Month: January 2010

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.