memory doesn’t work either.

Marge Tefft now has a permanent seat in the front after discovering that Ugandan roads and traffic don’t combine well with her inner ear. She now has a new appreciation for the skills of our driver, Hussein.

Amanda Ewan has a huge appreciation for proper toilets. She and some of the other females enjoyed the privilege of a hole in the ground with a part open door. The smell wasn’t as bad as what it could have been. The Ugandan’s do long drops well – in fact Kiwi’s could learn a thing or two from them about how to do it. However the road going past the door was more of a worry due to two bus  loads of Aussie arriving at the same time!!!!

Last trip we had Liz Picken on the trip and one of her saying when it was mentioned to her “ that Rome was not built in a day” she said “it would have been if I was in Charge”. This trip we have “Little” Liz her daughter Kathy Hines who argue with the local foreman over the length of their lunch break.

The kids met a guy at the traffic stop who asked where they  were from and when he  was told we were from NZ said I am the same “two eyes, two ears, wide nose but different colour skin”

Wednesday 5 Jan 2010

Another good day on the building site with lots of bricks moved and laid  with the external walls up to the window tops on 3 sides and the internal walls to  half way. Had lots of local help today with the other Kiwi team going home at lunchtime so inherited an extra 12 workers. Made life a bit easier for the younger and oldest members of our party. Jack played football on the building site with half a dozen local kids.

Stopped at the top of Suubi 1 on the way home and looked thru the secondary school. It is school holidays here so now kids around but place was immaculate. It has been extended heaps over the past two years with more classrooms and teachers houses as well a boarding facility for children from the other villages.

Drove past the new baby home at Suubi 1 which is going to take all the younger kids at the start of the induction into the Watoto system.This is going to replace Bullrushes in Kampala which will become a more specialised neo natal unit and for kids with special needs. It is due to open in the next two months and is about 4 to 5 times bigger than the existing “Bullrushes”

We then went down to the production unit where they have 4 areas of operation. There is a vehicle repair  garage, engineering workshop , joinery factory and a clothing factory.

We met Albert who is the engineering workshop supervisor who when we told him we were here two yours ago and gave them an arc welder he almost jumped into my arms with pure gratitude. It was great  to see  that it we are really appreaciated. They are currently building stuff for the new “Bullrushes” and for the extra classroom including desks chairs and cots.

It rained quite heavily on the way home. It cleaned the  streets nicely with all the rubbish being washed down the gutters. It also meant that the street were relatively empty of traffic (relative terms)

Cheers Heinzey

PS There were supposed to be some pictures with this but couldn’t get them to upload.