Last one from Uganda

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